Spring 2016 Social Foundations Course in Educational Policy Studies & Sociology
SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
Educational Policy Studies: EPS 420-A crn #33100
Sociology of Education: SOC 420-A crn #33102
Professor: Dr. Barnett (email: bmbarnet@illinois.edu)
Course Credit: 2 or 4 hours Graduate, 2 or 4 Hours Undergraduate
Days, Time, Location: Tuesday, 10:00-11:50am, Room 323 Education Building
Maximum Enrollment Spaces: 36 students
Course Description:
This 400-level social foundations course is a combined Graduate and Advanced Undergraduate level (Juniors and Seniors) sociological examination of education and schooling in society. Concentration is on introducing, surveying, synthesizing, and evaluating theories, research, and issues in the sociology of education. Course topics include: sociological theories, research methods, and concepts in education; different eras of change and reforms in U.S. education/schooling within changing social-historical-political contexts; the expansion of education in U.S. and the world (especially to diverse groups, including poor/working classes, girls/women, racial/ethnic minorities, language minorities, disabled/special needs, immigrants); schools as social organizations; education as an institution interconnected to other societal institutions (esp., family, economy, politics, religion, etc); un/equal education opportunity and achievement; family background and school achievement; sexual harassment in schooling; school bullying/cyber bullying; school cheating scandals; college costs and student debt; education and stratification; cultural vs. structural approaches to explaining unequal educational attainment; the impact of race, gender, class (RGC), ethnicity, language, accent, residence, citizenship, immigrant status, disability and other stratifying relations in education and schooling from pre-K, elementary, middle, and high schools to community colleges, public and private 4 year colleges, and research universities, including teaching-learning, schooling experiences, opportunities/barriers, achievement; teacher training, professionalization, and expectations; student tracking, ability grouping; student & teacher activism; school funding; contest vs sponsored mobility; comparisons of U.S. to other countries’ education systems, access by RGC+, T-scores; higher education administration; debates about NCLB, Race to the Top, Common Core, Dream Act, charter schools, at-risk schools, faith based schools, Afrocentric schools, and for profit schools.
Spotlight on The 1960s: We also examine the impact and legacies of diverse social movements on education, especially movements of the 1960s when many students, Hippies, women, disabled, special needs, White European Americans, Black African Americans, Latinos/as, Asian Americans, Native/American Indians, LGBTQ, welfare recipients, language minorities, immigrants/migrants, and others protested in/outside of classrooms, schools, colleges/universities. For questions, contact Prof. Barnett bmbarnet@illinois.edu)
