EDUC 2110 02: Investigating Critical and Contemporary Issues in Education

Course Description: This course engages students in observations, interactions, and experiences aimed towards analyzing critical and contemporary educational issues in the state of Georgia specifically and the United States generally. Students will actively examine the teaching profession from multiple perspectives including those inside and outside of the traditional schoolhouse. Concurrently, students will reflect and interpret the meaning of education and schooling in a diverse society while considering the moral and ethical responsibilities of teaching in a democracy. Course Objectives: After completing this course, students will be able to: Investigate and describe contemporary schools and the interplay of school and society via selected social, historical, political, economic, philosophical, and cultural issues that influence those schools. Discover, explore, and describe current issues and trends in schools (e.g., bullying, curriculum mandates, vouchers, privatization, testing and evaluation, federal and state policy, reform initiatives, standards, and changes in curriculum) using disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields and the lenses of analysis, critique, and interpretation. Analyze their legal, ethical, and professional responsibilities as future teachers. Explore their core values and reflect on how their values influence their beliefs about "good" teaching and schooling in democratic contexts. Develop and refine a philosophy of teaching for contemporary schools by exploring who they are as a potential teacher (e.g., examining their own agendas and prejudices as they relate teaching and learning) and what dispositions they have for teaching diverse students in current Georgia and U.S. school contexts. Analyze the implications, benefits, and challenges concerning the use of technology in contemporary Georgia and U.S. classrooms.