TeacherEducation

Teacher Education

The Rutgers University Graduate School of Education is dedicated to the study and improvement of education. The creation of knowledge about teaching and learning is central to our mission. We seek to ensure that all children and adults have access to high quality educational programs. As such, our work addresses the cognitive, social, organizational, cultural, linguistic, developmental, and policy dimensions of education. Our instructional programs are designed to produce graduates who become effective educational practitioners, transformative educational leaders, and accomplished educational researchers. Our partnerships and service contributions focus on New Jersey but extend to both national and global communities.  We have been preparing teachers for New Jersey since 1923.  We developed the first advanced degree for school leaders in New Jersey in 1930.

Pk-12 schools are in need of qualified teachers now more than ever. There are thousands of unfilled teaching positions with more openings projected. You can help address this burgeoning teacher shortage, and fortify your employment prospects, by earning a master’s degree and teaching certificate at Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

Juniors can apply now to earn an Ed.M. with teacher certification with just one additional year of study; Seniors need just two years to be highly competitive in this wide-open job market.

Rutgers GSE is the top-ranked school of education in the state and its faculty and remote courses are rated among the best in the university system. Due to its strong school partnerships and carefully selected cooperating teachers, the GSE was the first NJ teacher preparation program able to offer candidates timely clinical experiences in spite of the pandemic.

Don’t miss this opportunity to secure your future and join the ranks of one of the most noble and needed professions in our nation. Contact academic.services@gse.rutgers.edu for information and how you can apply today.

Accreditation

The Graduate School of Education (GSE) at Rutgers University serves as the lead partner for all programs at Rutgers – New Brunswick that lead to an educational license through the New Jersey Department of Education. Our programs for educators are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The School Counseling Program is accredited through Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Click here for more info about CAEP and CACREP accreditation at Rutgers.

Information about our programs can be found on the links below.

Program InformationProgram AccoladesOur TeachersLocal/Global ProgramsClinical Practice Resources

Program Goals as of 2022-2023
(Last updated: 7/18/2022)

Knowledge/Understanding 

  • Teacher candidates will build deep understanding of how their students learn and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually (across cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical domains) and are shaped by diverse cultures, communities, and experiences. 
  • Teacher candidates will develop, expand, and deepen content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, drawing on current research to plan and implement high-quality P-12 instruction and design effective learning environments. 
  • Teacher candidates will understand the historical and philosophical contexts of the discipline that they are teaching and how their curriculum and pedagogy can support equity and justice. 

Communication/Community Building 

  • Teacher candidates will develop strategies for communicating and collaborating with their students, families, community members, and other educators to support inclusive learning environments that empower each learner.  
  • Teacher candidates will participate in professional, scholarly, and community-engaged networks and activities using all modes of communication, while centering the experiences of their students, families, and communities (e.g., research, presentations, and service).  

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 

  • Teacher candidates will examine social justice issues and act guided by the importance of the role of social justice in educational settings. 
  • Teacher candidates will strive to ensure educational equity by creating an environment where diverse backgrounds and perspectives (personal, social, economic, educational, linguistic, cultural, immigration, racial/ethnic) are an integral part of the learning experience. 
  • Teacher candidates will develop an understanding of what culturally responsive teaching is and how instruction can be responsive, consequential, and just for their students. 
  • Teacher candidates will seek to proactively interrupt practices, policies, and curriculum that silence, discount, or harm the diverse students in their classrooms. 

Research/Professional Practice 

  • Teacher candidates will conduct original research and use that research, as well as interpret and evaluate evidence from other research studies, to inform their professional practice and address problems of practice that may require change in policy, programs, and practice. 
  • Teacher candidates will engage in inquiry/research experiences to better understand how discipline-specific knowledge develops. 
  • Teacher candidates will develop knowledge of how to apply the results of current research to their practice.  

Assessment 

  • Teacher candidates will evaluate, identify, and use models and approaches that will be effective in the successful design and implementation of assessment.   
  • Teacher candidates will use multiple methods of standards-informed assessment and data sources in making educational decisions and in the monitoring of student learning progress.  

Professional Development/Self-Reflection 

  • Teacher candidates will proactively seek out opportunities for continuous professional learning and development, including reflective self-inquiry, in order to improve their practice and contribute to the teaching profession. 
  • Teacher candidates will understand their intersectional identities and positionality, recognizing the implicit biases that may result from that positionality, and mitigate how implicit bias can adversely impact their planning, instruction, and assessment.  

Values and Commitments for Educator Preparation

Through operational excellence and a strong, positive culture characterized by: A Diverse, Collaborative Community: of stakeholders comprising a diverse, inclusive, collaborative, and innovative community dedicated to achieving excellence and equity; trust and respect; effectiveness and responsiveness, and innovative practices to meet the needs of the field: the Rutgers University Educator Preparation Programs (RUEPP) aim to help candidates:

  • Learn best practices for pedagogical content knowledge of subject areas
  • Acquire a grounding in the historical and philosophical contexts of the discipline that they will be certified to teach;
  • Develop curriculum; apply instructional strategies and class management techniques;
  • Construct and implement assessments;
  • Gain the knowledge and skills of integrating technology and data literacy into instructional planning;
  • Individualize and differentiate instruction based on the needs of students;
  • Include ALL students and their diverse needs/experiences in learning across the K-12 experience;
  • Be reflective practitioners; and
  • Develop meaningful, asset-based relationships with the families and communities that they serve.
Specifically, The Graduate School of Education’s (GSE) Teacher Education Program is designed to develop teachers to be engaged in and committed to excellence, equity, and social justice in their teaching practice. New Jersey is a uniquely diverse and urban state as defined by the following: large numbers of students from historically marginalized linguistic, economic, and cultural backgrounds; high-poverty districts or schools; and population density combined with educational inequality. The GSE Teacher Education Programs aim to develop a diverse generation of teachers prepared according to the New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers with the skills and dispositions to both teach and advocate for all students, as well as to learn from students and their communities. Teachers prepared at the GSE will learn to critically analyze the social politics of urban, rural, and suburban schools and use that analysis to advocate for each other, their students, and the families that they serve as they engage in the most effective instructional practices built upon deep knowledge of their students. GSE Teacher Candidates benefit from working with some of the best education faculty in the world and gain real-world experience by partnering with carefully selected mentor teachers in districts/schools serving economically, racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities in New Jersey. In order to cultivate the unique set of skills for success in our nation’s increasingly diverse schools, GSE Teacher Candidates do their clinical work in school- and community-based placements in urban partner districts that are part of the GSE-Community School Partnership Network (GSE-CSPN).
An urban and social justice teacher education program prepares candidates to:
  • develop meaningful understandings of diverse students and their experiences and communities, and the social, economic, historical, and political dimensions of urban settings and schools;
  • effectively teach diverse students, including those from historically marginalized linguistic, cultural, and economic backgrounds;
  • identify and disrupt instances and patterns of discrimination and marginalization, and develop their students’ critical and active citizenship capacities;
  • balance constructivist, student-centered approaches with explicit instruction and scaffolding;
  • deeply understand their disciplines, research-based current/best practices in their disciplines, and student learning in their disciplines; and
  • be caring, competent, rigorous, and reflective practitioners.
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