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Message From the Director
There is widespread agreement in Pennsylvania that economic prosperity in the Commonwealth is dependant upon a well-educated, highly skilled workforce, one that is adept at staying competitive amidst technological advances and fiercely competitive global markets and capable of learning to learn for a lifetime. There is also agreement that having high-skilled teachers is a precondition for having such a workforce. Not surprisingly, quality education including quality teacher education is a prominent theme in PA’s workforce investment plans aimed at fostering a more competitive environment for businesses and ultimately positioning them to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing economy. Importantly, the Temple University Center for Professional Development in Career and Technical Education has been an integral component of the Commonweath’s workforce investment strategy, an interpretation supported by the heightened emphasis placed on teacher and administrator quality and professional development in recent state and federal legislation.
The mission of the Center is to develop certified teachers, administrators, and education specialists for local schools and agencies that offer career and technical education programs. The Center works to achieve its mission by concentrating resources in off-campus professional development and continuing education programs and services for prospective and practicing educators in PA's 17 county eastern region. In short, the Temple Center prepares the workforce that prepares the workforce. The services could not be provided if supplemental funding were not available to Temple. These special services, Center objectives, include teacher, administrator, and education specialist certification courses and programs, services for teachers of disadvantaged and disabled learners, a recruitment program, an occupational experience program, and an occupational competency-testing program. The services also provide program planning and development services, including curriculum dissemination and implementation, and continuing technical and professional training. The Center prepares competent and caring teachers and administrators with the skill-set necessary for enhancing the academic and technical achievements of students and, thereby, enabling high school graduates to continue their education at the post-secondary level or to succeed at work in a technologically advanced society.
This year, 2011, marks Temple’s 33rd year as a center. We are proud of our Administrative Services. Our programs, since the center’s inception, not only have played a vital role in the professional development of teachers, specialists, guidance counselors, and administrators who prepare students for the workplace and for continuing their education, but also have had an impact on the field of career and technical teacher education in general. We are genuinely proud of these programs and take immense pride in improving them and keeping them viable and at the cusp of professional practice. To learn more about the professional development opportunities at the Center or to speak to someone about our programs please visit our webpage or call 215.204.8383.
Thomas J. Walker
Professor and Director