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Politics and Education

Department of Education Policy & Social Analysis

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Program Description

The Politics and Education Program serves students who wish to study how governance institutions, political ideologies, and competing interests (both within and outside of the education community) influence the content, form, and functioning of schooling. Schools represent a powerful instrument for shaping the development of future generations of citizens and workers as well as an important source of jobs, investment, social ties, and cultural transmission in many communities. How do societies handle conflicting visions of what schools should and should not be doing, how has this changed over time, and what are the specific changes in political and governance processes that might facilitate better decision-making and policy implementation?

 

The politics of education are negotiated in the context of, and in connection with, historical and present-day inequalities by race, wealth and income, gender, sexuality, nationality, language, ability, and more. Students will study the ways power and politics have affected and have been affected in venues of education policy including reform and innovation, centralization and decentralization within systems of educational governance, privatization and school choice, professionalization and bureaucratization, and testing and accountability.

 

Faculty contributing to the Program are drawn from throughout the College and possess research and teaching interests in urban, suburban, state, and federal levels of school governance, as well as in cross-national and other comparative settings, in both historical and contemporary context. The balance of control and cooperation, coalition building and competition, resistance and bargaining in each of these settings, as well as the central roles of power and agency in the political science discipline, inform the perspectives of faculty and students in this Program.

 

In addition to courses listed within the Politics and Education Program, the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis, Teachers College and the Department of Political Science and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University are all resources available to students as they develop their programs of study. Ph.D. students are expected to master the discipline of political science in addition to the specialty of politics in education. Depending on their interests, students with a master’s degree in Politics and Education conduct research in think-tanks and education policy shops; teach politics, history, or civics in secondary school; or hold public office or other leadership positions in educational settings as diverse as private and public schools, corporations, citizen groups, and foundations. Doctoral graduates of the Politics and Education Program teach in colleges and universities, conduct research in think-tanks and research centers, and advise public officials. Although students from all of the degree programs in politics and education are prepared to assume positions in educational institutions, the Program does not offer teacher certification. Degree programs leading to teacher certification are available in other Departments at Teachers College. For profiles of some recent alumni please visit our website atttps:// www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and-social-analysis/politics-and-education/about/alumni /.

Degrees

  • Master of Arts

    • Points/Credits: 33

      Entry Terms: Fall

      Degree Requirements

      Students follow a core program of coursework and other learning experiences developed by the Politics & Education program faculty and individually adjusted in consultation with an assigned advisor. Under College policy, no transfer credits are accepted for M.A. students. Most students in the program enroll in the M.A., but the Ed.M. sometimes is appropriate for applicants who already have a relevant graduate degree.

      For further information on specific program requirements, consult the program website at https://www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and-social-analysis/politics-and-education/.

      Newly admitted students are asked to participate in a set of core political science and general foundation courses in education and public policy. Each student will also complete methodological requirements including but not limited to statistics, qualitative, and quantitative methods. After completing the core, each student is expected to focus his or her studies on a set of policy debates in education or a particular political arena.

  • Master of Education

    • Points/Credits: 60

      Entry Terms: Fall

      Degree Requirements

      Students follow a core program of coursework and other learning experiences developed by the Politics & Education Program faculty and individually adjusted in consultation with an assigned advisor. Up to 30 points of transfer credits are accepted towards an Ed.M. degree but only upon approval of an assigned faculty advisor after the student is admitted. Most students in the program enroll in the M.A., but the Ed.M. sometimes is appropriate for applicants who already have a relevant graduate degree.

      For further information on specific program requirements, consult the program website at https://www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and-social-analysis/politics-and-education/.

      Newly admitted students are asked to participate in a set of core political science and general foundation courses in education and public policy. Each student will also complete methodological requirements including but not limited to statistics, qualitative, and quantitative methods. After completing the core courses, each student is expected to focus his or her studies on a set of policy debates in education or a particular political arena.

  • Doctor of Philosophy

    • Points/Credits: 75

      Entry Terms: Fall

      Degree Requirements

      Students are asked to participate in a set of core political science and general foundation courses in education policy. These are selected with the approval of the faculty advisor in order to best meet each individual student's interests and professional goals. Students may be required to take as many as 12 points of coursework at Columbia University in the Political Science Department.

      Ph.D. students must demonstrate command of two research tools, selected from the following list: 1) a reading knowledge of a foreign language, 2) a reading knowledge of a second foreign language, 3) an approved two-course sequence in quantitative analysis,* 4) an approved two-course sequence in formal modeling or advanced multivariate statistics, 5) a comparable level of proficiency in a research tool approved by the College. Using a foreign language to satisfy the research tool is appropriate only if the student’s dissertation or future research will be enhanced by developing such knowledge.

      For further information on specific program requirements consult the program website at https://www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and-social-analysis/politics-and-education/ and The Ph.D. Requirements Bulletin is available for download via the Office of Doctoral Students’ website. 

      * Satisfied by meeting 6-point statistics requirement.

Faculty

  • Faculty

    • Jonathan Collins Assistant Professor
    • Ansley T. Erickson Associate Professor of History and Education Policy
    • Luis A Huerta Professor of Education and Public Policy
    • Aaron M Pallas Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology and Education
    • Douglas David Ready Professor of Education and Public Policy
    • Michael A. Rebell Professor of Law and Educational Practice
    • Amra Sabic-El-Rayess Associate Professor of Practice

  • Emeriti

    • Kevin J. Dougherty Professor Emeritus of Higher Education and Education Policy
    • Jeffrey Henig Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Education
    • Amy Stuart Wells Professor Emerita of Sociology and Education

  • Adjunct Faculty

    • Samuel Eli Abrams Adjunct Asst Professor
    • Cameron Joseph Arnzen Adjunct Professor Politics & Education

Courses

  • EDPP 4040 - American Politics and Education
    Introduction to the basic analytical categories of political science as they apply to the politics of education, including the influence of federal, state, and local governments in school policy-making, decentralization, school finance, and desegregation.
  • EDPP 4900 - Research & Independent Study: Politics & Education
    For masters students who wish to pursue an independent study or original research with a specific research focus (the topic of the study must be approved by the academic advisor for the student's program of studies.) Instructor's permission is required.
  • EDPP 5041 - No Title Found in Banner
    Analyzes the political underpinnings and consequences of centralization versus decentralization at various levels of governance with special but not exclusive attention to educational decision-making.
  • EDPP 5042 - Urban Politics and Education
    Politics in the nation's largest cities with a particular focus on educational politics and policy.
  • EDPP 5045 - Race, Ethnicity, and U.S. Educational Policy
    Examination of the impact of race and ethnicity on the formation and implementation of policies such as desegregation, affirmative action, bilingual education, and choice.
  • EDPP 5500 - Educational Activism in New York City Since the 1930s
    What have New Yorkers wanted from their schools, and how have they sought to achieve these goals? How have different communities – from Black mothers to Puerto Rican activists to queer youth to interracial coalitions of leftist teachers and many others – sought to make change in New York City schools? How did they understand the nature and operation of the city school system, and what can we learn from their perspectives? This course explores the forces that shaped inequality in the New York City public schools by focusing on the experiences, knowledges, and visions of those who criticized the system and sought to remake it to better serve their schools and their community's needs.
  • EDPP 6540 - Seminar in Politics of Education
    Selected topics in the politics of education.
  • EDPP 6900 - Research and Independent Study in Politics and Education
    For doctoral students wishing to pursue independent study or original research as they prepare for their doctoral certification examination and/or dissertation proposal. Permission required.
  • EDPP 8900 - Dissertation Advisement in Politics and Education
    Individual advisement on doctoral dissertations. Fee to equal 3 points at current tuition rate for each term. For requirements, see section in catalog on Continuous Registration for Ed.D./Ph.D. degrees.
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