LSE 353 | THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course examines school and other educational sites as political institutions. It explores the ways in which the goals, the content taught, and the organization of educational institutions are shaped by relations of power and by political trends in society. It also explores schools and classrooms as political terrains in their own right in which issues of power are contested along lines of race, class, ethnicity, gender, language, sexual orientation, and other forms of difference. The course considers ways in which schools may reproduce or contest the existing social order. The dynamic interplay of political context and the internal politics of schools will be studied theoretically and through specific issues such as language and immigration policy, affirmative action, educational vouchers, textbook selection, and educational reform movements. This course satisfies the self, society, & modern world requirement.
LSE 354 | CULTURE, CONTEXT AND LEARNING | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is based on the premise that learning is situated in the context of dynamic interpersonal relationships through which critical thinking may be fostered and ideas challenged. Students will examine the intellectual, emotional, and intrapsychic processes by which knowledge is constructed and shaped by cultural meanings which validate particular forms of thought and structures of knowledge. Various theories of learning will be discussed as they inform educational practices and their underlying assumptions will be examined. In addition, this course will engage the cultural nature of all human activity, cognitive processes, and bodies of knowledge. Attention will be given to their historical role of race and class as they determine what bodies of knowledge and processes of learning are validated within the dominant culture. Students will engage in self-reflective experiences, theoretical analyses, and community based activities to examine the various meanings constructed as people learn within social and cultural contexts. This course satisfies the self, society, & modern world requirement.
LSE 355 | INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN EDUCATION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course focuses on a variety of key educational issues in countries or regions outside of the United States. Through a comparative approach, possible issues that will be examined include: aims and purposes of education and schooling; economic, political, social and cultural contexts of educational policies and practices; similarities and differences in organization and structure of educational systems; equity and social justice; relationships between home, community and educational institutions; education, development, and issues of social change; and dynamics at the global level that affect education in local environments. This course satisfies the self, society, & modern world requirement.
LSE 358 | EDUCATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is designed to examine education within a philosophical framework which focuses upon the relatively great potential of education as an agent for social justice and change. Through the examination of current issues and concerns, students are expected to engage in critical analysis, reflect upon theoretical frameworks, examine public policies and values, and consider ways in which schools and educators can promote the development of social justice. The course will focus on one or several of the following topics: gender, ethnicity, language and culture, and social class and economic opportunity. Attention will be given to the issues of institutional responses to differences, equity, access and outcomes. This course satisfies the Self, Society, & Modern World requirement.
LSE 380 | PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES IN PEDAGOGY, CULTURE AND GLOBALIZATION | 4 quarter hours
(Undergraduate)
This course is a philosophical inquiry into the relationship of pedagogy to culture and globalization. In this course students explore this relationship from different philosophical perspectives about globalization that emerge from the Global North and the Global South. Specifically, the course examines how and why these perspectives have resulted in different conceptions of teaching, learning, culture, language, human development and worldmaking. Students will consider how these varied conceptions and practices enable alternative forms of knowledge and habits of knowing and worldmaking pedagogies that correspond to other ways of living and existing in the world. The course also examines how and why these conceptions of teaching, learning, culture, language, human development and worldmaking suggest different philosophies and theories of emancipation and possibilities for global and local futures. The course readings include philosophical literature from critical, post-critical, decolonial and indigenous traditions.
LSE 404 | CHILD REARING ACROSS CULTURES | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
Study of child-rearing practices, the effects of culture on cognitive development and the implications for teaching strategies for the child whose first language is not English.
LSE 420 | COMPARATIVE EDUCATION | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This course is devoted to the study of historical and contemporary issues related to comparative education-with an emphasis upon early childhood, elementary, and secondary levels. Through a comparative study of educational public policy, we will examine assumptions about the aims and purposes of education and schooling in terms of economic, political and social dimensions. Major topics and issues addressed will include the following: examining what it means to be educated; examining similarities and differences in the ways developed and developing countries educate children and youth; the organization and structure of educational institutions; disconcerting implicit and explicit values in different approaches to teaching and learning; relationships between schools and communities; education and the issues of change and social justice.
LSE 430 | EDUCATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
A variable-topics course designed to examine education within a philosophical framework which focuses upon the relatively great potential of education as an agent for social justice and change. Through the examination of current issues and concerns, students are expected to engage in critical analysis, reflect upon theoretical frameworks, examine public policies and values, and consider ways in which schools and educators can promote the development of social justice. Each time the course is offered it will focus on one of the following topics: gender; ethnicity; language and culture; or social class and economic opportunity. For each topic, attention will be given to the issues of institutional responses to differences, equity, access and outcomes. (CROSS-LISTED with LSE 258)
LSE 450 | DYNAMICS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURE | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This course is intended for those interested in cultural and human relations in order that they may examine the contributions of the black person to American Culture; gain a functional understanding of the social, economic and political development of the black person on America itself. (Cross-listed with SOC 490).
LSE 460 | INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN EDUCATION | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This variable-topics course will focus upon educational issues in a particular country or region outside of the United States. Through comparative study, a number of issues will be addressed: aims and purposes of education and schooling; economic, political, social and cultural contexts of educational policies; similarities and differences in organization and structure of educational systems; relationships between home, community and educational institutions; education, development and issues of social change.
LSE 461 | INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING | 4 quarter hours
(Graduate)
This variable-topics course will focus upon aspects of curriculum, teaching and learning in a particular country or region outside of the United States. It requires work in the chosen country or region under the guidance of teachers familiar with its educational practices. The course will examine how curriculum is organized, developed and implemented in classrooms and schools with concentration on particular subjects or levels. From a comparative perspective, particular attention will be paid to the values and assumptions underlying curriculum and teaching.