Siena Heights University
Master of Arts in Education w/Concentrations in:
Early Childhood Education
Early Childhood Education: Montessori
Reading Specialist K-12
Special Education (K-12 Learning Disabilities)
Special Education (K-12 Cognitive Impairment)
Philosophy of the Graduate Program
The Graduate Education Program at Siena Heights University offers opportunities to satisfy varying levels and
kinds of needs regarding teacher certification and graduate-level education. The advisors work with students to
develop programs that allow for additional endorsements and the Master of Arts degree in teaching.
The Graduate Education Program requires students to examine the teaching-learning environment. This
environment is one in which the teacher is also a learner. The focus of each concentration, comprised of both
specific and general courses, is the development of a positive and non-threatening climate in which teachers and
students may interact for mutual understanding and the appreciation of others. In this kind of climate, learning
occurs. The Graduate Education Program also requires students to integrate their learning throughout the
program and to reflect on their own learning in the practice of being educators.
The goals of the Graduate Education Program are to:
1. Provide opportunities for educators to explore the research-base of the qualities associated with
excellence in teaching and administration;
2. Encourage self-directed professional development;
3. Enhance reflective teaching processes for self-assessment and self-improvement; and
4. Encourage the educator to become a change agent and leader in the profession.
The graduate courses incorporate pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, technology tools, classroom management,
developmental psychology, and reflection and metacognition. Successful students in the Graduate Education
Program are individuals who have accepted the concept of teaching as a continuous process of learning and are
prepared to commit their energies to support this belief.
The Master of Arts degree majors for certified teachers, if seeking additional certification, in the Graduate
Education Program are:
Early Childhood Education (General and Montessori-based*)
Reading Specialist K-12
Special Education (Learning Disabilities and Cognitive Impairment)
*Degrees can be offered without certification
The Purposes of Graduate Education at Siena Heights University
For current educators:
1. To provide programs designed to focus practicing educators on the improvement and enhancement of the
learning/teaching environment in areas of interpersonal skills and communication, teaching effectiveness,
logistical functions, and professionalism. Goal: Educators will impact the education lives of their P-16
students in positive ways.
2. To provide guidance and programming suitable and authorized by the Michigan Department of Education
and the Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation (CAEP/TEAC) for the addition of
endorsements to valid teacher certificates. Goal: Educators will retain the recognized credentials for their
positions and responsibilities.
Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog 2016-2018
326