Leadership and Policy Studies: Inequalities and Ed Policy

Examines how the institution of education has historically created, maintained, and has also challenged inequalities. Explores this in relationship to race, ethnicity, immigration, social class, gender, LGBTQIA+ issues, and disability, among others, covering key readings in history and theory as well as key court cases and movements for equity.

Online synchronous course; Open to Degree and PACE students

John Dewey referred to public education as a “laboratory for democracy,” enabling people to understand what they share and how they need to consider themselves part of an engaged and diverse public. This course will examine how the institution of education has historically created, maintained, and has also challenged inequalities. We will explore this in relationship to race, ethnicity, immigration, language, social class, gender, LGBTQIA+ issues, and disability, among others, covering key readings in history and theory as well as key court cases and movements for equity. The course will also provide students with an opportunity to consider how policies can impact inequalities and sometimes either inadvertently or by design exacerbate them but also how communities resist inequalities and demand more from education. This course will introduce students to forms of critical analysis of educational policies and practices. The research, documents, and theories we will read will provide insight into how to continue the educational goals of equity while also understanding the complicated impact of intersectional diversities, communities, and movements on education as an institution. In this apparently post-civil rights era, that commitment to diverse democracy may seem more challenging but it is all the more important for ensuring that all students learn and are respected by this key social institution.

We will be exploring policies, court decisions, research-based reviews and critiques of policy implementation as well as articles aimed at community partnerships, leadership strategies, teacher-led interventions and challenges, and student agency and activism. In short, given the diversity of those of you in class, we'll try to have articles that address your concerns related to practice and research. In addition, you'll also note that there are a wide variety of approaches to research here some of which are based in historical examination of primary documents, some that analyze historical documents, some in conversation with empirical evidence and theory, some using theory and narrative approaches. As you think about your final group equity policy project consider using a range of documents, evidence, and aims (offering better policy, showing ways to move policy into practice through leadership, curricula, pedagogy, partnerships, etc.) Students will be expected to read carefully and critically, and use the same careful and critical approach to videos in order to be ready to discuss and analyze readings and other course materials like videos. You'll be regularly writing short Discussion Board posts and responding to or collaborating with classmates on those.

Attendance, active participation in our large group meetings and in smaller discussion groups, writing, midterm, and a collaborative final project and response to other peers' projects will be key to success.