Special Education Teacher Certification Programs (CITE)

The professional preparation program in Special Education is designed primarily to prepare highly qualified teachers to meet the needs of a diverse group of students in K-12 classrooms who may have a range of mild, moderate or severe disabilities. With an emphasis on preparing our students to create inclusive classrooms, the program also prepares prospective teachers to collaborate with parents, general education teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators in helping to ensure that every child has an opportunity to reach his/her full potential as a learner.

Special education at Temple begins by valuing the diversity of individual learners and individual learning styles. The program aims to prepare teachers to view diversity as a resource not an impediment to learning for all students. Specifically, the Special Education Program shapes professionals for their duties as special educators by stressing the following goals:

• To produce teachers with a solid background in Special Education content, especially the knowledge and expertise applicable to K-12 students with various learning differences and disabilities;
• To develop an understanding of the importance of special education to the current public policy debates about educational access and equal educational opportunity;
• To develop sensitivity to the relationship between special education and general education in inclusive classrooms;
• To develop familiarity with the laws governing special education and the rights of children and their families;
• To encourage the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills for assessing and evaluating information and making informed decisions about students with disabilities;
• To promote an attitude of professionalism and a desire for growth as a professional.

Degree Programs

In the undergraduate program, students may include special education only as an addition to a major in elementary education or early childhood education. At the graduate level, students may elect to complete all the requirements for a state certificate as a special education teacher or to pursue a master's degree in special education.

Undergraduate Major: see the Elementary Education Major Advising Checklist [pdf] for a list of required courses and electives.

Certificate Program: see the Post-Baccalaureate Teaching Certification Program with a speciality in Special Education.

Master's Program: see information on the Graduate Teacher Certification Program (M.Ed.) with a focus in Special Education.

Contact Information

For more information about this program, please contact:

Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology in Education

College of Education

Temple University
1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19122-6091

phone: (215) 204-2117/8377

 

 

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