UMass Boston

Course Overview

Description

This required course, taken in the first fall semester, is built on the premise that most issues of educational policy and practice are rooted in some historical context that is deeply influential but often widely unexamined. This course considers the historical development of several contemporary educational issues, recognizing their roots in intense debates in American history. Although it does not provide explicit guidance for today's practitioners, this historical understanding should inform their approaches to the complexities of their current concerns. With 19th-21st-century urban schooling as the focus, topics include responses to racial, ethnic and gender identities of students; the development of national standards for curriculum and testing; the relative responsibilities of public and private educational institutions; the professional identities of teachers and school administrators; and schools as the site of social reform.