Prepare for a rewarding career tackling the educational challenges of the 21st century with Widener’s early elementary education and special education undergraduate program.
Widener’s elementary and special education program will prepare you as a next-level educator.
You can prepare for certification in early elementary education and special education, opening you to a great range of job opportunities. If you are interested in working in education-related fields that do not require certification, like museums, nonprofits, and curricula development, we have a pathway to success for you too.
Our experienced faculty are dedicated to helping you succeed from the start. You will receive hands-on experience from your very first education course, by taking part in field experience at our cooperating schools.
Certification Track
This track prepares you for elementary education and special education certification and includes student teaching requirements necessary for state teacher licensure. This will prepare you for a wide-range of education careers.
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Non-Certification Track
This track gives you a strong foundational background in the field of education so you can thrive in education-related careers that do not require certification/state teacher licensure, such as non-profit sector education, educational advocacy/policy, curriculum development, creating educational programming, working in museums and refugee centers, and teaching in private or charter educational agencies.
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Our program prepares you to apply for Instructional I certification in Elementary Education grades PK–4 and Special Education PK-12 through the State of Pennsylvania.
Teacher candidates in the Elementary and Special Education dual certification program participate in the Community Engaged Teacher Education (CETE) program beginning in the fall semester of their senior year and the following semester, continue on to complete student teaching, providing students with a full year of public school residency and teaching before graduation.
The culminating experience in preparing students seeking certification is a full-time, 14-week, student teaching experience during the senior year. This experience builds on the Community Engaged Teacher Education (CETE) program and is designed to provide candidates with the opportunity to put into practice all the principles and techniques learned throughout their coursework.
Each state/jurisdiction has requirements that candidates must meet in order to obtain licensure and/or certification to teach. It is the student’s responsibility to seek appropriate guidance before beginning any academic program. If you intend to seek certification outside of Pennsylvania, the University recommends that you contact the appropriate state licensing agency to obtain specific licensure/certification requirements per state and the most up-to-date information.
To view Widener’s licensure eligibility by state/jurisdiction, please visit the Center for Education: Program Licensure page.
Students interested in teaching elementary-age students may be interested in pursuing the Spanish education certification program.
This certification qualifies Spanish majors to teach pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
View the Loading... requirements for the Spanish education certification.
Our undergraduate program in early elementary education and special education gives you a solid foundation for entering the teaching profession with confidence and experience under your belt.
At Widener, we give you hands-on experience from your very first education class, where you’ll work with children at local schools. You will also have the opportunity to do fieldwork at the Widener Child Development Center and Widener Partnership Charter School.
We are committed to helping you become a capable teacher, to close the opportunity gap for students in diverse urban settings. Our CETE program places you in a Stetser Elementary School classroom—and with a community mentor in the city of Chester—with the intent of developing cultural proficiency and culturally-relevant pedagogy.
Prepare to be a well-rounded educator with global experience and diverse cultural perspectives. You can seamlessly integrate a study abroad experience during the semester of your student teaching.
Once you're back home, you'll realize the skills you learned abroad are in high demand in the education field.
Our professors' leadership and research are shaping the education field. Get to know our early elementary education and special education faculty.
It takes someone special to teach someone special. Our pre-service educators are dedicated to learning, growing, and teaching the next generation.
"My interests include brain development, literacy development, and applications of technology in research and instruction. My greatest excitement in teaching comes from the way that working with graduate students spills over to my teaching of undergraduates and vice versa."
"I have authored or co-authored 15 publications in top-tier education journals and am honored to be a highly rated online professor of Widener students."
"Learning to be a teacher requires discipline and hard work. Learning to be great teacher requires passion and a deep dedication to the many and diverse children that we serve."
"My teaching focuses upon cognitive processing and application. In this regard, critical literacy complements the cognitive learning process. Critical literacy is the ability to actively read a text that promotes an understanding of social concepts and human relationships."
"I believe classroom culture should include opportunities to create community through social justice values, respect, and equality for everyone. Teachers must include students' needs and interests, their knowledge from personal experiences, interactions, opportunities to explore hands-on activities, social-emotional regulation through positive behavior supports, and self-constructed inquiry and knowledge through questioning."
A series of science fairs hosted by Widener elementary teacher candidates shows the creativity and resiliency of the students, their teachers, and a community-focused program.
When COVID-19 forced the closure of K-12 schools in mid-March, Widener student teachers found themselves embarking on a new partnership with Agora Cyber Charter School.
Widener’s undergraduate and graduate special education programs provide aspiring teachers with the tools they need to find success in a growing and evolving field.
With a Widener degree, you will have the inside track to a noble career as a teacher. You will shape the education and growth of future generations.
503 East 13th Street
Chester, PA 19013
503 E. 13th Street
Chester, PA 19061
Room 113