BEF 510
Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education
Summer
2012
Course Time: Friday 5:00-8:00, Saturday 8:00-5:00
Instructor:
Dr. John
Petrovic
Office:
323 Graves Hall
Office hours: by appointment
Contact:
205 348
0465, petrovic@bamaed.ua.edu
On the web: http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/~jpetrovi/
I. Course Catalog Description
Education is necessarily
concerned with issues of value, knowledge, and reality - philosophy. Yet these concerns
are always understood from the vantage point of cultures in transition within
the framework of a social tradition - sociology and history. This course
examines the development of the public school in relation to the social,
cultural, and intellectual makeup of the nation as a whole.
II. Conceptual Framework
The College of Education prepares
practitioners who understand the purposes of education and have the ability to
engage in the ongoing processes of reflection and dialogue that lie at the heart
of socially-responsible, theoretically-informed, and research-based effective
practice.
Please take time to read the complete conceptual framework for the College of Education.
III. Course Overview/Rationale for the
Course
Schools are social institutions that
have been created in certain ways, not always because people actually intended
them to be that way but because certain choices were made about money,
organization, and control which then resulted in the schools we have today.
Schools reflect the society in which they exist, and it is important for you to
understand that relationship and how it came about so that you can begin to
think about how you might work for change when you are one of the actors within
a school setting. Thus, in this course we will examine the role that
philosophical, historical, and sociological inquiries play in educational
theory and, subsequently, our beliefs about the purposes of schooling and our approaches
to achieving those ends. We will also begin to imagine ways in which schools
can be transformed to meet the changing social, political, and cultural context
of the 21st century.
To accomplish such change, teachers
need to be able to evaluate critically the multitude of suggestions for how
schools should be run, reformed, and restructured. To do this, you need to be
clear about your own philosophies of teaching and learning and your own beliefs
about how race, class, gender and sexual orientation, among other
characteristics, impact the ways students experience schooling in today’s
society. It has been argued that schooling plays an important role in teaching
and legitimating the dominant ideologies of any society. In this course we will
examine this claim, particularly the ideological contestations over what
constitutes schooling within the historical, philosophical, and social realms.
For example, if the principle goal of education is to socialize students into
the “American” way of life, then whose ideologies do we impart to our students?
What is the political process by which certain ideologies are upheld and others
are dismissed or rendered invisible? What responsibility do teachers have to
reinforce or challenge specific ideologies to their students? Whose voices are
heard? Whose voices have historically been kept silent? What are the effects of
these silences? These are some the central questions that this course will
address.
Finally, you should be aware that this
in not a “methods” course. It is not designed to prepare you to teach in the
direct ways that other courses in your preparation will. While we will often
discuss pedagogy, this course is designed to introduce you to your chosen
profession more broadly. As a teacher, you will need to have certain skills,
attitudes, and dispositions to be successful. You will need to have a sense of
the great responsibility a teacher takes on, concern with the quality of
your work and a habit of reflecting on it, a desire to learn and improve yourself,
curiosity about new ideas, and gaining a sense of criticality. You will need to
be philosophically and politically informed to be a leader for progressive
educational reform in a diverse society.
IV. Knowledge Base
Central to this course will be an analysis
of schooling through sociological, political, historical, cultural, and
philosophical inquiries. A primary focus of these inquiries will be toward the
development of the proficiencies needed to meet the educational needs of
diverse students. The course also helps student gain the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions needed to “teach from multicultural and global perspectives that
draw on the histories, experiences, and representations of students from
diverse cultural backgrounds” (NCATE, Standard I, p. 31). Through these various
inquiries, we will reflect upon our own distinctive location in history and
interrogate the possibilities education holds for realizing each individual’s
potential and promoting a more democratic, socially just society. Further, this
course is designed to equip students with certain types of knowledge mandated
by NCATE, the College of Education (as reflected in the conceptual framework
printed above), and the Alabama State Department of Education.
First, with its focus on the social
context of schooling, diversity, and culture, the knowledge base for this
course ensures that teacher candidates will obtain the knowledge that NCATE
(Standard I) deems as imperative for preservice
teachers:
“Candidates preparing to work in
schools as teachers or other school personnel need a sound professional
knowledge base to understand learning and the context of schools, families, and
communities. They understand and are able to apply knowledge related to the
social, historical, and philosophical foundations of education, professional
ethics, law, and policy…They understand language acquisition; cultural
influences on learning; exceptionalities; diversity of student populations,
families, and communities; and inclusion and equity in classrooms and schools…They
understand the importance of using research in teaching and other professional
roles and know the roles and responsibilities of the education profession” (p.
19)
Second, with its emphasis on developing reflective practitioners
who possess a philosophical basis for ethical decision making, the course aids
students in respecting diversity, honoring difference, and promoting social
justice, key goals of the College of Education as iterated in its Conceptual
Framework.
Third, the knowledge base of this
course will ensure that preservice teachers have had
opportunities to accomplish the following goals related to diversity and
professionalism as explicated in the Alabama State Department of Education:
|
Alabama Standard/Rule 290-3-3-.04 |
ALABAMA
QUALITY TEACHING STANDARDS |
|
(1)(c)1.(i) |
Knowledge of the
structure of the academic disciplines related to the subject-matter content
areas of instruction and of the important facts and central concepts, principles,
theories, and tools of inquiry associated with these disciplines. |
|
(2)(c)4.(iv) |
Knowledge of the
importance of parents and/or families as active partners in planning and
supporting student learning. |
|
(3)(c)1.(i) |
Knowledge of
standard oral and written communications. |
|
(3)(c)1.(ii) |
Knowledge of the
impact of native language and linguistic background on language acquisition. |
|
(4)(c)1.(i) |
Knowledge of the ways
in which student learning is influenced by individual experiences and out-of-
school learning, including language and family/community values and
conditions. |
|
(4)(c)1.(ii) |
Knowledge of cultural,
ethnic, gender, linguistic, and socio-economic differences and how these may
affect individual learner needs, preferences, and styles. |
|
(4)(c)1.(iii) |
Knowledge of the
characteristics of one's own culture and use of language and of how they differ
from |
|
(4)(c)5.(i) |
Knowledge of how
personal/cultural biases can affect teaching and learning. |
|
(5)(c)4.(i) |
Knowledge of
research relating collective responsibility for student learning to increased
achievement for all students. |
|
(5)(c)4.(ii) |
Knowledge of the
principles of individual and organizational change and a commitment to assume
personal responsibility for leading and supporting others in results-oriented
changes. |
|
(5)(c)5.(i) |
Knowledge of
appropriate professional behavior and dispositions expected of professionals
as outlined in the Alabama Educator Code of Ethics. |
V. Course Text and Readings
Required text: Anyon, J. (2011). Marx and education.
New York: Routledge.
Required articles: Readings to be downloaded are available through the links
provided in section VIII below. (Click
on the author’s last name.)
VI.
Assignments, Course Requirements, and Grading
·
Attendance and
Participation 30 points
·
Reading Response 1 30
points
·
Reading Response
2
40
points
Attendance and Participation. Critical discussion is at the heart of this course. Your
participation grade will be determined on how well you have understood and
wrestled with the key concepts and ideas presented in the readings and apply
them in discussion. You can’t participate if you don’t come. Any absence beyond
three hours will result in 2 points being deducted from your grade. Doctor's
excuses or family emergencies will be taken into consideration. Regardless of
reason, a written response to the reading questions for the hours missed is
required. Additionally, you will be required to find, read, and teach one
article of your choosing on one of the topics to be discussed in the last two
weekends of class. This must be a scholarly article, published in a
peer-reviewed journal. It can be theoretical, philosophical, empirical, or
practical.
Reading Responses. You are
expected to submit written responses to TWO of the prompts below that
demonstrate engagement with and mastery of the material. Everyone will write a
response to prompt #3. You may choose between #1 and #2. Or, you may work with
me to develop your own prompt. No outside reading is required to complete these
assignments. Your first paper (responding to prompt #1, #2, or your own) is due Tuesday, June 12 by noon. The second paper (responding to prompt
#3) is due Friday, June 29, by 5:00.
Reading response prompt
#1: Define
ideology and discuss how it functions. Discuss how it might be related to
epistemology and notions of “truth.” Then consider why both ideology and
epistemology are relevant to questions of education, especially as regards how
they might inform our understanding(s) of the purposes of education, how the
purposes are differentially emphasized, and how different emphases and
conceptions of one set of purposes might impact another.
Reading response prompt
#2: Explain
the development of capitalist ideology and the different foci of those who
support it. How do capitalist ideology and the conservative restoration more
generally direct the purpose(s), policies, and practices of schooling, thereby
reproducing itself (e.g., through legitimation)?
Reading response prompt
#3: Read
the final chapter of Anyon. Discuss how she updates Marx and what both the
social and educational implications are as read through this updating. One of
the educational implications is the need to employ “critical pedagogy.” Drawing
on our discussion of key concepts, such as ideology, hegemony (cultural and
economic), and privilege, discuss what you think critical pedagogy is. Finally,
it is clear how “critical pedagogy,” given its Marxist foundation speaks to the
issue of class and classism. Discuss how you think it might speak to the other –isms
we have discussed in this unit.
Final
Grading. 100-90, A; 89-80, B; and so on – strictly followed; an 89.9 is NOT a 90.
VII.
Policies
Statement
of Equal Treatment and Disabilities. The instructor and students in this course will act with
integrity and strive to engage in equitable verbal and non-verbal behavior with
respect to differences arising from age, gender, race, physical ability,
religious preferences, sexual orientation, and national origin. If you are
registered with the Office of Disability Services, make an appointment with the
instructor to discuss course accommodations that may be necessary. If you
have a disability but have not contacted the Office of Disability Services,
please call 354-5175.
Academic
honesty: You will be in violation
of The University of Alabama policies if you fail to follow standard
referencing rules. Submitting work done for another class, submitting someone
else’s work as your own, copying and pasting from the internet, are all
violations. (Internet sources may be used, but you must follow standard
referencing rules.) Quotation marks should be used if material is copied
directly from the readings and text citations should be used. Quotations are
followed by the author, year, and page number in parenthesis of the source of
the quote (Petrovic, 1998, p. 15). If you paraphrase something, put the author
and year after the paraphrased material (Petrovic, 1998). Anyone suspected of
plagiarism or other academic misconduct will be referred to the Assistant Dean.
Please see the College of Education statement on plagiarism for more information.
VIII.
Schedule of Topics and Readings
|
Date |
Reading Questions |
Reading |
|
Unit
1: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Political versus Intellectual
(or the limits of patriotism) |
||
|
June 1 |
What is
democracy? What have been the purposes of schooling historically? What are
they contemporarily? What should they be? What is
justice? What were Plato’s views on democracy? What were the purposes of
education for Plato? To what extent do these same goals and views drive
education today? What
is the social contract? What makes it democratic (or not)? How does education
mediate this relationship? |
|
|
June 2 |
What is
ideology? What is the impact of ideology on education? How do the political
purposes of education [really or potentially] impact the intellectual
purposes? Listen
to the songs below: Whose "truth"? Courtesy of the red, white, and blue When the President talks to God Video: Glee |
|
|
What
is enlightenment? What is truth? Is it important? How does Martin’s
epistemology differ from Plato’s? What are the implications for educational
policy and practice and the general purposes of schooling? |
||
|
Unit 2:
The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society: Economic (or education for
a proletariat) |
||
|
June 8 |
What are
the economic purposes of schooling? What are the purposes of schooling in a
capitalist society? How do ideological positions engage epistemological
questions? |
|
|
June 9 |
What is
classism? What is equal educational opportunity? What have been the effects
of class on equal educational opportunity? Video:
A Question of Fairness |
Anyon, pp. 1-64 |
|
What does
conservative modernization look like in terms of educational policy broadly
speaking and in terms of school policies and practices? How/why does
education policy substitute for economic reform? Can capitalist schooling be
democratic? Video: Captive Audience |
Anyon, pp. 65-80 |
|
|
Unit 3: The Purposes of Education in a Democratic Society:
Social (or educating for cultural hegemony) |
||
|
June 15 |
What is
racism? What is the relationship between class and race? What does it mean to
be “color blind?” Is color blindness a “privilege?” What are the effects of
racism on equal educational opportunity? Video: Ethnic Notions |
|
|
June 16 |
How does
the history of American race relations support/negate the social and racial
contracts? To what extent and in what ways is this question still relevant? What’s
the difference between anti-racist education and multicultural education? Video: The Color of Fear |
|
|
June 22 |
What is
sexism? How does it affect opportunities for women/girls? How does it affect
the educational experience of men/boys? Video: Tough Guise |
|
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June 23 |
What is
heterosexism? How is it related to sexism? How does it affect everyone’s
educational experience? Video: Bullied |
|