Education & Social Change

Instructor: Katherine Turpin  kturpin@iliff.edu

Required for all:

Rury, John L. Education and Social Change: Contours in the History of American Schooling, 4th ed. New York and London: Routledge, 2013.

Horton, Myles and Paulo Freire. We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change. Temple UP, 1990.

Barbara Ransby. Ella Baker and The Black Freedom Movement. The University of North Carolina Press, New Edition, 2005.

Diane J. Goodman. Promoting Diversity and Social Justice.  Educating People from Privileged Groups 2nd edition. Routledge: 2011.

Nicole Baker Fulgham.  Educating All God's Children: What Christians Can--and Should--Do to Improve Public Education for Low-Income Kids. Brazos Press, 2013.

Choose one of two:

1. Sonia Nieto. The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities. 10th Anniversary Edition. Teachers College Press, 2010.

Or

2. Norma Gonzales, Luis Moll, and Cathy Amanti. Funds of Knowledge: Theorizing Practice in Households, Communities, and Classrooms. Routledge, 2005. 

 

 

See Taylor Library's list of online book sellers for purchasing options.

Course Overview

 This course investigates the role of education in maintaining and transforming social structures, identity, and commitments. We will examine how educational practices have contributed towards social change movements, how educational systems can serve as maintaining dominant culture, and educational approaches to a social issue.

Course Learning Goals

Students completing this course can expect to:

1. Participate in the creation of a collaborative learning community interested in the relationship between education and social change.
2. Describe and critique models of education for social change in relationship to the contexts and concerns of their vocational trajectory.
3. Increase their repertoire of educational strategies and methods contributing to social change and their critical skills in selecting approaches for a particular context.
4. Analyze educational systems as institutions that can both inhibit and promote social change.

1. Active Participation: Based upon:  promptness and consistency of attendance; contributions to collaborative learning; evidence of completing course readings prior to class sessions; timeliness of meeting deadlines; degree of progress over the quarter and evident effort.  (15 possible points)

2. Priming the Pump Exercise: Each person will prepare a two or three page single-spaced analytical summary of the readings for a day to be posted at least 24 hours prior to class period in which those readings will be discussed. (We will create a schedule during the first class meeting.) The exercise should locate the author, convey the focus and major ideas of the text, and also include 2-3 critical questions for further exploration during the class period. Criteria for assessment: accurate representation of the author and text; clear, clean and concise writing; focus on ideas and concepts central to the text or the section assigned, thoughtfulness of questions posed. (2-3 pages single-spaced, 20 possible points)

3. Show and Tell: At the end of each class beginning in the third week, a few students will bring an exemplary entry from our Canvas portfolio entries created by another class member to “show” to the class and “tell” why they think it was a particularly helpful entry. The entry does not have to be from the previous week’s work, but can be from anytime throughout the quarter. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage reading/collaboration on the online Canvas site as well as to honor the insights and connections students are generating in their work. We will each sign-up for a particular day to share. Criteria for assessment: interesting engagement with the entry, thoughtful rationale for why it is a strong entry, coherent and organized presentation. (10 possible points)

4. (Masters or Doctoral Option) Online Portfolio

(60 possible points) See here for Guidelines.

4. (Doctoral Option) Short Academic Article (due Nov 20)

Explore a topic within your discipline/research agenda that builds on the themes and readings of the course (about 15 pages). If you want to explore this option, please meet with Katherine by week 3 of the quarter to discuss your topic choice and guidelines. Criteria for assessment: establishes a clear and worthwhile thesis, builds a coherent and sustained argument, utilizes course readings as conversation partners in critical and nuanced manner, engages in external research that supplements the work of the course, depth of analysis and insight, uses language and rhetoric in an engaging and artful manner appropriate to the student’s discipline and genre, regularly follows grammatical and sentence-level writing conventions (50 points for final piece, 5 points each for turning in a one page proposal on Sept. 28 and a reasonably complete draft on Nov. 10). Students choosing this option will be asked to share insights from their research on Nov. 16th in our final class.

Policies and Services

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community. 

Degree Learning Goals

Social/Contextual Analysis (AN):  identify and critically evaluate the symbolic systems, power structures, ideologies, values, and religious meanings at play in events and interactions, institutional structures, ethical judgments, and living communities, and articulate and enact a vision for increased social justice in these contexts.

MASJE adds: Demonstrate a complex interdisciplinary understanding of historical and contemporary social change strategies and movements, develop and practice an inclusive and collaborative approach to social change leadership, and demonstrate the cultural capacity and organizational skills necessary for civic agency and efficacy in diverse social, political, and educational institutions.

Priming the Pump Signups

September 21:

Rury, pp. 1-131        _________________________________________________________

Rury, pp. 133-248  ______________________________________________

September 28:

Ransby, pp. 1-169  ____Nick___________________________________

    (provide background on Ransby)

Ransby, pp. 170-298, 357-374____Emily__________________________________________

     (provide background/context on Ella Baker)

October 5:

Horton/Freire, Chs. 1-3 (provide background on Myles Horton)

___________John__________________________________

Horton/Freire, Chs. 4-6 (provide background on Paulo Freire)

__________Rode_____________________________

October 12:

Gonzalez, all_________________________________________

October 19:

Nieto, all ____________________________________________________________

October 26:

Greene and Boal _________Tessa______________________________________

Lincoln/Denzin and Singhal ____Quinton__________

Nov. 2:

Baker Fulgham: __________Genevieve______________________________________________

Nov. 9:

Goodman: _________Madison_______________________________  

Show and Tell

Sept 28:

1.  Madison
2.  Emily

October 5:

1.  Nick
2.  Quinton

October 12:

1.  John
2.  

October 19:

1. Tessa

October 26:

1. Genevieve

November 2:

1.  Rode
2.  

November 9:

1. Georgia