K-State's bachelor's degree program in elementary education is being honored with the 2010 Distinguished Program in Teacher Education Award from the Association of Teacher Educators.
The honor recognizes high-quality teacher education programs featuring exemplary collaboration between local education agencies and institutions of higher education in program development and administration.
Paul Burden, head of K-State's department of elementary education, said that bachelor's graduates in the department have proven K-State's program is among the best.
"After completing our program, graduates must pass two national tests to obtain a teaching license in Kansas," he said. "In the last five years, we have had a 99 percent and 98 percent pass rate on those exams."
To be considered for the national honor, teacher education programs must meet certain quality standards and their students must perform at a high level. In addition, the programs must have well-established professional development programs where teacher candidates receive valuable field experience prior to graduating.
"K-State was among the first universities in the nation to establish a professional development school partnership in 1989," said Gail Shroyer, director of K-State's professional development schools partnerships and professor of elementary education. "Today, we have 1,500 students in our program, all of whom will receive invaluable experience in the classroom at one of our 20 professional development school sites before they graduate."
These real-world opportunities are why U.S. News and World Reports ranked K-State's education program as one of the top 50 education programs in the nation in 2009, Burden said.
In receiving the Association of Teacher Educators honor, K-State joins prestigious teaching programs across the nation including at Michigan State University, Arizona State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Oregon, University of Maryland, University of Arkansas and University of New Mexico.
Three K-State faculty members have been named founding members of the Financial Therapy Association's board of directors.
Sonya Britt, an undergraduate and doctoral program instructor for K-State's Institute of Personal Financial Planning and financial therapist at K-State's Financial Therapy Clinic, was elected president of the Financial Therapy Association board.
John Grable, the Vera Mowery McAninch Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and director of the Institute of Personal Financial Planning at K-State, was elected board treasurer.
K-State's Kristy Archuleta, co-director of K-State's Financial Planning Clinic and an assistant professor of family studies and human services, is serving as the board's research liaison.
Members of the Financial Therapy Association study the cognitive, emotional, behavioral, relational, economic and integrative aspects of financial wellness. Membership consists of individuals from around the world who blend aspects of financial planning, financial counseling, marriage and family therapy, sociology, social work and psychology. Membership includes more than 100 practicing financial therapists and financial therapy researchers. More information on the association is available at http://www.financialtherapyassociation.org
According to Britt, the association's board of directors is working to provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, the media and policymakers to share research and practice methods and models of financial therapy, and to stimulate and disseminate clinical, experimental and survey research on financial therapy.
Financial therapy is an integral part of K-State's personal financial therapy program. K-State's Institute of Personal Financial Planning was among the first in the nation to open a clinic offering financial therapy, a blending of financial counseling with marriage and family therapy to help individuals, couples and families struggling both financially and emotionally. The clinic, in downtown Manhattan, opened in early 2009, and Grable, Britt and Archuleta are all involved with it.
Britt is an accredited financial counselor and certified retirement counselor. Her research interests include theoretical development of money issues within marriage, predictors of money arguments and their influence on relationship satisfaction and divorce, and behavioral finance implications within the household.
Archuleta is a licensed marriage and family therapist who studies rural and farm families, dyadic processes influencing financial satisfaction and marital satisfaction, empirical-based treatment for couples experiencing financial difficulties, and theoretical development of money issues within couple relationships.
Grable is a Certified Financial Planner and a registered financial consultant. He also is the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. and International Association of Registered Financial Consultants' registered undergraduate and graduate program director at K-State. His areas of specialization include financial planning practice management; assessment of financial attitudes, knowledge and behaviors, with an emphasis in understanding financial risk tolerance preferences; financial help-seeking behavior; and financial wellness.