Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education, health and psychology in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as the Faculty and Department of Education of Columbia University since its affiliation in 1898. Teachers College is the oldest and largest graduate school of education in the United States.
In 2018, Teachers College was ranked #7 among all graduate schools of education in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. In 2008, 2002, 1998, 1997, and 1996 Teachers College was ranked #1 by the publication.
Teachers College alumni and faculty have held prominent positions in academia, government, music, non-profit, healthcare, and social science research. In general, Teachers College has over 90,000 alumni in more than 30 countries. Notable alumni and former faculty include John Dewey, Carl Rogers, Georgia O'Keeffe, Edward Thorndike, Maxine Greene, William Heard Kilpatrick, Donna Shalala, William Schuman (former president of the Juilliard School), Lee Huan (Premier of the Republic of China), Shirley Chisholm (first black woman elected to the United States Congress), Mary Adelaide Nutting (the world's first professor of nursing), Zhang Boling (founder of Nankai University), Hamden L. Forkner (founder of FBLA-PBL), E. Gordon Gee (former president of Brown University and Vanderbilt University), and Chester Earl Merrow (a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire).
History
Tour of Teachers College | Columbia University - Guided Tour of Teachers College at Columbia University.
In the 1880s, the Kitchen Education Association was founded by philanthropist Grace Hoadley Dodge, the daughter of a very wealthy businessman William Dodge. The association's focus was to replace miniature kitchen utensils for other toys that were age appropriate for kindergarten-aged girls. In 1884, the KEA was rebranded to the Industrial Education Association, in the spirit of widening its mission to boys and parents as well.
In 1887 William Vanderbilt Jr. offered a substantial financial sum and with the support of Dodge appointed, future longest serving president of Columbia University and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Nicholas Murray Butler as new president of the IEA. The IEA decided to provide schooling for the teachers of the poor children of New York City. Thus, in 1887-88, it employed six instructors and enrolled thirty-six juniors in its inaugural class as well as eighty-six special students. In order to reflect the broadening mission of education beyond the original philanthropic intent set forth by Dodge, the IEA changed its name to the New York School for the Training of Teachers.
In 1892, the school's name was again changed to Teachers College. The curriculum combined a humanitarian concern to help others with a scientific approach to human development. Beginning as a school to prepare teachers for the children of the poor, the College affiliated with Columbia University in 1898 as the University's Graduate School of Education.
The founders early recognized that professional teachers need reliable knowledge about the conditions under which children learn most effectively. As a result, the College's program from the start included such fundamental subjects as educational psychology and educational sociology. The founders also insisted that education must be combined with clear ideas about ethics and the nature of a good society; consequently programs were developed in the history of education and in comparative education.
As the number of school children increased during the twentieth century, the problems of managing the schools became ever more complex. The college took on the challenge and instituted programs of study in areas of administration, economics, and politics. Other programs developed in such emerging fields as clinical and counseling psychology, organizational psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, curriculum development, instructional technology, media studies and school health care.
Teachers College was also associated with philosopher and public intellectual John Dewey, who served as president of the American Psychological Association and the American Philosophical Association, and was a professor at the facility from 1904 until his retirement in 1930.
Role
The school offers Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Education (Ed.M.), Master of Science (M.S.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in over sixty programs of study. Despite the College's name, less than one-third of students are preparing to become teachers. Graduates go on to pursue careers in psychology, social and behavioral sciences, health and health promotion, educational policy, technology, international and comparative education, as well as educational leadership.
According to its president, Teachers College, Columbia University provides solutions to the difficult problems of urban education, reaffirming its original mission in providing a new kind of education for those left most in need by society or circumstance. The college continues its collaborative research with urban and suburban school systems that strengthen teaching in such fundamental areas as reading, writing, science, mathematics, and the arts; prepares leaders to develop and administer psychological and health care programs in schools, businesses, hospitals and community agencies; and advances technology for the classroom, developing new teaching software and keeping teachers abreast of new developments.
Teachers College also houses a wide range of applied psychology degrees, including one of the nation's leading programs in Organizational Psychology. Every year approximately 24 Captains from the United States Military Academy at West Point are selected for the Eisenhower Leader Development Program (ELDP) and complete the Organizational Psychology M.A. Program to become Tactical Officers (TAC) at West Point.
It also houses the programs in Anthropology (Anthropology and Education, and Applied Anthropology founded by Franz Boas). It was foundational in the development of the field of Anthropology and Education. By the 1930s, Teachers College had begun to offer courses in anthropology as part of the foundations of education. By 1948 Margaret Mead started what would be a long association with Teachers College where she taught until the early 1970s. In 1953 Solon Kimball joined the faculty. In 1954 nine professors (including Mead and Solon Kimball) came together to discuss the topic. In the 1960s, these people formed the Council on Anthropology and Education within the American Anthropological Association, and it is still considered as the leading organization in the field.
The student experience at Teachers College is governed by a student senate, headed by the Senate President, followed by the Vice-President, Parliamentarian, Communications Officer, and Treasurer. Two Senators, a Master's candidate, & a PhD candidate, are elected each year to represent each academic department at Teachers College to advocate on behalf of current students and Alumni. The TC Senate meets bi-weekly to determine what issues need to be investigated.
Academic departments
- Arts & Humanities
- Biobehavioral Sciences
- Counseling & Clinical Psychology
- Curriculum & Teaching
- Education Policy & Social Analysis
- Health & Behavioral Studies
- Human Development
- International & Transcultural Studies
- Mathematics, Science & Technology
- Organization & Leadership
Rankings
In 2018, Teachers College was ranked #7 among all graduate schools of education in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. In 2008, 2002, 1998, 1997, and 1996, Teachers College was ranked at #1 by the publication.
Relationship with Columbia University
Teachers College graduates are awarded Columbia University degrees. In fact, Teachers College is statutorily prohibited from conferring its own degrees. Teachers College's graduating class participates in the University commencement. Teachers College graduates are considered Columbia University alumni. They may attend Columbia Alumni Association events and are eligible for nomination of the alumni medal.
Teachers College serves as Columbia University's graduate and professional school of education by virtue of its designation as the University's Faculty and Department of Education. The College holds its own corporate status, including an independent administrative structure, board of trustees and endowment. Teachers College faculty appointments are approved by Teachers College's board of trustees at the discretion of the president of Columbia University; "Columbia University shall have no responsibility for salaries, tenure, or retirement allowances" of officers of Teachers College.
Teachers College shares academic and institutional resources with greater Columbia University including classes, libraries, health service systems, email system, and the University's recreational center (built in 1904, The Teachers College Aquatic Center has the oldest indoor pool still in use in all of New York City, as well as one of the oldest in the country). The Columbia University Senate includes faculty and student representatives from Teachers College who serve two-year terms; all senators are accorded full voting privileges regarding matters impacting the entire University. The president of Teachers College is a dean in the University's governance structure.
Student, faculty, and guest housing
The college has three residence halls for single students. They are 517 West 121st, Grant Hall, and Whittier Hall. The college has three residence halls for family housing. They are Bancroft Hall, Grant Hall, and Sarasota Hall. One bedroom apartments are available for childless students and students who have one child. Two and three bedroom apartments are available for students who have more than one child.
Lowell Hall and Seth Low Hall have faculty housing units.
Publications
The Teachers College Record has been published by the school continuously since 1900. In 1997 a group of doctoral students from Teachers College established the journal Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE), a leading open-access online academic journal.
Teachers College Press, founded in 1904, is the national and international book publishing arm of Teachers College and is dedicated to deepening the understanding and improving the practice of education.
Teachers College also publishes The Hechinger Report.
Presidents
Faculty
Current faculty
- Charles Basch, Health Education
- George Bonanno, Professor of Clinical Psychology
- Peter T. Coleman, Social Psychology and Conflict Resolution
- Lambros Comitas, Applied Anthropology
- Christopher Emdin, Science Education
- Edmund W. Gordon, Psychology and Education
- Neil R. Grabois, Mathematics Education
- Henry Landau, Mathematics Education
- Lisa Miller, Clinical Psychology
- Henry O. Pollak, Mathematics Education
- Derald Wing Sue, Professor of Counseling Psychology
- Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology and Education
- Barbara C. Wallace, Clinical Psychology
- Ruth Westheimer, Adjunct Professor
Past faculty
- Richard Thomas Alexander, founder of New College for the Education of Teachers
- Elizabeth Burchinal, authority on American folk dance
- Morton Deutsch, social psychologist and founding father of the field of conflict resolution
- John Dewey, philosopher
- Arthur Wesley Dow, arts education
- David F. Duncan, health education
- Hamden L. Forkner, founder of Future Business Leaders of America
- Elbert K. Fretwell, Second Chief Scout Executive
- Maxine Greene, Philosopher of Education
- Linda Darling Hammond, Founder of the National Center for Restructuring Education
- William Heard Kilpatrick, Philosopher of Education
- Solon Kimball, anthropologist
- Charles J. Martin, arts instructor
- Margaret Mead, anthropologist
- Jack Mezirow, sociologist, former Professor of Adult and Continuing Education
- Nel Noddings, Philosopher of Education
- Mary Adelaide Nutting, nursing
- Donna Shalala, Former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Douglas Sloan, Professor of History of Education, Educational Theorist & Author
- David Eugene Smith, Professor of Mathematics & Mathematics Education
- Edward Thorndike, psychologist
- Robert L. Thorndike, psychologist
Notable alumni
- Muhammad Fadhel al-Jamali, Prime Minister of Iraq (17 September 1953 â€" 29 April 1954)
- Charles Alston (1931), artist
- Hafizullah Amin, President of Afghanistan
- Nahas Gideon Angula (MA, EdM), Prime Minister of Namibia
- Mary Antin (1902), author of the immigrant experience
- Michael Apple, professor of Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin
- William Ayers, elementary education theorist, founder of Weather Underground, and professor at University of Illinois, Chicago
- Florence E. Bamberger (PhD, 1922), American pedagogue, school supervisor, and progressive education advocate
- Sarah Bavly, nutrition education pioneer in Israel
- Abby Barry Bergman, science educator, author, school administrator
- C. Louise Boehringer, first female Superintendent of Schools, Yuma County and the first female to be elected to office in Arizona.
- Zhang Boling (1917), Founder and president, National Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- Louie Croft Boyd (1909), nursing instructor
- John Seiler Brubacher, educational philosopher; professor at Yale
- Donald Byrd, jazz and fusion trumpet player; music educator
- Betty Castor, politician and President of the University of South Florida
- Shirley Chisholm, first African American woman elected to Congress, and former US Presidential candidate
- Satis N. Coleman, (1931) music educator
- Norman Cousins, editor, peace activist
- Ella Cara Deloria (1915), Yankton Sioux ethnologist
- Edward C. Elliott, educational researcher and president of Purdue University
- Albert Ellis, cognitive behavioral therapist
- Claire Fagin, first woman to serve as President of an Ivy-League University
- Edward Fitzpatrick, president of Mount Mary College
- Clarence Gaines (M.A. 1950), Hall of Fame basketball coach, Winston-Salem State University
- Gordon Gee (Ed.D. 1972), President of Ohio State University
- Tsuruko Haraguchi (Ph.D. 1912), psychologist
- Andy Holt (Ph.D. 1937), president of University of Tennessee
- Seymour Itzkoff, Professor Emeritus of Education and Child Study, Smith College
- George Ivany (M.A. 1962), President of the University of Saskatchewan
- Thomas Kean (M.A. 1963), former Governor of New Jersey
- Maude Kerns (M.A. 1906), pioneering abstract artist and teacher
- H. S. S. Lawrence (M.A. 1950, Ed.D. 1950), Indian educationist
- Lee Huan, former Minister of Education and Premier of the Republic of China
- Mosei Lin (Ph.D. 1929), Taiwanese academic and educator; first Taiwanese to receive a Ph.D. degree
- Agnes Martin (B.A. 1942), artist
- Rollo May, existential psychologist
- John C. McAdams, associate professor of political science at Marquette University
- Jiang Menglin President, Peking University, Minister of Education, Republic of China
- Chester Earl Merrow, educator, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire
- Richard P. Mills, former Commissioner of Education for both Vermont and New York States
- Jerome T. Murphy, Dean Emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Georgia O'Keeffe, American artist
- Thomas S. Popkewitz (M.A. 1964), professor of Curriculum Theory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Neil Postman (M.A. 1955, Ed.D. 1958), cultural critic
- Caroline Pratt (educator), progressive educator, founder of City and Country School (Bachelor of Pedagogy, 1894)
- Thomas Granville Pullen Jr. President University of Baltimore, Maryland State Superintendent of Education
- Robert Bruce Raup (Ph.D. 1926), Professor Emeritus, Philosophy of Education, and critic of the American Education system
- Henrietta Rodman (1904), teacher, feminist activist
- Carl Rogers (M.A. 1928, Ph.D. 1931), psychologist
- Martha E. Rogers (M.A. in public health nursing 1945), nursing theorist, creator of Science of unitary human beings
- Miriam Roth, Israeli writer and scholar of children's books, kindergarten teacher, and educator
- Adolph Rupp (M.A.), Hall of Fame basketball coach, University of Kentucky
- William Schuman (B.S. 1935, M.A. 1937), composer, former president of the Juilliard School of Music and of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
- Ian K. Smith (M.A. 1993), Physician and author
- James Monroe Smith, president of Louisiana State University, 1930â€"1939
- Karl Struss (B.A. 1912), photographer and cinematographer; pioneer in 3D films
- Bobby Susser (M.A. 1987), children's songwriter, record producer, performer
- Edward Thorndike, psychologist
- Robert L. Thorndike (M.A. 1932, Ph.D. 1935), psychologist
- Merryl Tisch, educator, Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents
- Minnie Vautrin, (M.A. 1919), educator and missionary.
- Ruth Westheimer (Ed.D. 1970), sex therapist
- Floyd Wilcox (M.A. 1920), third president of Shimer College
- John Davis Williams, Chancellor of the University of Mississippi (1946 to 1968)
- Tao Xingzhi, Chinese educator and political activist
See also
- Coalition of Latino and Latina Scholars
References
External links
- Official website