Program Details

As a graduate student, you will embark on a study of curriculum and instruction in PK-12 contexts. This means that you will be thinking deeply about both classroom and school practices (your own and those of others’) as well as the larger theoretical frameworks that influence educational policy and pedagogical design. You will have the opportunity to continue your development as an educator under the tutelage of the ASPIRE and SEHD faculty whom you met in your licensure work. Curriculum & Instruction faculty emphasize the importance of teachers as scholars and reflective practitioners.

A thread running through all courses of the MA program is that of Critical Pedagogy. As a stance towards teaching, learning and school systems, Critical Pedagogy recognizes the political nature of education and the systemic inequities (social, economic, gender, ethnocultural background, racial geography, etc.) that help create unequal educational opportunities for a variety of learners.

Through the C&I MA, students will develop:

1. Critical inquiry and analysis of past and current educational practices and policies
2. Teaching practices and curricula that are equity-oriented and anti-oppressive in nature
3. An understanding of the larger systemic context within which students, communities and schools are operating.
4. Ways to disrupt “common sense” notions of schooling to reveal implicit biases and assumptions.
5. Capacity to operate as leaders in their schools, districts and/or at the local and state level

Program Plan (30 credit hours)

The C&I MA is offered fully online, with asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities.

Core Courses (12 credits)

• History of Schooling in the United States
• Curriculum Theories in Education
• Research in Schools
• Culture of Education Policy

Elective Courses (9 credits)

Electives can be chosen from within the following topics/program areas:

• Social and Emotional Learning and Curricular Design
• 21st Century Pedagogy and Curricular Design
• Special Education
• Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education
• Responsive Literacy
• Mathematics Education
• Science Education

ASPIRE to Teach Credits by Evaluation (9 credits)

If you are an ASPIRE alumni, these 9 credits are available to purchase at a reduced rate. If you did not complete ASPIRE, you will be required to take the 9 credits as elective courses.

• Social Foundations & Cultural Diversity in Education
• Exploring Diversity in Content & Pedagogy
• Extended Internship & Learning Community