Department of Social Science - Teacher Education

Welcome to Social Science Teacher Education!

We offer majors in both elementary (Multiple Subject Teacher Preparation) and secondary (Single Subject Teacher Preparation) teacher education. Our content and pedagogy not only focuses on the subject matter needed to effectively teach social science in K-12 public classrooms, but also equips our student teachers with knowledge and training to work with diverse student populations. Race/ethnicity, class and gender are at the center of our work as teacher educators.  We firmly believe it is our social responsibility to prepare our Social Science majors for the diversity that exists in our public schools.

We are the only department in the College of Social Sciences that offers California Commission on Teacher Preparation (CCTC) approved majors for students interested in teaching in K-12 public schools.  Both our majors were designed to meet the requirement set forth in the CCTC document  “Standards of Quality and Effectiveness for Subject Matter Programs.”  Our courses are specifically designed to ensure that our graduates have a solid foundation in the subject matter areas related to their teaching assignments in K – 12 classrooms.

Many of our graduates are exemplary teachers in K-12 public schools in Santa Clara County. When they return to visit, they invariably state that our emphasis on diversity was critical to their success as teachers.

This site describes more about our programs, curriculum, goals, and procedures.  If you have questions, please call or come by our office on the second floor of Dudley Moorhead Hall, room 239.  We look forward to meeting you!