About Curriculum and Instruction
We are a community of committed educators.
Commitment statement
The Department of Curriculum and Instruction is committed to promoting social justice and dismantling racial, socioeconomic, gender and language injustices in education. We actively work to eliminate barriers and obstacles created by institutional discrimination. We are committed to developing future teachers, practitioners, technologists, and researchers who are equipped to identify and challenge systems and structures of racism and oppression in their field(s), locally, and globally.
Conceptual Framework
Mission
We are a community dedicated to social justice and equity in education. Our students, faculty, and staff are working toward improving educational practices, preparing new teachers for success, and helping students learn while supporting their cultures and identities.
We are reimagining what education can be. Our department has three main focus areas.
- Research: Our research spans the breadth of educational practices for children and adults. We are dedicated to creating engaging and effective ways to teach and learn.
- Teaching: We prepare our students to become leaders and teachers who understand how our culture and society impacts students, classrooms, and the field of education so we can effect change.
- Equity: We partner with school and communities to support the engagement and preparation of all learners.
Land acknowledgement
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is built within the traditional homelands of the Dakota people. It is important to acknowledge the peoples on whose land we live, learn, and work as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with our tribal nations. We also acknowledge that words are not enough. We must ensure that our institution provides support, resources, and programs that increase access to all aspects of higher education for our American Indian students, staff, faculty, and community members.
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities is located on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. The University resides on Dakota land ceded in the Treaties of 1837 and 1851. We acknowledge this place has a complex and layered history. This land acknowledgement is one of the ways in which we work to educate the campus and community about this land and our relationships with it and each other. We are committed to ongoing efforts to recognize, support, and advocate for American Indian Nations and peoples.
- Local Dakota Land Map - downloadable visual and audio Dakota land maps of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding areas by local artist Marlena Myles
- Why Treaties Matter - a comprehensive and thoughtful exploration of treaties and land theft in Minnesota. For our area, we recommend you begin by reading about the 1837 land cession treaties with the Ojibwe and Dakota, and the 1851 Dakota land cession treaties.