Elementary Education

Master of Education
Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy

Mission and Program Outcomes

The Elementary Education M.Ed. program consists of a comprehensive and innovative series of experiences designed to develop the knowledge, skills and qualities essential for initial teaching effectiveness. The mission of the program, grounded in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s bridging concepts—Research and Scholarship, Reflective Practice, Community Service, and Educational Leadership, is to prepare teachers who are knowledgeable in the research and scholarship of curriculum and methods of instruction; who are reflective practitioners in the integration of theory and practice; who are actively dedicated to teaching and learning in a pluralistic democracy; and who, as leaders, are eager to contribute to the national conversation about the reform of American schools and society.

The program’s mission is grounded in a conceptual framework that consists of an integrated set of three themes: knowledge, individuality, and social responsibility. These three themes provide a cohesive conceptual framework for the entire program and are reflected in all aspects of program coursework as well as in related clinical experiences. The relationship of the conceptual framework's three themes is interactive.

Knowledge: Good teachers know the subject matter they teach; they also understand the process of its construction and the impact of its use in real world settings. This extended view of knowledge establishes a comprehensive base for meaningful classroom instruction.

Individuality: Today’s youngsters come from a rich array of cultural and experiential backgrounds. They bring to schools a diverse set of personal, social, and academic expectations. Good teachers are attentive to students as individuals; they are also sensitive to the broader cultural context that gives shape to diversity.

Social Responsibility: Teaching is a socially significant profession that calls for a wider, moral vision extending beyond the narrowness of personal gain and private intellectual development. The education of today’s youth is connected to many crucial issues confronting the larger social order.

Program Coordinator

Dr. Sylven Beck

Program Details

Program Locations
Foggy Bottom Campus

39 Credit Hours

Coursework:

Coursework is in educational foundations, elementary school curriculum and methodology, and a series of integrated field experiences at different grade levels in public schools. Key features of the program include:

• Coursework in the cultural, historical, and social/psychological foundations of education
• Opportunities to design, produce, and evaluate research
• Multiple experiences with master teachers in elementary schools, including multiculturally diverse and/or inclusive classroom settings
• Practice and feedback in using a variety of instructional strategies, including direct instruction, team teaching, inquiry-based instruction, cooperative learning, and problem solving
• Field placements in a variety of select inner-city, urban, urban-fringe, and suburban schools designed to provide a graduated, incremental introduction to teaching

Admissions Deadline:
Fall: January 15 (Priority deadline to be considered for tuition support) or April 1 (final deadline)
Summer: March 1
Late applicants may be considered

Semesters for Entry:
Fall and Summer

For more information, please contact:

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