Department Mission: As a community of professional educators, we commit to developing the highest quality teachers who will become exemplary citizens and add value to the world they will inhabit; and who can teach each child in our global, contemporary society. Of central importance is our commitment to preparing caring teachers, who have the knowledge, skills and dispositions to foster developmentally appropriate, child-centered learning environments; who honor and respect diverse families and communities; and who demonstrate effective teaching grounded in educational research.