M.A. in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies (LLSS)

The American Indian Education concentration provides knowledge and builds a knowledge base and a critical consciousness about current issues and key educational needs and issues that influence and challenge American Indian students. Understanding the complexities of the political, economic, social and cultural contexts and histories of Indigenous peoples as well as the unique position American Indian Nations hold as sovereign entities is an especially important aspect of preparing students to work effectively with American Indian students, families and communities. Courses include information on the history of American Indian education, community-based curriculum development, language maintenance and revitalization, and strategies in teaching the American Indian child.

The Bilingual Education concentration focuses on areas of pedagogy, research, theory, and curriculum development in bilingual (mainly Spanish and English) education with the goal of exploring and addressing linguistic and identity educational issues across contexts and communities. This program concentration affirms and is committed to offering courses that critically investigate educational equity, cultural and linguistic rights, and social justice for language minority students, their families and communities; as well as educational approaches and practices that promote and sustain fluid biliteracies, bilingualism, and biculturality.

The Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies concentration offers an interdisciplinary and broad educational approach to concepts and debates (historical and contemporary) in the social foundations of education. With a strong commitment to social justice and equity, courses delve into the key concepts and debates in the social foundations of education. The critical study of race, class, gender, and language is at the center of the curriculum to better understand educational phenomena and change. Research in the program focuses on the role of education in global communities; how power operates in education; the racial politics of schooling; and identifying educational inequalities to promote advocacy and change.

This concentration provides opportunities for connecting with literacy professionals who seek to provide nurturing and supportive environments for all children and adolescents as they acquire the abilities to interpret the ideas of others, compose their own thoughts, and communicate with their communities and the world. Literacies are presented as sociopsycholinguistic processes and as discursive practices that are bounded in and specific to particular communities. The concentration promotes the exploration of sociocultural and political issues and the role that literacy can play in achieving social justice. This concentration includes courses in reading, writing, language arts, and related areas, in school and community settings.

This concentration is overseen by Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies (ETSS) Department program. The courses focused on diversity target the role of education in global communities; how power operates in education; the racial politics of schooling; and identifying educational inequalities (e.g., gender and race) to promote advocacy and change. The courses focus on adapting and developing the content of these courses for teaching in the classroom.

The MA-LLSS concentration in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) encourages MA students to explore critical educational issues across cultures and linguistic groups, and to become knowledgeable about bi- and multi-lingual learners’ assets and challenges using and learning new languages across the curriculum in Pre-K-21. This program affirms and is committed to educational equity, cultural, and linguistic rights and social justice for language minority students, their families, and communities. Courses address the social, political, cultural, and linguistic contexts that affect language minority students, schools, and communities.