The program in Education Studies allows students to investigate the compelling and demanding world of education and the relationship between education and society through historical and contemporary contexts. Education Studies believes that educational phenomena are crucial to understanding a wide range of social topics, including state and nation building, economic and political transformation, identity formation, media, globalization, and social movements. Lang’s education courses are created around these topics. Students also examine teaching and learning across a range of sites, including in schools, after school programs, non-profit organizations, families, and neighborhoods. Building on the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, students may explore education from a variety of perspectives (e.g., anthropological, sociological, historical, psychological, and political) and focus on the interplay between broader social, economic, political, and cultural processes and their local and international realities. The program emphasizes cultivating strong analytical abilities, which are necessary to explore emergent issues in education. Students create and develop links between a variety of conceptual orientations as they consider the place and purpose of education in the United States and the world. Students also have the opportunity to participate in field-based courses and a practicum through the Institute for Urban Education.
Students who complete Education Studies are well positioned to pursue certification programs to teach in public schools or graduate study in fields such as international relations, education, urban education, education policy and reform, sociology, anthropology, social work, and public health. Students also work in nontraditional educational, cultural, or nonprofit institutions; community and youth development organizations; or fields where education and the arts connect.