Introduction to Social Theory and Education
Introduction to social theory and education, tracing its development from the Enlightenment to the present and analyzing its impact on educational policy, society, and the polity.
Summary
Lectures are small, with a median of 15 enrolled students in the recorded sections.
What you’ll be able to do
Identify how social theory emerged from the Enlightenment to the present day.
Demonstrate how social theory contribute to education's wider purposes and practices.
Contextualize education through a better understanding of critical theory and thinking.
Draw from social theory to analyze/evaluate a variety of social issues as they emerge in educational policy and governance.
Analyze educational policies and social issues.
Approach method, theory, and practice as avenues of discovery and creation.
Engage with social and critical theory through one's own research projects and interests, with the aim of discovering new junctures that open other avenues and possibilities of being, knowing, making and doing.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
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Prerequisites
Course mapJunior standing
- Junior standing
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- Junior standing
Professors
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Calendar & sections
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Student experience
the class
An introduction to the social and theoretical character of education through the development of social theory from the Enlightenment (late 18th c.) to the present. Provides a space of inquiry and understanding of the main and often conflicting themes that give education its social and critical character. Focusing on how social theory impacts and shapes educational policy, discusses the role that education plays on a wider horizon of the school, society and the polity as an ever-changing community.
difficulty & workload
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Topics
- Development of social theory from the Enlightenment to the present
- Impact of social theory on educational policy
- Role of education in school, society, and polity
- Critical theory and thinking
Skills
- Analyzing educational policies and social issues through social theory
- Tracing the development of social theory from the Enlightenment to the present
- Contextualizing education using critical theory
Grades
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Catalog & offerings
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Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
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Model & dataset provenance
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