Return to Course List

Draft Syllabus (Final version available in class)
Course Web Site -- http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~educ818

Educ 818                        Alternative Approaches to Education for Rural Development         Spring 2003
Monday 1 ‑ 4 PM, Room 273 HS                          Schedule #17853                                                               Ash Hartwell

OBJECTIVES

During the course participants will:

o        Identify key political, organizational and structural characteristics of schooling as the predominant mode of delivering education
o        Explore major critiques of schooling, based on beliefs about development and current knowledge about the process of individual and social learning.
o        Examine alternative political, organizational, structural, and pedagogic approaches for providing education and learning environments for developing areas.
o        Analyze a number of specific cases of alternative education models including Escuela Neuva, Egypt’s Community Schools, BRAC, the Sudbury School (Massachusetts), Mali and Malawi Community Schools from the perspectives of learning ecology, community development, cost-effectiveness and impact on policy.
o        Each participant will carry out a critique, and contribute to the development, of an actual alternative education model/program as the major course project.

COURSE PROCESS AND STRUCTURE

We will engage in this course as learners, so that each participant will contribute both to their own learning agenda and objectives, and to the collective work of understanding and building competency. In addition to the readings and websites provided at the outset of the course, participants will take responsibility for finding appropriate cases, experiences, research, papers and share these with the class.

The course will be divided into three parts.  In the first three weeks we will explore the purposes, forms, outcomes and critiques of schooling, particularly as it is practiced in underserved rural areas of Africa, Asia and South America.  We will use a simulation game to explore the perspectives and options of two fictional countries emerging from years of conflict as a way of understanding significant educational policy and structural constraints and opportunities.  The second part of the course will be an in-depth analysis of a number of promising alternatives that have been implemented and evaluated.  We will examine factors such as the policy environment for innovation, program organization, the role of the community, the organization of teaching and learning, support processes and structures, learning outcomes, costs and financing, and policy implications.  The final section of the course will focus on the actual models/projects that you choose to evaluate, critique, and support.

REQUIREMENTS 

•     Weekly readings and 3 short papers dealing with

1) your personal learning objectives and expectations;
2) description and analysis of a specific alternative model; and
3) a case study of the application of technology supporting an educational alternative

•     A class presentation of a case study or a critical issue

•     Final Paper – A critique of a specific alternative educational model, and contributing to its further development.

GRADING

This course is being offered on a Pass/Fail basis with a letter grade option.  Any student wishing a letter grade must submit a written request for that option by the fourth class meeting.

TEXTS AND READINGS

The greater part of the readings for this course will be the responsibility of the students to find, largely on the internet, and utilize as a part of their own professional learning and development.  A set of initial readings to be used for the first two weeks of the course will be handed out during the first class. A bound set of Collected Readings, that is required will be available to purchase.  These will also be supplemented by readings provided as the course progresses. In addition to those papers in the Collected Readings, below there is a more complete set of references. Materials not in the Collected Readings will be placed on reserve.

You will also have a set of useful websites (where a large proportion of the collected readings may be found), and will develop further internet resources as the course progresses. Students will need to have regular access to the web site in order to successfully carry out the work required by the course. These will be posted to the course Web Site: 
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~educ818

SUGGESTED REFERENCES (* Indicates papers included in the course collected readings)

* Agarwal, Seema. ‘Participatory Reform of Basic Education: A Social Capital Framework.  Paper presented at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference, Toronto, Canada, April 1999.

* Bosch, Andrea. ‘Sustainability and Interactive Radio Instruction: Why Some Projects Last.’ Education Development Center, 2002.

* Darkwa, Osie and Mazibuko, Filile. ‘Creating Virtual Learning Communities in Africa: Challenges and Prospects. First Monday. 2002. From http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue5_5/

Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. (1916).Chapter Seven: The Democratic Conception in Education. From Columbia University Institute for Learning Technologies: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/dewey.html

Grandvaux-Miller, Yoland and Yoder, Karla. A Literature Review of Community Schools in Africa. Washington, D.C.: SARA Project (USAID). Academy for Educational Development.

* Hartwell, Ash. ‘Applying What We Know About Learning To Projects: The Experience Of Community Schools In Upper Egypt.’ Paper presented at the Comparative and International Education Society  Conference Mexico City, March 1997.

* Hartwell, Ash. ‘The End Of Planning: Notes On Public Policy And Education Plans.’ Udaipur, India: Shikshanter. 2001.

IIEP (1997). Alternative education strategies for disadvantaged groups. Paris. UNESCO. 1997.

* Jain, Manish. ‘Constructing Open Learning Communities to Inspire a Changing World.’ ICDE Panel Presentation. March 1997.

Learning Without Frontiers. Constructing Open Learning Communities to Inspire a Changing World: A Simulation Game. Paris. UNESCO,1998.

Levinger, Beryl. Critical Transitions: Human Capacity Development Across the Lifespan. Newton, MA. Education Development Center, Inc. 1996.

* Lowry, Chreyl Meredith. ‘Supporting and Facilitating Self-Directed Learning.’ ERIC Digest No. 93. ERIC Clearninghouse 1989.

Moulton, Jeanne. Improving education in rural areas:Guidance for rural development specialists. Draft paper prepared for the World Bank. 2001.

* Schiefelbein. Ernesto. ‘In Search of the school of the XXI century: is the Columbian Escuela Nueva the right pathfinder?  Santiago, Chile: UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Latin America. 1991.

Smith, Stephanie and Thomases, Jean. CBO[Community Based Organizations] Schools: Profiles in Transformational Education. Washington, D.C.: AED Center for Youth Development and Policy Research. 2001.

* Sudbury Valley School. [n.d.] From website: http://www.sudval.org/

Tietjen, Karen. Community Schools in Mali: A Comparative Cost Study. Washington, D.C.: USAID. Bureau for Africa: Office of Sustainable Development. Technical Paper No. 97. 1999.

* UNESCO. Open and Distance Learning: Trends, Policy and Strategy Considerations. Paris, 2002.

* Visser, Jan. ‘Landscaping the Learning Environment to Create a Home for the Complex Mind. ‘ 2001 David Kinsey Lecture, Center for International Education.University of Massachusetts. 2001. From http://www.umass.edu/cie/

* Visser, Jan. ‘The Conditions of Learning in the World of the Twenty-First Century. Versailles, France. 2001. From http://www.learndev.org/

* Wheatley, Margaret J. ‘Bringing Schools Back to Life: Schools as Living Systems.’ 1999. From http://www.margaretwheatley.com/writing.html

* Zimmer, Jurgen. Transforming Community Schools into Open Learning Communities. Berlin: International Academy (INA). 1998.

SOME WEBSITES

Informal Education Encyclopedia: http://www.infed.org/encyclopaedia_index.htm

Community Schools –Resources and References: http://www.infed.org/schooling/b-comsch.htm

The Learning Development Institute: http://www.learndev.org/

UNESCO’s Learning without Frontiers: http://www.unesco.org/education/lwf/  (no longer supported)

The 21^st Century Learning Initiative: http://www.21learn.org/

Shikshanter: The People’s Institute for Rethinking Education & Development: http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/

Sind Education Foundation: http://www.sef.org.pk/

Sudbury Valley School http://www.sudval.org

Blue Crane experimental school proposed: South Africa   http://www.bluecrane.docspages.com/

The Learning Channel Network: http://www.learningchannel.org/

Technologia on-line magazine: http://www.TechKnowLogia.org/

COURSE OUTLINE

NOTE: March 19 is Spring Break. February 18 and April 23 follow a Monday Schedule

Return to Course List