New Doctorate in Education Takes Unique Interdisciplinary Approach

Students don’t come from cookie-cutter molds, and neither should educators.

Many different circumstances impact education – students’ background, economic and political climate and new research, to name a few. That’s why a new doctoral degree program to be offered by the School of Education at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University will take a broad, interdisciplinary approach to teaching, learning and educational administration, from pre-kindergarten through college.

“There are no other universities locally that have a program of educational studies that takes an interdisciplinary focus,” said Paula Lester, program director for the new Ed.D. in Interdisciplinary Educational Studies and a professor of education. “Our students will be able to dissect a given problem from many different points of view: historical, administrative and cultural, just to name a few.”

The 51-credit Ed.D., which is scheduled to begin in September 2009, is the third doctorate offered at C.W. Post, joining the Psy.D. in clinical psychology and the Ph.D. in information studies.

The program is designed for elementary and secondary teachers, academic department chairpersons, curriculum specialists, guidance counselors, school psychologists, speech pathologists, principals, superintendents, as well as faculty and administrators in higher education.

Students will proceed through the program in cohorts. Initially, the degree will include two concentrations: teaching and learning, and educational leadership. Additional “strands” will likely be developed over time, such as counseling or speech and language disorders, Dr. Lester said.

According to Robert Manheimer, dean of the School of Education at C.W. Post, the interdisciplinary approach will include participation from professors at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus as well as C.W. Post’s School of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and College of Information and Computer Science. “The broad perspective brought about by this approach will greatly benefit the schools and school districts our graduates serve,” Dr. Manheimer said.

“Students enrolled in our program will gain the skills to become critical consumers of research,” explained Dr. Lester. “Maybe they’re interested in school board governance. Maybe they’re interested in the changing role of the administrator or the teacher. Maybe they’re interested in how you run a program that has enrichment activities on an austerity budget. These could be some of the topics for dissertations.”

The program prepares graduates to assume positions as principals, superintendents, administrators, researchers, curriculum developers, professors, policy analysts and educational consultants.

Applications for the Ed.D. in interdisciplinary educational studies are due by March 15, 2009. For information on the program, contact Joan McCarthy in the School of Education at (516) 299-2210 or visit www.liu.edu/cwpost/educationalstudies.

Posted: August 5, 2008