About the History & Social Science Education Doctoral Program
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The School of Education at Virginia Tech offers a doctoral program in Curriculum and Instruction with emphasis in History and Social Science Education. The doctoral program is made up of full time and part-time doctoral students. Every effort is made to secure graduate assistantships for full-time students as they complete their one-year academic residency requirement. Students are expected to complete doctoral examinations and dissertation including qualifying exam, preliminary exam, prospectus and final examination.
The History and Social Science Education Doctoral Program is primarily designed to prepare researchers and higher education faculty. The possible career paths could be but not limited to faculty positions in post-secondary education and for leadership positions in secondary education.
The History and Social Science Education Doctoral Program at Virginia Tech is designed to prepare reflective educators who are ready, willing, and able to facilitate the type of systematic critical literacy work that is a vital part of preparing 21st century citizens to become thoughtful and nuanced readers of the word and the world, both past and present.
THE COHORT MODEL
This program operates on a cohort model. Members of a given cohort attend all of the same classes in the same sequence and pursue common plans of study.
The benefits of a cohort model are many. It is designed to facilitate social interaction, collaboration, and the formation of a supportive learning community.
Students in cohorts learn from and help each other with the successful completion of coursework and professional networking. They report a strong sense of community and are more likely to complete their programs of study in a timely manner.
WHAT YOU'LL STUDY
The History and Social Science Education Doctoral Program emphasizes the following strands of research pertaining to History and Social Science:
- Comparative studies of history and social science education
- Education of preservice and in-service teachers
- How students learn history and social science
- The role of multimedia and technology to support historical inquiry
- Curriculum History
- Citizenship Education
- Teaching and Learning with and About Difficult Knowledge / History informal and informal setting
- Learning and Assessment in Social Studies
Students enrolled in the doctoral program must pass four exams and submit a dissertation as part of the degree requirements.
- Qualifying Exam
- Preliminary Exam
- Prospectus
- Final Examination
Plan of Study
Doctoral candidates will work closely with their advisor to craft a Plan of Study. This will include a series of independent studies around the history and nature of research and practice in the social studies. Candidates may also choose to take graduate coursework in a social science (History, Political Science, Geography, Economics, etc.) as part of their cognate.
The Plan of Study for History and Social Science doctoral students must include the following minimum requirements:
- Research: 18 hours
- Dissertation: 30 hours
- Foundations: 9 hours
- Concentration: 12 hours
- Cognate: 9 hours
DISSERTATION
The Ph.D. degree in History and Social Science Education is not awarded solely on the basis of coursework completion. To graduate, each student must also conduct an original research study culminating in the presentation and defense of a dissertation. The dissertation demonstrates the student’s ability to investigate a practical issue in history and social science education agreed upon by one’s dissertation chair and advisory committee.
The majority of students write their dissertations in the traditional five-chapter format (i.e., as a research paper with an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and conclusion). Other options such as a journal article dissertation are available. Students work with the dissertation chairs and committees to determine the best format for their dissertation.
Course Descriptions
Introduction to gender in the context of education. This course is intended to raise awareness of how gender is implicated in teaching and learning in K-12 schooling and higher education. School policy as it relates to gender equality and sex education. Theoretical frameworks for gender analysis in education. Pre-requisite: Graduate standing required
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
The course assists educators in furthering their understanding of the connection between language, and the role culture plays within literacy development. Emphasizes how educators within the school context (K-12) need to be aware of, and utilize, the cultural background knowledge and linguistic resources, community needs of diverse students, and the community groups in which they belong. Major emphasis is on issues of literacy development in regard to oral, written, and multi-mediated texts. Graduate standing is required.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Study of problems of professional educators in such areas as supervision, instruction, and curriculum development.
Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6
Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Selected topics in curriculum and instruction, supervision, educational foundations, special education, research, and evaluation.
Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6
Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Intensive study of research findings and methods in preservice teacher education. Focus on internal and external issues that affect the curriculum, guidelines, accreditation, governance, alternative models, and approaches, instructional strategies, and history of teacher education reform. May be repeated to a maximum of 6 semester hours. Pre-requisite: Graduate Standing required.
Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 6
Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 6
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDCI 5104
Systematic introduction to the study of contemporary philosophy of education, indicating ways in which philosophy is used to analyze educational aims, content, methods, and values.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDCI 5104
Exploration of anthropological ideas and findings relevant to educational institutions and the teaching/learning process. Emphasis on how sociocultural patterns affect what is taught and learned.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDCI 5104
Writing workshop in which students work toward a personal goasl (manuscript, book review, conference proposal, or fellowship application). Emphasis on how writing operates in the production, circulation, and elevation of knowledge in high education. Writing for qualitative research in education is the focus of this course.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 6504
Issues related to conducting and reporting research on the reading process and reading pedagogy. Includes the critical review of classical and contemporary research and an initiation to the process of conducting reading research. Special attention is given to the analysis and classification of major research paradigms.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): (EDCI 5004 (UG), EDCI 5304 (UG)) OR (EDCI 5004, EDCI 5304)
Exploration of ethnographic methods for data collection and analysis: theoretical bases, procedures, issues, and applications of this approach in educational research.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDCI 6034
Presentation and critical discussion of current literature and major topics in curriculum and instruction. Provides students an opportunity to synthesize prior course experiences and to prepare and present a draft dissertation prospectus.
Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 19
Lecture Hour(s): 1 TO 19
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Psychological theories and models which serve as a basis for educational models and practice. Emphasis on conceptions of learning and the learning process. (3H,3C).
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
This course explores the most recent shift in thinking that takes us a step beyond the individualistic and cognitive models of learning to a different view that is fundamentally social and cultural.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Opportunity to develop student assessments based on SOLs and have them critiqued. Objective, performance and portfolio testing is reviewed and practiced. Research utilizing assessment is addressed with the philosophy of ‘teacher as researcher”.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Investigates complex human learning from the perspective of cognitive/information processing theories. Emphasizes methods of investigation in cognitive science as well as strategies for using a cognitive orientation in educational settings. Pre: 5114. (3H,3C).
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Philosophical, theoretical, and empirical foundations of the broad field of constructivism, including the limits of epistemology and ontology, the determination of truth and reality, and applications to education and everyday life. Emphasis on radical constructivism, social constructivism, symbolic interactionism, social constructionism, and cognitive constructivism, and their applications to education.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Explores current research in the field of motivation as it relates to educational settings. Students will learn how motivation constructs relate to student behavior and cognition, how to select appropriate strategies to motivate students, and how to design measures to assess student motivation.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
This course provides an overview of survey research for graduate students in education. It covers the process from project formulation and sampling, through instrument design and question formulation, to data processing and report writing. Emphasis will be on questionnaire design, providing students with an opportunity to create and revise their own questionnaire and critique instruments used in educational surveys.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404
Introducation to Mixed Methods research and evaluation in applied social and behavorial sciences, including education, human development, sociology, and medicine. Mixed methods are used to collect and analyze both qualitive and quantitative data.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404
Research and evaluation in education with emphasis on development of skill requisite for utilizing research and evaluation studies in practical situations. Applies these skills in exercises related to various research and evaluation models.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
This course provides an introduction to qualitative research methods. It considers mainstream qualitative research traditions, including case study, phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, and participatory research. Students will conduct observations, interviews and basic data analysis.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404
This course provides an advanced examination of qualitative inquiry in educational and human science research. It considers theoretical assumptions of major qualitative research traditions and provides students advanced skills in data analysis and representation.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 6504
This two-course sequence is designed to provide an overview of basic research design, measurement and statistical concepts in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in field settings, hands on experience of designing and conducting research and analysis of data. I,II.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404
Provides an introduction to mixed methods research design in the human and behavioral sciences. Students will design and execute a pilot study for a mixed method research project.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Research
Provides advanced treatment of important theoretical and methodological topics in the contemporary qualitative literature and in the ongoing development of qualitative methodology. Emphasis is placed on addressing both theoretical issues and issues of research praxis. Topics covered vary from term to term.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
This two-course sequence is designed to provide an overview of basic research design, measurement and statistical concepts in social and behavioral research. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the process of social and educational research in field settings, hands on experience of designing and conducting research and analysis of data. I,II.
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Lecture
Prerequisite(s): EDRE 5404 (UG) OR EDRE 5404
EDCI 7994 - Research and Dissertation
Credit Hour(s): 1 TO 19
Lecture Hour(s):
Level: Graduate
Current educational theory and practice, related to teaching in higher education, is explored and applied. Issues such as instructional design, instructional strategies, instructional technology, assessment and grading, diverse populations, and motivation are addressed within the practice of higher education. (3H,3C).
Credit Hour(s): 3
Lecture Hour(s): 3
Level: Graduate
Instruction Type(s): Lecture, Online Research