Mar 28, 2024  
OHIO University Graduate Catalog 2020-21 
    
OHIO University Graduate Catalog 2020-21 [Archived Catalog]

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EDCS 5040 - Sociology, Politics, and Change in Education


Education is not a neutral endeavor. It is both a societal enterprise and a localized social activity; as such, it is embedded in an ever changing socio-cultural context. Taken seriously, these two ideas point our attention to several sociological and political questions about education such as, What is the purpose of education? Who benefits from education as it is constituted? Who decides curriculum, structure, funding, etc.? What are the implications for any given educational setting? Who is marginalized by the way we “do” education in the U.S. context? What does educational change look like? Is change possible in U.S. schools, and if so, in what manner? Critically examines the complex interactions of societal structures and political ideologies as they intersect, influence and impact educational realities in U.S. public schools.

Requisites:
Credit Hours: 4
Repeat/Retake Information: May not be retaken.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 4.0 seminar
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,CR,PR,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:
  • Develop a critical capacity to examine education and its role and place in the value-laden context of American society by understanding that education always represents a given social-cultural context: it is never neutral or value-free.
  • Explore the impact of educational policy making at the national, state and local levels and the impact these policy decisions have on the social agency of school administrators, teachers and students in schools.
  • Identify and understand politically driven issues that impact education today, such as tracking, high stakes standardized testing, school choice, school funding, curriculum choices, safety, and others.
  • Identify social themes that impact education today, such as social power, language, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, class, family structure, poverty, and other sociological markers.
  • Recognize why and how educators might respond to these changing social conditions and their implications for educational change and reform.



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