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 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 at the Brookings Institution. He came to GW in 2010 after a 17-year tenure in leadership roles at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Previously Feuer was senior analyst and project director at the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment. He was appointed by President Obama in 2014 to the National Board for Education Sciences, and is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Educational
Research Association.

Feuer’s research has focused on the economics of education, international comparative assessments, teacher preparation, inequality and academic opportunity, science policy, use of research to inform policy, philanthropy, and civics education. In addition to many edited volumes and journal articles, Feuer is the author of Moderating the Debate: Rationality and the Promise of American Education (2006), and The Rising Price of Objectivity: Philanthropy, Government, and the Future of Education Research (2016), both published by Harvard Education Press. A third book, Can Schools Save Democracy? Civic Education and the Common Good, will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in November 2023.

Feuer’s essays, commentaries, book reviews, and poems have appeared in newspapers, blogs, and magazines in the US and abroad. Recent essays have addressed the role of social science in pandemic models, risk assessment, and the condition of education in the West Bank and Gaza. He consults to governments and research organizations in Europe, Israel, and elsewhere.

Feuer received his BA in English from Queens College (CUNY), the MA in public management from the Wharton School, and the PhD in public policy from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been on the faculty of Drexel University and Georgetown. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife Regine, a physician certified in both ob-gyn and addiction medicine. The Feuers have two grown children.

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.

 


 

Maxine Freund

Associate Dean for Research and External Relations

Professor, Special Education and Disability Studies

View Dr. Freund's Profile


 

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

 


 

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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