PSU Graduate School of Education
ÒMeeting our
communitiesÕ lifelong educational needsÓ
ELP 451/551: SOCIAL
FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
Fall
2008
Department: Educational Leadership and Policy
Instructor: Ramin Farahmandpur, Ph. D.
Time: Wednesdays
4:00-6:30 pm
Room: ED 308
Office: ED 506X
Phone: 503-725-8271
Email: rfp@pdx.edu; farahmandpur@comcast.net
Office hrs: by appointment
only
á
Students needing an
accommodation should immediately inform the course instructor. Students are
referred to Disability Services 503-725-4005 to document their disability and
to receive support services where appropriate.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Study
of sociological theories that illuminate the effects of education on
individuals and society. Problem areas in race, class, and gender are explored
in the process of examining theories of socialization, certification,
allocation, and legitimation and their application to historical and current
educational situations.
THE CONTEXT OF THE COURSE
This class invites students to analyze and reflect upon how social forces, educational policies
and practices have influenced and shaped public education in diverse
educational settings including, but not limited to K12, higher education, and
alternative/ informal educational learning environments.
The underlying principle that guides this course is that
education and schooling consist of a complex set of social, political,
economic, and cultural relationships that reflect the dominant social arrangements
in society. Issues related to power and powerlessness are
key to the course as they illuminate how social arrangements are perceived,
constructed and challenged.
It should be added that unlike in-service workshops—often,
but not always valuable in addressing problems of student and teacher
motivation, curriculum design, implementation and evaluation, etc.—this
class stresses an in-depth reading and the cultivation of intellectual
reflection. It does so not to raise itself above practical workshop
approaches, but to help ground students in the various intellectual traditions
of progressive education movement, critical theory, feminist theory, and
multicultural education all which are related in one way or another to everyday
educational policy and practices in schools. The underlying position that this course takes is that only
labor-intensive intellectual pursuit produces a self-reflexive and
self-critical praxis.
This course takes the position that reading the word and the world
is a dialectical process and that how students and teachers read the world
influences but does not necessarily determine the manner in which they choose
to live in the world. In this course, theory is unashamedly emphasized
yet the practical applications of
teaching is always within reach. However, the student is held mainly
responsible for making the necessary link between the theory and the lived
experiences of students, teachers, parents, administrators, and the community.
Finally, the course is designed to provide a forum for each
student to express and share ideas, opinions, and experiences. Given the
limitations of class time and the broad field of the social foundations of
education, only selected topics will be introduced, but every attempt will be
made to provide a wide range of resources and approaches that would be useful
when students are able to investigate the topics in more depth.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
General Objectives:
v
Examine key
sociological debates in contemporary American education.
v
Understand major ideas,
concepts, theories, and movements that have shaped our understanding of public
schools (K-12) and institutions of
higher education, both in the formal and informal settings.
v
Recognize how racism,
classism, sexism and other forms of oppression contribute to social and
economic reproduction.
v
Explore past and present educational
policy and practices concerning equity, access and diversity.
v
Develop a Ôcritical
eyeÕ for how social, political, cultural, and economic forces have shaped
current debates over education and schooling.
Specific Objectives:
v
Identify sociological
theories, frameworks or paradigms that may be helpful to understanding and
changing educational policies, practices, behaviors and values at your school
or workplace site.
v
Complete a final paper
in which you explore and examine issues related to equity and access at your
educational institution or workplace site.
v
Recognize how your
schooling has shaped and influenced your educational outcome and opportunities
by completing the educational biography assignment.
v
Participate in weekly
group discussions and classroom activities.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
1. Ballantine, J. H., and Spade, J. Z. (2008). Schools
and Society: A Sociological Approach to Education (Third Edition). Victoria, AU: Wadsworth.
2. Merrian, S. B., Courtenay, B. C., Cervero, R. M. and
McClure, G. (2006). Global Issues and Adult Education: Perspectives from
Latin America, Southern Africa and the United States.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publicatons.
COURSE METHODS
The
primary method of instruction in this class will be short lectures, group
discussion, classroom activities. In addition, films and videos will be
presented that are directly linked to the social, cultural, political and
economic foundations of education. There may also be opportunities for guest
speakers to join our class.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
If you cannot attend a
class, please notify me in advance or at the earliest time possible. You are
expected to complete all required readings before each class meeting, attend
class on time, contribute to classroom discussion, be a good listener, remain tolerant and respectful of the opinions expressed in class, even
though they may contradict your own views, beliefs and values. Lastly, avoid
dominating classroom discussions.
HONOR CODE
You
are encouraged to discuss the course readings and materials with other
classmates and to work with one another in preparation for class meetings. Yet
it is important to emphasize that all your written work MUST be yours and no
one elseÕs. Please note that plagiarism is a violation of the honor code. If
you decide to use or borrow ideas or concepts please make sure you credit the
author or authors by citing them.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Reflective Responses 30%
2. Educational Biography Paper (part one: K12) 10%
(2 pages)
3. Education Biography Paper (part two: Higher
Education) 10% (2 pages)
4. Job/workplace Description Paper 10%
(1 page)
5. Educational Policy Topic Paper 10%
(1 page)
6.Theory/Conceptual
Framework Paper 10% (2 pages)
7.
Program Area Group Presentation 10%
8. Blackboard Assignments 10%
1.
Reflective Responses
The
six reflective responses is an opportunity for you to articulate and organize
your thoughts, views and reactions to the assigned readings. You are not
expected to summarize the reading, but to critique, analyze, and comment on the
ideas, concepts and viewpoints expressed in the readings and to connect it to
your own educational experiences. The weekly papers will also help you prepare for group discussion. (See template)
2.
& 3. Educational Biography
(part one: K12; part two: Higher Education)
Please
write an educational history of yourself.
Beginning with your earliest memories of ÒeducationÓ as you understand
that term (formal and informal), discuss the circumstances, the social
environment and the people who were involved and influential in your education.
Taking into consideration the characteristics of your family and yourself, discuss how those elements
influenced your education (e.g.,
did it make a difference to be a male or female; middle class, working class or
poor; rural, urban or suburban; able-bodied or having learning differences;
ÒstraightÓ or Ògay;Ó Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, etc.;
European-American, Latino, African-American, Native American, Middle Eastern,
Asian-American, etc.). Discuss the
value your family placed on education, and the ÒtraditionalÓ stance other
family members took.
Locate
memories of your (and your familyÕs) educational experience in an historical
context. Look particularly at the influence of vocational or academic tracks in
your education or the education of family members. What programs and courses
were made available to you in your (or family membersÕ) schooling? What type of
guidance and support did school counselors and teachers provide you? Was your
educational history atypical or typical?
Looking back, do you have a better understand of how your identity was
being shaped (or not) by education than you did at the time? How much difference
did the particular education you received make in your lifeÕs history?
Finally
discuss where you are now in your educational history. What is your
relationship to education? What have been the outcomes of your education? What
will complete your Òeducational historyÓ?
4. Job/Workplace
Description Paper (1 page) (10%)
a. Provide a brief
description of your job/workplace.
á How many employees work there?
á What types of qualifications do the employees have or
are expected to have?
á How many students or clients does the institution
serve?
á What types of certificates or degrees does your
workplace site offer?
b. Using
existing data from your school or organization, provide a brief description of
the population of students or clients you serve (you may want to provide
information on race, ethnicity, social class, gender, language skills,
learning/ physical differences, religion, sexual orientation, age group, etc.).
c. What
types of skills, knowledge, information, services, and values do you teach or
provide students/clients in your program?
5. Educational Policy
Topic Paper (1 page) (10%)
- Identify an educational policy, practice or norm
your organization or school is attempting to reform, change or implement.
This could be teaching new methods or approaches to classroom teaching and
learning, reforming the school culture or the culture of an organization,
developing new programs?
- Why is this issue important to you and your
organization/school?
- Using race, class, gender, sexual orientation,
language ability or learning/physical differences (disability) as a lens
identify which groups of students this policy is intended to affect the
most.
6. Theoretical/Conceptual
Framework Paper (2 pages; single-spaced) (10%)
Identify
and discuss theories or frameworks that informs the educational policy,
practice or norm you identified in your educational policy topic paper. In your
paper, be sure to discuss at least two theories from this class or previous
classes you have taken in the program that helps you to understand the norm,
practice or policy you intend to
improve or change in your workplace.
7.
Program Area Group Presentation (10%)
This
is a 10-15 minute presentation describing your program area. You will need to meet with students in
your program area (LECL, PACE, Ed Administration, Educational Leadership,
Doctoral) before class and prepare a brief group presentation describing your
program area during the second class meeting. The presentation should include a
handout and one or more visuals (charts, graphs, pictures, etc) for all
students. Your group presentation
should include the number of students in the program, areas of specialization,
overview of the courses in the program, and the professions students can apply
for once they graduate with their degree. If you are not in one of the program
areas, please prepare a short 5-minute presentation about your area of interest
and what your degree prepares you for after you graduate from your program.
8.
Blackboard Assignments (10%)
There
will be two online classroom assignments, which require you to post your
comments to the assigned readings
and to respond to at least three postings of your classmates (for each
assignment).
Class Attendance
You are allowed one excused
absence. Five points will be deducted from your final grade for any absences
beyond your one excused absence.
Course Expectations for ELP 451 and ELP 551
Students enrolled in ELP 551
are required to provide a more in-depth social, political, cultural analysis of
the readings in their reflective papers and class project or paper which they submit at the end of the
academic quarter.
Grading Policy
á
Each weekly reflective
paper is worth five points. Two points will be deducted from papers handed in
late.
Grading Scale
|
A
|
94-100
|
|
A-
|
90-93
|
|
B+
|
87-89
|
|
B
|
84-86
|
|
B-
|
80-83
|
|
C+
|
76-79
|
|
C
|
73-75
|
|
C-
|
70-72
|
|
D+
|
69
|
|
F
|
Below
60
|