ED 520 Contemporary Education Reform
Contemporary Education Reform” introduces students to school reform today. In this seminar, we investigate the content and controversy of several contemporary school reforms. It encourages critical thinking about the educational challenges that school reformers address and attempt to surmount. The seminar explores (1) responses to growing educational inequality and segregation based on race, national origin, and socioeconomic status – centralization in terms of finance, governance, and desegregation; (2) responses to increased racial and ethnic diversity – ethnocentrism, multicultural studies, and inclusive pedagogy; (3) entrepreneurial responses to public education – vouchers, charters, and virtual schools; and (4) alternatives to high-stakes testing and accountability.