Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto is Canada's pre-eminent faculty of education and enjoys an established international reputation in all three areas of its mandate – teacher education, graduate studies, and research and development in education.

Initial Teacher Education has been a central part of education at the University of Toronto since the implementation of the Degree of Pedagogy in 1894 and the establishment of the Faculty of Education in 1907. OISE in its current form dates from the 1996 merger of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and the Faculty of Education of the University of Toronto (FEUT). The merger served as an opportunity for renewal, an expanded mandate and strengthened links with the rest of the University.

Since the merger, ITE at OISE has continued to deepen and diversify. In 2003, OISE offered the Consecutive Bachelor of Education/Diploma in Technological Education, Master of Arts in Child Study and Education, and the Master of Teaching in Elementary Education programs. Over the past six years, OISE has launched the University of Toronto Concurrent Teacher Education program and Master of Teaching in Secondary Education, while expanding the Master of Arts in Child Study and Education and the Master of Teaching in Elementary Education.

OISE's Academic Plan commits to “Strengthen[ing] teacher education through a mix of programs that reflects the distinctiveness of OISE…and greater integration across the university.” The launching of new programs and expansion of existing ones have been guided by this objective and by a commitment to excellence in initial teacher education. The resulting four programs represent four 'Pathways to Teaching'. OISE believes that offering programs of different lengths and with different entry points allows the most diverse range of potential teachers access to initial teacher education and allows potential teachers to prepare themselves as they deem appropriate to their needs.

OISE's Four Pathways to Teaching

Each program pathway draws on different combinations of strengths and resources from within OISE and across the University.

The Bachelor of Education/Diploma in Technological Education Program (Consecutive BEd) is a one-year second-entry (consecutive) undergraduate program offered by OISE using a matrix model that draws on contributions from all five departments.

The University of Toronto Concurrent Teacher Education Program (CTEP) is a five-year undergraduate degree that admitted its first cohort of students in 2007-08 and is offered using a matrix model through a partnership with seven U of T divisions.

The Master of Arts in Child Study and Education (MA-CSE) is a two-year graduate degree offered through OISE’s Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology (HDAP).

The Master of Teaching (MT) is a two-year graduate degree offered through OISE’s Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL).
 

OISE's program pathways have been designed to prepare teacher candidates who are knowledgeable and capable in distinct ways and we are committed to teaching excellence in all of our Program pathways. Each program pathway is organizationally innovative, with much of the delivery in cohorts, reflecting professional learning communities. ITE is strongly committed to the values of equity and social justice for all teacher candidates and the schools in which we work. We capitalize on relevant research produced locally, nationally and internationally to inform the design and delivery of our programs. Deepen links with our school partners ensures meaningful and productive connections between theory and practice in teacher education courses and field experiences. Both master’s level programs, over the course of two years, include additional research components that prepare teacher candidates to undertake leadership within their profession and deepen links between research and practice.

All four programs have been designed to reflect not only OISE's and the University's institutional priorities and values, but also the Ontario College of Teachers' regulatory Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession and the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession, 2008. Seven principles, informed by research on best practices in teacher education, underpin all four programs:

• Teaching excellence
• Equity, diversity and social justice
• Research-informed
• Cohort-based learning communities
• School/field/university partnerships
• Faculty collaboration
• Coherence

While each program pathway has a unique program design, content, and delivery approach, these shared principles build coherence among the four pathways.