Program Overview

The Inclusive Education Master's Degree Program is designed to foster the skills to help educators respond to the realities, demands and challenges of educational spaces while keeping a focus on equity, social justice, diversity and accessibility.

In this program, students will: 

  • explore educational equity, social justice education and intersectionality
  • identify systems that perpetuate oppression and inequity in education settings inside and outside of schools
  • develop leadership skills to help promote school equity

All inclusive education master's students are required to take five core inclusivity courses as well as the coursework for their specialization. For the Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Specialization, courses such as Race, Religion, Culture & Language and Diversity, Disproportionality & Discipline prepare educators to create and lead an inclusive environment for diverse student populations. This program can be completed fully online or with a mix of in-person and online courses.

Sample Courses

Diversity, Disproportionality & Discipline

EDU 650
This course will examine intersectionality and the complex racial, gendered, and class-based dimensions that perpetuate inequitable environments and opportunities in schools. We will explore critical race theory (CRT) and its theoretical relevance as a framework to examine and challenge disparate educational opportunities for students of color. The course will offer an examination of the policies, procedures, and structures that perpetuate disproportionality and overrepresentation. This course will analyze assumptions about race, gender, and class, as well as how these dynamics play out in U.S. public schooling and history through political, sociological, theoretical, and pedagogical lenses.

Gender Identity, Expression & Sexuality in Schools

EDU 652
This course will examine the complexities of gender, identity, expression, and sexual orientation in schools, as well as how their interrelated dynamics and complexities unfold in the history of U.S. schools to present day. The course will explore the concepts of identity development and school structures that disenfranchise non-binary and LGBTQA+ students and examine constructions of gender identity, sexuality, and equality and binary/nonbinary conceptions. The course will examine inclusivity and exclusion through an examination of gender models, perpetuation of stereotypes, and implicit biases. The course analyzes key conceptual and methodological frameworks of gender, class, sexuality, power, and intersectionality.

Race, Religion, Culture & Language

EDU 653
This course focuses on race, religion, culture, and language through the lens of social justice education. This course will unpack bias and explore the diverse ways in which power and traditional structures intersect with different cultural, social, and religious practices. We will examine strategies for designing and creating safety in classrooms, schools, educational spaces, and communities which honor students’ cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. The course will explicitly examine privilege, equity, and cultural responsiveness in educational spaces.

Contact Information

Graduate & Professional Studies Admission assists students as they explore graduate and professional opportunities offered at Stonehill College. 

Meet the Director of Graduate Teacher Education

Rebekah C. Louis

Rebekah C. Louis

Assistant Professor/Coordinator of Graduate Clinical Experience, Director of Graduate Teacher Education, Coordinator of Graduate Clinical Experience
Education