Course description
601 PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
There are a number of important philosophical questions that lie behind the
everyday practice of education research. The questions include: What does it
mean to say that research in education is “scientific”? Is science (and, by
extension, educational research) really value neutral and objective? What kinds
of education research should count as legitimate? In the first part of the course,
we will examine Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn’s definitions of science, and we
will look at some influential critiques of the scientific enterprise. In the second
part of the class, we will analyze some of the ongoing debates about appropriate
research methods in education.
611 PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION
The main point of this course is to provide a forum for common inquiry and
reflection upon issues that have deep significance for our lives as human beings,
students, and educators. Some emphasis is placed on gaining an understanding
of historically significant philosophical ideologies and their application to
problems of teaching and education. However, the primary focus is on cultivating
a desire and commitment to engage in philosophical thinking as it applies to
matters of concern to teachers and teaching. The course is premised on a
number of questions. These include but are not limited to: What is education?
How do we understand education in its moral, ethical and spiritual dimensions?
What role does education play or has the potential of playing in personal and
social transformation? What is effective teaching and how can we cultivate the
courage to teach effectively?
612 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATION
The course seeks to acquaint students with a broadly historical approach to a
variety of significant educational issues. The emphasis will be placed on the
examination of a number of critical components of modern educational thought
and practice (comprising, for example, alternative schools of educational thought,
politics and education, the changing curriculum, or the organisation of schooling)
as seen and presented in historical perspective.
613 ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND METHODS IN EDUCATION
The course introduces the students to qualitative methods in educational
research. The first purpose is to review studies of education which utilise
anthropological concepts and/or methods. The second purpose is to examine
the three principal foci of qualitative research in the area: a) schools and their
relations with the socio-cultural milieu in which they exist; b) the description and
analysis of classroom processes; c) the study of individual pupils and educators.
The third purpose is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of studies focusing
on these areas. This includes describing and discussing some of the systematic
methodological biases apparent in the literature and suggesting directions for
future research.
614 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
The course attempts to provide a basic understanding of the ways in which
psychologists examine and analyse human behaviour, collect and interpret data,
develop theories and form generalisations. It is not intended as a general survey
course in the area of Educational Psychology. Several topics in an area will be
studied in order to exemplify the methods and techniques employed in the
psychological analysis of behaviour in educational settings.
615 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
This course provides an overview and basic understanding of the commonly
used research methods in education today, as well as the knowledge required to
critique research that is reported in the education and social science literature.
Topics to be covered include the nature of educational research, the different
qualitative and quantitative research approaches, types of data collection, and
knowledge of research ethics. Student will gain experience in developing a
research problem statement, writing a mock research proposal, and designing an
appropriate methodology.
635 STUDIES IN EDUCATIONAL CHANGE
This course is concerned with the investigation and comparison of problems of
education in the context of time and society. Concentrating on concrete "case
studies" chosen from the 19th century and the contemporary period, it focuses on
the principles on which systems of education are constructed, and their change
or retention, in the broad socio-economic and ideological context.
644 SCHOOL AND SOCIETY
This course is concerned with the family, the educational system, the economy
and the polity, and with the relations between them. The main concern is with
social institutions and the socialisation process with which they are involved.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the social class differentials in the
conditions of socialisation and educational opportunity, and on social class
differentials in educational achievement.
670 ADULT EDUCATION IN QUEBEC AS A FIELD OF STUDY
This course is designed as a survey at an advanced level, of the theory and
practice of adult education through an examination of the existing literature.
Emphasis will be placed on helping the student gain knowledge, understanding,
and a critical perspective of the following: aims; history and philosophy; needs
and characteristics of adult learners, functions and skills of adult education
practitioners; settings, agencies and programme areas; and planning and
evaluating in adult education. A Canadian and Quebec perspective will be
emphasized.
TOPIC COURSES
Topic course descriptions are subject to change. The listing below is a sample of
courses that have been offered in previous years.
608A: SELECTED AREA OF EDUCATION:
Feminist and Anti-Racist Pedagogies
This course will examine feminist and anti-racist pedagogies. The course will
draw upon theoretical work addressing intersectionality, positionality, racism and
sexism developed by Canadian anti-racist/feminist scholars. An extended case
study of the “Reasonable Accommodation” debates in Quebec will ground our
discussions in contemporary public pedagogies and challenge us to develop
classroom pedagogies that intervene in racist and sexist public discourse. We
will also explore strategies for dealing with the affective aspect of anti-racist
feminist learning. Students will be required to read key scholarly and activist texts
in both fields, understand and apply key concepts, develop a pedagogical
position paper or set of pedagogical materials that incorporate the insights of
feminist and anti-racist pedagogies or a research paper.
606: Study of a Philosopher of Education:
The Educational Philosophy of John Dewey
This course traces the sweep of John Dewey's philosophy of education from his
earliest work in the 1890s until the 1930s. Key works examined include School
and Society, Democracy and Education, Individualism: Old and New, and
Experience and Education. Dewey's educational ideas are placed in their
historical and philosophical context, and their contemporary relevance is
highlighted. In addition, some of the most important and enduring criticisms of
Dewey's work are addressed.
640B: SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION II:
Issues Of Difference: Gender, Class, And Race
This course examines how feminist/critical theory and pedagogy provide a
possibility for social change. The main focus is on how these perspectives
attempt to address difference in gender, class, and race in educational practice.
640E: SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION II:
Popular Culture, Media & Education
This course examines the relationship between popular culture, the media, and
education. The premise is that learning does not only occur in formal educational
institutions, but also through a myriad of everyday cultural practices. That is,
learning is continuous, diverse, and occurs across many aspects of everyday life.
Readings will engage students in discussions, which will help them understand
popular culture, how it is created by and affects subordinate groups, and how it
influences learning in educational settings. It is important to note that this course
is not specifically concerned with the teaching of popular culture in schools.
Although we will be reading about and discussing this aspect, the course has a
broader purpose in that the intent is provide a conceptual vocabulary that can be
drawn on to understand various educative dimensions of many aspects of
contemporary culture.
642A: SELECTED TOPIS IN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS:
Globalization and Education
The main focus of the course is to examine the ramification and consequences of
globalization on education in the broader context of political, economic, cultural
and technological processes of globalization. The course proceeds from the
contention that while it may not be possible to roll back many of the processes of
globalization and their negative impact on education it is imperative to critically
examine and understand them so as to be able articulate effective resistance and
safety nets. It also contends that while the impact of globalization on education is
immense yet it remains one of the sites from where globalization can be critically
understood and contested.
642C: SELECTED TOPICS IN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS:
Literacy in Cross-Cultural Perspective
This course takes a broad and critical look at literacy, using a cross-cultural
perspective to do so. The course seeks to develop an understanding of literacy
as a social phenomenon as well as an individual skill, by exploring, the scope of
its meaning, its forms, and the myths surrounding it. Various types of literacy will
be examined (basic literacy, scientific literacy, math literacy, cultural literacy,
visual literacy) and various themes will be explored (literacy and "progress",
literacy and national development, literacy and "liberation" of the masses, literacy
and social context, the literacy "crisis").
642E: SELECTED TOPICS IN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS:
Democratic Education
With the processes of globalization firmly entrenched, there are obvious tensions
between the demands of global capital and the imperatives of education as a
conduit for civic and democratic values. Taking this tension as its point of
departure the course purports to engage with and investigate these tensions from
multiple standpoints. In doing so it also purports to provide a forum for common
inquiry and reflection upon issues that have deep significance for our lives as
human beings, students, and educators in an age of globalization. The course is
premised on a number of questions. Salient among these are: How can we
articulate the relationship between democracy and education in the era of
globalization? How do contemporary definitions of democracy and citizenship
engage with the notion of a democratic education? What role can education play
in framing democratic citizenship identities?
642F: SELECTED TOPICS IN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS:
Current Issues in Education
This course purports to introduce students to a number of current issues in
education that work inter-relatedly inside and outside of educational institutions.
Although the range of issues will be wide and international the main focus of the
course will be on issues affecting Canadian education. The main assumption that
under-grids this course is that we cannot be effective teachers/educators without
being cognizant of the ways in which ethical, moral, social and cultural issues
and mechanisms inform educational practices.
642J: SELECTED TOPICS IN EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS:
Multiculturalism and Education
In this special topics course we will explore the vital links between
multiculturalism and education. In this respect the latter is defined and
understood in broad rather than narrow terms as the societal institution that is
instrumental in knowledge formation that help us understand various other
institutions and processes of the society. Much of the attention and emphasis of
courses that deal with multicultural education has been on the pedagogical
dimensions. These courses often do not aim at a deeper and nuanced
understanding of the issues, debates and complex dynamics of multiculturalism.
Our focus will be on examining how the knowledge with respect to
multiculturalism is constructed, its strength and weakness and what more can be
done.
We start with the recognition that issues in and debates on multiculturalism are
complex and thus need a multi-pronged exploration. We will, thus explore various
issues and themes in multiculturalism through multiple conceptual and theoretical
lenses.
ADULT EDUCATION TOPICS
Through a review of major concepts and approaches, students will be given an
opportunity to engage in and focus on issues of personal and professional
interest.
671 ADULTS AS LEARNERS
This course examines the unique physiological, psychological and sociological
characteristics of adults, their influence on adult learning and development and
their implications for educational intervention. Attention is given to changes
which occur at various stages of the adult life cycle and particularly to dimensions
which affect the adult’s self-concept and orientation to learning, the motivations,
needs and interests which cause adults to participate in educational activities.
672 FACILITATING ADULT LEARNING
This course is designed to give adult educators an opportunity to practice and
improve their skills in facilitating adult learning. Different models of educational
processes and optimal conditions for promoting adult learning are examined;
attention is given to small and large group methods and techniques, as well as to
individualised learning formats.
673 ADMINISTRATION OF ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS
This course is designed to develop a better understanding of the principles of
organisation and administration as they relate to educational programmes for
adults. The course also examines the main factors which influence the provision
of these programmes along with the various skills necessary at all levels of the
decision-making processes: accessing needs, budgeting, staffing and
advertising.
674 EVALUATING ADULT LEARNING PROJECTS
The purpose of this course is to assist participants in developing a clear working
concept of various models of assessing the effectiveness of adult learning
projects. The course emphasizes a systematic approach to evaluation,
techniques for collecting information and providing feedback to programme
operation and impact. Participants are given the opportunity to conduct an
evaluation of an adult learning project.
675 CONCEPTS AND VALUES IN EDUCATION
This seminar-style weekly class is intended as a forum for discussing some
fundamental issues in adult education. The main objectives of the course are: to
understand the defining principles of educational values and orientations; to
compare and confront these views with our own values about teaching and
learning; and to observe how our personal educational values, and those of
others, define and shape our educational practice.
