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Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - EDA7287
Tracking Number - 2730
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Current Status:
Approved by SCNS - 2012-06-14
Campus:
Submission Type: New
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: to GC chair 5/4/12.for Ed. Lead. EdD. GC appd 5/15/12. to USF 5/15/12. to SCNS 5/23/12. Appd eff 8/1/12. Sub as 7205; appd as 7287
Detail Information
- Date & Time Submitted: 2012-01-31
- Department: Educational Leadership
- College: ED
- Budget Account Number: 173500
- Contact Person: Bill Black
- Phone: 8139746097
- Email: wblack@usf.edu
- Prefix: EDA
- Number: 7287
- Full Title: Educational Politics and Policy: Theory & Issues
- Credit Hours: 3
- Section Type: D -
Discussion (Primarily)
- Is the course title variable?: N
- Is a permit required for registration?: N
- Are the credit hours variable?: N
- Is this course repeatable?:
- If repeatable, how many times?: 0
- Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Educational Politics & Policy
- Course Online?: C -
Face-to-face (0% online)
- Percentage Online: 0
- Grading Option:
-
- Prerequisites: Acceptance into a doctoral program
- Corequisites:
- Course Description: This course seeks to habituate students’ conceptualization of schooling as political and to develop students’ understanding of how educational politics and policies permeate educational systems.
- Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed to compete with national trends
- What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? At capacity, ths course should attract 10 - 20 students annually from DELPS. Programs within the COEDU also may find this course appealing as well as students from other social sciences interested in educational leadership & policy.
- Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? Yes, 1 time
- What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) The successful candidate should have credentials demonstrating excellence in scholarly activities, teaching, and academic administration. Knowledge and experience applying quantitative methods to multiple educational accountability structures.
- Objectives: Course objectives
1. Students are expected to become familiar with policy processes and the role that major governmental agencies, policy issue networks and interest groups play in effecting educational policymaking at multiple levels. Students will explore:
a. Federal and State level policy landscapes
b. Educational policy issue identification, policy development, and policy analysis processes that are common at the Federal, State, and District levels
c. Challenges of policy implementation and evaluation
d. Resource allocation conflicts
e. The evolution of outcome-based policies
f. Race, class, gender, and educational equity
g. The role of interest groups and collective efforts to frame policy issues and allocate resources
h. The role of political culture in constraining enabling some policy actions and enabling others
i. Educational policy as a cultural construct
j. The multiple roles research can play in educational policy
2. Students will develop an understanding of political theory as applied to educational policy, educational leadership practice and micro-political dynamics. Students will explore:
a. How they themselves are political leaders that potentially shape and appropriate policy
b. Values, ideology, and social constructivist in educational policy and politics
c. The politics of educational reform, including how reforms are conceptualized, implemented, and influenced across various contexts
d. How schools and school leaders are both shaped by and shape policies
e. The important role school leadership plays in reform and change
f. How district leaders, school leaders, teachers, and students have multiple perspectives on reforms and how and why formal organization directives may not align with lived organizational “realities”
g. How to more effectively conduct joint work in broader school communities
3. Students will understand the role of research in educational politics and policy and will develop their ability to conceptualize and design systematic inquiry into a broad array of educational processes. Students should:
a. Distinguish between educational politics and policy and describe the relationship between policy and politics in education
b. Understand the development of educational policy and politics as fields of study
c. Understand dominant economic and organizational approaches to educational policy analysis, as well as alternative approaches, including but not limited to critical, social constructivist, feminist, post-structuralist, and place-based approaches to studying educational policy and politics
d. Identify an educational policy issue and conduct a literature review around the issue
- Learning Outcomes: In this class, students are expected to begin their journey to becoming both skilled practitioners and generators of knowledge. We will do this through multiple avenues:
1) Learning tasks designed to guide student inquiry within school and policy environments;
2) Books and articles selected to help students prepare for dissertation research;
3) Mini-lectures and direct instruction of students around theoretical frames and inquiry, as well as policy and political issue content;
4) Seminar-style instructor guided student large and small group discussion; and
5) Videos, web-based portals, simulations, and guest speakers when appropriate.
In addition to providing you with theoretical frameworks and inquiry processes that are important components of doctoral level work, the assigned readings and theoretical frameworks introduced in the class should further understanding of your lived experiences, orient you to new possibilities, as well as provide you with tools for inquiry-based and politically aware practice in particular school environments.
- Major Topics: Session 1: Engaging the complexity of education politics and policy
Session 2: Education policy research
Session 3: Federal landscapes and interest group politics
Session 4: The elusiveness of educational equity or the production of educational inequity?
Session 5: Educational politics of control, persuasion, and implementation
Session 6: Educational problems and policy as social constructs
Session 7: The culture of education policy
Session 8: Micropolitical frameworks and the examination of joint work
Session 9: Community-centered approaches and case studies
Session 10: The role of education policy research
- Textbooks:
- Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: Additional readings assigned as necessary.
- Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: Assignments and Critical Course Tasks
I. Class Attendance and Engagement: 10 points
Attendance is expected at all class sessions. You should prepare carefully for each class by completing the necessary readings and assignments before class.
Each class member is expected to contribute thoughtfully and regularly through class participation that reflects deep engagement with the readings. Participation with others through the course content is a critical component of the course.
Missing more than 30 minutes of a session constitutes an absence. I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. However, students will have the opportunity to earn the points deducted due to an absence, by completing an alternative assignment from a list provided by the instructor.
II. Leading class discussion (Partners): 10 points
On the first day of class students will sign up to lead discussions over selected articles. Students are expected to engage theoretical frameworks and implications for research and practice. They are expected to come to class with a two to three page handout explaining the major concepts, methods, and significance of the article. Additionally, they should develop a set of questions to help guide discussion.
III. Blackboard Reflective Essays (Individual): 40 points
Students are expected to post 4 individual reflective essays (each worth 10 points). As a guide, postings should be a minimum of 750 words in length. The instructor will provide a prompt for the reflection. Postings should include:
Discussions of concepts or arguments drawn from the readings
They may also include:
Discussion of areas that you agree or disagree with the authors-make sure you make reference to specific readings in your posting.
Additional perspectives garnered through class discussions or activities.
Connections to other course readings.
Connection (or dissonance) of the course material with your outside readings, practice, or experience – make sure that you make reference to specific readings in your posting.
Please use proper citation for literature included in your posting. Students must reference course readings and they should use the APA format to reference particular author(s) and/or quotes – for example (Marshall & Gerstl-Pepin, 2006, p. 12). References to outside readings should be similarly referenced within the text, and then you should provide a full citation at the end of the reflection so that others may access them. Directions for posting to Blackboard will be provided by the instructor.
IV. Literature Review (Individual): 40 points
Students will select a policy issue in consultation with the professor. We will discuss and read about the purpose of a literature review. Students will construct question(s) to guide a review of literature around the particular policy issue. The assignment is due one week after the last day of class (November 10th) and should be a minimum of 10 pages in length. Some references from the class may be used, but at least half should come from outside the assigned class readings and most must be peer reviewed. Articles on conducting a literature review will be made available on blackboard.
In the literature review, students should;
*Define the policy or political issue to be examined
*Review the development of important claims around the issue
*Identify areas of ongoing inquiry and any areas of debate that might arise
*Discuss what this literature implies for potential studies
*Discuss how you might design a study into the phenomenon
Evaluation Overview
Completed work is not necessarily “A” work. Work that earns the full amount of points allotted for the assignment will be superior in all respects and students should not expect to earn full points for completion of work. If work is not completed to quality, students will be allowed to resubmit their work once within one week of receiving feedback from the instructor. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor before assignments are due with ideas or drafts. An “A” grade is reserved for the students who consistently demonstrate exceptional performance over all activities and assignments. A “B” grade is awarded to students for substantive high quality work in all aspects of the course. A “C” grade may be assigned to the student whose work and/or class performance is not distinguished as graduate level quality. Rarely, lower grades may be assigned for serious failures in student responsibilities for class behavior, written work, or other problems as designated by the instructor.
Grading Scale
The points required to earn a grade are listed below (out of a possible 100 points):
A = 93 – 100
A- = 91 – 92
B+ = 89 – 90
B = 83 – 88
B- = 81 – 82
C+ = 79 – 80
C = 73 – 78
F = Anything at 73 or below. No grade below “C” will be accepted toward a
graduate degree.
- Assignments, Exams and Tests: Session 1
Engaging the Complexity of Education Politics and Policy
Assigned Readings:
Chapter 1 in The state of educational policy research: Floden, R. (2007). Philosophical issues in education policy research
Chapter 2 in The state of educational policy research: McDonald, L. (2007). The politics of education: Influencing policy and beyond.
Cuban, L. (1990). Reforming again, again, and again. Educational Researcher, 19(1), 3-13.
Stout, R., Tallerico, M., & Scribner, K.P. (1995). Values: The ‘what?’ of the politics of
education. In J.D. Scribner & D. Layton (Eds.), The study of educational politics:
The 1994 commemorative yearbook of the Politics of Education Association (5-20). Washington: Politics of Education Association.
Weaver- Hightower, M. (2008). An ecology metaphor for educational policy analysis: A call to complexity. Educational Researcher, 37(3), 153-167.
Session 2
Session 2: Federal and State Landscapes
Assigned Readings:
Chapter 3 in The state of education policy research: Furhman, S., Goertz, M., Weinbaum, E. (2007). Educational governance in the United States: Where are we? How did we get here? Why should we care?
Debray-Pelot, E. & McGuinn, P. (2009). The new politics of education: Analyzing the
Federal education policy landscape in the post-NCLB era. Education Policy (23), 1 15-42.
Febey, K. & Seashor Louis, K. (2008). Political cultures in education at the state and local level: Views from three states. In B. Cooper, J. Cibulka, & L. Fusarelli (Eds.). Handbook
of Educational Politics and Policy. (pp. 52-72). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Itkonen, T. (2009). Stories of hope and decline: Interest group effectiveness in national
special education policy. Education Policy, 23 (1), 43-65.
Hess, F.M., & McGuinn, P.J. (2002). Seeking the mantle of “opportunity”: Presidential politics and the educational metaphor, 1964-2000. Educational Policy, 16 (1), 72-95.
Opfer, D. (2001). Beyond self-interest: Educational interest groups and congressional
influence. Education Policy, 15 (1), 135-152.
Assignment Due: Reflective Essay 1
Session 3
Session 2: Education Policy Research
Assigned Readings:
Chapter 4 in The state of education policy research: Cohen, D., Mofitt, S. & Goldin, S. (2007) Policy and practice.
Chapter 5 in The state of education policy research: Hill, P. (2007). New political economy of public education; Policy and research.
Session 4
Session 4: The Elusiveness of Educational Equity or the Production of Educational Inequity?
Assigned Readings:
Chapter 6 in The state of education policy research: Henig, J. (2007). As moths to a flame: Education policy research and the controversial issues of race.
Chapter 8 in The state of education policy research: Grubb, N. (2007) The elusiveness of educational equity: From revenues to resources to results.
Anyon, J. (2009). Progressive social movements and educational equity. Educational
Policy, 23 (1), pp. 194-215.
Levin, H. (2009). 2008 AERA Distinguished Lecture: The economic payoff to investing in social justice. Educational Researcher, 38 (1), 5-20.
Morris, J. & Monroe, C. (2009). Why study the US South? The Nexus of race and place in Investigating Black student achievement. Educational Researcher, 38 (1), 21-36.
Assignment Due: Reflective Essay 2
Session 5
Session 5: The Educational Politics of Control, Persuasion, and Implementation
Ball, S. (2003). The teacher's soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy, 18(2), 175-187.
Boyd, W. & Crowson, R. (2002). Quest for a new hierarchy in education: From loose coupling back to tight? Journal of Educational Administration, 40 (6), 521-533.
Manna, P. (2006). Control, persuasion, and educational accountability: Implementing the No Child Left Behind Act. Educational Policy 20 (3), 471-494.
Olsen, B., & Sexton, D. (2009). Threat rigidity, school reform, and how teachers view their work inside current educational policy contexts. American Educational Research Journal, 46(1), 9-44.
Pillow, W. (2003). "Bodies are dangerous": Using feminist genealogy as policy studies methodology. Education Policy, 18(2), 145-159.
Session 6
Session 6: Educational Problems and Policy as Social Constructs
Assigned Readings
Stein, S. (2004). The culture of education policy. New York: Teachers College. Chapter 1
Grint, K. (2005). “Problems, problems, problems: The social construction of ‘leadership’. Human Relations. Volume 58, pp. 1467-1494.
Levinson, B., Sutton, M., & Winstead, T. (2009). Education policy as a practice of power: Theoretical tools, ethnographic methods, democratic options. Educational Policy, 23(6), 767-795.
Session 7
Session 7: The Culture of Education Policy
Assigned Readings:
Stein, S. (2004). The culture of education policy. New York: Teachers College. Chapters 2-6.
Assignment Due: Reflective Essay 3
Session 8
Session 8: Micropolitical Frameworks and the Examination of Joint Work
Assigned Readings:
Marsh, J. (2007) Democratic dilemmas: Joint work, education politics, and community.
Albany: SUNY Press. Introduction and Chapter 1.
Malen, B. & Vincent Cochran, M. (2008). Beyond pluralistic patterns of power: Research
on the Micropolitics of schools. In B. Cooper, J. Cibulka, & L. Fusarelli (Eds.).
Handbook of Educational Politics and Policy. (pp. 148-148). New York:
RoutledgeFalmer.
Shipps, D. (2008). Urban regime theory and the reform of public schools: Governance,
power, and leadership. In B. Cooper, J. Cibulka, & L. Fusarelli (Eds.). Handbook
of Educational Politics and Policy. (pp. 89-108). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Session 9
Session 9: Community-centered Approaches and Case Studies
Marsh, J. (2007) Democratic dilemmas: Joint work, education politics, and community.
Albany: SUNY Press. Chapters 4-6.
De Jesus, A. (2003). “Here it is more like your house”: The proliferation of authentic
caring as school reform at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice. In B. Rubin
& E. Silva (Eds.). Critical voices in school reform: Students living through
change. Pp. 132-151). New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Session 10
Session 10: The Role of Education Research
Assigned Readings:
Chapter 11 in The state of educational policy research: Mosher, F. (2007). Knowledge and policy.
Chapter 12 in The state of educational policy research: Neufield, B. (2007). Learning, teaching, and keeping the conversation going: The links between research, policy, and practice.
Chapter 14 in The state of educational policy research. Ingersoll, R. (2007). Misdiagnosing the teacher quality problem.
Chapter 16 in The state of educational policy research. Cohen, D. Fuhrman, S., & Moser, F. (2007). Conclusion: A review of policy and research in education. Parts 1 & 2
Henig. J. (2009). The politicization of evidence: Lessons for an informed democracy.
Education Policy, 23 (1), 137-160.
Assignment Due: Reflective Essay 4
Assignment Due: Literature Review
- Attendance Policy: Course Attendance at First Class Meeting – Policy for Graduate Students: For structured courses, 6000 and above, the College/Campus Dean will set the first-day class attendance requirement. Check with the College for specific information. This policy is not applicable to courses in the following categories: Educational Outreach, Open University (TV), FEEDS Program, Community Experiential Learning (CEL), Cooperative Education Training, and courses that do not have regularly scheduled meeting days/times (such as, directed reading/research or study, individual research, thesis, dissertation, internship, practica, etc.). Students are responsible for dropping undesired courses in these categories by the 5th day of classes to avoid fee liability and academic penalty. (See USF Regulation – Registration - 4.0101,
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/ogc%20web/currentreg.htm)
Attendance Policy for the Observance of Religious Days by Students: In accordance with Sections 1006.53 and 1001.74(10)(g) Florida Statutes and Board of Governors Regulation 6C-6.0115, the University of South Florida (University/USF) has established the following policy regarding religious observances: (http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/gc_pp/acadaf/gc10-045.htm)
In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.
- Policy on Make-up Work: At the discretion of the professor.
- Program This Course Supports: Ph.D. in Educational Leadrship & Policy Studies
- Course Concurrence Information: Not applicable.
- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.