Community Education (B.A.)

The School of Education offers the B.A. in Community Education in conjunction with the College of Arts and Sciences.

Faculty and Administration

Dr. Christine Carrino Gorowara, Dean of the School of Education
Ms. Cachanda Orellana, Assistant Dean of the School of Education
Ms. Yema Gbondo, Program Coordinator and Education Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Lee, Associate Professor and Program Chair
Dr. Marie Celeste, Associate Professor
Mr. Michael Rowe, Assistant Professor
Dr. Randi Stone, Assistant Professor
Dr. Steven Thorne, Distinguished Professor
Faculty in the School of Education also support Trinity’s undergraduate education programs.

Description

Trinity’s Bachelor of Arts in Community Education is the optimal degree program for scholars whose career goals do not require state teaching certification. The Community Education curriculum will combine education and humanities courses that will adequately prepare students for working in a variety of youth educational services.  At Trinity, the B.A. degree in Community Education will allow students to specialize in one of five areas that are particularly relevant to the DC metropolitan area: Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning in the Community, Special Education Advocacy, Equity and Diversity, and Education, Organizations, and Leadership.  Trinity’s courses provide a core of knowledge, skills and field-based experiences, include performance assessments designed to demonstrate the teacher’s ability to impact student learning, and integrate course syllabi and assessments that reflect the standards of the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC).

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences may also pursue a minor in community education.

Program Requirements

A Trinity degree requires a total of 120 credits at the undergraduate level. In addition to the credits required in the General Education sequence and the major courses, students must enroll in electives to meet the 120 credit requirement for the B.A. Education majors are encouraged to explore additional education courses and/or courses in biology, English, global affairs, history, math, or politics and policy to meet the 120 credit requirement.

Required Major Courses (21 credits)

All of the following courses:
EDCC 205 Children, Families, Culture and the Community in Early Childhood
EDCC 220 Foundations of Education
EDCC 250 Technology in Education
EDCM 301 Education in the Community
EDCM 302 Service Learning in Community Education
EDTE 232 Art and Movement in the Classroom *(satisfies general education requirement)
PSYC 231 Child Psychology

All of the experiential courses (9 credits):

EDCM 401 Internship in Community Education I
EDCM 402 Internship in Community Education II
EDCM 420 Research Seminar in Community Education

Four electives chosen in consultation with your advisor (12 credits):

BADM 101 Introduction to Business
BADM 226 Organizational Behavior
BADM 232 Mastering Management: Interpersonal Effectiveness for the Workplace
BADM 236 Theories of Leadership
BADM 328 Business, Government, and Society
BADM 352 Managing a Diverse Workforce
COM 201 Interpersonal Communication
EDCC 330 Education of Exceptional Children and Youth
EDCC 340 Teaching and Learning
EDCM 403 Internship in Community Education III
EDCM 404 Internship in Community Education IV
EDCM 426 Research Problems in Community Education
EDTE 321 Reading Materials
EDTE 421 Emergent Literacy
EDTE 422 Teaching Methods for Elementary Mathematics
EDTE 423 Teaching Methods for Science
EDTE 424 Teaching Methods for Social Studies
EDTE 425 Teaching Methods for Reading and Language Arts
EDTE 430 Theory and Practice of Oral Language and Literacy in Early Learning
EDTE 432 Curriculum Construction and Integration for Early Learning
EDTE 436 Theory and Practice of Early Learning in Math & Science
HUMR 214 Family Violence and Child Abuse
POLS 305 Public Policy
PSYC 325 Behavior Disorders in Children
SOCY 261 Family and Society
SOCY 323 Race and Racism in Society
SOCY 335 Social Movements
SOCY 361 The Black Family

Recommended Clusters for Electives:

Early Childhood Development

EDTE 421 Emergent Literacy
EDTE 432 Curriculum Construction and Integration for Early Learning
EDTE 436 Theory and Practice of Early Learning in Math & Science
HUMR 214 Family Violence and Child Abuse

Teaching and Learning in the Community

EDCC 340 Teaching and Learning
EDTE 421 Emergent Literacy
EDTE 424 Teaching Methods for Social Studies
EDTE 425 Teaching Methods for Reading and Language Arts

Special Education Advocacy

EDCC 330 Education of Exceptional Children and Youth
POLS 305 Public Policy
PSYC 325 Behavior Disorders in Children
SOCY 261 Family and Society

Equity and Diversity

SOCY 261 Family and Society
SOCY 321 Inequality and Society
SOCY 323 Race and Racism in Society
SOCY 361 The Black Family

Education, Organizations, and Leadership

BADM 101 Introduction to Business
BADM 236 Theories of Leadership
BADM 328 Business, Government, and Society
POLS 305 Public Policy

Minor Requirements

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences may pursue a Minor in Community Education. Students minoring in Community Education must complete 18 credits of course work.

Required Courses (18 credits)
ALL of the following courses:

EDCM 301 Education in the Community
EDCM 302 Service Learning in Community Education
EDCM 401 Internship in Community Education I
EDCM 402 Internship in Community Education II
EDCM 420 Research Seminar in Community Education
EDCM 426 Research Problems in Community Education

Program Policies

Application to the School of Education

Students must be accepted into the School of Education in order to register for 400-level EDCC, EDTE, or EDCM courses. In order to be eligible for acceptance to the School of Education, students must have:

  • Completed 36 credits or more
  • Passed EDCC 219 Fundamentals of Education or EDCC 220 Foundations of Education with a B (3.0) or higher.

Field-Based Instruction

Teacher preparation at Trinity emphasizes field-based instruction that includes a series of integrated classroom and practicum experiences at different grade/age levels in a variety of school settings.

Clearances

In order to complete field experiences in local schools, students will need the following clearances:

  • Tuberculosis test
  • FBI Identity History Summary Check
  • DCPS Clearance Letter
  • Professional liability insurance

Note that there are costs associated with some of these clearances.  Students who are teachers of record may have already satisfied these requirements.  Students should check with their advisor for more information.

Attendance:

In all 300- and 400-level EDCC/EDTE courses, two late arrivals or early departures of 20 minutes or more constitute a single class absence.  The final grade of a student with absences that total more than 25% of class meetings will be lowered by one letter grade. This policy does not apply to absences addressed by accommodations or modifications established by Disability Support Services.  Faculty teaching EDCC/EDTE courses at the 200-level may adopt this policy in their syllabi as well.

Grades in Education Courses:

To fulfill requirements for the major or minor, undergraduate students may earn no more than one grade below a “B” in EDCC and EDTE courses.

Pass/No Pass:

Courses fulfilling the major or minor — including general education courses — may not be taken Pass/No Pass.

Transfer and Experiential Credit:

Students may transfer credits to Trinity through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), American Council on Education, CLEP, DANTES, and portfolio/experiential assessments through the Trinity Experiential Lifelong Learning program.  Undergraduate students can transfer up to 75 credits.  Graduate students can transfer up to 6 credits.  Transfer of courses counting toward the major must be approved by the appropriate School of Education chair or director or by the Dean.  For more information, see the Trinity Transfer Credit Policy.

Transfer and experiential credits must be approved by faculty from the appropriate academic program.  Credits intended to count toward an Education major or minor must be approved by the student’s program director or chair, or by the Dean of the School of Education.

Study Abroad:

Courses taken through a study abroad program approved by Trinity may count toward general education courses, pending review and approval by education Education faculty and the faculty of the appropriate academic program. In general, education courses taken abroad will not count toward the major or minor.

Course Descriptions

Explanation of course prefixes and numbers: Courses designated “EDCC” are education core and common courses across various programs in the School of Education. Courses designated “EDTE” are largely specific to the teacher education programs. Courses designated “EDCM” are specific to the community education programs.

BADM 101 Introduction to Business
BADM 226 Organizational Behavior
BADM 232 Mastering Management: Interpersonal Effectiveness for the Workplace
BADM 236 Theories of Leadership
BADM 328 Business, Government, and Society
BADM 352 Managing a Diverse Workforce
COM 201 Interpersonal Communication
EDCC 205 Children, Families, Culture and the Community in Early Childhood
EDCC 220 Foundations of Education
EDCC 250 Technology in Education
EDCC 330 Education of Exceptional Children and Youth
EDCC 340 Teaching and Learning
EDCM 301 Education in the Community
EDCM 302 Service Learning in Community Education
EDCM 401 Internship in Community Education I
EDCM 402 Internship in Community Education II
EDCM 403 Internship in Community Education III
EDCM 420 Research Seminar in Community Education
EDCM 426 Research Problems in Community Education
EDTE 232 Art and Movement in the Classroom
EDTE 321 Reading Materials
EDTE 421 Emergent Literacy
EDTE 422 Teaching Methods for Elementary Mathematics
EDTE 423 Teaching Methods for Science
EDTE 424 Teaching Methods for Social Studies
EDTE 425 Teaching Methods for Reading and Language Arts
EDTE 430 Theory and Practice of Oral Language and Literacy in Early Learning
EDTE 432 Curriculum Construction and Integration for Early Learning
EDTE 436 Theory and Practice of Early Learning in Math & Science
HUMR 214 Family Violence and Child Abuse
POLS 305 Public Policy
PSYC 231 Child Psychology
PSYC 325 Behavior Disorders in Children
SOCY 261 Family and Society
SOCY 323 Race and Racism in Society
SOCY 335 Social Movements
SOCY 361 The Black Family

Related Programs

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Early Childhood Education

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Elementary Education

Minor in Education or Early Childhood Education

Minor in Community Education

Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.)