Time Schedule:
Daniel F. Jacoby
BIS 443
Bothell Campus
Examines relationships between the economy and our educational and training infrastructure: What are we doing and what should our educational policy be?
Class description
How much and what can schools do to prepare the next generation for work and citizenship? Are schools failing, and if so how and why? Do current programs for reform provide real solutions to , as some critics suggest,. just more problems. In this class we consider how schools intersect with the economy in three specific ways: a) What demands do employers make upon the schooling system and are they grounded in the realities of the current economy; b) How do schools reproduce or reduce social inequality; c) how do internal workplace issues shape the quality of schooling?
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Discussion, lecture, and project. Regular attendance and participation are essential.
Probable Texts: 1. Class and Schools: Using Social Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Achievement Gap; Richard Rothstein (Economic Policy Institute) Teachers College, Columbia University isbn 1932066098 2. The Job Training Charade: Gordon Lafer 3. Left back: A century of Battle over School Reform: Diane Ravitch (2000) Touchstone Books ISBN: 0743203267
Recommended preparation
Some economics background would be helpful.
Class assignments and grading
TBA
