Cultural Foundations

The field of cultural foundations of education understands education to be a broad and complex undertaking. Our program brings the foundational disciplines of philosophy, history, sociology and anthropology together with various established and emergent fields of study to bear on the study of education at all levels, in multiple locations, both within and beyond formal schooling. Our students explore education from normative, interpretive and critical perspectives with a view to discerning the transformative potential of education in contexts characterized by unequal access to both the political process and educational institutions.

Our faculty specializes in the normative and critical dimensions of education, including the challenges of marginalization and inequality, girls' and women's empowerment in relation to schooling, contemporary school reform, religious pluralism in public and parochial settings, and place-based education in the rural U.S. We also explore issues of identity formation and transformation in relation to education, with a particular focus on narratives of academic success among African-American students, religious identity formation and transformation in pluralistic contexts, and teacher identity and agency.

The Master of Arts (M.A.) program provides graduates with the knowledge and skills to critique and interpret educational theories, programs and practices and to promote innovation in education in a range of settings and social contexts. The M.A. program has a thesis component which is tailored to individual research interests.

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) program provides graduates with the knowledge and skills to critique and interpret policy and practice and to promote innovative practices in educational settings.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program provides graduates with the knowledge, critical understandings and interpretive skills to analyze and assess educational policies, theories and practice and to lead and promote innovation in education in a range of settings and social contexts.