Missions, Visions, Beliefs, Ethics and Values

Educator preparation programs at Texas Tech University are derived from a conceptual framework having two major data sources. First are the knowledge bases of research findings; sound professional practice; Texas educator proficiencies and content knowledge; and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. Second is the societal context, which includes the needs of society, schools, and students; accreditation standards; certification requirements; government initiatives, and guidelines from Specialized Professional Associations.

Data from the knowledge bases and societal context inform the development and continual revision of mission and vision statements. Such data are also measured against, and made consistent with beliefs, ethics and values related to schools, learners, teaching and scholarly inquiry.

Reflections and actions in respect to missions, visions, beliefs, ethics and values result in the formation of goals and objectives, which in turn undergird TTU’s educator preparation programs. Following are institutional and college statements of mission, vision and values, which inform the conceptual framework and guide educator preparation programs.

University and college mission statements
University and college vision and core values statements
College of Education “Central Values” as stated in the COE P&T Policies and Procedures
College of EducationStatement of Philosophy Regarding Diversity
The Texas Code of Ethics for Educators

COE Mission Statement

The College of Education at Texas Tech University prepares professional educators and specialists for a diverse society. Our comprehensive programs integrate scholarship, research, and practice in collaboration with individuals, communities, educational institutions, and agencies.

Approved by COE Faculty and Staff 5/4/04

College of Education Vision Statement

The vision of the College of Education is to strengthen the foundations of democracy and realize its benefits through excellence in research, teaching, and service. Our professional faculty and staff prepare lifelong learners to become competent, effective, and caring professionals who are able to address the educational challenges of a diverse society in a dynamically changing world.

Approved by COE Faculty and Staff, 7/18/05

Educator Preparation Core Value Statements

Educator Preparation Programs at Texas Tech University are committed to the following core values. (University values are bolded with educator preparation values following.)

Mutual Respect

Educators respect the integrity and dignity of all individuals.

Cooperation and Communication

Educators cooperate, collaborate and communicate effectively.

Creativity and Innovation

Educators are reflective, proactive and innovative.

Community Service and Leadership

Educators engage in community partnerships and outreach endeavors.

Academic and Intellectual Freedom

Educators support academic and intellectual freedom.

Pursuit of Excellence

Educators believe all individuals have a right to learn to the maximum of their capabilities.

Public Accountability

Educators demonstrate democratic, responsible and ethical practice.

Diversity

Educators respect and value individual differences.

Approved by Educator Preparation Faculty

and the Teacher Education Council 4/19/06

Texas Tech University Mission Statement

Committed to teaching and the advancement of knowledge, Texas Tech University, a comprehensive public research university, provides the highest standards of excellence in higher education, fosters intellectual and personal development, and stimulates meaningful research and service to humankind.

TTU Vision Statement

Texas Tech University will be a national leader in higher education—manifesting excellence, embracing diversity, inspiring confidence, and engaging society. The university aspires to a national recognition of excellence and performance in scholarship through teaching, research, and service.

Texas Tech University will

be recognized as one of the top public educational and research universities in the United States, attracting the best students, faculty, and staff;
prepare students to be leaders and decision makers, articulate and principled, innovative and confident, and able to think critically with sound reasoning ability;
be a research-intensive institution where faculty discovery enhances learning and prepares students to compete in a knowledge-based society; and
be engaged in local, regional, and state social and economic development for the benefit of both the public and private sectors.

Texas Tech University is committed to the values of

mutual respect;
cooperation and communication;
creativity and innovation;
community service and leadership;
academic and intellectual freedom;
pursuit of excellence;
public accountability; and
diversity.

TTU Positioning Statement

Texas Tech University is dedicated to shaping the future of our students by providing them a comprehensive, quality education that prepares them to enter careers in a timely fashion. The University, in an environment of openness and friendliness, develops leaders who can articulate appropriate solutions to challenges and advance the well being of the people of Texas and the global community. Texas Tech University achieves this through research and creative activity and by preparing students to turn theory into practice. Students, staff, and faculty provide dedicated service through programs that draw upon a vast array of intellectual resources and world class expertise.

Central Values from College of Education

Promotion and Tenure Policies and Procedures

Faculty members are continuing, reflective learners and their careers are necessarily dynamic and developmental. The evaluation of faculty performance for promotion and tenure must be consistent with this premise. Faculty members are expected to describe not only what they do but why they do it, and they have a responsibility to mentor and support each other as they work toward promotion and tenure. The College has a responsibility to develop the talents of its faculty as a community of scholars. Further, the College will sustain an environment that supports academic freedom and provides opportunities for faculty growth and the achievement of excellence in teaching, scholarship and creative activities, grant-related activities, and service.

The granting of promotion and tenure recognizes that faculty members have reached important milestones in their careers and are ready to assume greater leadership in the College, the University, and their professional fields. Tenure carries with it a mutual promise : the College promises to support the faculty’s work throughout their careers, and the faculty promise to continue to grow as scholars and reflective professionals so as to contribute significantly to the goals of the College, the University, and professional practice. National prominence results from significant research, creative scholarship, and professional activities that enhance the reputation of the individual, the College, and, ultimately, the University.

The College of Education is committed to attracting, retaining, promoting, and tenuring faculty who demonstrate the potential for and have attained a strong and consistent record of teaching excellence, scholarship and creative activity, grant-related activities, and professional service. The diversity of faculty and programs in the College necessitates flexible and sensitive application of these central values. Nonetheless, there are basic expectations for faculty performance that is worthy of promotion and tenure. These are to:

Demonstrate teaching excellence, developing practitioners who understand state-of-the-art research and best practice s and use them to inform their work in educational institutions and agencies.
Engage in research and creative activity, both to publish and establish credentials as scholars, and to inform and transform educational practice.
Engage in externally funded, grant-related activities that may lend additional support to the overall goals of the faculty member, the College and University.
Engage in collaboration and partnership building that can enhance the faculty and the College’s capacity to think well and differently about emerging educational issues and concerns .
Engage in activities that enable the faculty member to reflect upon, inquire into, and assess their work in a variety of meaningful ways.
Maintain a demonstrable level of professional activity throughout their careers.
Reflect the highest standard of professional integrity.
Qualify for and maintain membership on the Graduate Faculty.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY REGARDING DIVERSITY

As a community of reflective practitioners and scholars, the faculty of the College of Education promotes understanding and respect for differences in professional and personal identity. Professional differences involve work situations, ideologies, or traditions including the tasks each individual accomplishes within the College of Education and the citizenship individuals manifest through their workload and community service. Personal differences include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, abilities and disabilities, religious affiliation, language/dialect, origin/abode, ideology, traditions, sexuality, socioeconomic status, age, and appearance. In essence, we believe that the unique individuals in this college have strengths and characteristics that are vital to our college and its growth, and the climate of diversity. As we celebrate our differences, we also recognize our similarities as we work toward educating ourselves and our students to nurture one another in this endeavor.

As a college faculty, we affirm the importance and necessity of providing equitable and needed opportunities to all members of our college and to the greater community to learn and be successful. We acknowledge that the educational opportunities of particular groups and individuals have been limited and sometimes denied as a result of restrictive policies and practices. This denial or limitation of educational opportunity and success has and continues to result in the loss of human potential and talent and, as a result, contributes to social injustice and economic inequality in our nation. As a faculty, we will consistently work to recognize and eliminate these inequities so as to achieve our mission to "provide leadership for educational excellence and equity in partnership with communities and educational agencies." ( College of Education Mission Statement)

In order to achieve our mission as a college and to create an environment of mutual respect where our professional diversity and strengths are nurtured and our personal differences respected, the following statements will guide us:

Affirming Unique Professional and Personal Identities

Differences in interest, knowledge, purpose, and discipline create our unique professional identities.
Differences in race, ethnicity, gender, abilities and disabilities, religious affiliation, language/dialect, origin/abode, ideology, traditions, sexuality, socioeconomic status, age, and appearance contribute to our unique individual as well as group identities.

Building an Inclusive Community

Community is built and sustained by a climate of equity, fairness, and trust and the recognition of and response to the individual needs of our faculty, staff, student body, and extended community.
Community is strengthened by our mutual respect of the humanness and of the unique contributions to our mission of each member of our faculty, staff, and the student body.

Cultivating Leadership for a Pluralistic Society

Excellence in a pluralistic society requires that leaders and leadership be available to and be representative of our college and greater national and international community.
Personal and social barriers that block or limit the opportunities of individuals and groups to provide leadership in our college and the greater community will be attenuated and replaced with our commitment to equal opportunity, support, and excellence.

Developing a Participatory Working Environment

A participatory working environment encourages and supports multiple perspectives and strengths.
A participatory working environment invites and honors discussion, dialogue, and debate that respect the humanness of those involved.

Encouraging Policies and Practices that Reflect Social and Economic Justice

Social justice involves a commitment to the personal, academic, and social development of the faculty, staff, and students of the College of Education as well as to the larger community that we and our students serve.
Educational policies and practices that provide all individuals with equal and needed access to education and success are indispensable for the achievement of social and economic justice.
Social justice involves a commitment to excellence that incorporates the interests of individuals within a larger concern for the common good of humanity.

Commitment to this philosophy requires acceptance and acknowledgment that issues touch each of us in a different manner. Excellence can only be achieved by honoring individuality while at the same time working together to achieve our College's mission.

Approved 1/8/01, modified and reaffirmed (5/4/04) by the
faculty of the College of Education, Texas Tech University

(The following is the Code of Ethics for Texas Educators.)

Texas Administrative Code

TITLE 19 EDUCATION

PART 7 STATE BOARD FOR EDUCATOR CERTIFICATION

CHAPTER 247 EDUCATORS' CODE OF ETHICS

RULE §247.2 Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators

(a) Statement of Purpose. The Texas educator shall comply with standard practices and ethical conduct toward students, professional colleagues, school officials, parents, and members of the community and shall safeguard academic freedom. The Texas educator, in maintaining the dignity of the profession, shall respect and obey the law, demonstrate personal integrity, and exemplify honesty. The Texas educator, in exemplifying ethical relations with colleagues, shall extend just and equitable treatment to all members of the profession. The Texas educator, in accepting a position of public trust, shall measure success by the progress of each student toward realization of his or her potential as an effective citizen. The Texas educator, in fulfilling responsibilities in the community, shall cooperate with parents and others to improve the public schools of the community.

(b) Enforceable Standards.

(1) Professional Ethical Conduct, Practices and Performance.

(A) Standard 1.1. The educator shall not knowingly engage in deceptive practices regarding official policies of the school district or educational institution.

(B) Standard 1.2. The educator shall not knowingly misappropriate, divert, or use monies, personnel, property, or equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage.

(D) Standard 1.4. The educator shall not use institutional or professional privileges for personal or partisan advantage.

(E) Standard 1.5. The educator shall neither accept nor offer gratuities, gifts, or favors that impair professional judgment or to obtain special advantage. This standard shall not restrict the acceptance of gifts or tokens offered and accepted openly from students, parents, or other persons or organizations in recognition or appreciation of service.

(F) Standard 1.6. The educator shall not falsify records, or direct or coerce others to do so.

(G) Standard 1.7. The educator shall comply with state regulations, written local

school board policies, and other applicable state and federal laws.

(H) Standard 1.8. The educator shall apply for, accept, offer, or assign a position or a responsibility on the basis of professional qualifications.

(2) Ethical Conduct Toward Professional Colleagues.

(A) Standard 2.1. The educator shall not reveal confidential health or personnel

information concerning colleagues unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is required by law.

(B) Standard 2.2. The educator shall not harm others by knowingly making false statements about a colleague or the school system.

(C) Standard 2.3. The educator shall adhere to written local school board policies and state and federal laws regarding the hiring, evaluation, and dismissal of personnel.

(D) Standard 2.4. The educator shall not interfere with a colleague's exercise of political, professional, or citizenship rights and responsibilities.

(E) Standard 2.5. The educator shall not discriminate against or coerce a colleague on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, or family status.

(F) Standard 2.6. The educator shall not use coercive means or promise of special treatment in order to influence professional decisions or colleagues.

(G) Standard 2.7. The educator shall not retaliate against any individual who has filed a complaint with the SBEC under this chapter.

(3) Ethical Conduct Toward Students.

(A) Standard 3.1. The educator shall not reveal confidential information concerning students unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is required by law.

(B) Standard 3.2. The educator shall not knowingly treat a student in a manner that adversely affects the student's learning, physical health, mental health, or safety.

(D) Standard 3.4. The educator shall not exclude a student from participation in a program, deny benefits to a student, or grant an advantage to a student on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, national origin, religion, or family status.

(E) Standard 3.5. The educator shall not engage in physical mistreatment of a student.

(F) Standard 3.6. The educator shall not solicit or engage in sexual conduct or a romantic relationship with a student.

(G) Standard 3.7. The educator shall not furnish alcohol or illegal/unauthorized drugs to any student or knowingly allow any student to consume alcohol or illegal/unauthorized drugs in the presence of the educator.

Source Note: The provisions of this §247.2 adopted to be effective March 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 1022; amended to be effective August 22, 2002, 27 TexReg 7530