Goals and Objectives

Geneva College's Master of Education in Special Education is designed to prepare current teachers with supplemental skills in working with students diagnosed with mental and physical disabilities. Teachers will be prepared to work with students who are mentally retarded, brain injured, physically handicapped, learning disabled, and socially and/or emotionally disturbed. The curriculum assures that graduates of this program will develop the enhanced skills and knowledge required to successfully instruct disabled students while meeting certification requirements for public and private schools in this state and the nation. Practical experience and supervision are integral components of each course. The program will allow area teachers to develop the skills needed to be more effective in educating all students, especially those who are diverse and with special needs. These experiences provide graduate students with immediate opportunities to apply in their own classrooms the knowledge and skills that they acquire in the classroom components of the courses at Geneva. 

The overall goal of the Geneva College Master of Education in Special Education Program is to provide in-service teachers and prospective in-service teachers with the methods, skills, and techniques needed to ensure PK-8 students with special needs receive an appropriate education. The course will expand these graduate students' knowledge base in current educational research, theory, methods, and practice. The master's program will lead to Pennsylvania Certification in the area of "Mental and Physically Handicapped."

The mission of this Special Education Certification Program is to prepare in- service teachers to become well-educated professionals who, in turn, provide excellent educational service in a world of very diverse students from a Biblically-based Christ- centered perspective. These graduate students will continue in or return to jobs as regular and special educators called to work with children who are handicapped and disabled. These students are often seen in our world as "the poor and downtrodden." Jesus said, "For as much as you have done it to these, the very least of my brothers, you have done it unto Me" (Matthew 25:40). The program will allow these teachers to develop the tools to teach both regular and disabled children in an inclusive classroom, as well as resource settings and self-contained environments. As they continue in the profession, they will be better prepared to be servant-leaders in public and private educational settings around the world.

For more information:

Karen Schmalz, EdD
Program Director
speced@geneva.edu 724-847-6125

Lori Hartge
lahartge@geneva.edu 724-847-6571