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FALL 1995

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EDUC 240-3

SOCIAL ISSUES IN EDUCATION

(D1.00)

C. HAIG-BROWN

By "critical" I mean a philosophy that is aware of the limits of knowing,.

Gayatri Spivak 1994.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

"It is open season on schools," claims Sandro Contenta in

Rituals of Failure.

This course provides

students an opportunity for critical examination of a range of social issues in education, from schooling

to power relations. Inherent in the course is the understanding that education always exists in a social

and historical context. To make visible the impact of these contexts particularly on schooling and to

question the unquestionable about education are goals of the course. Lectures are used to present the

issues while the required texts and articles provide additional perspectives on the topics under

discussion. In tutorials, with teaching assistants, students have the opportunity for deeper, focused

discussion based in their own experiences. Assignments and exams allow for synthesis of developing

ideas. There will be a variet y

of guest speakers and videos. P.S. The instructor is an anti-racist,

materialist feminist among other things.

OBJECTIVES:

Through the introduction of critical educational analysis, it is anticipated students will develop their

abilities to engage in informed discussions of the purposes and practices of schooling. Examination of

schools as sites of struggle over resources and ideologies, as locations of complex power relations, and as

places of possibility are all aspects of the analysis.

TOPICS:

The social construction of education and schooling, current issues in British Columbia schools, political

correctness and academic freedom, racism, sexism, heterosexism, and class bias in schools; and

sociological constructs related to schools such as functionalism, reproduction, cultural production,

postmodernism meritocracy, hegemony and agency.

COURSE ASSESSMENT

One short paper..................

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25%

Mid-term ...........................

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25%

Final exam or paper............

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40%

Seminar attendance..........

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10%

REQUIRED TEXTS

Maude Barlow & H.J. Robertson.

Class Warfare: The Assault on Canada's Schools.

Toronto:

Key Porter.

Isabelle Knockwood.

Out of the Depths.

Lockeport, N.S.: Roseway.

Browyn Davies.

Shards of Glass.

Cress Kill, NJ: Hampton.

Custom Courseware package

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Centre for Distance Educat•

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Simon Fraser University

SOCIAL ISSUES IN EDUCATION

This course introduces students to the study of public education as a social

institution in terms of its origins, character, consequences, and possible future.

Students are encouraged to explore, analyze and raise questions concerning

issues such as the aims and practices of public schooling, education and

socialization, streaming and testing, school knowledge and social class, racism

and sexism in education.

PREREQUISiTE:

None.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

There are 4 assignment submissions each worth 25% of the final grade.

07/21/93