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ED203 Philosophy of Education (Syllabus) 2006 Spring
This course has three separate strands. First, students explore different philosophies of human flourishing. When human beings fully reach their potential--when they are excelling in mind, body, and spirit--what can we learn about the educational conditions that promote such flourishing? Second, the class turns to dilemmas in contemporary education and studies the manner in which philosophies of education can help educators to make sense of and resolve conflicts that arise in real life. Finally, the third part of the course is a historical case study; students investigate the manner in which a small group of German educators resisted school reforms imposed upon them after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. Throughout the course, students will learn about what kinds of philosophical commitments can help educators to resist oppressive mandates and to realize their ethical values in truly difficult historical situations.

ED421 Theories of Instruction
This provides an in-depth review of modern instructional models classified into selected families with regard to perception of knowledge, the learner, curriculum, instruction, and evaluation. Each student will be asked to survey models in his/her own field(s) and to select, describe, and defend a personal theory in light of today's educational settings based upon personal experiences, reflection on current research, and contemporary issues central to the education of all learners.

ED435 Social Contexts of Education
Examines the historic and evolving development of the major social factors that together create the diverse, competing, and often unequal social contexts influencing the quality and type of education different groups of students experience in particular school sites and across school sites. Major requirements for the course include creating a sociological portrait of a selected school site and developing an interdisciplinary curriculum unit/action project focusing on key issues facing the community and/or the school and its students.

ED711 Historical and Political Contexts of Curriculum 2006 Spring
Introduces Ph.D. students in Curriculum & Instruction to the major curriculum movements in American educational history by examining the history and implementation of curriculum development on the macro and micro levels of schooling. Focuses on key campaigns and controversies in curriculum theory and practice, using primary source materials to place them within the academic, political, economic, and social contexts that have marked their conceptualization, and change inside and outside of schools.

ED803 History of Education (Syllabus)
This course provides an overview of major themes in the history of American education. Topics include the roles of Puritanism and slavery in shaping educational systems in the colonial North and South; the role of the American Revolution in promoting democratic and republican values; the rise of common schools as part of a broad wave of antebellum social reforms, including abolitionism and feminism; the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow eras as distinctive moments in the expansion and contraction of educational opportunities for African-Americans; and the growth and expansion of high schools, colleges, and universities in the twentieth century. Students read numerous primary source materials and are encouraged to develop their own opinions about historical developments.