The master’s program in Education prepares students within 3 broad program areas:

  • Culture, Language and Human Development (CLHD)
  • Learning, Teaching, and Teacher Education (LTTE)
  • Policy, Program Evaluation, and Research Methods (PPRM)

In addition, Education as a field of research is interdisciplinary, there are many defined areas of research expertise from Education faculty. Each broad Program Area has identified two to four sub-program area advanced pathways that interested graduate students can choose to develop depth of expertise in a particular area of study.

If your goal is to attain a master's degree that includes a credential required to become a classroom teacher, please see more information about our Teacher Education Program.

Faculty in the Culture, Language, and Human Development program area take multidisciplinary research perspectives that bring anthropological, linguistic, psychological, and sociological theories to studies of children, youth and adults in cultural contexts of education and other lifeworld activities. Areas of culture and human development include studies of lifelong learning and development, as well as the socialization of children, youth, and adults from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in a variety of national and international settings. Areas of culture and language include first and second language learning, sociolinguistics, bilingualism/multilingualism of ESL/ELL and heritage learners, language socialization, sociolinguistics of education, language and identity, and the use of technology in language teaching and learning in the schools.

Please view the webpages of faculty to learn more about the research being conducted in this area.

FACULTY

Diana Arya
Jason Duque
Richard Duran
Danielle Harlow
Amy Kyratzis
Jin Sook Lee
Rebeca Mireles-Rios


Mian Wang

Faculty in LTTE focus on issues related to learning, teaching, and teacher education. There are four sub-areas of focus within LTTE. (1) Faculty in the STEM Education area examine mathematics, science, engineering, and technology teaching and learning in both formal and informal contexts, ranging from preschool through college to teacher education, with a focus on diversity and equity issues. (2) Faculty in Special Education investigate autism; learning (including reading) disabilities; developmental risks; instruction and behavioral supports for students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities; family support for families of children with disabilities; teacher education and professional development; and cross-cultural comparative study on inclusive education. (3) Faculty in the Teacher Education and Professional Development area examine the development of, influences on, and consequences of teaching practices in and out of school. Research interests include preservice teacher education; the professional development of practicing teachers; the development of subject matter and pedagogical knowledge; curriculum formation and implementation; teacher thinking, problem-finding, and decision-making; educational relations among teachers, students, and their communities; and the relationship between what teachers do and what students learn. (4) Faculty in the Literacy area examine issues in composition and rhetoric, including history and theory of composition and writing instruction; writing in the disciplines and writing across the curriculum; assessment of writing; sociolinguistics of literacy, including classroom discourse and the construction of knowledge; and the impact of digital technologies on writing and communication.

Please view the webpages of faculty and affiliates to learn more about the research being conducted in this area.

FACULTY

Diana Arya
Julie Bianchini
Tim Dewar
Jason Duque
Richard Duran
Andrew Fedders
Danielle Harlow
Amy Kyratzis
Rachel Lambert
Jin Sook Lee
Karin Lohwasser
Hui-Ling Malone
Amber Moran
Chris Ograin
Sarah Roberts
Mian Wang

Faculty in PPRM pursue programs of research that focus on the exploration of both substantive and methodological questions. Substantively, faculty examine the ways in which the broader contexts of education can be affected by the policies and practices of educational organizations and their leaders, and in turn, how those policies and practices can affect the lives of people both inside and outside educational settings. Methodologically, faculty research the application of diverse quantitative and qualitative approaches to the analysis of educational data, the development and assessment of new analytic approaches, and the evaluation of effective policies and practices. Students who work within this area will gain a multidisciplinary perspective on policy and practice that focus directly on issues of diversity and equity, and will receive comprehensive and rigorous training in the design and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.

Please view the webpages of faculty and affiliates to learn more about the research being conducted in this area.

FACULTY

Tarek Azzam
Andrew Maul
Jeffrey Milem
Karen Nylund-Gibson
Mayra Puente
Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj
Antar Tichavakunda