Educational Foundations

ED FND 3251 Black Americans in Education: 3 semester hours

An examination and analysis of conditions affecting the education of black Americans and their schools, with emphasis on relationships between schools and the black community, and needed changes in education.

ED FND 4330 History of American Education through the Lens of Social Justice: 3 semester hours

Prerequisite: A course in American History or consent of instructor. An overview of the evolutionary development of American educational theory and practice from the early colonial period to the present. Attention is also given to selected issues in professional education. This course will examine the history in light of contemporary concerns over social justice.

ED FND 6200 Demographic Contexts of Education: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Graduate standing. This course is a critical examination of the impact of population changes on schools. Students will have the opportunity to investigate the social and economic dimensions of demographic shifts that affect demand for and organization of education services.

ED FND 6201 Race, Trauma, and Education: 3 semester hours

This course examines the recent move toward trauma-informed care and explores routine instances of in-school trauma that are not addressed.

ED FND 6202 Race and Culture in Educational Reform and Policy: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Graduate Standing. Schools have played a pivotal role in mediating social tensions in the broader society over race and culture. However, many of the discussions in educational reform and policy fail to acknowledge how deeply that race and culture shape our thinking and influence our actions with regard to educational policy and reform. This course highlights how these factors have historically shaped and continue to shape the rhetoric and the reality of school reform and educational policies. In this course, students are encouraged to explore and examine the underlying assumptions about the purposes of schooling, the beliefs that underpin educational reform historically, and in contemporary society, and the actions by educational leaders and policymakers to change schools.

ED FND 6203 Political Contexts of Education: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Graduate standing. This course is a critical examination of those aspects of local, state, and federal politics which significantly influence the political contexts within which education policies are constituted and their concomitant practices implemented.

ED FND 6204 Intersectional Justice in Education: 3 semester hours

This course explores the intellectual contributions of Black women and intersectional theory originating out of Black feminist thought.

ED FND 6430 Ecological Context of Urban Education: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Graduate standing. The issues facing urban education in the 21st century are not limited to what occurs within schools and school districts, but also emanate from the larger socio-historical, political, and economic forces in U.S. society. With its emphasis on the ecology of urban education, this course examines urban schools in relation to the communities they serve, and how other institutions such as businesses and faith-based institutions shape the dynamics of schools and communities. Students will explore critical social, cultural, and policy issues in urban education by taking a macro and an interdisciplinary approach. We will explore the historical, political, and economic factors that have shaped urban education.

ED FND 6431 History of African American Education: 3 semester hours

Prerequisites: Graduate standing. Exploration of the history of education for African Americans. Among the topics investigated will be provision of schooling by the community and/or state; curriculum debates (i.e., vocational vs. classical), and official policies (and informal practices) surrounding segregation, desegregation, and resegregation. Also explores contested interpretations and the myriad ways that memories and meanings intersect through individuals and communities over education and its value.

ED FND 6497 Problems: 1-10 semester hours

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