Courses | Sociology and Education | Education Policy & Social Analysis
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Please check the Class Schedule or contact the program for specific course availability for each semester.
Course List
EDPP 5045 Race, Ethnicity, and U.S. Educational Policy
Examination of the impact of race and ethnicity on the formation and implementation of policies such as desegregation, affirmative action, bilingual education, and choice.
EDPS 4000 Education and public policy
Examination of the federal role in K-12 education policy over the course of the 20th century and its impact on states and districts.
EDPS 4021 Sociology of education
A broad analysis of education using basic sociological concepts, including schools as organizations, socialization, stratification, and ethnic relations.
EDPS 4022 Sociology of urban education
Analysis of urban schools and districts within the context of urban social and political systems.
EDPS 4024 Social stratification and education
An examination of the link between education and social inequality in Western societies, questioning whether schools are a mechanism of social mobility, enabling poor and disadvantaged children to get ahead in life, or whether schools perpetuate the hardships faced by poor and minority populations. Topics include the importance of quantity and quality of schooling for adult success; the ways in which race/ethnicity, sex, and social class background structure students educational experiences; the role of tracking and ability grouping within schools; and the link between schooling and the economy.
EDPS 4027 Sociology of classrooms
An examination of sociological research on the structure and operation of classrooms. Particular attention to the processes of stratification, socialization, legitimation, and social organization.
EDPS 4028 Sociology of the life course
Sociologists define the life course of individuals by when, and in what order, people assume key social roles, such as becoming an adult or moving from the workforce to retirement. This course looks at the sociology of the life course. Focusing on how historical and societal factors combine with the personal characteristics of individuals to produce unique life course patterns.
EDPS 4029 Sociology of schools
An examination of sociological research on the structure and operation of schools. Particular attention to the processes of socialization, stratification, and legitimation as well as social organization and the sociology of school curriculum.
EDPS 4030 Sociology of organizations
Introduction to concepts, theories, and research in the sociology of organizations and the related interdisciplinary field of organization studies, as they apply to schools and other organizational settings in education. Topics covered will include internal organizational dynamics, organizations and their environments, organizations as contexts for human identity and agency, and organizational learning and improvement.
EDPS 4032 Gender, difference and curriculum
A study of the extent and causes of gender inequality in society and the ways in which schools work both to reduce and exacerbate inequality.
EDPS 4620 Introductory colloquium in sociology of education
Permission required. Intensive readings and discussions of basic literature in sociology of education, with attention to common issues and research strategies.
EDPS 4903 Research and independent study
Permission required.
EDPS 5005 Sociology of teaching and leadership in education
This course covers four broad topics of interest to sociologists of education, as well as to other education practitioners, researchers, and policy makers: (1) how the occupations of teaching and leadership are socially organized within schools and school systems; (2) how the work of teaching and leadership in schools and school systems is affected by, and in turn affects, social forces in the larger social environment; (3) the social dynamics of diversity in teaching and leadership; and (4) the impact of teachers and leaders on school outcomes. The course will explore how the knowledge base about the sociology of teaching and leadership has evolved – how the research questions have changed over time, what the body of theory and empirical evidence looks like, including the methods used to study teaching and leadership, and what the cutting-edge knowledge frontiers are.
EDPS 5020 Survey research methods
Relationship between research problem and study design, choice of population, sampling methods, instrument construction, interviewing, data processing, and analysis.
EDPS 5022 Sociology of education systems
Analysis of local and national education systems through application of sociological perspectives and organization theory, with special attention to problems of equity, effectiveness, and the embeddedness of education systems in their larger contexts.
EDPS 5050 Sociology of knowledge
The sociology of knowledge analyzes the process by which "reality" becomes constructed within a social context. With a focus on education and social welfare policies, this class will explore the "reality" of public policies with real material consequences and how this reality has been constructed around a set of assumptions defining the "problems" that need to be solved. This course helps students step back from a focus on "implementing" educational reform and examine instead how such a reform movement became the focus.
EDPS 5057 Qualitative methods for education policy and social research
This course is designed to assist students in conceptualizing and designing research projects – for Master’s Theses or Doctoral Dissertations – that examine, interrogate and evaluate public policies in the fields of education and social welfare through methodological approaches we commonly think of as qualitative. The curriculum emphasizes the benefits and limitations of qualitative methods for studying particular policy issues and programs with the goal of defining when a qualitative approach is most helpful. We will explore qualitative case studies as a research design as well as several different data collection methods employed by qualitative researchers, including interviews, observations, ethnography, and document analysis. The class also addresses what sort of research questions can best be answered through qualitative data collection, and how qualitative researchers can frame their inquiry in a manner that speaks to public policy debates and issues. Furthermore, the course will require students to appreciate the significance and meaning of a more contextual approach to education policy analysis. This course, therefore, fulfills the qualitative research methods requirement for the Sociology and Education Program and other programs across the EPSA Department.
EDPS 5620 Advanced colloquium in sociology of education
This course is designed to enhance student knowledge of social theory in sociological research. Particular attention is devoted to deductive models of explanation and their use in the construction of theory and its application as a basis for empirical inquiry.
EDPS 5646 Evaluation of educational and social programs
An introduction to the evaluation of social and educational programs. Topics include evaluation to inform program conceptualization and design; measuring program implementation; impact assessment, including randomized experiments; cost-effectiveness analysis; and the social and political context of program evaluation.
EDPS 6021 Master's integrative project in sociology and education
Students wishing to complete a master's integrative project instead of taking the master's exam will design a study, provide a relevant literature review of theory and research, collect and analyze data, and write a comprehensive report of their work.
EDPS 6525 Seminar in sociology of education
A seminar for doctoral students to further their professional development and to prepare for doctoral research.
EDPS 6903 Research and independent study
Permission required.
EDPS 7503 Dissertation seminar
Permission required. Required of doctoral students in the semester following successful completion of certification examinations.
EDPS 8903 Dissertation advisement
Individual advisement on doctoral dissertations. Fee to equal 3 points at current tuition rate for each term. For requirements, see section in catalog on Registration for Ed.D./Ph.D. degrees.