The Faculty of Education was established in August 2005 with two inaugural departments dealing with Undergraduate and Postgraduate students respectively. Until then, what became the Faculty was a vibrant Department of Education that had for many years graduated some of the prominent educational leaders in the entire AMECEA region. The academic year 2014/2015 is thus the 10th year of the Faculty of Education.
The Faculty of Education is committed to improving pedagogical (educational) skills among its academic staff in addition to improved student satisfaction. Generally, the principal mode of instruction in our lecture halls has continued to embrace student-centred training models. By continuously upgrading our academic staff with alternative pedagogical approaches, tailor-made for specific groups, topics, and instructional goals, our classes are more engaging and stimulate students’ critical and analytical abilities.
This high-quality teaching translates into a more satisfied student community. Our graduates having been exposed to a variety of techniques necessary for the acquisition and critical appraisal of knowledge and information continue to be in high demand in the labor market. Today’s employers value graduates who have skills in the critical analysis of information. Our enhanced pedagogical strategies are aimed at nurturing these.
Indeed at the Faculty of Education, we are committed to making learning a process of spiritual and existential broadening that bestows a final meaning on life and on the pursuit of happiness. Borrowing from the words of Avasarala (Professor & Head Dept of Community Medicine Fatima Institute of Medical Sciences) the Faculty of education is convinced that: Teaching is an art (not just reading from a book and reproducing in the class room); teacher development is mutual with the student development and vice versa; don’t throw the blame on the students for your failure to create an impact with your lecture; and that the best way to control the students is by giving them best lectures.
The Faculty runs the Bachelor of Education program both in the regular and school-focused program, Masters of Education both in regular and Holiday program, Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), Advanced Diploma in Teaching in Higher Education (PGTHE), and Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Ph.D.) in four program areas/specializations namely Curriculum Studies and Instruction, Educational Research and Evaluation and Educational Administration and Planning; and Counselling Psychology.
During the 2011/2012 academic year, the Faculty had a total of 824 students enrolled in the UGSE. About 300 students are expected to graduate this October 2015 (see the table below).
There has phenomenal growth in the development and implementation of affiliation goals with the Marist International University College where a diploma for primary schools teachers and a school-based Bachelor of education program was developed and implemented in August 2006.
The Department is working closely with the Directorate of Linkages to implement a Bachelor of Education program for Higher Education for Sisters in Africa (HESA)/ASEC.
HESA/ASEC’s goal is to increase access to education for women religious in Africa by helping to educate them and by enabling them to acquire credentials for teaching, healthcare, and spiritual or social service ministries in their countries. This is done in collaboration with Marywood University, Pennsylvania USA. Already 23 nuns are undergoing the program and plans are at an advanced stage to recruit an additional 18 Nuns. Another affiliation is with the Don Bosco Major Seminary in Moshi where a Bachelor of Philosophy and Education was launched in August 2006.
The department worked closely with Don Bosco in the implementation of a second teaching subject. The Faculty has developed a Diploma course on living skills with the Marist International University College, which is a constituent college of CUEA. The Faculty has a Diploma in Education (the Primary school option) with the same college. Progress of the support to the Institute of Religious Studies (IRS) of Eritrea is progressing well and the Department has already moderated course outlines and examination and is planning to visit the campus soon. The first batch of six (6) IRS Bed students graduated in October 2013. The faculty has academic linkage with the Catholic University of South Sudan (CUoSS). CUoSS offers a Bachelor of education in Arts and its first cohort of students graduated in October 2014.