Recommended General Education Core for the Coach/Teacher.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper offers a mechanism for producing a more marketable, competent professional coach/teacher, by addressing the content of the General Education Core. The paper discusses standards that must be met by graduates, including those of the National Teacher Examination (NTE), National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, and individual states. It cites evidence that teacher education program content is related to performance on the NTE core battery. It points out that selective entry into teacher education programs can dramatically change the students' performance on exit exams. It notes that alternative teacher certification routes are generally available, but are heavily tied to individual state standards. A General Education Core is then presented, based upon a 67-hour content that is recommended for completion early in the student's college experience. The General Education Core covers: reasoning and communication skills (15 credit hours), social and behavioral sciences (15 credit hours), humanities and fine arts (12 credit hours), science (16 credit hours), and wellness (9 credit hours). (Contains 19 references.) (JDD)