From its beginnings in 1815, Allegheny has prepared its students to become educators. Today, more than 16% of all Allegheny graduates work in the field of education, a number that continues to rise. For our graduates, teaching happens in a wide variety of ways all over the world. Recent Alleghenians are teaching in traditional classrooms across the nation, are serving with Teach for America and City Year in underserved rural and urban areas, are working as teachers in South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe, and are using their education background in a range of service work and careers beyond a classroom setting.
There is growing national recognition that the best preparation of future teachers begins with a broad, diverse education and in-depth learning in a core subject area in the undergraduate years. Allegheny’s Education Studies minor is designed to give our students just this kind of education: students major in an area of their choosing, developing much richer understanding of that area than an undergraduate certification program provides. Meanwhile, the Education Studies minor complements the student’s major, developing all the essential knowledge that future educators need in topics such as the philosophy of education, education policy, special education, teaching English language learners, child development, and so on. Through our internship seminar and a wide variety of other opportunities, Education Studies minors also gain ample experience in classrooms throughout the local community.
As the Education Studies mission statement explains: “Allegheny has a 200-year history of sending its students into the world as educators and as advocates for the transforming possibilities of education. Effective advocates draw upon a variety of educational models and understand how social and environmental factors impact learning. The liberal arts foundation of the Education Studies Minor at Allegheny College seeks to enrich students’ ability to understand, to acquire, to disseminate, and to value knowledge about learning from different perspectives and experiences.”