Education

Related Student Organizations

Kappa Delta Pi (education honor society)

PSEA/Co-eds for Kids

Career Paths

Alumni of Bucknell’s education program often go into teaching, but they also enjoy careers in business, industry and government. Recent alumni have secured the following positions:

• Assistant teacher, Poly Prep Country Day Lower School
• Editorial assistant, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Program director, Camp Kirby
• Teacher, Kingsley Montessori School
• Graduate hall director, Bowling Green State University
• Teacher, Rippowann Cisque School District

Facilities & Resources

• Starting with their first year, students begin to observe and help in the local public schools. These opportunities continue throughout their education, culminating in student teaching in the senior year.
• Bucknell’s English as a Second Language (ESL) certification program provides elementary education, foreign language and English majors with an extra credential upon graduation.
• A pre-certification initial preparation program (Pre-CIP) is available for students interested in becoming teachers.
• Graduate degrees and certification in school psychology, school administration, the superintendency, supervision of curriculum and instruction, and college student personnel are offered.

Selected Faculty Publications

Bucknell's education faculty members' scholarship has recently appeared in the following publications:

American Secondary Education

Education

Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education

Forum: Qualitative Social Research

Learning Environments Research

Teachers College Record

Grants & Awards

Education faculty members have recently secured grants from: National Science Foundation (engineering education research, lifelong learning research)

Study Abroad

Recently, education students have studied in places including:

• Denmark
• Florence
• Bologna

Opportunities for study abroad prior to student teaching exist. Students will need to consult closely with their advisers to plan such opportunities. Sample course sequences are available on the education department's website.

Graduate School

Some students continue their education in graduate programs in areas such as counseling, school psychology, educational psychology and clinical psychology. They also enroll in professional programs in law and medical schools. Recently, alumni have gone on to:

• Northeastern University
• Lehigh University
• Syracuse University
• Villanova University
• Rutgers University
• Chapman University
• College of New Jersey

Program Details

• The education program at Bucknell combines a liberal arts education with professional preparation.
• Education at Bucknell is approached as a social science, which provides students with a solid background in principles and theories, rather than as a series of methods that become outdated.
• Bucknell offers two undergraduate degrees in education:
  • A Bachelor of Science degree in education with majors in early childhood and elementary education.
  • The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in education, designed for students interested in the study of education as a discipline, who are not interested in teaching certification, and who are likely to enter graduate school or employment in public service, business or industry following graduation.
• Secondary teaching certification is offered in art, biology, chemistry, communication, English, earth science, environmental science, French, general science, German, Latin, mathematics, music, physics, social studies and Spanish.

Faculty

Abe Feuerstein
B.A. Dartmouth; M.Ed., Ph.D. Virginia
Scholarly interests: politics of education, educational finance, school administration

Amy Golightly
B.A. Saint Thomas (Minnesota); Ph.D. Iowa
Scholarly interests: early childhood behavioral assessment and intervention

Richard Henne-Ochoa
Ph.D., M.S., B.S., University of Illinois
Social Foundations of Education, Qualitative Research Methodology, Language and Education, Teacher Education

Sue Ellen Henry
B.S. Washington; M.Ed. Vermont; Ph.D. Virginia
Scholarly interests: sociology and philosophy of education, moral education, democratic education, multicultural education

Lynn M. Hoffman
B.A. Penn State; M.Ed. Loyola College at Baltimore; Ed.D. Maryland
Scholarly interests: school administration, high school culture, rites of passage

Sarah K. MacKenzie
B.A., M.Ed. University of New Hampshire; Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University
Scholarly interests: language and literacy education, poststructuralism, pre-service teacher subjectivity, artsbased educational research, poetic inquiry, critical literacy

Robert M. Midkiff Jr.
Ph.D. Arizona State
Scholarly interests: fatherhood and effects of fathers on child development, effects of higher education on student development, social and emotional processes in achievement motivation

Heather Mechler
B.A.,Ph.D. the University of Alabama
Scholary interests: Moral judgement development, youth civic engagement, character education, emerging adulthood, ethics in higher education

Joseph L. Murray
B.S., B.A. Quincy College; M.Ed. Ohio; Ph.D. Michigan State
Scholarly interests: student leadership in higher education, moral reasoning in college students, employee training and development

Katharyn E.K. Nottis
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. SUNY Buffalo
Scholarly interests: effective use of analogies in science education, conceptual learning in science

Lori Smolleck
B.S., M.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: science education, scientific inquiry, selfefficacy, elementary and early childhood education, teacher education

Candice R. Stefanou
B.S. Penn State; M.S. Pittsburgh; M.S.Ed. Bucknell; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: instructional environments and their effects on learner behavior, motivation to learn, neuropsychology of learning

Internships

Internships provide career preparation, especially to those education students who plan to pursue work outside of teaching. Recently, students have interned at:

• Posse Foundation, Inc.
• Chubb Insurance, Inc.

Undergraduate Research

Education students have opportunities for applied and research experiences throughout their undergraduate careers. Often, faculty members serve as mentors while students conduct independent research; in other cases, faculty include students as part of their research team. Recent student projects include:

• The Development and Validation of a Rubric for Assessing the Teaching of Science as Inquiry
• An Investigation on Young Children’s Conceptions and Misconceptions in Science
• A Qualitative Study of Secularity and Liberal Arts Education at Bucknell University

Courses Offered

Students can major in content areas such as anthropology, art, biology, chemistry, English, environmental science, French, geography, German, history, Latin, mathematics, music, physics, political science, psychology, sociology, Spanish or theatre and obtain their teaching certification through the Department of Education.

Advanced Social Foundations of Education
Applied Behavioral Psychology
Career Development
Child and Adolescent Development
Cognitive Learning in Multiple
Contexts
Counseling Techniques
Curriculum and Social Studies
Differentiation and Diversity in Education
Early Literacy
Education Capstone
Education of Young Children
Educational Psychology
Educational Psychology Practicum
Ethics in Education
Gender Issues in Education
Group Processes
Higher Education in the United States
Investigations in International Issues
Language Instruction in France I and II
Later Childhood and Adolescence
Learning and Development in Post-secondary Education
Literacy Across Contexts
Literacy and Learning in the Diverse Classroom
Local Educational Politics
Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language
Multiculturalism and Education
Problems in Education
Professional Seminar in Elementary Education
Professional Seminar in Secondary Education
Psychology of the Exceptional Child
Public School Law
Research Methods I
School Psychological Services
Science as Inquiry
Senior Thesis
Social Foundation of Education
Student Affairs Programs in Higher Education
Student Teaching: Elementary
Student Teaching in Music
Student Teaching: Secondary
Supervision of Personnel
Teaching in Diverse Environments
Teaching and Learning Science
Teaching of Art
Teaching of Social Studies
Teaching Science in Secondary School
Tests and Measurement
Topics in Education

Quick Facts

Number of full-time faculty: 12

Average number of majors per class year: 36