Standard 2: Completer Professional Competence and Growth
Standard 2 and its six aspects read as follows.
Program completers adapt to working in a variety of contexts and grow as professionals.
Program completers engage in professional practice in educational settings and show that they have the skills and abilities to do so in a variety of additional settings and community/cultural contexts. For example, candidates must have broad and general knowledge of the impact of culture and language on learning, yet they cannot, within the context of any given program, experience working with the entire diversity of student identities, or in all types of school environments. Candidate preparation includes first-hand professional experience accompanied by reflection that prepares candidates to engage effectively in different contexts they may encounter throughout their careers.
Evidence* shows that completers:
- Understand and engage local school and cultural communities, and communicate and foster relationships with families/guardians/caregivers in a variety of communities
- Engage in culturally responsive educational practices with diverse learners and do so in diverse cultural and socioeconomic community contexts
- Create productive learning environments and use strategies to develop productive learning environments in a variety of school contexts
- Support students’ growth in international and global perspectives
- Establish goals for their own professional growth and engage in self-assessment, goal setting, and reflection
- Collaborate with colleagues to support professional learning
Evidence will show both that program completers have engaged successfully in relevant professional practice and that they are equipped with strategies and reflective habits that will enable them to serve effectively in a variety of school placements and educational settings appropriate to the credential or degree sought.
The key question asked by Standard 2:
Were completers prepared to work in diverse contexts, have they done so successfully, and are they growing as professionals?
* The lists within each standard specify aspects of the overall evidence package for the standard; each aspect is not a “substandard” to be considered apart from the whole standard. Evidence for each standard is evaluated holistically.