Special Topics in Education for a Pluralistic Society

Catalog description

Introduction to the field of Democratic Education to explore the defining issues, questions, and problems of the field. Readings and discussions on a breadth of issues related to democratic education including the purposes of schools, ideology and curriculum, the relationship between social class and citizen-production in schooling, and the role of discussion, deliberation, and trust in democratic schooling. Students will undertake the issue of how we are to prepare teachers in ways that promote democracy both within teacher education as well as K-12. Undergirding all of these conversations will be explicit attention to diversity, power, and voice. The role of social capital in democratic society, exploring how changing participation and group membership trends in the United States have consequences for democratic health.