American University – School of Education, Teaching, and Health
NCATE: I. Overview and Conceptual Framework
I.4 Summarize the basic tenets of the conceptual framework, institutional standards, and
candidate proficiencies related to expected knowledge, skills, and professional dispositions.
SETH is committed to advancing theory and professional practice through its programs and the scholarly
activities of our faculty. The faculty recognizes the significance of education in contemporary life, the
potential of education for each individual, and our special responsibilities to produce individuals
prepared for the 21st century. SETH seeks to achieve its goals though creative teaching, rigorous
research, and professional service. It is committed to ongoing social change, societal improvement, and
advancing individual welfare and potential. Graduates of SETH programs act as agents of social change
through their work as health professionals, teachers, researchers, managers, and administrators. They
share a professional belief in working towards excellence, equity, community, and diversity.
Beyond SETH's fundamental commitment to its students and alumni who work in the community to
advocate for the individual, both domestically and internationally, it also prepares candidates to build a
learning society in many diverse environments and for many diverse populations. The outcome is to
equip graduates of SETH programs to meet individual needs, to nurture the strengths and talents of
those they serve, and to provide leadership in public policy arenas.
The teacher education programs in the professional education unit are anchored in a knowledge-based,
research- and values-informed conceptual framework. The framework was developed and adopted by
the faculty in the 1990s and is revisited on an ongoing basis - the framework exists not only as a standing
document, but also as a fluid discussion within the unit, particularly as we add new programs and
consider our outcomes. The mission of SETH reflects and reinforces this conceptual framework, which is
derived from the teaching, research, professional service, and value commitments of the faculty, and is
presented to students in each course via course syllabi (which can be found online by clicking on the
documents in Exhibit i.5.b). The current SETH conceptual framework is presented in our conceptual
framework document in Exhibit i.5.c.
The conceptual framework for SETH has at its center the core value of Reflection, which is supported
through the professional commitments and activities evoked by teacher Beliefs, Knowledge, and
Practice. The conceptual framework is organized by the concepts of Community, Diversity, Equity, and
Excellence, and is operationalized through the 10 INTASC standards. Please see Exhibit i.5.c for the Core
Values and Process Elements of the conceptual framework and its alignment with the INTASC, NCATE,
and Program Standards.
Making the Conceptual Framework Operational: The INTASC Standards
Candidates' understandings of the core value of Reflection and the organizing principles of Community,
Diversity, Equity and Excellence are evaluated using the 10 INTASC standards. We use INTASC to
organize the coursework, practica, and assessments in SETH. Within the specific presentation of the
INTASC standards at AU, candidates demonstrate the development of the conceptual framework in their
beliefs, knowledge and practice. In the fall of 2012, we transitioned to the new INTASC standards,
realigning our conceptual framework, as well as NCATE standards, Specialty Professional Association
(SPA) standards and state program standards. See Exhibits i.5.c and 2.4.a. for the alignment between
and among these sets of standards.
Development and Evolution of the Conceptual Framework
The main tenets of the conceptual framework were first developed in late 1990s. However, the
manuscript itself is fluid and exists on a shared drive where faculty are able to undertake ongoing
revisions and initiate discussions relative to the framework. The document reflects the School's core
commitments to Community, Diversity, Equity and Excellence, and includes connections to current
interests in educational opportunity and access to education for under-represented groups. All of the
full-time faculty members in the School have participated in the development of the conceptual
framework, either by reflecting on the tenets in their courses, or by adding to or revising the document
as a result of ongoing faculty discussions. A current version of the document is available in Exhibit i.5.c.
Candidate Proficiencies Aligned to Professional and State Standards
The District of Columbia's Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has adopted the
INTASC standards as the state standards for professional education programs. NCATE and INTASC
standards outline the elements of what all teachers should know and be able to do, and have been
validated as the behaviors that result in positive outcomes for students when they are articulated into
specific knowledge, skills and beliefs. Therefore, the development of these behaviors, and how teacher
candidates are given the opportunity to reflect on those skills, can be found in the tools SETH uses to
help students continuously improve upon their practice. In each SETH assessment and rubric used in our
teacher education programs, one will note explicit indications of how candidates should enact each of
the standard behaviors of teachers. Alignment charts can be found in Exhibits i.5.c and 2.4.a.