The mission of the Education Department at Elizabethtown College is to provide its students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become thoughtful and responsible teachers who, informed by scholarship and research, are prepared to meet the social, intellectual, and professional challenges of today's culturally diverse and inclusive pre-K to 12 classrooms. We believe that our purpose is best achieved through adherence to the Pennsylvania Department of Education standards for teacher certification, and through modeling research-based practices of effective instruction and assessment within a relationship-centered climate that supports academic excellence.Our goal is to prepare highly competent, knowledgeable educators in early childhood, elementary/middle, secondary, music, Spanish, and special education. Essential components of this preparation are early and frequent field experiences in urban, rural, and suburban settings supervised by certified professionals, and ongoing self-evaluation of knowledge and skill growth through development of a professional portfolio. The capstone assessment is a semester-long student teaching placement that promotes the practical application of theories, and best practices learned in program coursework.Integral to our programs is the department's signature attribute of social justice, exhibited through a curricular focus upon advocacy for equity, civic engagement, global citizenship, and international/comparative perspectives. Education faculty members are experts in these fields, conducting, presenting, and publishing their own research, and facilitating opportunities for undergraduate scholarship.