Teacher Education & Leadership (TEL) Department
TEL History
The Teacher Education and Leadership (TEL) Department is located in historic Lowrey Hall, one of the oldest, most significant campus buildings. Graduates of Mississippi College were among the first schoolmasters and schoolmarms in Mississippi. Before public schools and teaching certificates existed, many MC graduates found themselves teaching in the schools and academies across the state. As education took shape in Mississippi, Mississippi College was in the forefront of the process.
In 1954 the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) came into existence to bring high standards to teacher training in America. Mississippi College was accredited by NCATE in 1960, becoming one of the first colleges in the South to be so acknowledged. Mississippi College received continuing accreditation by NCATE in 2000, 2005, and 2013, and from the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) in 2020. The Department of Teacher Education and Leadership is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) through the year 2027.
Mississippi College has long played an important role in the state’s educational infrastructure; its graduates were among the first to teach young students in classrooms throughout Mississippi, even before the public school system existed. We’ve remained at the frontier of youth education, continually updating and refining our approach to teacher training and staying current with standards advanced by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.
Other important features of the TEL Department relate to the decision making process and to the department's commitment to collaboration. Since the programs in the department interface with most other departments in the University and also because school districts in the region collaborate with Mississippi College in the preparation of teachers and other education professionals, a committee has been formed called the Professional Education Advisory Committee (PEAC). The PEAC reviews existing programs and/or the need for new programs. This committee is composed of faculty across campus, undergraduate and graduate students, and public school teachers and administrators.
TEL Mission
The mission of the TEL Department at Mississippi College is to provide collaborative, integrated professional educator preparation which is field connected and focused on teaching and learning; based on best practice which is driven and assessed by high national, state, and local standards which will develop reflective practitioners with the appropriate knowledge, dispositions and skills.
TEL Program Goals
The underlying purpose of the TEL Department is to further the aim of the University in offering the opportunity for well-rounded higher education in a Christian environment. The general objective is the professional preparation of classroom teachers and the offering of specialized work in educational leadership.
The TEL Department is responsible for the preparation of teachers, supervisors, and principals. The University is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education and is is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).
A conceptual framework was developed by the TEL Department to represent the program goals and structure through a visual model.
