EDU 2201 - Social Foundation Education I

• Spring Semester- 2003
• Monday 6:10-8:45 p.m.
• Bartley Hall, Room 024
• Credit Hours:  3                                                               

• Professor: Dr. Edward Garcia Fierros
• Phone: 610 519-6969
• Email: Edward.Fierros@villanova.edu
• Office: St. Augustine Center for the Liberal Arts Room 359
• Office Hours: Monday 4:30-5:30 p.m.
• URL: http://www.homepage.villanova.edu/Edward.Fierros

Required Texts:

1. Electronic and Reserve Readings as Assigned (http://www.library.villanova.edu)
2. Edmundson, M. (2002). Teacher: The One Who Made a Difference New York, NY: Random House
3. Kozol, J. (1991). Savage Inequalities – Children in America’s Schools. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.
4. Meier, D. In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization
5. Sizer T.R. (1985). Horace's Compromise – the dilemma of the American high school. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin

Course Description:  Major movements in the history of education with an emphasis on their social and philosophical context; historical development of educational aims, curriculum and types of education; religious and political influences on education.  Through an exploration of texts and films we will approach education from the perspective of students, teachers, and schools.

Course Objectives:

1. To help students investigate the school as an institution in the context of our changing pluralistic society and to explore the organization and functions of school systems.
2. To demonstrate an understanding of the roles and functions of the school teacher.
3. To understand the effects of varying school organizational patterns upon instruction.
4. To help students comprehend and reflect on issues concerning education and the professional educator;
5. To extend awareness and appreciation of a range of social and educational issues. 
6. To exercise and expand the ability to understand, write and speak in response to the crucial social and historical context of critical education issues.
7. To exercise the ability to respond as a citizen to real examples of critical issues as they present themselves in a democratic society.
8. To exercise academic and intellectual judgment in response to issues of cultural difference, gender, racial and ethnic diversity.
9. To enhance your writing skills.
10. To view education as a life long process.

INTRODUCTION

Throughout this course, we will examine Education through various lenses.  These lenses include but are not limited to the historical development of American Education; Catholic Education, the student, the teacher, and the school.  In our journey we will explore how students, teachers, and schools exist in different contexts.  We will also be viewing film excerpts as reflective examples, and cultural artifacts of the ideas we encounter. 

Students will be asked to conduct thoughtful discussion of the material assigned for the day’s reading. The course experience will be cooperative in nature, with students working in small groups on discussion themes, toward resolution of issues and debates raised in class and in the readings. These are not intended to exhaust the potential themes in the course, only to suggest some possible directions for exploration.

COURSE FORMAT

The course will include multiple instructional approaches including: lecture, discussion, small group activities, presentation, debate, and critical reflection activities.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1.  Attendance, discussion, and participation in class activities.  There is a high correlation between attendance, active discussion and participation and learning.

Students are expected to be prepared during class. Attendance and classroom participation will be a SIGNIFICANT factor in determining the student’s final grade for the class.

2. Extensions - Extension assignments are frequently long-term continuing projects that parallel class readings. You will produce two self-initiated projects allowing you to apply and analyze information presented in class. The extension activities and due dates will be randomly assigned. You will be expected to share your extension activity product with the class.

Examples

• designing a newsletter that explains the student drop out phenomenon and possible solutions to this problem. making or designing a piece of art that represent the educational area of focus
• completing reading investigation exercises
• researching education in the newspaper and the media
• finding education material on the Internet
• please design your own

3.      Critical Reflection Papers – (3)

The critical reflection papers will provide you the opportunity to read more deeply in one of the five major areas of the course. When reading an assigned text or viewing a film you should take notes and critically examine what the author or filmmaker is saying. Pull out the main ideas from the text or film and ask yourself what you think about the ideas. You may very well disagree with their point of view, and you should challenge any assumptions that the author or filmmaker makes for which you disagree.

I want your opinions and ideas on the topic(s), I do not want you to simply summarize the author’s views. Be clear in your opinions and make sure you have someone proof read your paper before you hand it in. I will be grading on sentence structure as well as content. The three papers are worth 60% of your course grade.

When writing the papers please follow the outline below. Each part of the paper is assigned a specific number of points.

a)     Summary of the author’s viewpoints and thesis points (3 pages) [30%].

b)     Your critical response to the author's ideas, both positive and negative. (3-4 pages) [60%]. (n.b. Because you are limited to 3-4 pages you should carefully select your responses so that you can demonstrate your analysis of their views.)

c)      Style, grammar and spelling. [10%]

d)     APA or University of Chicago Style Guidelines

e)     10-12 point font, double spaced, title page, and page numbers

4.                        In-Class Presentation -

In a 5-7 minute presentation you will have the opportunity to share the highlights of one of your three course papers. The presentation must not exceed 7 minutes.  Your presentation should include some form of media (i.e., transparencies, PowerPoint, chalk board, or poster boards).

 

20 points

10 points

(5 points each)

60 points total

Paper 1 = 15 points

Paper 2 = 15 points

Paper 3 = 20 points

10 points

Tentative Calendar – The professor reserves the right to change the syllabus at any time during the semester.  You will be informed of any changes (e.g., films)

Dates

Topic

Readings (to be read before the next class)

January 13

·     Syllabus Review

·     Pulliam History of Education in America “European Heritage and Colonial Influence on American Education” 15-33 (e-reserves)

January 20

Martin Luther King Day

No Class

January 27

Bryk, Lee, and Holland Catholic Schools and the Common Good “The Tradition of Catholic Schools” pp. 15-54

February 3

·           Bryk, Lee, and Holland Catholic Schools and the Common Good “Catholic Lessons for America’s Schools 297-327 (e-reserves)

·           Youniss, Convey, McClellan The Catholic Character of Catholic Schools 176-188 “The Past Before Us: Three Traditions and the Recent History of Catholic Education” (e-reserves)

·           “Ethnic, Catholic White: Changes in the Identity of European American Catholics” 190-218 (e-reserves)

February 10*

Edmundson, M. Teacher: The One Who Made a Difference 3-114

**Paper 1 due.

February 17

Edmundson, M. Teacher: The One Who Made a Difference 115-202

February 24

Edmundson, M. Teacher: The One Who Made a Difference 203-276

March 3

Semester Recess

No Class

March 10

Sizer, T.R. Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School  1-98

March 17*

Sizer, T.R. Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School 99-237

**Paper 2 due

March 24

Kozol, J. Savage Inequalities – Children in America’s Schools. 1-132

March 31

Kozol, J. Savage Inequalities – Children in America’s Schools. 133-233

April 7

Meier, D. In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization 1-91

*In class presentations

April 14

Meier, D. In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization 95-182

*In class presentations.

April 21

Easter Monday

No Class

April 28*

• *In class presentations
• Course wrap up.
• **Paper 3 Due