Paine College opened its doors in 1882 with the explicit purpose of preparing teachers. The Division of Education was created to better meet the demands of stakeholders in the education community.

The Division of Education at Paine College envisions developing stewards of education who are subject matter experts, reflective practitioners and socially competent professionals driven by learning. Similarly, faculty and staff have accepted the mission, to develop candidates who demonstrate knowledge of content, teaching, learning and cognition through reflective critique.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission has approved the Division of Education to offer programs leading to certification in elementary education (K through 6), middle level education (4 through 8) and secondary education (9 through12) in the areas of mathematics, biology, history and English. All education programs are offered in collaboration with the Divisions of Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

The Paine College Division of Education is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) organization and a member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE) and Georgia Association of Independent Colleges of Teacher Education (GAICTE).