Inquiry & Applied Research Concentration

About Inquiry & Applied Research

Inquiry & Applied Research prepares students to respond to the complex challenges facing education today through equity-oriented research that fosters systemic change. Students develop core competencies in qualitative and quantitative research, program evaluation, and data interpretation—skills that are increasingly essential across the education, policy, and nonprofit sectors. The Inquiry & Applied Research concentration is designed for two primary groups pursuing educational justice: professionals working in education-related fields who seek formal research training to deepen their impact, and recent college graduates looking to strengthen their research literacy and academic competency in critical quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Through a carefully sequenced series of applied research methods courses, mentored research projects, and independent inquiry, students engage directly with real-world educational issues. This experience not only supports immediate professional goals but also empowers students to use research as a tool for equity, transformation, and systemic change.

Full-Time Course Sequence

The Inquiry & Applied Research course of study develops the knowledge, habits of mind, and skills students need to inform education policy and practice with real-world education research. All program coursework occurs in the evenings with classes typically beginning at 5:00 pm., complemented by Experiential Learning during the work day. To complete the program in just one year, students follow the full-time course sequence.

Part-Time Course Sequence

A part-time course sequence provides added flexibility when needed. Students following this sequence finish the program in two years. All program coursework occurs in the evenings with classes typically beginning at 5:00 pm.

First Year

Second Year

Core Courses

EDTR 5001: Culturally Relevant Education & Social Justice

This course explores the relationship between social justice and the context and practice of education in a democratic society through a systems thinking lens. Students investigate how systems of power, privilege, and oppression have historically shaped and continue to shape the contours of the US education system and contribute to unjust outcomes for students from historically marginalized backgrounds.

EDTR 5002: Advocating for Learners

Taken at the end of the program, this project-based course serves as a capstone experience for  candidates in the M.A. in Educational Transformation. It connects intersections of advocacy, policy, research, and teaching so that aspiring policy actors partner with teachers and community members, education researchers translate research into tangible solutions, and teacher candidates animate their role as advocates and changemakers in larger policy structures.

Experiential Learning Courses

EDTR 5301 & 5302: Applied Research in Education I & II

Applied Research in Education I and II constitute a two-course sequence that will provide graduate students with a comprehensive foundation in applied research methods and data analysis. The first course offers an in-depth exploration of qualitative research methodologies, emphasizing hands-on experience through faculty-mentored applied research projects and critical reflection on researcher positionality. Building on this foundation, the second course equips students with practical strategies for coding and analyzing qualitative and mixed-methods data, fostering analytical rigor and methodological transparency. Through a co-requisite studio lab, students apply these techniques directly to their own projects, enhancing their ability to communicate findings effectively to both academic and practitioner audiences.

Concentration-Specific Courses

EDTR 5111: Critical Empirics

This course examines how statistics and “data” can both perpetuate and illuminate injustice, and equips students with the tools and knowledge to tell the difference. Students will investigate how data has been used to perpetuate racism and other forms of oppression and limit opportunity, what it means to use race as a variable, whether or not quantitative research can be critical, what it means to be a critical participant in conversations about statistics and data and how we might leverage statistics and data to move policy toward greater social justice.

EDTR 5113: Quantitative Analysis in Education

This course equips students with the statistical tools used in the quantitative examination of data that aid in the analytical investigation and explanation of issues related to education policy. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to explore how data can be used to investigate the impact of education policy, use a software package to apply statistical methods for describing and analyzing authentic education datasets, and interpret analysis results and infer conclusions from robust statistical analyses.

(Option 1) EDTR 5115: Organizational Change in Education

This course will examine the nature of educational organizations – public and private – in the US and how change occurs within educational institutions, particularly schools and school districts. Students will examine theories of change associated with charter schools and privatization, particularly strategies of interest group and community mobilization, as well as the school-level factors that are necessary for reforms to take root and improve educational outcomes for children (trust, teacher capacity, and resource inputs into the system).

(Option 2) EDTR 5214: Multilinguals in Schools: Culture, Policy, & Learning

This course examines the role of culture in learning, particularly language learning, for students and teachers, exploring research on the interaction between cultural identity and learning in schools with particular attention to issues of equity and English. The nexus of culture, identity, and learning is of crucial importance in light of increasing demographic diversity in the US school-age population and the disparity in academic outcomes often experienced by culturally and linguistically diverse learners.

EDTR 5204: Critical Perspectives of Child and Adolescent Development

The goal of this course is to explore research and theories on the growth, learning, and development of children and adolescents from diverse perspectives. Educators will gain an understanding of fundamental theories of child development and learning, sociocultural perspectives, and how these theories influence overall well-being.

EDTR 5311: Social Foundation of US K-12 Public Schooling

This course provides a critical examination of the historical, legal, and ideological foundations of the U.S. public education system. Students will explore how these forces shape the structure, purpose, and functioning of public schools. Through analysis of contemporary debates and policy issues, the course interrogates the role of public education in both reproducing and challenging social hierarchies. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to engage thoughtfully with the complex dynamics that influence educational equity and reform in the United States.

EDTR 5312: Applied Research Design & Implementation Studio Lab

This studio-style lab course offers graduate students the opportunity to independently carry out the full cycle of an applied research project. Working from project implementation through data analysis to final reporting and communication, students will apply and refine their methodological skills in a hands-on, practice-based environment. The course emphasizes iterative learning, peer feedback, and effective dissemination of research findings to varied audiences.