In the Education department, we ask important questions and apply our thinking and knowledge to educational problems and practices.
What is the purpose of education? What, and how, should students learn in school—and in what ways does education take place outside of school? What makes a great teacher? How does education shape—and how is it shaped by—politics, social inequalities, philosophical assumptions, and our culture and historical moment? How might education be changed for the better?
More so than many people realize, these and other questions about education are up for debate, with various possible answers depending partly on one’s values and on scholarship and research.
What we offer:
Small, Supported and Successful
Whatever option you choose, you’ll find yourself in small, discussion-based classes, supported by professors and staff who get to know you and help you reach your own goals, whether in a student teaching placement with a mentor teacher who was selected with your needs in mind; or in courses and independent research and internships that grow out of your coursework. You—and the students and schools and institutions you go on to influence—will never be the same. View a sampling of courses you will take below:
Educational Innovation
An in-depth exploration of ways to change education.
Critical Issues in Education
Debate hot topics in educational policy, such as technology in schools, violence in schools, religion in schools and freedom of speech.
Education and Inequality
Focus on ways in which individual experiences are differentially shaped and structured by social and historical forces.
