SPRING 2006 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Click on titles in blue for draft Syllabus

Educ 229 Introduction to International Education
(Joanie Cohen-Mitchell) -- Tuesday 4-6:30 pm      HasLabAdd 124      Schedule No: 55431

This course provides an introduction to international education and to education in non-US. and non-western settings. Education is a powerful force that spurs national growth and development. This course explores how, and to what extent education has served critical national and international interests. Students are introduced to a variety of environments in which education takes place, some formal, some not and are asked to analyze learning, education and development in non-U.S. and non-western settings. The course also provides perspectives of Third World history and development as they relate to education and learning.

Educ 556 Education for Community Development
(Mainus Sultan) -- Thursday 9-12:00           275 Hills South           Schedule No: 58028

The focus of this seminar will be to explore current and emerging theories and practices of community development processes in both the US and international settings. The course is designed to create a learning climate that encourages the participants to take initiative in order to analyze a variety of community development concepts and methods. The purpose is to develop practical skills for effectively involving local people and mobilizing resources in community-based efforts. The seminar offers a series of case studies from international settings to combine conceptual frameworks with field experience as well as to develop understanding on a broad range of community issues. Another feature of the course is developing cross-cultural strategies to design and implement community development program at a grassroots level.

Educ 629 Policy Issues in International Education
(Hartwell & Evans) -- Tuesday 1-4:00 pm       275 Hills South          Schedule No: 58030

Current international educational policy in Africa, Asia and Latin America is centered on strategies necessary to achieve the global agenda of Education for All. Central to those policies is the establishment of measurable objectives, country strategies, plans of action, and the means to monitor progress. The course will begin with an overview of the nature of policy formation and implementation at national and international levels, drawing on the theory and practice of policy analysis. A supporting focus of the course will analyze the concepts, experience, and the current practice in creating monitoring and evaluation frameworks to guide education sector policy work. The course will also review guidelines for the preparation of national polices and their associated M&E frameworks, including various methods for creating and using indicators to measure progress towards goals.

Educ 635 Issues in Adult Literacy **NEW **
(Cristine Smith) -- Wednesday 4-6:30 pm     275 Hills South                      Schedule No: 58998

This course will address two major questions related to the provision of basic literacy education. One, why is literacy important for individuals and communities, and what role does it play in development? Two, what makes a literacy program successful? The course will cover the following issues:

• A brief history of adult literacy in development, including the use of literacy campaigns, international initiatives, and national programs, and an overview of key players in the field of adult literacy (Laubach, Freire, etc.)
• An overview of the research and theory on the rationale for literacy, including the connection between literacy and health, development and critical thinking.
• A discussion of the elements of successful literacy programs, including teacher training, curriculum and materials, timing and duration, language of instruction, supervision and monitoring, and evaluation.
• An analysis of several models (REFLECT, World Education) and examples of both basic and integrated literacy programs in specific countries, and a discussion of their underlying philosophy and beliefs about the purpose of literacy.
• A comparison of adult literacy systems in developing countries and in the U.S., with a focus on the differences in adult learner populations and the implications of these for the design of systems, and a discussion of the types of systems participants feel are most appropriate for their own countries or contexts.

Throughout the course, participants will be asked to consider how these issues are relevant in their own contexts. At the beginning of the course, class participants will be asked to write their current theory of why literacy is important and what elements they believe critical to successful literacy programs. The final project assignment will be a description of what the literacy system should look like in a participants’ own context--along with supporting theory and rationale.

Educ 640 Materials Development in Nonformal Education: Games & Simulations **NEW **
(Hartwell, Ivey, van deGeer) -- Wednesday 1-4:00 pm 275 Hills South     Schedule No: 58344

Play is an essential element of learning, all through life. Play translates the world as given into an imaginative, created reality that we use to explore and experiment with our ideas of how the world works. Games and simulations create structured representations of natural and social systems that are utilized as tools of scientific research and experimentation, training and learning. CIE pioneered in the design of simulations in rural Ecuador as a means of empowering peasants to analyze and critique their social milieu within a literary program. This is a new and experimental course, in which the participants will ‘play’ a major role. We will explore the use of games and simulations in various educational contexts- examining the evidence for their effectiveness. We will explore theory and concepts for developing games and simulations, and use these to create and try out our own.

Educ 719 Theory and Practice of Nonformal Education **CANCELLED**
(Evans) -- Monday 1-4:00 pm         275 Hills south              Schedule No: 58036

Educ 791O Youth, Education & Development **NEW **
(Mosselson) -- Thursday 1-4:00 pm        275 Hills South           Schedule No: 59005

This course examines the role of education in the formation of youth identity in international development. We will explore a range of theories regarding the relationship between race, class, schooling and youth identity development in the international context, including cultural-ecological theory, social reproduction theory, cultural production theory, social constructivism, critical race theory and critical psychology. Alongside this exploration of theories, students will, with refugee youth in the area, engage in a qualitative investigation of the relationship between schooling, migration, race and identity formation for youths. In this way, we will be undertaking both a theoretical and practical approach to understanding cultural attitudes to youth and what constitutes youth. Students will learn a variety of social theories concerning international development and youth development, will apply these theories to educational settings and will learn how to do basic ethnographic research, including observations and interviews.

Educ 793W International Education Master’s Project
(Rossman) -- Monday 9-12:00         275 Hills South            Schedule No: 55475

This seminar provides a mixture of group planning, support and guided individual study for those students in international education who are ready to work on a specific research topic for their M.Ed. thesis/project. Prior to enrollment, students should have completed CIE form one and clarified preliminary ideas for project or thesis with their advisor. In the seminar’s first phase, students are introduced to selected research and design models, procedures for developing a study design, and use of documentary sources. Steps and targets help participants to identify and refine their study plans and to complete form two. In the second phase, small working groups are formed to apply principles of design and become a primary source of feedback and support supplemented by conferences with instructor and large group sessions. The final allocation of 3 credits for 793W signifies successful completion of the project/thesis. – Permission of the instructor required.

Educ 881      Comparative Education
(Mosselson) -- Monday 4-6:30 pm        275 Hills South          Schedule No: 55630

This course will examine methods, major concepts and current trends in comparative education and explore various facets of societies that impact the educational system, including, but not limited to, historical, economic, social, political, ethnic and religious forces as they relate to education. Starting with an overview of cultural and social theories of the purposes, structure and outcomes of education, we will develop our analytical skills in examining our assumptions surrounding schooling and international education. We will then start applying these theories, exploring practical applications and expressions of contemporary problems in international education, examining the remarkable diversity within contemporary educational systems that are subject to global political and economic forces. As a class, we will discuss an overview of the history and methods of the field of comparative education, compare the theoretical perspectives which shape the field, compare the approaches that different disciplines and theoretical orientations take to similar topics. We will also discuss contemporary issues in educational systems across the globe and examine, in this context, prevailing common-sense notions of education and development.