Courses
Race, Class, and Educational Inequality
The goal of this course is to provide students with tools to critically examine and challenge race and class inequality in education. Race and class are fundamental categories around which social inequality is organized, and the education system plays a critical role in either maintaining or challenging these hierarchies. Students will be exposed to classical and contemporary theories and empirical research on race and class, educational stratification and mobility, and social reproduction and resistance. They will also gain an understanding of how race and social class interact with one another to shape students’ educational outcomes. We will also examine how schools are organized, how they contribute to and challenge educational inequality, how leadership at the school and district level can promote educational improvement, and how contemporary educational policies shape urban educational context. We will focus on the educational terrain that students and their families navigate as they make their way through elementary and secondary schools and transition to adulthood, primarily in the United States. Students will also be asked to reflect on their own educational trajectories and how their own social position has shaped their educational experiences, opportunities, and outcomes. Because education is intricately linked to its social context, we will examine the importance of race and class at several levels including the classroom and school as well as the family, neighborhood, and community.
Urban Education Leadership
How are race and class inequality reproduced from one generation to the next? How do urban school contexts influence this process? How can research, policy, educational practice, and the agency of students, parents and communities be brought together to challenge the reproduction of race and class inequality in schools? This course will provide students with tools for understanding urban education contexts, leading schools and districts, and address social inequality. A core focus of the class will be to examine how race and class stratification are perpetuated and/or challenged in urban school contexts, primarily in the United States. To this end, we will examine the relationships between the educational system and other social institutions such as the workplace, family, and community. We will also examine educational policies and community engagement as contemporary efforts to respond to urban educational challenges. After completing this course, students will be better able to understand the significance of various structural, cultural, economic, sociological, historical, and political factors that impact teaching, learning, and educational outcomes in urban schools. They will also be better able to critically analyze current efforts to transform urban schools and to assess the potential efficacy of these efforts in addressing issues of education inequality.
The goal of this course is to provide students with tools to critically examine and challenge race and class inequality in education. Race and class are fundamental categories around which social inequality is organized, and the education system plays a critical role in either maintaining or challenging these hierarchies. Students will be exposed to classical and contemporary theories and empirical research on race and class, educational stratification and mobility, and social reproduction and resistance. They will also gain an understanding of how race and social class interact with one another to shape students’ educational outcomes. We will also examine how schools are organized, how they contribute to and challenge educational inequality, how leadership at the school and district level can promote educational improvement, and how contemporary educational policies shape urban educational context. We will focus on the educational terrain that students and their families navigate as they make their way through elementary and secondary schools and transition to adulthood, primarily in the United States. Students will also be asked to reflect on their own educational trajectories and how their own social position has shaped their educational experiences, opportunities, and outcomes. Because education is intricately linked to its social context, we will examine the importance of race and class at several levels including the classroom and school as well as the family, neighborhood, and community.
Urban Education Leadership
How are race and class inequality reproduced from one generation to the next? How do urban school contexts influence this process? How can research, policy, educational practice, and the agency of students, parents and communities be brought together to challenge the reproduction of race and class inequality in schools? This course will provide students with tools for understanding urban education contexts, leading schools and districts, and address social inequality. A core focus of the class will be to examine how race and class stratification are perpetuated and/or challenged in urban school contexts, primarily in the United States. To this end, we will examine the relationships between the educational system and other social institutions such as the workplace, family, and community. We will also examine educational policies and community engagement as contemporary efforts to respond to urban educational challenges. After completing this course, students will be better able to understand the significance of various structural, cultural, economic, sociological, historical, and political factors that impact teaching, learning, and educational outcomes in urban schools. They will also be better able to critically analyze current efforts to transform urban schools and to assess the potential efficacy of these efforts in addressing issues of education inequality.
Qualitative Research Practicum in Community Engaged Scholarship
The purpose of this research practicum course is to provide students with an intensive apprenticeship in qualitative research methods with a focus on race, class, and organizational change to promote educational equity. Under the leadership of the instructor, students in the practicum will design and conduct research in local contexts including schools. We will rely primarily on interviews, observations, and documents to analyze issues of inequality and engage in various forms of data analysis. In this course, we will collectively design the research, develop and refine research protocols, collect and analyze data, and prepare presentations on the research. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of how to design qualitative research; collect, manage, and analyze qualitative data, utilize computer-based qualitative analysis tools, report findings, and work collaboratively on practice-based problems. The purpose of this research practicum course is to provide students with an intensive apprenticeship in qualitative research methods with a focus on race, class, and organizational change to promote educational equity. Under the leadership of the instructor, students in the practicum will design and conduct research in local contexts including schools. We will rely primarily on interviews, observations, and documents to analyze issues of inequality and engage in various forms of data analysis. In this course, we will collectively design the research, develop and refine research protocols, collect and analyze data, and prepare presentations on the research. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of how to design qualitative research; collect, manage, and analyze qualitative data, utilize computer-based qualitative analysis tools, report findings, and work collaboratively on practice-based problems.
The purpose of this research practicum course is to provide students with an intensive apprenticeship in qualitative research methods with a focus on race, class, and organizational change to promote educational equity. Under the leadership of the instructor, students in the practicum will design and conduct research in local contexts including schools. We will rely primarily on interviews, observations, and documents to analyze issues of inequality and engage in various forms of data analysis. In this course, we will collectively design the research, develop and refine research protocols, collect and analyze data, and prepare presentations on the research. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of how to design qualitative research; collect, manage, and analyze qualitative data, utilize computer-based qualitative analysis tools, report findings, and work collaboratively on practice-based problems. The purpose of this research practicum course is to provide students with an intensive apprenticeship in qualitative research methods with a focus on race, class, and organizational change to promote educational equity. Under the leadership of the instructor, students in the practicum will design and conduct research in local contexts including schools. We will rely primarily on interviews, observations, and documents to analyze issues of inequality and engage in various forms of data analysis. In this course, we will collectively design the research, develop and refine research protocols, collect and analyze data, and prepare presentations on the research. Students will leave this course with a deeper understanding of how to design qualitative research; collect, manage, and analyze qualitative data, utilize computer-based qualitative analysis tools, report findings, and work collaboratively on practice-based problems.
