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According to Western Illinois University Department of Curriculum and Instruction Chair Sara Simonson, the change in the degree's name will help to meet the current demands of today's educators and school systems. She also noted that online options provide students with more flexibility in their individual pursuits of graduate degrees to help advance their careers in the education field.
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WIU Curriculum and Instruction Changes Master's Degree Name to Meet Educators', Schools' Needs

December 16, 2015

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Program Offers Fully Online Program for Literacy Education, Elementary Curriculum Candidates

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — As of Fall 2016, Western Illinois University will offer a Master of Science in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. Currently, the WIU Department of Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) offers a Master of Science in Elementary Education.

According to WIU Department of C&I Chair Sara Simonson, the change in the degree's name will help to meet the current demands of today's educators and school systems. She also noted that online options provide students with more flexibility in their individual pursuits of graduate degrees to help advance their careers in the education field.

"This change will allow us to grow and offer a greater variety of courses to a wider audience. The degree program enables master's degree-seeking students to develop an area of specialization in literacy education, science, mathematics, social studies, early childhood education or curriculum (a combination of courses from three other specializations). Two of the areas of specialization in the degree program, literacy education and elementary curriculum, are fully online. Other areas of specialization (social studies, science, math and early child education) are mostly online. These are appealing options for potential degree candidates," she added.

Simonson said the change will go into effect in Fall 2016 for graduate students entering Western's curriculum and instruction master's degree program.

"Current students who plan to graduate December 2016 or later will be able to request a change in catalog if they would like their degrees to reflect this title change," she noted.

According to C&I Professor Barry Witten, the name change reflects recent changes made by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) in licensure for teachers.

"The term 'elementary education' has come to define grades one through six by the ISBE, when the program labels for initial licensure were re-designated in 2014. Grades five through eight were given the designation of middle grades," he explained. "A graduate program with the designation 'curriculum and instruction' will assist faculty and staff in recruiting candidates who teach or have an interest in early childhood, elementary grades or at the middle/secondary level. In addition, middle/secondary level candidates who may have seen the label 'elementary education,' may have dismissed the opportunity, not realizing that courses in the program, in fact, did cover the school curriculum through the eighth grade and beyond."

For more information, contact Simonson at (309) 298-1961 or via email at SD-Simonson@wiu.edu.

Posted By: Teresa Koltzenburg (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing