Educational Foundations and Research

Engagement in teaching

Commitment to research

Outreach in service

Educational Foundations and Research is a dynamic department offering relevant programs for educators and other professionals interested in educational foundations, educational evaluation, and/or educational research. We offer two tracks within the PhD program, one in Educational Foundations and the other in Educational Research. We seek to affirm multiple voices and multiple perspectives and are committed to preparing educational professionals to function as engaged citizens in a diverse and complex world. We are interactive and constructivist teachers who bring our research into the classroom and the classroom into our research.

Choose a degree in Educational Foundations if...

• You are interested in knowing more about today's teachers and students, the challenges in modern schooling, why people choose to teach, what makes a good teacher, or what makes a good school.
• You want to contribute to racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, and religious diversity in educational environments using both disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge.
• You are involved in education as it occurs in traditional schooling or in non-formal or in-formal educational settings.
• You work in social activism or social justice activities or are interested in developing a critical voice on issues that relate to education.
• You have an interest in state-, national-, or international-level education policy making.
• Your interest may be more global, addressing international or comparative education questions.
• You have a background in sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, communication, or other areas of study, yet your interests intersect with schooling or education.
• You want to explore the historical and philosophical dimensions that impact our schools.

Choose a degree in Educational Research if...

• You enjoy asking questions and working to understand the complexity of educational problems.
• You know that educational professionals should be highly informed and context-sensitive professionals who make theory based, research supported, and data-driven decisions.
• You are interested in developing skills in measurement, evaluation, research design, program evaluation, and quantitative or qualitative analyses.
• You want to work closely with faculty that provides quality guidance and support to graduate student research.
• You enjoy the systematic process of research through data collection, analysis and interpretation.
• You want to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in education and be part of dialogues that involve creating solutions to pressing educational issues.

Where will Educational Foundations and Research take you?

A degree in educational foundations and research can take you many places including: teaching and researching in higher education, working in administrative positions in higher education or P-12 schools, working as an education consultant, working in state, national, and international education positions, working with non-government organizations or the private sector, consulting for grant evaluations, needs assessment, and curricular and program evaluation.