What Does OAKE Endorsed Mean?

Endorsed vs Unendorsed Programs

The Guidelines for Kodály-Inspired and OAKE-Endorsed Teacher Education Programs provide guidance and direction in the implementation and operation of Kodály-based teacher-education programs. They are intended for use by all training programs, whether holding an endorsement from OAKE, seeking endorsement from OAKE, temporarily dormant, in transition, or providing some alternative to full levels of training.

All OAKE-Endorsed Teacher Education Programs have met the following parameters:

  • OAKE-Endorsed Teacher Education Programs have been vetted by the OAKE Teacher Education Subcommittee and the structure of the program met all requirements outlined in the Guidelines for Kodály-Inspired and OAKE-Endorsed Teacher Education Programs.
  • OAKE granted “Endorsed” status after the program graduated at least one cohort of students under these program guidelines.
  • The programs are then granted the right to advertise as an OAKE-Endorsed program, and include the OAKE logo on completion certificates following the final level of training.
  • OAKE-Endorsed programs must pay for an annual Institutional Membership, submit a yearly report and report fee, to allow the organization to monitor the quality of instructors, structure and content.

Non-endorsed programs may take several forms. Because the guidelines for endorsement referenced above require a program to graduate a cohort of students before being eligible for endorsement, a program may be in that initial building stage. In this case, the program director is designing a program that meets all of the OAKE requirements and will apply for endorsement in the near future. Once the endorsement is awarded, it becomes retroactive to all graduates of the program.

Other programs may only offer an introductory level of training and then encourage students to transfer to an endorsed program for the completion of their levels. Because these programs do not offer all levels they are not eligible for endorsement and are not monitored by OAKE. This should not be construed to imply that the quality of these programs does or does not meet organizational standards.