| The unit designs, implements, and evaluates curriculum and experiences for candidates to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to help all students learn. These experiences include working with diverse higher education and school faculty, diverse candidates, and diverse students in P-12 school. |
Initial Preparation Program
COEHS efforts are supported in part from new attention to diversity issues within
the UW System and UW Oshkosh as seen in Plan 2008: Educational Quality through
Racial and Ethnic Diversity (see www.uwsa.edu/multcult/plan2008/dpfinal), (Web Page No Longer Active as of 2/19/08) having one specific focus – recruiting students from diverse backgrounds.
The latter is seen in the UW Oshkosh Design for Diversity initiative, providing
additional incentive and requiring annual accountability for efforts in this
area. It is further supported by ongoing definition of the Governing Ideas.
The Strategic Plan also identified diversity as a key area of focus. The COEHS
Human Relations Committee now functions with new leadership and assumes the
role of a de facto Advisory Council on Cultural Diversity to examine issues,
insights, and ideas related to diversity of staff, candidates, and field experiences
and make recommendations for moving PEP forward.
Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Curriculum and Experiences: For PEP, the Conceptual Framework identifies knowledge of culture and understanding of diversity as two critical institutional standards candidates are expected to develop. By retaining and tightening the DPI Human Relations Code requirement, attention to diversity and culture form an integral part of the PEP curriculum, beginning in the two primary gateway instructional experiences for candidates. During these courses, candidates begin work to complete 25 hours of fieldwork with populations representing racial and ethnic diversity and 25 hours of fieldwork with populations with disabilities. Since our initial visit, the Human Relations diversity requirements are more closely linked to the gateway course “Individual, School and Society”, integrated as a part of course expectations and reviewed more closely by individual instructors. Release time provides for a staff member to work with the Human Relations Committee to aggressively identify, recruit, and establish relationships with additional field experience sites. This effort made those sites more appropriate for complying with guidelines to better meet the requirements. Field Experiences Director Petesch and Associate Dean Ford met with Lorraine Sams to discuss diversity concerns with Oshkosh Area School District SAIL and after school programs – Human Relations sites for PEP candidates. In general, COEHS is more aggressive in monitoring the clinical field experiences of our candidates by redesigning forms to better collect demographic information on sites where candidates are placed. This data will also inform our thinking as we continue to plan and improve programs.
Expectations related to culture and diversity are now assessed as a part of the Admission I Performance-based Portfolio process for entrance into PEP. Concurrent enrollment in gateway courses is required for Admission I application ensuring more candidates having information, support, and supervision in completing Human Relations Code requirements. Candidates must provide evidence of completion and verification of the 25 contact hours working with diverse populations. Likewise, candidates must submit a detailed written plan for completing additional hours of contact with individuals with disabilities prior to program admission. Candidate reflection is required on the experience in light of the performance standards. These expectations are further reviewed for Admission II assessment when all candidates must submit evidence experiences were completed.
Experiences Working with Diverse Faculty: As stated, COEHS supports system and university initiatives related to Plan 2008 and encourages the use of System resources such as the Institute for Race and Ethnicity to support faculty efforts. For example, The College used System funding for a faculty seminar, featuring the reading Getting Beyond Race, which focused on issues related to race and ethnicity. Molefi Kete Asante, the internationally known author for Afrocentric Idea, was invited as distinguished professor and hosted a seminar. “A Visit with Molefi Asante” video won the Award Of Merit in the annual Wisconsin Association of Public, Education, and Government Channels competition. Another faculty initiative used Race/Ethnicity grant funding for a reading seminar to focus on issues related to creating a positive climate for language minority high school students, and involved the Acting Dean, faculty members, local teachers, and counselors in Saturday morning book discussions featuring two works – So Much to Say: Adolescents, Bilingualism & ESL in the Secondary School and Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy and Civic Courage. There is increased COEHS support for scholarship in the areas of multi-cultural, global, cross-cultural, and ESL issues including attendance at a variety of professional forums.
Likewise, COEHS also supports UW Oshkosh Design for Diversity, which focuses broadly on diversity issues and requires annual reporting of efforts. A new affirmative action officer, added at the university level, brings a renewed commitment to this role. She met with all COEHS departments involved in current searches for new faculty positions to discuss means for expanding the pool with a greater likelihood of attracting faculty from diverse backgrounds. An internal workshop on Affirmative Action was held. COEHS supports faculty attendance at international conferences to promote available positions within more diverse professional organizations. All faculty positions are posted in two publications: Black Issues in Higher Education and Hispanic Outlook and advertised directly with Historically Black Colleges and Hispanic-Serving Institutions and specialized professional organizations.
Most importantly, COEHS hired Dr. Coballes-Vega as Associate Dean in June 1999. As the first woman to serve within the College and also the first person of color to serve within the university in that position, she brings a strong commitment to and heightened awareness of issues in this area. Administrative Council time was used to carefully review affirmative action guidelines with department chairs and program directors.
The Professional Education Faculty and Administration profile includes 27 females and 24 males including five persons of color. Ethnic groups identified are two Asian, and one each of African American, Hispanic, and Native American. (See Standard V Notebook.)
Experiences Working With Diverse Candidates: COEHS supported
initiatives:
Dr. Hones
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Faculty members serve as mentors providing additional support for students of
color. Students from Ghana participated in a three-week Teachers of Culture
Internship Program spending one week at UW Oshkosh and two weeks in internships
in area schools. COEHS supports university student organizations (Hispanic Cultures
United, the American Indian Student Association, the Black Student Union, the
Hmong Student Union, and the Asian Student Association) assisting students from
diverse backgrounds and COEHS student organizations including Student Wisconsin
Education Association (SWEA), Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC),
Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) in their efforts to recruit and retain peers from diverse
backgrounds. Several faculty presented for these organizations. For example,
Dr. Hankes presented “Understanding Native American Culture” at
the African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American Student Leadership
Conference. The College also supports community events such as the Annual Martin
Luther King, Jr. Citywide Celebration and the annual Oshkosh Area Race Unity
Social of which Dr. Kisubi was a founding member of the organizing committee.
Experiences Working with Diverse Students in P-12 Schools:
In an increasingly diverse community, efforts are made to strengthen candidates’
experiences working with diverse student populations. Opportunities to form
partnerships with local schools for field-based courses such as the Learning
Community Integrated Block, bringing together reading, science, and social studies
methods courses in a clinical experience, are encouraged.
COEHS commitment is seen in this area by examining recent policy changes in
out-of-area student teaching placement requests. The Urban Field Experience
Program provides interested students the opportunity to student teach in Wisconsin's
major metropolitan areas: Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Beloit. PEP Director
Cook and Field Experience Director Petesch represented UW Oshkosh at the Urban
Teacher World in Milwaukee.
In addition, faculty initiatives provided more opportunities for candidates:
1) “virtual” field experiences in diverse settings through the use
of technology bringing candidates together with children in the Milwaukee Public
Schools; 2) “urban corridor” initiatives provide more direct field
experiences in school and agency settings serving children from diverse racial,
cultural, ethnic, economic, and linguistic backgrounds particularly for students
of early childhood, early literacy, and ESL programs; and 3) campus visits by
educators like YW Global Career Academy Charter School (Milwaukee) Principal
Buckingham. Dr. Wineberg lead an Urban Field Experience at the Academy and Dr.
Genisio received a $97,463 federal grant to create the Greater Oshkosh Even
Start (GOES) program, providing tutoring and teaching opportunities for pre-
and in-service teachers with diverse families and children.
COEHS program candidates worked with P-12 students through the following projects:
Advanced Preparation Programs
MSE – Counseling: A core value of the Counseling program
is “social and cultural diversity”. Each program course focuses
on knowledge of culture and understanding of diversity. Social and Cultural
Foundations of Counseling focuses on this core value; however a foundation is
built in initial course work as several multicultural theories of counseling
are explored. At program level, a variety of diversity issues are examined:
recognition of social, cultural, and political factors influencing mental health
and interventions; factors of substance abuse which have particular relevance
for distinct groups; misconceptions about working with diverse clients; consideration
of career development concepts for individuals from diverse backgrounds; bias
in assessment instruments and processes; and differences in communication styles
and approaches. In both practicum and internship, candidates are assessed on
their abilities to apply what they have learned to show effectiveness in working
with children and adults from diverse groups. The program also shows its commitment
to diversity in attracting and supporting candidates from under-represented
groups and has graduated more candidates of color than most other graduate programs.
MSE – Curriculum and Instruction: Candidates in MSE-Curriculum and Instruction reside in the region, consequently, reflecting the overall population of the area. Through the Title VII Grant for the preparation of ESL and Bilingual/Bicultural Education teachers and administrators candidate diversity is further stressed. Diversity is a prominent feature of the COEHS Framework with faculty and staff weaving themes of diversity throughout their courses. Faculty and staff positions are advertised to recruit a diversity of individuals.
MS – Educational Leadership: This MS program serves a regional target audience, thus reflecting diversity of the overall population of the audience. Diversity is both explicitly and implicitly implied within the Framework. Faculty incorporates these explicitly required program diversity issues throughout their curriculum as seen on Course Alignment Forms. One instructor for Multicultural Education for Leaders is of color. Vacant positions are advertised with intent to recruit a diverse faculty and staff. Over the past several years, the program has hired many diverse graduate assistants.
MSE – Reading: Diversity is a thread tied to pedagogy, outreach, research, and scholarship in the program. Candidates are provided contact with a faculty diverse with ideas and have experiences with diverse and at risk populations. Diversity is linked to COEHS Conceptual Framework and IRA professional standards. It travels with us in course pedagogy through the candidates into their classrooms. Three specific programs in which candidates are involved include: 1) the prison program “Breaking Barriers with Books”, targeting at-risk children of inmates from diverse families; 2) the Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Reading Program addressing literacy needs of families residing at a local domestic abuse shelter; and 3) Even Start – GOES Program serving families at risk limited in English and in literacy.
MSE – Special Education: Affirmative action guidelines have been followed in good faith while recruiting faculty and staff. Nicole Olivas, a graduate student, was hired as an assistant and also twice won the Vice Chancellor’s Minority Student Scholarship Award. In addition, the program coordinator initiated efforts to have a small group of Native American Special Education para-educators from Menominee Nation attend our summer introductory course offered. Faculty members in the department engage in various activities related to promoting understanding of individuals from diverse cultures as well as providing educational opportunities for candidates. Drs. Fiedler, Marchel, and Swanger received grants providing opportunities for candidates to study at UT. Drs. Marchel and Swanger visited UT in Greece in which an agreement was signed between the UW Oshkosh and UT providing opportunities for collaboration. Drs. Swanger and Koyzis developed a three-week study abroad course to Greece. Dr. Drecktrah, through Contemporary Topics in Education: Belize, immersed candidates in multicultural school settings, gaining teaching experience at a remote village.