Race, Families, and Inequality

Catalog description

The family that you’re born into profoundly shapes your life chances. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from sociology, political science, and psychology we will learn how family background and other non-school factors shape unequal educational experiences and outcomes in K-12 and beyond. We will trace the historical development of programs, policies, and reform efforts that seek to narrow educational inequality by centering families and communities. We will also evaluate the successes and failures of those initiatives while re-imagining best practices for family and community engagement. Satisfies Educational Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.