190075 SE M5.1 Schul-und Bildungsforschung (2017S)

By the end of this course students will be able to:

? understand the forces and factors with the power and/or influence to affect schools and schooling

? articulate the relationship between society, its structures, institutions and practices and schooling along various dimensions

? apply critical thinking skills to their comprehension of schools, schooling and society

? gain a cross-national perspective

? read, evaluate and reflect on scholarly research on education

? engage in related literature in order to answer their own questions as well as this course?s essential questions

? write a scholarly paper examining one of the questions of the course

Main themes of the course are as follows:

--Schools as social organizations

--Schooling process (System and purpose of schooling)

--Power structure in schools (Actors and relationship patterns)

--Curriculum / Knowledge

--Hidden Curriculum

-- Inputs / Outcomes of schooling

--Variation in schools by class/social structure and power

--Social capital / cultural capital

-- Gender, identity and sexuality

--Race, Ethnicity, language and Culture

--Politics of schooling

--Market economy, privatization, globalization and education

--School Choice

--Critical pedagogy

-Assignments: Students are expected to submit assignments based on class-work. These assignments may take place inside and outside the classroom. It is recognized, however, that personal responsibilities may sometimes require students to miss a class. In such case it is your responsibility to contact your classmates and make sure that you bring in the required assignment for the following week.

--Critical Essay: Each student will be expected to prepare one critical essay, based on the primary sections of the class which should be 3 pages long, 1.5 spaced. The review essay should identify a point of view or perspective that students take away from the readings in that section. The essay should develop this theme with appropriate cited references to the text and other resources that support your point of view; it should not become a summary of the readings.

-Multimedia Assignments: (choose one)

--Movie on course themes: You are expected to prepare a 10 mins movie on one of the themes of the course. You can use copy-right free material or shoot your own movie. It should have a main theme and a main argument. It should reflect a critical perspective.

-International Comparison Poster: You will research the educational system of two countries: primary, secondary and tertiary. I expect your poster to include basic demographic information about the educational system (approximately what proportion of the population is enrolled at the different levels? Is the system stratified by gender, ethnicity, religion or some other factor? How widely available is public education, and how do the expectations of who goes to school and what is covered there differ from each other?). Especially try to look at these systems from the critical perspective.

-Leading class discussions: Each class member will be assigned to a theme based on the course calendar. You will be responsible for initiating and leading class discussion for that day. The preparation of a single sheet of discussion questions or some other visual aid to engage the class (Power Point, poster, etc.) is encouraged