IS COLLEGE POSSIBLE? COLLEGE ACCESS AND ADMISSIONS IN THE US

EDPOL 355

Public education in the United States is an inherently political site that offers an important institution to understand politics, power, and injustice broadly. Explore these themes from multiple angles: (a) the layered histories of injustice at the intersection of race, class, gender, and more in historical and present cases; (b) the power of ideas in shaping policy possibilities; (c) shifting levels of governance and questions of injustice; and (c) perspectives of key actors, interests, and stakeholders. Consider the politics of education in relation to broader social, spatial, historical, and political economic contexts. Develop critical analytic and conceptual tools to deeply understand and analyze how power and politics are impacting contemporary educational policy events. By drawing from grassroots and subjugated perspectives, cultivate a policy imagination towards more just educational possibilities, and explore the necessary policy infrastructure and movements to sustain them.

EDPOL 505

Explore urban education in the United States and its relationship to broader political, social, and economic contexts; focuses on contemporary urban educational issues and students' experiences in school and community settings, the experiences of students and families of color and the relationship between race, class, gender, and inequality in urban education.

ELPA 878

Addresses policies, trends, and debates in the evolution of the American community college from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, as well as current research on the community college and the diverse body of students it serves. Topics include, but are not limited to, governance and administration, faculty and advising, credential completion and transfer, enrollment patterns, developmental education, complexities surrounding students' goals and aspirations, and the cooling-out versus warming-up effect of the community college. Through class discussions and the culminating course project (research study or policy proposal), course participants will engage in a critical, scholarly examination of the American community college, considering its strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and challenges within the broader context of education.

EDPOL 145

Introduction to K-12 education policy, policy processes, and school governance in the United States. Examines the multiple and sometimes conflicting goals that animate education debates; the discourses and representations of schools, students, and education policies that shape policy and politics; research on education and education policy; and the various lenses and conceptual tools that can help us understand education policy. Includes original policy texts, empirical and conceptual research, current events, and film. Considers how key themes may be useful (or not) for thinking about early childhood education, higher education, and K-12 education in historical and contemporary, US and and global, contexts.

EDPOL 150

Examines a variety of topics related to educational policies, practices, and issues in social, cultural, historical, and political economic contexts in the U.S. and around the world.