How to Prepare for PhD in Education/Curriculum&Instruction/English?

[grandstreet]

Hi Friends,

 

I'm starting to research PhD programs in Education, specifically programs in English Education (Curriculum and Instruction, Language and Literacy, Teaching of English, etc.). I'm considering throwing in my hate in a year or two, but I'm curious for those of you applying, accepted, or students in Teaching of English-themed PhD programs - how have you/do you/did you prepare for this beyond teaching?

 

My background info- I have a master's in teaching and 3-4 years of teaching experience, depending on how you count it, though I'd have probably 5-6 by the time I applied/enrolled. I've presented at 2 conferences in a different, but related discipline, but don't have any publications.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[kateh]

I'm also looking for info on this topic! Any input would be appreciated.

 

I did my undergrad degree in biology and the path to grad school seemed more straightforward: intern in a lab, do a research project for your thesis, get a job working in a lab, gradually focus coursework in on a field, work in a lab aligned with your interests, find phd programs that are strong in that area.

 

In education, it seems people come to PhD programs from a wider variety of places--teaching, industry, administration, etc. and it's not as clear to me what makes a strong app. (It's also really hard to google because the keywords "education" and "PhD" don't really exclude PhD's in all other subjects.) Faculty members seem to research a wider variety of topics as well--unlike biology professors they don't specialize as exclusively. Advice on what leads to successful applications?