Social Foundations of Education

The social foundations of education course is an exploration and analysis of the underlying issues within contemporary educational policies, practices, and theories. It is an attempt to ground the day-to-day realities of the classroom within a larger philosophical, historical, anthropological, political, and sociological context. Such an interdisciplinary perspective will allow students to begin to reflect upon the structures and practices of American education and provide a foundation from which to continue becoming reflective and critical educational practitioners and leaders. It is also an opportunity to investigate the role of schooling and education within a democracy.

Through classic and contemporary text,.this class will: explore numerous issues at multiple levels: classroom, school, and school system. Overarching questions of multiculturalism, inequity; identity formation, the role of schooling, and issues of power will be discussed. So will more specific issues, such as tracking, educational reform, dropouts, community,-school relations and affirmative action. Moreover, the class will make use of field observations in schools, service-learning and experiential learning activities to highlight and reinforce the relationship between the theory and practice of education.

A fundamental, component of this course is student involvement and debate. To this end, the course will make use of diverse methods to help students grapple with the many issues of our educational system. This course will be run on the principle of a “guide on the side” rather than a “sage on the stage” – discussions, debates, questions, and silence will be the rule, not the exception.