The Field of Education addresses formal and non-formal educational issues from national and international perspectives, and emphasizes the relationship between theory and practice. Using qualitative and quantitative methods and approaches to issues in classrooms, schools, and community settings, faculty examine epistemological frameworks, reflecting on and questioning them to seek new ways to address problems of social and educational significance. The Field prepares leaders who will engage in professional practice (MAT and MPS degrees), research and scholarship (MS and PhD degrees) to improve educational processes and social policies. Additional information on our programs is on our website
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Adult and Extension Education
(AEE) Studies in this program area focus on promoting social learning and civic engagement through participatory adult and extension education practice. Program coursework, research, and fieldwork integrate critical educational, philosophical, psychological, and sociological theories of democratic engagement of adult learners. The program prepares educational scholars and professionals for leadership and activist roles in non-formal and community-based settings, including but not limited to adult education, agricultural education, adult literacy education, continuing education and staff development, domestic extension and community development, and international agricultural education and development. Using a reflective practice approach, graduate preparation includes the study of ethical, political, empirical, and theoretical bases of educational endeavors; analyses of current and historical practices in adult, extension, and international education; and the praxis of education in a global environment.
Degree programs and purposes
The M.P.S. (Agriculture and Life Sciences) in Adult and Extension Education is a practitioner degree to provide opportunity for professional development and graduate study for adult, extension, and international educators working in a variety of non-formal and community-based settings. The M.S. and Ph.D. in Adult and Extension Education programs are research degrees, designed to provide intellectual and professional preparation of scholars and practitioners for faculty roles in higher education, leadership roles in non-formal and community-based educational agencies domestically and internationally, and activist roles in a variety of adult and extension education endeavors.
Learning, Teaching and Social Policy
(LTSP) The program in Learning, Teaching and Social Policy is designed to foster the development of educational leaders, researchers, and practitioners who approach issues and challenges in education from multiple perspectives, and seek to construct an integrated knowledge base upon which the practice of teaching, learning, and social policy is based. The impacts of implementation and practice are explored for creating new theories, approaches, and policies to improve teaching, learning, and community life. Drawing on the dynamic nature of learning and teaching, this program challenges students to create and apply research-based, critically reflective analysis of cognitive, intellectual, personal, social, moral, and institutional dimensions of learning, teaching, social and educational policy in a variety of contexts and at multiple governance levels. Students engage in critically reflective practice to address pressing problems and issues in formal and non-formal educational contexts across a variety of national, international, and cultural settings. The program is philosophically grounded in the perspective that learning and teaching is a lifelong process vital to individual development, the development of democratic communities, and the implementation of democratic values in educational policy and practice. Context, gender, social, and economic diversity underlie the design and implementation of curriculum, teaching and learning theory, and social interactions, and are lenses for examining educational practice, theory, and social policy.
Faculty and graduate students in research programs in Learning, Teaching and Social Policy investigate factors that contribute to scientific and quantitative literacy, curriculum design and evaluation in science, mathematics, and agricultural science; effectiveness of teacher professional development; educational policy in rural schools; socio-moral development and reflective thought in schools and communities; and safe learning environments.
As a division of the Learning, Teaching and Social Policy program, the Cornell Teacher Education
(CTE) option supports the unique needs of those studying to become teachers of Agricultural Science, Mathematics, and Science. CTE provides students with the opportunity to engage in coursework and field experiences that focus on the character and formation of cognitive abilities as well as subject matter expertise; critical and reflective thinking; the social context of education; the synthesis and communication of knowledge; professional development; and inquiry. Students gain knowledge of ethical practice, the teaching and learning process, and the moral, social and political context of education, and integrate this with their specific content area in the sciences, mathematics and/or agricultural science. Students develop the knowledge and expert practice skills to assume leadership positions in formal educational settings (public, private, and charter schools, and other formal instructional situations).
Degree programs and purposes
The M.A.T. (Agricultural Science, Mathematics, and Science) is a graduate curriculum of professional education designed to meet the New York State standards for teacher certification. Students complete additional coursework in their content area(s) and one off-campus semester of student teaching. Graduates are eligible to apply for New York State provisional certification (grades 7?12) to teach one or more of the content areas emphasized in the program. Two years of successful teaching experience are subsequently required for permanent certification in New York State. Cornell undergraduates majoring in science, mathematics, or agricultural science may apply to the certification program track during their sophomore year, but acceptance in the program track does not guarantee graduate admission. Students complete their undergraduate subject matter majors while taking selected courses in Education during their junior and senior years. Contact the CTE coordinator, 607 255-9573, for further information.
The M.P.S. (Agriculture and Life Sciences) degree in Agricultural Education is a program of professional education. In addition to coursework in technical content area(s), the MPS requires an in-depth applied project. Graduates with prior provisional certification and the appropriate teaching experience may gain permanent certification to teach, while other graduates work in formal educational settings that do not require state certification (e.g., extension, community colleges, private schools, industry), but require an advanced degree in the planning, delivery, and assessment of instruction.
The M.S. and Ph.D. are research degrees in Learning, Teaching, and Social Policy. These degree programs prepare scholars, researchers, and leaders in education who will work in colleges and universities, government agencies, foundations, and other institutions whose work is focused on formal education. In cooperation with their faculty committee and guidelines in the Field of Education, students design a program tailored to fit their professional interests in Learning, Teaching, and Social Policy. Graduates engage in disciplined inquiry to address problems and issues of importance to the processes of learning and teaching, and issues central to the social, moral, and political contexts in which education takes place.
