Among our most focused career paths, degees in English Education develop and enhance students' abilities and preparation to teach the English language arts in grades 9-12 at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Thanks to our coordinating major, however - the B.S.Ed. in Secondary and Special Subject Teaching in English with one of our other English concentrations, like the B.A. in English Studies Pedagogy - these degrees can also help prepare students to teach in settings which don't require North Carolina licensure, like community colleges and private schools.
The secondary English education program is housed primarily in the English Department; we seek to grow dedicated teachers with strong content knowledge, teachers in whom pragmatism and passion are balanced, teachers who will become leaders and lifelong learners in their schools, guided by the knowledge, values and experience articulated by the College of Education’s Conceptual Framework. We're proud to say that we seem to be achieving these goals; according to a UNC-Chapel Hill study (Henry and Thompson, 2009), teachers from WCU outperform peers from other UNC institutions in preparing their students in secondary English.
Successful candidates graduate with a B.S.Ed. in Secondary and Special Subject Teaching and a B.A. in English , a recommendation for Standard Professional License I to teach grades 9-12 in English language arts, and the content and pedagogical preparation they need to survive the difficult first years of teaching. Our graduates have taught in secondary and middle schools, in community college and private settings, and overseas. The coordinating major not only allows a broader range of career options (roughly half of all teachers in the United States usually leave the profession after 3-5 years), but offers options for students who want some background in how to teach but aren’t attracted by the long and rigorous path to licensure. It also provides a path and a degree for those who begin the teacher education program but who decide along the way that it’s not right for them; the B.A. keeps them from having to start over or take too long in graduating.
Teaching candidates have access to rich, diverse hands-on experience; professional
education sequence courses are supported by field experiences from the sophomore year onward, culminating in a year-long internship in a high school
English classroom. This partnership, in conjunction wth WCU students' strong perparation
in literature, writing, and grammar, helps to prepare candidates for the classroom.
To be effective practitioners in English Language Arts, students develop knowledge
of language development, language analysis, language composition, written discourse,
reading and literature, media, assessment, and research and theory in the content
and pedagogy of English. Candidates are also grounded in technology, posting lessons
and units online via portfolio software, creating their own interactive websites, and producing and posting online an individual
growth plan as well as their Teacher Work Samples. We also work to hone our candidates'
experience with diversity of ability, race, culture, gender, socioeconomic status,
sexuality, and religion through coursework, case studies, field experiences in diverse
settings, and such CEAP initiatives as the Rural-Urban Exchange.
Have a look at some of our documents below and in the left sidebar, and the contact information at the bottom, and let us know what we can fill in for you!
B.S.Ed. in English Checksheet
B.A. in English Studies Pedagogy Checksheet
Eight Semester Plan for English Education majors
2+2 plan for transfer students from UNC schools and community colleges
Contact Information
Dr. Catherine Carter, coordinator of the undergraduate English education program, has over twenty years’ teaching experience and is licensed in secondary English education in North Carolina. She’ll be happy to talk with you about any aspect of English education; you can contact her by phone at 828-227-3931, or by e-mail at ccarter@email.wcu.edu.