Mission Statement

1. Functions
   In light of the urban, Catholic and Vincentian mission of DePaul University and the public need for quality education, the School of Education intends:
   
   
   • To be the primary vehicle through which the University manifests its commitment to the improvement of precollegiate education.
     
     
   • To be the primary locus within the University for the articulation and the disciplined study of educational issues and problems.
   
   
2. Principles
   To give direction to its activities, the School of Education subscribes to the following principles:
   
   
   • Given the urban mission of DePaul University, the School of Education is committed to the improvement of pre-collegiate education, particularly in Chicago, and more generally in the Chicago metropolitan area.
     
     
   • Given the religious character of the University, which emphasizes individual dignity, personal responsibility, and concern for values, the School of Education is committed to programs that promote respect for persons, appreciation of diversity, and the ongoing examination of values.
     
     
   • Given the Vincentian agenda, which calls people to a deep respect for the poor and abandoned in our society, the School of Education is committed to fostering change in those educational and social systems and institutions which perpetuate poverty and an inequitable distribution of resources.
   
   
3. Goals
   In order to fulfill its function, the School of Education adopts the following goals (which encompass the traditional areas of teaching, scholarship, and service):
   
   
   • To prepare professionals to work in schools, and in settings which support the work of schools.
     
     
   • To provide practicing professional educators with degree programs, in-service programs, and other opportunities to develop advanced skills.
     
     
   • To provide the University community, professionals in related fields, and the public-at-large with programs and other opportunities for them to examine educational issues in a larger social and cultural context, and with the perspective of life-long learning.
     
     
   • To promote scholarly activity which may lead to the improvement of educational practices (e.g., quantitative and qualitative research, inquiries leading to understanding and insights into current practices or changes in education, projects resulting in innovation or improvement in schools, or collaborative endeavors with professionals in schools).
     
     
   • To sponsor programs of service to children and youth, as well as their families and communities, and to collaborate with private and public agencies in formulating and delivering these services.
   
   
4. Understandings
   The mission and purposes of the School of Education suggest the following implications:
   
   
   • We assume that schools require urban professional educators who exercise skills, understanding, and above all, judgment.
     1. Urban professional educators have first-hand knowledge and specific understandings of the settings in which they practice. Therefore, our programs have a strong clinical component.
     2. Urban professional educators act responsibly and ethically. In other words, they must interpret educational situations in the light of an adequate variety of theories; they must evaluate the effects of their actions on the achievements and dispositions of students; and they must examine the value commitments implicit in their actions. Because such habits are unlikely to be developed in large classes, our programs include a high proportion of practica and reflective seminars with limited enrollment. In general, the number of students in a specific course is determined by course content and instructional methodology.
     3. The SOE's strong clinical component and emphasis on reflection make particular demands on faculty. Full-time faculty must be involved in clinical work in schools, model reflective habits for their students, and be involved in inquiries in schools. Demands such as these require that adequate time be provided for faculty to pursue these activities. The SOE makes a fervent attempt to support faculty in these efforts.
     
     
   • We embrace a holistic orientation toward education.
     • Educational settings are embedded in a complex network of social and cultural contexts. The School of Education recognizes that any attempt to understand or improve these settings must take into account this complexity. Therefore, the curricula in all programs require students to consider the social and cultural contexts in which they will practice.
     • For educational settings (schools, pre-schools, child care centers, etc.) to function effectively they must involve a variety of professionals (teachers, counselors, administrators, educational specialists, social workers, etc.) working together with an understanding of educational issues. Therefore, the School of Education offers programs for a variety of professionals who wish to contribute to the understanding and improvement of educational practices.
     • The complexity of educational settings and the inter-related activities that contribute to effective school functioning, demand that the School of Education faculty possess a wide range of academic and professional expertise and experience.
     
     
   • We strive for a positive transformation of persons and society.
   • The educational process aims at an internal transformation of the individual, not simply an external shaping of behavior. Ethnicity, culture, and language vitally influence this transformation. Because schools in Chicago and the Chicago metropolitan area enroll a diverse population, it is essential that the School of Education have a diverse faculty.
   • The educational process takes place in the context of community and society. As individuals increase their responsibility and service to the larger society, society is then transformed through the action and collaboration of persons and institutions within the society. Therefore, the School of Education focuses primary influence on individual and social transformation.
   • The School of Education emphasizes personal and institutional transformation through the collaborative actions of individuals. Thus, the organizational structure of the School of Education is based on a collaborative model. In particular, this means that faculty work together in developing programs and doing research; that faculty participate in the decision making process; that individual faculty participate in determining a balance among the demands of teaching, research, and service; and that there is mutual respect for the diverse perspectives which individual faculty members bring to the enterprise.
   
   
5. Practices
   To carry out these goals, the School of Education subscribes to the following practices:
   
   
   • Close cooperation and collaboration with professional practitioners in the various school systems of the Chicago metropolitan area, both public and private; the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and of other professional schools within the University; and other agencies and groups within the Chicago area who seek to improve educational practice.
     
     
   • Priority placed on those school children, youth, and families most in need of the special support DePaul University can provide. Special concern directed toward the unmet needs of schools and underserved groups (e.g., the needs of pre-school children).
     
     
   • Vigorous efforts to recruit and retain students with diverse backgrounds
     
     
   • An ongoing strategic planning process under the direction of the Dean of the School of Education