Course Description
Local, state, federal, and nongovernmental political influences operating in the public schools.
Athena Title
Politics of Education
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in EDAP 8290E
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
To develop an awareness of the effects of political activity on educational policy and its effects on schools. To understand political activity in terms of key actors, contexts, and linkages in educational policy environments. To analyze political behavior (formal and informal) using various conceptual frameworks and context factors in educational settings such as schools. To understand policy makers' translation of demands and resources into policies and decisions affecting American education. To develop an awareness of stages of educational policy development, formulation, implementation, and evaluation at the federal, state, and local levels. To discuss contemporary policy initiatives in the context of school leadership at the state, district, and/or school levels.
Topical Outline
Educational Politicians and the Doctors of Spin Sources of Conflict: Power and Knowledge The Economics of Education The Educational Establishment Political Organization and Student Achievement Re-invention of the School, Systemic Reform, and Federal Policies State Politics of Education Local Politics of Education The Knowledge Industry The Political Uses of the Courts The Political Control of Education in a Free Society