Critical Topics in Education Policy

Catalog description

Critical topics in contemporary educational policy debates in the USA. Explores the dominant ideological and theoretical perspectives about what should be the purposes of schooling. Students analyze the humanist, core-curriculum, vocational, pragmatic as well as the standards-based, market-driven, professionally led, and networked models of reform, theories of change, implementation challenges, and the critiques leveled against these approaches. Students analyze critical topics such as policy formation, leadership, teachers unions, academic performance and community involvement. Encourages students to learn critical 'policy skills' and reach reflexive and research-based conclusions about what are the requirements to develop 'good school systems' and what their their individual and collective contributions could be.