The College of Education at the University of Illinois recently added a new undergraduate degree program. Andrew Hibel speaks with the associate dean, Christopher Span, about the goals of this new program and its relationship to Span’s own historical work in education.
Andrew Hibel, HigherEdJobs: Your college recently enrolled the first class of students for a new degree program. Please share some information about the Learning and Education Studies degree program at Illinois.
Dr. Christopher Span, University of Illinois: The Learning and Education Studies degree has four concentrations: Applied Learning Science (AppLES), Digital Environments for Learning, Teaching, and Agency (DELTA), Educational Equality and Cultural Understanding (EECU), and Workplace, Training, and Development (WTD).
The program is truly a game changer for us. It prepares students for careers in education beyond licensure and teaching. Our first student class has such a variety of interests. Some want to work in higher education in student affairs, admissions, and diversity and equity offices. Others anticipate careers in human resource development, data mining and analysis, and in fields that think through the uses of technology for educational purposes. Some are aspiring to go on to law school or graduate school to enhance their education and training after LES.
The college is currently working with the career services center on campus and our corporate sponsors to identify internship and employment opportunities for our LES students. I had three LES students in my class this past fall semester and each helped me understand the importance of immediately developing these partnering relationships. The questions they asked, their career aspirations for life after college, and their intrinsic motivation and determination to make a difference in the lives of others, served as a source of inspiration for me to make sure the college is doing everything it can to ensure our students have the content knowledge, training, expertise, and opportunities to reach their highest potential. We are confident every student who earns their degree in LES will have the tools and disposition to have a positive impact in the lives of the people they will one day serve.
Hibel: Why did the College of Education at the University of Illinois create the program?
Span: We created the degree because the college has so much to offer beyond the preparation of licensed teachers. Our college is very interdisciplinary. We have experts in human resource development, organizational and workplace culture, diversity and inclusion, educational technology, quantitative reasoning and analysis, critical theory, psychology, philosophy, history, sociology, higher education, leadership, and cognitive learning and development. Prior to the LES degree, the faculty had very limited opportunities to share their knowledge and expertise because they did not teach in one of the undergraduate licensure majors and almost exclusively taught at the graduate level. Now all faculty have an opportunity to teach undergraduate. The degree affords the opportunity for undergraduate students to learn from some of the most dedicated and innovative scholars in the field of education, an opportunity that was previously only available to students interested in one of our graduate courses or programs.
As I said, the LES degree is a game changer. The new degree will increase undergraduate enrollment, help us continue to diversify our student body, prepare students for professional interests and careers beyond teaching, and enhance the overall profile of the College of Education. It is a model for other universities to follow if they decide to expand their degree offerings to undergraduate students.
Hibel: Why do the world and the marketplace need professionals with strong backgrounds in learning and education studies?
Span: Regardless of the concentration a student chooses in the new degree, a person with a background in learning and education studies has the potential to change the way humanity learns and interacts with itself, nature, and the myriad of issues we confront on a daily basis. For example, as technology continues to shift and determine the ways we conduct our professional and personal lives, we need people who have strong backgrounds in understanding how these technologies impact our lives, relationships, and understandings. If one owns a cell phone, they essentially have the entirety of human understanding in their pocket. Having access to this knowledge, while important, is not as important as knowing how to manage and use this knowledge. The same is true with regard to diversity and inclusion. Helping others, whether at work or in life, learn to appreciate the distinctiveness of both concepts requires specific content knowledge, expertise, and tools. Our goal is that every Learning and Education Studies graduate has the preparation and expertise to address these questions and concerns for the betterment of everyone in our global economy.
Hibel: How did the college come up with the four concentrations within the degree and what opportunities do they afford students?
Span: The college relied upon existing programs at the graduate level to establish the four concentrations in the LES degree. Faculty across the college worked together to ensure that each concentration was a distinct extension of existing programs and provided the best preparation for LES students to excel in the college and obtain a fulfilling post-baccalaureate first destination. We also researched other colleges of education that established non-licensure degrees. We wanted to see how they concentrated on other strengths in their college beyond preparing students for licensure. Lastly, we did some preliminary market analysis to gauge the interest potential employers would have of graduates with this kind of degree. Arguably, the best gauge we had was our master degree students and the kind of jobs they secured upon graduation.
Hibel: Why are non-licensure degrees becoming a part of the curriculum at colleges of education?
Span: I believe more and more colleges of education are coming to the realization that they have been boxed into only teaching a certain kind of student (someone who wants to become a teacher) and this limits their opportunities for growth, diversity, and fully articulating the breadth and depth of the expertise and capacity of their faculty. As such, non-licensure degrees in colleges of education are absolutely essential and will continue to grow. Education is so much more than simply the preparation of licensed teachers. The interdisciplinary foci of faculty, complex issues in education such as bullying, developing a healthy social identity, understanding learning assessments, educational technology, intercultural education, and understanding and appreciating difference and an organization’s structure and culture, all necessitated the need for a new curriculum in our college of education. An education degree is an extremely versatile degree, one that affords students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learn in everyday settings and one that prepares students to become their own entrepreneur in work and life.
Hibel: How do you see graduates of the program making an impact?
Span: I expect LES students to make a meaningful impact. We expect them to be the educators and leaders our society needs, to use their knowledge and expertise to help others, to create conditions for others to excel, and to strive to make the world a better place. My response may be a little idealistic, but if we cannot expect these outcomes from graduates in a college of education, then who can? Our job is to prepare the next generation for responsible leadership, engagement, and innovation. I will settle for nothing less.
Hibel: What advice would you give to others who may be considering helping their university create a new degree program in this discipline?
Span: Be patient with the process and stay focused on your overall goal and the populations (students and faculty) you want to serve. The process at times can be extremely time-consuming, but well worth it. I am proud of this important achievement in the college. It has truly been a labor of love to negotiate, collaborate, motivate, listen, engage, imagine, inspire, draft, and develop something that has never been done before. It is an achievement that will allow the College of Education to continue its mission of providing high value education to students who want to become educators and leaders in a 21st century global economy. It is a testament that nothing is impossible if we can work together to achieve a long-desired common goal.
Hibel: College affordability is a key issue on the radar of many involved in higher education. How is the affordability factor driving alternate means for education today?
Span: Affordability and accessibility are very important in the College of Education. An educator is a service to the public, and no one should go into debt to be a service to the public. Our college has gone to great lengths to offset the rising cost of higher education. In the past half-decade, we have reached out to alum and sponsors for them to establish need-based funds and scholarships for our students. They have been very receptive and generous with their resources to help us with this important endeavor. The reality is, the more we can offset the cost of higher education, the more we will attract, recruit, and retain the best students who want to be teachers, leaders, and innovators for our society. The best investment anyone who values higher education can make is an investment in offsetting the rising cost of tuition. It is a short-term cost for a long-term gain.
Hibel: As a proud alumnus of your college, I continue to be amazed at the deep commitment to the student the college regularly demonstrates. What values are most important in sustaining a student-focused culture?
Span: Listening, engaging, and learning from students are the values that help sustain our efforts in fostering a student-focused culture. The college has great staff, faculty, and alum that go above the call of duty to share their wisdom, time, and enthusiasm to make sure our students have the best collegiate experience possible. We want every student to have the best experience possible. We want them to learn in a curriculum and major that values their presence; we want them to feel included in the decision-making processes that impact their lives; we want them to have the time and flexibility to study abroad, engage in experiential learning, and join a registered student organization; we want them to be acknowledged for their merit and hard work; and we want them to know that the college values their presence and appreciates their dedication to learning and wanting to become an educator and leader.
Hibel: Your wife also works at the university. What is your best piece of advice for dual career academic couples?
Span: Good communication, an appreciation for each other’s commitments and aspirations, and constantly showing your love for your significant other is the best advice I can give. Two busy people means life can sometimes be full of challenges, especially when you are balancing work with home. My wife and I strive for excellence in everything we do and this requires good communication, coordination, and the sharing of responsibilities. There are days she works late, or days I go in early or on the weekends. There are days when our son is sick, running late for school, or has an extra-curricular schedule that is as hectic as ours. Having a sense of each other’s commitments, being flexible, forgiving, and understanding, and having a respect for each other’s work and efforts goes a long way in these moments. Another important perspective to keep in mind is to always remember that we are not alone. There is a university full of dual career people like us. Taking time to talk to friends and other couples, sharing a good meal and laugh with them, helps keep us grounded.
Still, the most important thing that keeps me grounded and mindful is constantly reminding myself of how much my wife means to me, how much I love her, why she and our son are the most important people in my life, and why I could not be the person I am today without them. There is no me without them.
The love and respect I have for my wife is beyond words. I count my blessings twice everyday for her being in my life. She has established a remarkable career as a chief equal opportunity officer on campus. She has an integrity and work ethic that I hope I will one day have. It is hard for me to express how much I appreciate meeting people across campus who hear my last name when I introduce myself and they ask me if I am Kaamilyah’s husband. When I say yes, they then go on to tell me all the great things she has done for them and how valued she is as a colleague and friend. It makes me even more proud to be her husband and for her to be my best friend.
Hibel: You have spoken previously about being a mid-career professor. What are your best suggestions to the “sandwich generation” of academics about furthering your scholarly career?
Span: Understand what you want to do with your time and protect it. The most important commodity a mid-career professor has is the uninterrupted time to do the kind of work that will make a difference. Uninterrupted time is not only important so you can continue to develop your research interests and publications, but so you can also think through important ways to provide better teaching, mentoring, and service to the people and units you serve. I believe my profile of an associate professor being asked to take on more and more administrative responsibilities will soon become the norm at highly selective research institutions of higher education. Everyone will be asked to do more with less, and those who seem to be effective at accomplishing tasks for the betterment of their units will be “rewarded” with more administrative work and responsibilities.
I don’t want anyone to think I regret my decision of becoming an administrator. If I hadn’t I would have never met the students I have had the privilege to lead as the dean of students for the college, helped create and develop the Learning and Education Studies degree, worked with colleagues and friends on ensuring our students have a place and space in the college, built partnerships with our alums so that they can work with our college and students, helped revamp online programs so we would be one of the best providers in the nation, recalibrate our laboratory school to ensure its growth and success in the 21st century, and be in a position to say yes on countless important policies and recommendations that benefited our students.
Being an administrator for the College of Education provided me with the uninterrupted time to make a difference and become the educator and leader our students, college, campus, state, and nation needed. I hope more faculty will devote their time and energies to ensuring the best outcomes for the people we spend our lives researching and serving.
Hibel: Finally, I have to ask about your book about the education of freed slaves in Mississippi. What inspired you to write this book and what learning is the most important in today’s world of education?
Span: I began the study as a graduate student. It ended up becoming my dissertation, which I later turned into a book entitled From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse: African American Education in Mississippi, 1862-1875. In essence, I wanted to know what value knowledge and literacy had in the slave community, and how people who were once enslaved became literate. I always knew that African-Americans valued education, even though that runs counter to popular consensus, but I did not know to what extent. To read the extensive archival evidence that illustrated the great lengths formerly enslaved African Americans attempted to obtain an education for themselves and their families following emancipation was truly inspirational. It demonstrated to me the transformative and democratic power of education.
All knowledge is valuable, but arguably the most important knowledge is the kind that is applicable to advancing a person’s understanding of the world around them. The study of the past is applicable knowledge. I see history as not only introducing people to the events and persons of the past, but as a way to assist them in understanding how, from one generation to the next, everyday people in the past navigated and assessed their world and attempted to make meaning from it.