Mission Statement

The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's time.
Sydney J. Harris

It is the Mission of Birmingham-Southern College to provide a liberal arts education of distinctive quality. The College challenges students to think independently, to examine the arts and sciences aesthetically and critically, and to communicate clearly. It fosters the advancement of scholarship, personal and resourceful learning, and comprehensive advising.

The Education Department seeks to complement the Mission of the College by providing an academically rigorous, intellectually stimulating program of experiences. Our Mission is to produce purposeful and intentional teachers who know, know why, and know how.

The Education Department is philosophically grounded by the tenets of Social Constructivism and Critical Theory. Our teaching is grounded in the work of educational researchers, philosophers, and theorists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Cambourne, Bruner, Dewey, and Freire.