About
OUR HISTORY
Since 1904, GW has offered coursework in the field of education. With fewer than a dozen faculty at first, the education division became the Teachers' College in 1909, and then eventually the School of Education in 1928, with departments of education, educational psychology and home economics. In 1933, the School of Education started to offer doctoral programs.
After World War II, many returning G.I.’s and retired military officers, some of whom were already trained in mathematics and science, attended GW to earn degrees in education, giving them entry to second careers. Many of these graduates quickly rose to become principals and superintendents to the generation of baby-boomers, thus providing a ready-made network for placing subsequent generations of GW teacher-trainees.
In the late '60s the school sought and received government funding for its new special education program, and later reached out to the community by training counselors as well as teachers. In 1977 the name was again changed to the School of Education and Human Development.
In 1994, the school became Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) when it transitioned to a more focused mission on graduate education. Today, GSEHD’s programs are organized within five departments: Counseling and Human Development, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Educational Leadership, Human and Organizational Learning, and Special Education and Disability Studies. These departments house master's, education specialist, doctoral, and graduate certificate programs.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Michael Feuer
Dean
Professor, Education Policy
Michael Feuer is Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development and Professor of Education Policy at the George Washington University, Past President of the National Academy of Education, and Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. In the fall of 2014, President Obama appointed Dean Feuer as a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences.
Prior to his joining GW, for the previous 17 years, Dean Feuer held positions at the National Research Council of the National Academies, most recently as the executive director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. He also served as a senior analyst and project director at the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment.
Feuer received his BA (cum laude) in English literature from Queens College (CUNY) in New York, the MA in public management from the Wharton School, and the PhD in public policy analysis from the University of Pennsylvania. He has studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Sorbonne, was on the faculty of the business school at Drexel University from 1981-1986, and has taught courses in education policy and research at Penn and Georgetown. He is currently teaching a doctoral proseminar on higher education policy analysis at GSEHD.
Feuer consults regularly to educational institutions and government in the US, Israel, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He has published in education, economics, and policy journals and has had reviews, essays, and poems in newspapers and magazines in Washington, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. He is also the host of the education podcast EdFix. Feuer is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Educational Research Association.
Education is the most important investment a society makes. Thanks to the remarkable capacity and caliber of our faculty, students and staff, we are ready to meet new challenges, using principles of innovation and collaboration as powerful engines of change.
Lionel C. Howard
Interim Academic Dean
Associate Professor, Educational Research
Maxine Freund
Associate Dean for Research and External Relations
Professor, Special Education and Disability Studies
Sharon Dannels
Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies
Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
Meg Holland
Assistant Dean for Administration and
Operations
GSEHD VISION AND MISSION
FEUER CONSIDERATION
It is an exciting time to be part of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development as we debate and engage in some of our nation's most important policy issues. Here, we believe that education has been and will continue to be the single greatest contributor to the public good and the nation's future. I'm looking forward to meeting and discussing these critical topics with you.
Dean Michael Feuer
EdFix Podcast
Michael J. Feuer, Dean of the George Washington University's Graduate School of Education and Human Development, talks with researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about effective strategies and ideas for improving our schools and colleges. He explores ways to connect their worlds to take on some of education’s most complex issues. Education is the greatest contributor to our nation's economic and social progress. It requires knowledge, agility, and optimism from many sources. From preschool to postsecondary, get your fix with EdFix! Visit the EdFix page