Elaine Macmann Willoughby studied at the University of Rhode Island and the Teachers College at Columbia University; she also taught at the Teacher's College at Columbia University, which is not just the largest, but also the oldest graduate school for education in the USA..
In the summer of 1951 she also attended the University of Rhode Island, and in the summer of 1953 attended the Breadloaf School of English at Middlebury College. She received her MA and PhD in Education from the Teachers College, Columbia University, from 1954 to 1957. She also taught at the Agnes Russel Center of the Teachers College while pursuing her MA and PhD. Teachers College is the oldest and largest graduate school of education in the United States. 
