Social Foundations of Education

Graduate students specializing in Social Foundations of Education pursue one of three graduate degrees in Curriculum & Instruction:  Master of Arts in Education (MAE), Master of Education (MEd), or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).  Students collaborate with faculty through coursework and research by enlisting disciplinary tools for understanding and improving enduring problems in education.

As an academic discipline, Social Foundations of Education encourages us to consider the societal contexts in which schools are situated.  It enlists historical, philosophical, sociological, anthropological and comparative perspectives for understanding the inter-relationships between schools and society.

•  History of education offers temporal perspectives.  It highlights patterns of educational development and concurrent social issues over time.
•  Philosophy of education provides conceptual perspectives.  It challenges us to envision ideal educational environments, goals, and systems and to think critically about what it means to be “educated,” to “learn,” and to “teach.”
•  Sociology and Anthropology of education present social and cultural perspectives.  They reminds us that schools are products of society, and that American schools, as products of a democratic society, represent the degree to which our social, political, economic and cultural traditions are successful or just.
•  Comparative education renders international and regional perspectives.  It recognizes that educational systems and practices vary in different societies and regions because of distinct cultural, political, historical, economic, and religious conditions.

These branches of Social Foundations of Education certainly overlap one another in multiple ways.  Taken together, they remind us that cultural contexts and societal priorities shape schools and vice versa.  Our graduate programs specializing in Social Foundations of Education offer our students a thorough grounding in these areas to equip them for rapidly changing conditions in their educational careers–as teachers, scholars, school leaders & policymakers, and citizens.