The Doctor of Education (EdD) program at Antioch Online has added two new specializations: the Multicultural and Anti-Racist Education Specialization, and the Social Emotional Learning Specialization. Each adds specifics to the Doctor of Education’s overall goal of deepen educators’ practices and enabling them to create more just and inclusive schools, organizations, and communities.
The EdD’s specialization in Multicultural and Anti-Racist Education has proven especially popular, in part because its subject’s importance has been highlighted by an emergent protest movement and a pandemic that exacerbated wealth and health inequities. “One of the things that’s really cool about our concentration is that it’s so timely,” says Christen Johnson, a current student in the specialization. “There’s so much that’s happening in the world right now that we can use exactly what we’re reading about and translate it to discussing the issues that are happening in the news right now.”
Students in the specialization engage in shared seminars and individualized work as they consider advantages as well as critiques of both multicultural and antiracist education. “We’re learning how to transform trauma into love. For me, that’s the ultimate form of liberation,” says another student, Camaron Miyamoto. “To be able to be in a program with other like-minded folks who want to challenge each other to come up with the best practices to transform trauma into love and liberation is an exciting opportunity.”
The EdD’s specialization in Social Emotional Learning is also finding committed students. Social emotional learning is a pedagogy that focuses on helping young people and adults develop emotional literacy. Research shows that combining thinking and feeling helps people make decisions, deepen and maintain healthy relationships, solve problems, and reach personal and collective goals. Social emotional learning is increasingly recognized as an essential component of K-12 education.
The three-year Doctor of Education program is offered in an online, low-residency format and is intended for a range of education professionals. All students have a minimum of five years of professional experience.
Read our expanded story about four trailblazing students in the Multicultural and Anti-Racist Education Specialization at
news.antioch.edu/antiractist-education
