Mission
University Mission Statement

Olivet Nazarene University , a denominational university in the Wesleyan tradition, exists to provide a liberal arts “Education with a Christian Purpose.” Our mission is to provide high quality academic instruction for the purpose of personal development, career and professional readiness, and the preparation of individuals for lives of service to God and humanity. “We seek the strongest scholarship and the deepest piety, knowing that they are thoroughly compatible (and)...a Christian environment...where not only knowledge but character is sought.” (Quotation from the University Catalog of 1915.)

School of Education

The Teacher Education Unit at Olivet Nazarene University prepares candidates to enter or to continue in the richly diverse teaching profession through offering well conceived and sound academic programs in a distinctive Christian environment. Preschool-12 preservice certification programs integrate a solid liberal arts core with specialized theoretical/pedagogical/clinical offerings while graduate degree programs focus on inservice teachers' professional growth and development. All Unit programming is designed to produce graduates who become "Professionals Influencing Lives."

Conceptual Framework

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Foundations
The psychological, social, philosophical, historical, and knowledge foundations establish a basis for understanding teaching, learning, and schools. Knowledge of a subject is an essential teacher trait, but knowledge alone does not guarantee the ability to teach the subject effectively. Candidates are expected to act on the knowledge that they possess. A foundational understanding of research and the importance of research in education allows candidates to determine the best practices and applications of research.

Professionalism
The Teacher Education Unit at Olivet Nazarene University strives to allow its teacher candidates and faculty maximum opportunities to experience, exhibit, and reflect upon all the characteristics and qualities that make teaching a profession, and teachers as professionals, so that they themselves will be capable of "influencing lives" in accordance with the tenets of sounds professional practices and the tenets of the University.

Curriculum/Instruction/Evaluation
Teacher education at Olivet is not merely a process of completing a sequence of courses and experiences leading to graduation. Rather, it is a process of becoming competent in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that result in effective teaching. It is through the areas of curriculum, instruction, and evaluations that Olivet's candidates most directly influence their learners. Integrating technology, accommodating diversity, improving one's own professional competence and community involvement, as well as having opportunities to implement newly acquired skills and knowledge asll contribute to successful candidates.

Christ-Centered Character
The Teacher Education Unit at Olivet believe that educators shape and influence young people's lives directly through their teaching; but, and perhaps most importantly, they also shape and influence young people's lives indirectly through their example. The faculty strive to model appropriate Christian values and characteristics for candidates. It is hoped that this modeling motivates each candidate to model these Christian values and characteristics as well.