About

The College of Education (COE) at California State University, Dominguez Hills prepares teachers, counselors, and school leaders who are committed to equity and racial justice. We believe that educators, in all roles, have the ability to improve the lives of children through greater access to educational opportunities. We are committed to preparing our students to become effective, impassioned collaborators in ensuring that every child has every opportunity to learn, to grow and to thrive.

Through a wide range of degree and credential programs led by dedicated and experienced faculty mentors, we are preparing the next generation of qualified, exceptionally prepared, inspired and committed educators that our communities and children deserve. Our commitment to diversity is reflected in the fact that our full-time faculty is majority-minority, and more than 70 percent of our graduate students are people of color who reflect the diversity of Los Angeles.

The COE offers a wide selection of programs, enrolling approximately 600 undergraduate and 500 post baccalaureate and graduate students. In each of these programs, students will encounter individualized academic advising and step-by-step guidance to program completion or degree, low faculty-to-student ratios, and dedicated, mentoring faculty with real-world experiences.

Our Vision

Grounded in principles of justice, equity, and critical consciousness, we are committed to reflective, responsive, and purposeful praxis in teaching, scholarship, and leadership. Alongside the communities we serve, we prepare critical educators to co-create and enact transformative change.

Our Mission

Through self-examination, collective learning, and research, we construct brave spaces that foster the holistic development of educators. Together, we challenge and dismantle systems of power and privilege in institutions of education. We re-imagine equitable, responsive, and just learning experiences for all learners, especially those from minoritized groups within our college and in our local schools. We are committed to advancing the following:

• a justice-focused agenda
• the pursuit of equity
• innovation in teaching and learning
• rigorous and responsive research
• collaboration with professional, local, and global communities, and student-centered partnerships
• belief in the limitless potential of our work, each other, and those we serve

Core Values

Commitment to Advancing Student Learning

The College of Education at CSUDH is uniquely situated to have a lasting and positive impact on public schools and students within the Los Angeles region. We are deeply disturbed by the inequities and achievement gaps that are far too common in many of the schools in our area. Our common effort in initial and advanced credential programs, as well as our MA programs, is to prepare educators who will advance student learning, provide strong leadership and create supportive learning environments for all students. We are committed to preparing educators who will sustain school improvement, and educate all students to the same high learning outcomes.

Commitment to Diversity

The diversity on our campus and in our communities is a remarkable asset, and we draw on this to enhance teaching and learning on campus and in our clinical settings. Faculty and staff appreciate and value this diversity in all its forms: cultural, socioeconomic, religious, gender, linguistic and ability. We are committed to preparing educators who have the dispositions to appreciate and value this diversity among their students, families, colleagues and communities.

Core Belief Statements

Developed by faculty and centered on key themes in educator preparation, these statements express the strong values that underlie our professional work and that have long been held in the College of Education. These beliefs define our work together even when it branches out into different projects and endeavors. Each theme and statement stems from a strong knowledge base that includes theories and research from each of the disciplines present in our school.

Access: We believe that every child is entitled to caring, competent and qualified teachers, administrators and counselors every year.

Responsive Pedagogy: We believe that all students can learn when educators know them, have high expectations for them and provide them with appropriate instruction and scaffolding.

Reflection: We believe that our academic programs and fieldwork must integrate current research, significant theory and public policy through reflective practices that result in continuous improvement.

Growth: We believe that education professionals have an obligation to be a force for continual and positive growth for themselves, their students, their colleagues, and their communities. This gives purpose to our practice of continuous assessment and improvement.

Collaboration: We believe that collaboration within and among all stakeholders and communities is integral to learning and to transforming schools.