The Field of Education is part of Cornell University's Graduate School and consists of a faculty that spans departments throughout the campus. The Field is housed in the Department of Education. We offer M.S., M.P.S. and Ph.D. programs in Learning, Teaching and Social Policy and Adult and Extension Education, and an M.A.T. in teacher education, a program leading to certification of high school and middle school teachers of mathematics and the agricultural, biological, and physical sciences. (There are no programs in special education, school psychology, elementary education, language and literacy, or teaching in the humanities or social sciences, but these areas are discussed within the curriculum.)

Programs address formal and non-formal educational issues from national and international perspectives, and emphasize the relationship between theory and practice. Departmental research applies qualitative and quantitative methods and approaches to a variety of educational issues in classrooms, schools, and community settings. Philosophically, we examine epistemological frameworks, reflecting on and questioning them and seeking new ways to address important concerns and theories of educational practice.

Our faculty have interests in areas such as:

• cultivating and sustaining critically reflective practitioners
• developing ethical communities of learning
• effective teaching and learning
• ethical practice as part of the values and practices of teachers and administrators
• high-stakes accountability testing
• linkages among improvement of teaching of different disciplines
• materials development and evaluation of resources
• moral education (character education) for K-12 students
• organizational behavior
• policy research related to K-12 public education
• professional development of teachers and administrators
• reflective thinking and metacognition
• self-study of teacher education practices, including reflective practice and teaching for innovation
• teacher preparation

Graduate students are encouraged to match their research and practicum interests with one or more of Cornell's extension and outreach activities. They include the Rural Schools Program, the Cornell Educational Resources Program (CERP), Community Learning and Service Partnerships (CLASP), Strengthening Extension's Public Issues, Pathways to a Better Trained Workforce, and the Institute for Community College Development.