MODERN PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION
COURSE NUMBER: 310-740
CREDITS: 3 Graduate
DESCRIPTION:
Critical comparison of present-day schools of thought on the
nature, objectives, and functions of American education.
Requirements of the Course:
Students will be expected to attend all classes. Students
who miss four or more courses will fail the course unless
they communicate to the instructor why these absences are
necessary, and with the instructor's permission make up
additional work in the form of reports on some of the books
on the supplemental reading list.
All students will be required to do the assigned readings
from the required texts and write 4 papers--one on current
trends in education of African-Americans one on current trends
in feminist perspectives on education, and a paper on ecological
perspectives on education . Each of these papers
should be a summary of what has been covered in the assigned
readings and class discussions. Students should relate this
material to current trends in education. The paper on
African-American concerns related to education should
include at least one other modern reference not from the
required reading list. All students will also have to write
a research paper on one of the educational issues covered in
class. e.g. desegregation of schools, gender bias in the
classroom, ecological courses in secondary schools, etc.
Students should let the instructor know what the topic of
their research paper will be by the end of September.
Students doing research in the various areas covered in
class (African-American education, feminist education, and
ecological education) will be expected to present discussion
questions for the class at the class sessions summarizing
these issues.
Participation by Students with Disabilities
If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of
the requirements of this course, please contact the
instructor as soon as possible.
Accommodation for Religious Observances
Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other
requirements that are missed because of a religious
observance.
Academic Misconduct
The University has a responsibility to promote academic
honesty and integrity and to develop procedures to deal
effectively with instances of academic dishonesty. Students
are responsible for the honest completion and representation
of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and
for respect of others' academic endeavors.
Grade Appeal Procedures
A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it based on
a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course instructor.
Such an appeal shall follow the established procedures
adopted by the department, college, or school in which the
course resides. These procedures are available in writing
from the respective department chairperson or the Academic
Dean of the College/School.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated
by the University. and threatens the careers, educational
experience, and well-being of students, faculty, and staff.
The University will not tolerate behavior between or among
members of the University community which creates an
unacceptable working environment.
Incompletes
A notation of "incomplete" may be given in lieu of a final
grade to a student who has completed course assignments
successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of
illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond the
student's control, has been unable to complete the final
paper. An incomplete is not given unless you prove to the
instructor that you were prevented from completing course
requirements for just cause as indicated above.
Instructional Activities:
Classes will be held in a seminar format with the text
providing background information. The instructor will ask
leading questions. Students are to come to class with
discussion questions and be prepared to share insights
into the texts.
Grades:
Grades for graduate students will be calculated with the following formula: 1/5 for each paper and 1/5 for classroom
participation.
Required Texts:
C.A. Bowers, Education, Cultural Myths, and the Ecological Crisis. Albany, NY: SUNY Press,1993
W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk. NY:Dutton, 1989.
Nel Noddings, The Challenge to Care in Schools . NY: Teachers College,
1993.
Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery.NY:Carol, 1903/1986.
Recommended Texts:
General Philosophy of Education Texts:
Howard Ozman and Samuel Craver, Philosophic Foundations of
Education (4th edition) Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1990.
Nel Noddings, Philosophy of Education. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 1995.
Edward Power, Philosophy of Education: Studies in
Philosophies, Schooling, and Educational Policies. Prospect
Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1990.
African-American Education:
Na'im Akbar, Chains and Images of Psychological Slavery.
Jersey City, NJ: Community Press, 1991.
Philip Altbach and Kofi Lomotey, eds. The Racial Crisis in
American Higher Education. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1996.
James Anderson, The Education of Black Folks in the South,
1860-1935.(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1978.
Allen Ballard, The Education of Black Folk. New York:
Harper & Row, 1973.
Horace Mann Bond, The Education of the Negro in the American
Social Order. New York: Octagon Books, 1968.
Henry Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South.
Cambridge, MA, 1967.
Ronnie Hopkins, Educating Black Males: Critical Lessons on
Schooling, Community, and Power. Albany, NY: SUNY Press,
1996.
Richard Kluger, Simple Justice. New York: Random House,
1977.
Kofi Lomotey, ed. Going to School: The African American
Experience. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1995.
Kofi Lomotey,ed. Affrican Americans and Women in U.S.
Education. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1996.
John Ogbu, Minority Education and Caste: The American System
in Cross-Cultural Perspective. New York: Academic Press,
1978.
Cornel West, Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993
Charles Willie, Education of African Americans. New York, Auburn House, 1991.
Carter Woodsen, The Mis-Education of the Negro. New York:
AMS Press, 1977.
Ecology and Education:
Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind, New York:
Ballantine, 1972.
C.A. Bowers, Critical Essays on Education, Modernity, and
the Recovery of the Ecological Imperative. New York:
Teachers College Press, 1993.
William Ophuls, Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity. San
Francisco: W.H. Freeman, 1977.
David Orr. Ecological Literacy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.
Gregory Smith, Education and the Environment: Learning to
Live with Limits. Albany, NY: State University of New York
Press.
Feminist Education:
Mary Belenky, et al. Women's Ways of Knowing. New York:Basic Books, 1986.
Rafaela Best, We've All Got Scars. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1983.
Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1982.
Maxine Greene, "On Doing Something More": The Public School and the Private Vision:
A Search for America in Education and Literature. New York: Random House, 1965.
Maxine Greene, The Dialectic of Freedom. New York: Teachers
College Press, 1988.
Madelaine Grumet, Bitter Milk: Women and Teaching. Amherst,
MA: The University of Ma Press, 1988.
Jane Roland Martin, Reclaiming A Conversation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.
Jane Roland Martin, The Schoolhome: Rethinking Schools for
Changing Families. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.
Jane Roland Martin Changing the Educational Landscape. New
York: Routledge, 1994.
Nel Noddings, Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1984.
Peggy Orenstein School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and
the Confidence Gap. Anchor Books, 1994.
Stacey, Judith et al. And Jill Came Tumbling After: Sexism
in American Education. New York: Dell, 1974.
Janice Streitmatter, Toward Gender Equity in the Classroom.
Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1996.
Suggested Course Outline:
Sept. 9: Introduction, review of course syllabus;
explanation of standard philosophies of education, expectations
EDUCATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
Sept. 16: Up From Slavery Chapters I-VIII
Sept. 23: Up from Slavery Chapters IX-XVII
Sept. 30: The Souls of Black Folk, Chapters I- VII
Oct. 7: The Souls of Black Folk, Chapters VIII-XIV
Oct. 14: Paper due of current educational issues for African-Americans with discussion of contemporary trends
FEMINIST ISSUES IN EDUCATION
Oct. 21: Challenge to Care in Schools, Chapters 1-6
Oct. 28: Challenge to Care in Schools, Chapters 7-12.
Nov. 4: Paper due on Feminist Issues in Education with discussion of contemporary trends
Nov. 11: Presentations on educational issues
Nov. 18: Presentations on educational issues
Nov. 25: Education, Cultural Myths, and the Ecological Crisis
Chapters 1-3.
Dec. 2: Education, Cultural Myths, and the Ecological Crisis
Chapters 4-6.
Dec. 9: Paper due on ecological perspectives on education. Now that you have read about the
ecological crisis, what direction should educators take and why? What role can
educators play inbuilding a sustainable future?
Dec. 16: Integration of various course themes. What are the main philosophic issues educators are grappling with in
a postmodern era?