Social and philosophical foundations of education is the study of the roots and history of education. Students learn the impact of cultural change, economics, and politics on education. They also study education as it relates to specific populations, issues, and types of work.
Anyone who teaches should give some thought to basic questions about the nature and purposes of education. What should society want and expect from its schools? How have history and culture affected our notions of the purposes of education? In America, does education give everyone a chance to succeed? Is one of the goals of education in America to make every student American? And, if so, what does that mean? What balance should teachers strike between teaching what is (and was) and what ought to be?
If you seek your bachelor's degree in a field of education, you will probably encounter questions like these in a course called Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education. It is a standard part of the degree requirements. But you probably will not have the time to ponder all of those questions thoroughly during one course, nor will you find time in the rest of your four-year bachelor's-degree program. And there are so many related questions that are worth exploring. That's why, when you make plans to advance professionally by getting a master's degree, you may want to readdress these questions and give them the attention they deserve.
About 55 graduate schools offer a master's degree in social and philosophical foundations of education. If you can study full-time, this program usually takes a year or two beyond the bachelor's to complete. Universities usually make it easy for you to study part-time while working as a teacher. Some programs place their emphasis on the history of thinking about education. Others focus more on philosophical issues. Still others stress the social role of education.
Whatever the focus, you can expect to read the writings of some of the major thinkers about education, going at least as far back as Aristotle. But you also study some of the current controversies, such as equity in school funding. You learn how earlier thinkers anticipated the burning issues of today. You study how public education evolved in the U.S. In doing so, you gain a better understanding of the political, economic, and social roots of current practices and controversies. You learn about educational practices in other cultures. And you explore fundamental questions, such as what teachers' main responsibilities are to their students.
If you are interested in college teaching in this field, you should consider getting a doctoral degree. About 50 universities offer this program. This usually requires the equivalent of three years beyond the master's degree. The emphasis of this program is on doing research, and it culminates in the doctoral dissertation.