Field Experience Placement Policies

Field Experience and Clinical Practice Policy for Initial Teacher Preparation Programs

Field placements are critical to the preparation of candidates in our teacher preparation program.  Georgia Southern University and its Partner Schools place great importance on field experiences and clinical practice.

• All field experiences are coordinated between the Office of Initial Educator Preparation and Assessment, academic programs, and Partner Schools.
• An attempt will be made to place two or more teacher candidates in a school. An exception to this clustering policy could be rendered by a program or department.  This exception would be a result of specialization required of the clinical supervisor.  (This does not apply to candidates in an online Master of Arts in Teaching program.)
• One geographical area will serve Georgia Southern’s teacher candidate population.
  • For undergraduate teacher candidates, the primary area is approximately 70 miles from each Georgia Southern campus. Candidates can expect the maximum one-way travel to a school site to be 70 miles or less from either Georgia Southern campus.
  • For graduate teacher candidates, field experiences, including clinical practice, for students in the online M.A.T. in Elementary Education, Health and Physical Education, and Special Education will be considered in the Georgia region in which they are located. Field experiences for the M.A.T. Spanish, including clinical practice, will take place within a 70 mile radius of the Georgia Southern Statesboro campus. Field experiences for the M.A.T. in Secondary Education, or Middle Grades Education can occur anywhere in Georgia if the candidate is a teacher of record. If not a teacher of record, field placements will take place within a 70 mile radius of the Georgia Southern Statesboro or Armstrong campus.
• All field placements and clinical practice assignments are identified and assigned by program director/coordinator. Placements will be non-negotiable.
• Teacher candidates seldom receive a field placement at a school site where they have had a previous field experience placement. This policy provides candidates with diversity in placements and teaching experiences.  The exception to this policy is year-long placements during the senior year.
• Teacher candidates are not placed in schools where they have attended, relatives are employed, or relatives are enrolled as students.
• Students must maintain liability insurance while participating in any field experience or clinical practice.
• Teacher candidates that have an identified disability requiring accommodations during a field experience or clinical practice, must consult with the Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC) the semester prior to the field experience to discuss accommodations. All teacher candidates must successfully demonstrate their ability to meet, with or without accommodations, the standards and expectations of the teaching profession.
• Teacher candidates are limited to enrolling in a maximum of 12 semester hours during the clinical practice semester. The exception to this is when a candidate is enrolled in TCLD 4235 and/or COED 3160.
• Candidates enrolled in a Master of Arts in Teaching program can only accept employment in a Georgia school that meets the GaPSC requirements see rule 505-3-.01, section 4 (iv).
• Candidates enrolled in a Master of Arts in Teaching program and are hired by a school system as a Teacher of Record, must be teaching in the content area of the certification they are seeking.
• Candidates enrolled in a Master of Arts in Teaching program and are hired by a school system as a Teacher of Record must be teaching full-time in the content area of the certification they are seeking during their semester of clinical practice/internship

Intervention Policies for Field Experiences and Clinical Practice

• Candidates are allowed a maximum of two (2) Professional Support Plans (A/B) (each for different areas of difficulty) per field experience or clinical practice.
• Candidates are allowed a maximum of one (1) Probationary Status per field experience or clinical practice.
• Candidates may repeat each field experience or clinical practice one (1) time.
• Withdrawing without academic penalty, withdrawing failing, or withdrawing at the recommendation of the program faculty from a field experience or clinical practice will be considered one (1) attempt at that field experience.
• When school personnel request that candidates be removed from the school for performance or professional reasons the placement will end immediately. A new field placement will rarely be identified until the following semester.

Policies effective fall 2022

Last updated: 8/18/2022