The Lynch School of Education and Human Development (Lynch School) is the professional school of education at
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
.
Founded in 1952, the Lynch school offers graduate and undergraduate programs in
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
,
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, and
human development Human development may refer to:
* Development of the human body
* Developmental psychology
* Human development (economics)
* Human Development Index, an index used to rank countries by level of human development
* Human evolution, the prehistoric ...
. ''
U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the Lynch School as the #19 best school of education in the nation in 2020, lauding its programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Elementary Teacher Education, Secondary Teacher Education, and Student Counseling and Personnel Services.
History
Prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Boston College's Department of Education within the
College of Arts and Sciences
A College of Arts and Sciences or School of Arts and Sciences is most commonly an individual institution or a unit within a university that focuses on instruction of the liberal arts and pure sciences, although they frequently include programs and ...
was organized to prepare teachers, however student interest dropped after the war. Department chairman Charles F. Donovan, S.J., a 1933 graduate who received his Ph.D. from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, rearranged the curriculum and established a major in education. But changes in the field of education, including increased certification requirements for public school teachers in Massachusetts, made the need for a school of education apparent.
When it opened on September 22, 1952, the School of Education was Boston College's first coeducational school on the Chestnut Hill campus. Donovan as dean was assisted by Marie M. Gearan, who served as dean of women. In 1954, Campion Hall was designed by the Boston firm of Maginnis and Walsh, the primary architect for the university's campus.
Archbishop Richard Cushing presided over a dedication ceremony on September 22, 1955. Charles Frank Smith Jr., Boston College’s first tenured black professor, taught at the Lynch School from 1968 to 1996. At one time beginning in 1973, an undergraduate final teaching practicum sent students during a semester to gain experience outside of Massachusetts, including
Indian reservation
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
s, and to foreign countries. In 1999, philanthropists Carolyn and
Peter Lynch
Peter Lynch (born January 19, 1944) is an American investor, mutual fund manager, and philanthropist. As the manager of the Magellan Fund at Fidelity Investments between 1977 and 1990, Lynch averaged a 29.2% annual return, consistently more th ...
, an alumnus and financial investor, donated more than $10 million to Boston College, then the largest individual gift ever made to the University. In honor of the gift, the School of Education was renamed in their honor.
Programs of study
The Lynch School offers Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees in Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Applied Psychology and Human Development; 17 Master's (M.Ed, M.A., M.S.) degree specialties along with several dual degree programs; and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership along with five Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Higher Education, Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, Counseling Psychology and Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment. The school's M.A. in Mental Health Counseling is accredited by the Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council (MPCAC). The school has over 60 full-time faculty members, more than 35 part-time faculty members and another 60 researchers, approximately 580 undergraduate students and 815 graduate students, and about 20 academic programs in education, human development, and psychology.
Research
There are several research groups operating within the Lynch School, and students often participate in collaborative projects. Major research projects are conducted under the auspices of the six major centers and institutes. Practicum sites are located in schools, clinics, and hospitals throughout greater
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, especially in the Boston public schools. The Boston College Campus School, which serves about 50 multiply disabled children, can be used as a research and practicum site for students in teacher education programs. There are nine international practice teaching sites in American schools abroad.
The Journal of Teacher Education, Teaching Exceptional Children, the Journal for Educational Change, and the Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment are housed at the Lynch School. The Center for International Higher Education serves as a center of dialogue and communication among academic institutions in the industrialized nations and in the developing countries of the Third World and is home to the Journal of Higher Education in Africa, Educational Policy, and International Higher Education. The Center for Child, Family, and Community Partnerships engages in outreach scholarship in areas affecting the life chances of youth and their families. The Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture works to promote understanding of race and culture through psychological study and related psychoeducational interventions. The Center for Human Rights and International Justice offers a certificate in human rights/justice.
Notable faculty
*
Andy Hargreaves, is the Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education. The mission of the chair is to promote social justice and connect theory and practice in education. Hargreaves's teaching and research at Boston College concentrates on sustainable leadership, professional learning communities, educational change and the emotions of teaching.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch School of Education and Human Development
Lynch School of Education and Human Development
The Lynch School of Education and Human Development (Lynch School) is the professional school of education at Boston College.
Founded in 1952, the Lynch school offers graduate and undergraduate programs in education, psychology, and human develo ...
Lynch School of Education and Human Development
The Lynch School of Education and Human Development (Lynch School) is the professional school of education at Boston College.
Founded in 1952, the Lynch school offers graduate and undergraduate programs in education, psychology, and human develo ...
Lynch School of Education and Human Development
The Lynch School of Education and Human Development (Lynch School) is the professional school of education at Boston College.
Founded in 1952, the Lynch school offers graduate and undergraduate programs in education, psychology, and human develo ...
1952 establishments in Massachusetts