The Department of Educational Foundations serves the College for Education and Engaged Learning as a locus for inquiry into the broader goals, motivations, traditions, and theories of education as a force in society.
A major aspect of our mission is to problematize common notions in current discussions of education, such as “national standards” or “enculturation.” We consider this form of problematization to be an essential skill to develop within the college and society as a whole, to ensure critical reflection and continual reconstruction of educational and social institutions. We do so by examining the social forces that have shaped and continue to shape educational theory and practice through the lens of a number of disciplines – history, philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and economics. Students who are well-versed in these multiple perspectives are able to respond to and help transform today’s changing educational and social universe.