American Education in a Global Context

Catalog description

A person seeking to develop a better understanding of the United States could probably find no better place to begin than to study American education. Schools in the U.S. both shape and are shaped by the communities they serve, and by American society at-large. Public schools in particular provide the foundation for America’s democracy and are perceived by many to be the gateway to the “American Dream.” This course is intended to help American and international students, both graduate and undergraduate, develop a better understanding of America’s education system through readings, group discussions and projects, and visits to area schools. In this course, students will examine American education’s philosophical underpinnings, as well as its policy-making and governance structures. Graduate students will then be asked to compare and contrast these policies and practices with those in their home countries or, if American students, with policies and practices in other countries. Topics to be covered include: the history and goals of public education; the profession of teaching; equality of educational opportunity; multicultural and multilingual education; local control, choice, home schooling and charter schools, power and control at the state and national levels; textbooks, curriculum and instruction, e-learning and cyber bullying; and the courts and the schools. There are no course prerequisites and both American and international students may register.