College of Education

Educational Preparation/ Licensure Programs

Teacher Education is a professional program and those wishing to enter the profession must be recommended for a license. Our licensure programs are performance based and aligned to NCATE and State standards including Division of Professional Standards developmental and content standards.

The College of Education at Butler has teaching majors in Early Childhood and Middle Childhood Education, Middle Childhood/Early Adolescence, Early Adolescence Generalist (EAG), Early Adolescence/Adolescence Young Adulthood (EAG/AYA) and Adolescence Young Adulthood (AYA). There is a general core of professional education courses required for each license; however, specific requirements vary depending on the grade level and subjects to be taught.

A student pursuing the Early and Middle Childhood major is encouraged to pursue dual licensure in special education mild intervention. Please see the information/ instructions following on Dual Licensure: Special Education Mild Intervention.

A student may also choose to pursue dual licensure as a reading teacher. Please see the information/instructions on Dual Licensure: Reading Teacher.

Within EAG, EAG/AYA and AYA there are content choices. In addition, students may follow a track for all school settings licensure in Physical Education and Health, and Music Education. For specific course requirements please see the curriculum sheets under Student Resources/Curriculum Sheets.

At the graduate level, the College of Education offers licenses in School Counseling and School Administration. See the link in graduate programs. In addition, students holding a degree but not a license may pursue an all school settings special education mild intervention license through our transition to teaching program. See the Transition to Teaching link in graduate programs.

It is recommended that students work carefully with the academic advisor in their program area. College of Liberal Arts and Science students and Jordan College of Fine Arts students pursuing licensure are encouraged to work closely with their own college academic advisor in following their licensure program sheets and plan. Students may also seek guidance from a dual advisor within the COE.

Licensure programs offered through the College of Education

  • Early Childhood and Middle Childhood Education Major with Mild Intervention in Special Education
  • Early Childhood and Middle Childhood Education Major with Reading
  • Middle Childhood and Early Adolescent major with Mild Intervention in Special Education
  • Middle Childhood and Early Adolescent major with Reading
  • Early Adolescence Generalist, Early Adolescence/Adolescence Young Adulthood, and Adolescence Young Adulthood
    Biology
    Chemistry
    English
    French
    German
    Mathematics
    Physics
    Social Studies
    Spanish
  • Physical Education and Health Education Major: All School Settings
  • Music Education Major: All School Settings
    Choral Music
    Instrumental Music
    Area Music-Instrumental Principals
    Area Music-Voice Principals
    Area Music-Keyboard Principals
  • School Counseling: All School Settings
  • Educational Administration: Building Level Administrator - All School Settings

Dual Licensure: Special Education Mild Intervention

Butler COE now provides opportunity for dual licensure in Early Childhood and Middle Childhood education or Middle Childhood and Early Adolescent education by adding Mild Intervention (MI) in special education. This licensure at the early and middle childhood level includes the previous categories of learning disabilities, mild/moderate intellectual disabilities, emotional disabilities, autism spectrum disorder/Asperger syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and other health impairments. Approximately 17 percent of all children attending school in Indiana are labeled special needs. The majority are placed in general education classrooms.

Near your time for signing up for student teaching, you will be asked to make a very important decision whether you want to add MI to your Early Childhood and Middle Childhood license or your Middle Childhood and Early Adolescent license. As you know, most general education classrooms will have included children with labels that are covered in the MI license. Principals will be looking for those with dual licensure to teach in inclusive classrooms. In order to earn your MI license, you will need to sign up for the respective practicum courses. The practicum courses (ED 493 in early childhood and ED 494 in middle childhood) are the six elective special education hours. The rest of your special education competency courses are already required in your Early Childhood and Middle Childhood program or Middle Childhood and Early Adolescent program.

Your university supervisor will be evaluating how you have included children with special needs through differentiated instruction and assessment, individualized behavior management techniques, assessment of academic and social emotional needs, and targeted communication with parents and other stakeholders. There will be on-campus seminars to learn all the documentation requirements, with an emphasis on IEP and FBA paperwork. Additionally, we will do team problem solving using a discussion Internet board set up just for these practicum classes. State standards and how to differentiate instruction and classroom assessment will be a central focus of your work.

If you choose not to pursue your MI license, please understand these important considerations: 1) practicum coursework must be taken both semesters in order to earn your MI licensure, and 2) once you graduate, your transcript is "completed" in that you cannot add undergraduate courses for any reason. You would become a graduate student if you would continue any university study. However, if you have begun your special education practicum as an undergraduate, you can finish your licensure requirements as a graduate student. A potential problem happens if your school asks you to add a special education license after you have started teaching. You cannot do that by just returning to Butler and taking your practicum courses. Therefore, this is a very important decision that can affect your career after graduation.

Dual Licensure: Reading Teacher

Butler COE now provides opportunity for dual licensure in Early Childhood and Middle Childhood education or Middle Childhood and Early Adolescent education by adding the reading teacher license. This licensure at the early childhood and middle childhood level or middle childhood and early adolescent level is a sequence of courses designed to continue an undergraduate's study in the area of reading. This license is a prerequisite for anyone who plans on earning a Reading Specialist license in the future.

The program includes ED429 or ED228 for content area reading, ED408 Problems in the Teaching of Reading, ED307 or ED420 children's or adolescent literature, ED398 or ED498 for work in the area of ENL, successful completion of appropriate Praxis exams, minimum 3.0 GPA in the reading courses in Blocks A and B and all of the courses listed above, and disposition scores of 3 or higher in all literacy classes that use the disposition assessment. Please meet with your advisor to chart your plan if you choose to obtain this dual licensure.