EDCO820: Qualitative Methods for Educational Research

This introductory course is designed to give doctoral students a working knkowledge of the theoretical, conceptual, and practical foundations of qualitative research in education. Attention will be given to the purposes, strengths, and limitations of qualitative social science research, as well as to its social, political, and ethical dimensions. Students will learn about writing proposals for qualitative research and have some practice with qualitative data collection and analysis. Students taking the course for 4 semester hours will be required to conduct a small-scale qualitative study. 3 - 4 sh.

Prerequisites: Matriculation in a doctoral program at MSU.

EDCO821: Quantitative Methods for Educational Research

This course introduces students to major methodologies and fundamental skills of quantitative research. Students critically examine the features of common research methods, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental designs, as well as related sampling techniques. Students study the underlying principles of educational psychological measurement, focusing on such concepts as validity, reliabiliity, and bias. Students also acquire skills for interpreting basic statistical procedures. Topics include descriptive statistics, introduction to statistical inference, and the presentation and interpretation of statistical data in educational literature. The course provides students with an opportunity to use statistical computing packages, such as SPSS, to support data analysis and interpretation. Students will learn about writing proposals for quantitative research and have some practice with data collection and analysis. Students taking the course for 4 semester hours will be required to conduct a small-scale quantitative study. 3 - 4 sh.

Prerequisites: Matriculation in a doctoral program at MSU.

EDCO822: Advanced Methods of Quantitative Inquiry in Education

This is the second course in sequence of two courses in quantitative methodology for doctoral students in educational programs. This course will enable students to further examine and apply the tools of quantitative inquiry in education. Students will learn statistical procedures that are most widely used in educational research and are fundamental for the further study of statistics. Students will study inferential statistical methods and their applications to research in education and teacher education. Topics will include simple and multiple regression, one-factor analysis of variance, factorial designs, analysis of covariance, and nonparametric methods. Students will also be exposed, although not in depth, to common multivariate techniques, including discriminant analysis, canonical correlation, factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance, and hierarchical linear modeling. The course will provide student with multiple opportunities to use statistical computing packages, such as SPSS, to support data analysis. They will develop skills for understanding and interpreting reports of quantitative research in education. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: EDCO 821.

EDCO823: Advanced Qualitative Research in Education

This is a doctoral seminar designed to help students apply their initial understanding of qualitative methods developed in EDCO 820: Qualitative Methods of research in Education to their own doctoral research. The course will address the theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research, including articulating a research question, addressing methodological design issues, and considering approaches to analysis. Students will have the opporutnity to do in-depth reading in areas of particular applicability to their own research as well as to pilot an inquiry project. 3 sh.

Prerequisites: EDCO 820.

EDCO900: Dissertation Advisement

While enrolled in Dissertation Advisement, students will work with their dissertation advisor and dissertation committee. Credits are reported as IP (In Progress) while the dissertation is being written. At the successful conclusion of the dissertation defense, a final grade of pass will be recorded. 3 - 12 sh.

Prerequisites: Matriculation in Ed.D.in Pedagogy; Advancement to Candidacy.

TETD801: Policy Perspectives on Teaching and Teacher Education

This course brings together policy-related theories and practices regarding teacher education and teacher development. It provides teacher educators with the habits of mind, skills, tools, and resources to analyze and evaluate: social, political, and economic arguments for increasing the quality of the teaching force; the competing agendas for the reform of teacher education (including professionalization, deregulation, and social justice); and the competing conceptions of teacher quality that accompany different theoretical perspectives. Teacher educators study a variety of teacher education and development issues, including teacher supply and demand, recruitment, initial preparation, certification, induction, continuing professional development, and program accreditation. They consider the impact of existing policies on teacher quality and teacher distribution and critique policies derived from current local, state, and federal legislation. They also explore their roles as advocates for teachers, students and families. Using data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (NCES), participants investigate a policy-related issue relevant to teacher education and teacher development. 3 sh.

TETD802: Teaching and Teacher Education in a Diverse Society

In this course, future teacher educators examine the intellectual, moral, and practical dimensions of teaching and of learning to teach in contexts characterized by diversity related to such socio-cultural dimensions as race, ethnicity, language, gender, (dis)ability, and social class. They explore theories and research related to preparing prospective teachers and supporting the continuing education of practicing teachers to successfully educate students of diverse backgrounds. They learn about the elements of culturally responsive teaching and approaches to preparing culturally responsive teachers. They examine issues such as teacher orientations to teaching students of diverse backgrounds, teacher knowledge and beliefs, teacher socialization and development, contextual influences on teaching and teacher education, and programmatic elements of teacher education. They explore different ways to apply what they learn in the contexts of teacher education and teacher professional development. 3 sh.

TETD817: Research in Teacher Education

This course engages future teacher educators in an in-depth examination of the empirical research and theoretical literature on a teacher education topic of their choice. Participants write a coherent, integrated review of the literature on that topic, with the goal of developing a conceptual and theoretical framework for their dissertation research. The review critically examines research that has already been done related to the topic, highlights gaps in that research, and provides a focus for dissertation research. 3 sh.