The conceptual framework of the College of Education at Augusta State University was developed within the context of an intensive examination and critique of educator preparation programs at the national, state, and university-system levels.

The overall conclusions derived from this review can be summarized as: educator preparation programs were “out of touch ” with the realities of today's public schools and were, therefore, preparing teachers with inadequate skills for service in classrooms; preparation programs were not attracting the highest quality students, therefore, individuals being certified as teachers were inadequate in intelligence and skill; and none of these problems could be resolved without a massive restructuring of both educator preparation programs and the public schools.

This criticism came as other pieces of evaluative data were presented which indicated that today's educators were the best prepared in the history of the public schooling process. Regardless of these contradictions, educator preparation needed to be examined in general and specifically at Augusta State University.

Beginning with the proposition that the preparation of educators is the most critical of all professions because without teachers there are no other professions, the College of Education at Augusta State University began an analysis of the belief system which constituted the framework for all of its activities.

The result of this analysis was a series of philosophical statements which outlined this belief system. These are:

• The preparation of educators must be a shared responsibility between campus colleagues, public school practitioners, and involved community agencies
• The preparation of educators is the most critical of all professions---Without educators there are no other professions
• A respect for the dignity of all persons should be a constant in the teaching and learning process
• All children can learn and have the right to an opportunity to do so
• The professional educator is the key element in the learning process of children
• High quality students become stronger educator preparation candidates and thus more effective classroom teachers, counselors, and administrators
• To be effective, the student must have strong preparation in the subject area they will teach
• Preparation in the subject area(s) to be taught must be accompanied by the skill and dispositions to translate knowledge into meaning experiences for diverse learners
• Educators must be prepared in authentic settings with diverse populations of learners
• Self assessment and analysis form the basis for collaboration with colleagues and the development of a desire to be a lifelong learner
• The purpose of graduate study is to extend and redirect the knowledge base of educators to produce new sets of knowledge, skills, and dispositions