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School of education

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In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences encompassing sociology, psychology, linguistics, economics, political science, public policy, history, and others, all applied to the topic of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. The U.S. has 1,206 schools, colleges and departments of education and they exist in 78% of all universities and colleges.[1] According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 176,572 individuals were conferred masters' degrees in education by degree-granting institutions in the United States in 2006–2007. The number of master’s degrees conferred has grown immensely since the 1990s and accounts for one of the discipline areas that awards the highest number of master’s degrees in the United States.[2]

In the United Kingdom, following the recommendation in the 1963 Robbins Report into higher education, teacher training colleges were renamed colleges of education in the UK. For information about academic divisions devoted to this field outside of the United States and Canada, see Postgraduate Training in Education.

Types of programs

Typically, a school of education offers research-based programs leading to Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Education (M.Ed.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) or Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degrees, as well as professional teacher-education programs leading to Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Education (M.Ed.), or Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) degrees. Schools of education also offer teacher certification or licensure programs to undergraduate students. Generally schools of education have graduate programs related to teacher preparation, curriculum and instruction (or curriculum and teaching), public policy and education, and educational administration. In addition, some schools of education offer programs in school counseling and counseling psychology.

Common areas of interest

Schools of education have several areas of interest in both their research and practice. The first is teacher education, curriculum, and instruction. With their historical roots in the 19th century normal school, they train the vast majority of teachers. A second area of interest is educational administration. As the main institution for the training of principals and superintendents, there is a focus on the administration of schools and school districts. A final area of interest is education policy and reform. Many graduates of schools of education become involved in education policy. As such, issues such as equity, teacher quality, and education assessment have become focuses of many schools of education. The issue of equitable access to education particularly is common, specifically focusing on low-income, minority, and immigrant communities, is central to many areas of research within the Education field.[3][4]

Notable schools of education in the United States

The annual rankings of U.S. News & World Report placed the following schools of education in the top 20 of all graduate education institutions in the United States for 2016.[5] They follow in order: 

  1. Johns Hopkins University

  2. Harvard University

  3. Stanford University

  3. Vanderbilt University (Peabody College)

  5. University of Wisconsin-Madison

  6. University of Washington

  7. Northwestern University

  7. Teachers College, Columbia University

  7. University of Pennsylvania

10. University of Texas-Austin

11. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

12. University of Oregon

13. Michigan State University

13. University of California-Los Angeles

15. Ohio State University

15. University of Southern California

17. Arizona State University

17. University of California-Berkeley

17. University of Kansas

20. New York University

Notable scholars within schools of education

Further information: Education theory

Criticism

Traditionalist scholars have been critical of the status quo within most schools of education. Prominent figures contributing to this school of thought include E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Diane Ravitch, Chester Finn, and Lynne Cheney.[6] Common assertions made by these critics include that the typical school of education has a Left-wing political bias, favoring Socialist philosophies such as Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy[7] and the "Teaching for Social Justice" movement, and are of lower academic standards and include "Mickey Mouse" courses.[8] They also argue that many schools of education are academically, professionally, and socially inhospitable toward students whose political views do not conform to the predominant Left-leaning ideology[9][10][11][12] and that the field's interest in educational equity sometimes crosses over the line between academic research and political activism.[3]

In March 2009, Katherine Merseth, director of the teacher education program at Harvard University, described graduate schools of education as the "cash cows of universities".[13][14] Another criticism is that earning an advanced degree in education, specifically a master level degree, doesn't seem to actually make someone a better teacher.[15] In October 2009, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said that “by almost any standard, many if not most of the nation’s 1,450 schools, colleges and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of preparing teachers for the realities of the 21st-century classroom.” He characterized many education schools as "cash cows" for American universities.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ Levine, A. (2007). Educating researchers. New York: Education Schools Project.
  2. ^ Digest of Education Statistics - National Center for Education Statistics Web Site. Accessed on December 4, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Labaree, David F. (1 February 2005). "Progressivism, schools and schools of education: An American romance" (PDF). Paedagogica Historica. 41 (1–2). Routledge: 275–288. doi:10.1080/0030923042000335583. ISSN 1477-674X. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  4. ^ Deborah J. Stipek (2007). "Message from the Dean". Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  5. ^ http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings?int=a3a109
  6. ^ Martin A. Kozloff (October 2002). "Ed Schools in Crisis". Watson College of Education, University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  7. ^ Sol Stern "Pedagogy of the Oppressor" City Journal, Spring 2009 http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_2_freirian-pedagogy.html
  8. ^ Finn, C. E. (2001). Getting better teachers—and treating them right. In T. M. Moe (Ed.), A primer on America’s schools (pp. 127-150). Stanford, CA: Hoover Institute.
  9. ^ Heather Mac Donald (Spring 1998). "Why Johnny's Teacher Can't Teach". City Journal. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  10. ^ Sol Stern (Summer 2006). "The Ed Schools' Latest—and Worst—Humbug". City Journal. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  11. ^ George F. Will (2006-01-16). "Ed Schools vs. Education". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  12. ^ Greg Lukianoff. "Social Justice and Political Orthodoxy". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  13. ^ Eddie Ramirez (25 March 2009). "What You Should Consider Before Education Graduate School". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 28 April 2013. We need to hold graduate schools of education more accountable." Merseth says that of the 1,300 graduate teacher training programs in the country, about 100 or so are adequately preparing teachers and "the others could be shut down tomorrow.
  14. ^ Jesse Scaccia (31 March 2009). "Graduate Schools of Education: "Cash Cows" says Harvard lecturer". Teacher, Revised. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  15. ^ Luzer, Daniel (22 February 2010). "The Pedagogy Con". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  16. ^ Medina, Jennifer (22 October 2009). "Teacher Training Termed Mediocre". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
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