In March 2024, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released a Clinical Practice Framework, grounded in research and perspectives from the field of education, which details six focus areas that contribute to a strong clinical experience for future teachers.

Samford University’s Orlean Beeson School of Education was featured twice in the NCTQ action guide, recognized for its excellence in offering clinical internships and hands-on teacher training opportunities. The school was specifically highlighted for its early field experiences and for embedding fieldwork in local schools, a key component of effective teacher preparation.

This recognition underscores the intentional efforts by Samford University’s education faculty, who have responded to the U.S. Department of Education and national accrediting bodies' calls for high-quality clinical partnerships in teacher preparation.

According to the NCTQ, “A strong [clinical] experience can make a new teacher as effective as one in their second or third year in the classroom—a big gain for those teachers and, more importantly, their students.”

The NCTQ’s digital action guide shares success stories from teacher preparation programs, school districts, and states that have made a concerted effort to build strong clinical experiences. These programs align with most or all aspects of the NCTQ’s Clinical Practice Framework and provide actionable guidance on how education programs and schools can implement these career preparation strategies to enhance classroom outcomes nationwide.

The action guide states, “Several prep programs embed candidates in a specific school for earlier fieldwork experiences and methods courses. Samford University embeds junior-year teacher candidates in local schools and has them tutor students in mathematics, among other activities.”

This acknowledgment from the NCTQ emphasizes the importance of placing future educators in classrooms as early and as frequently as possible, a practice that is central to Samford’s School of Education.

“Samford University has a long history of producing excellent educators for our state, and I am so glad to see them recognized for the fine clinical practices they provide for our pre-service teachers,” said Eric Mackey, state superintendent for the Alabama State Department of Education. “This work reminds us all how important it is to support students before, during, and after clinical practice. To follow the adage, this kind of practice really does make for more perfect teachers when they enter the classroom.

Myrtis Johnson, clinical experiences coordinator for Samford’s School of Education, and Amy Hoaglund, professor and assistant dean, have both served as clinical practice fellows with the Association of Teacher Educators in the past two years. Their involvement has contributed to the growth and enhancement of the school’s clinical experience programs.

“Career preparedness is a part of the fabric of all degree programs in the School of Education,” Johnson said. “There is a correlation, if not a causation, between career preparation at the course level and the fact that all of our students are either employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation.”

The NCTQ action guide also praises Samford’s Department of Teacher Education for its effective integration of fieldwork into local schools, most notably through a partnership with Trace Crossings Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama.

Hoaglund describes this “mutually beneficial partnership” with Trace Crossings as one of close collaboration. She said, “We plan so closely that they’re an extension of us and we of them—whatever their goals are, we tap into those. Whatever they need at the time is what we do. Our students even do bus duty—we’re part of the school, we’re all-in.”

Quincy Collins, principal of Trace Crossings Elementary, highlighted how the partnership has been mutually beneficial for both the school and Samford’s teacher education candidates. The hands-on experience in a real classroom setting allows future teachers to develop essential soft skills that cannot be learned from textbooks.

“We know that when students finish the program at Samford, they’re going to be ready,” Collins said. “It’s an investment on the front end by having this partnership, but then it’s also beneficial to us on the back end because we know we’ve prepared these students, we know what they’re capable of, and they’re going to be ready when it’s time for them to step foot into a classroom and help our students, our families, and our school community.”

The NCTQ’s recent recognition of Samford’s elevated efforts in career preparation aligns with Samford University’s ranking by the Wall Street Journal, which placed the university at #8 among all colleges and universities in the United States for the quality of career preparation provided to its students. With Orlean Beeson School of Education graduates working in foundational roles within communities, robust career preparation is not just a benefit—it is a priority in every one of its degree programs.

This is not the first time the NCTQ has recognized the School of Education’s Department of Teacher Education for excellence in teacher preparation. Last summer, the undergraduate and graduate teacher preparation programs were recognized by the NCTQ as among the best in the nation—making Samford one of only two schools in the United States to earn an A+ distinction for preparing teachers in the most effective methods for teaching reading.