Instructor: Patricia Gándara, Division of Education, College of Letters and Science

Description: This course introduces a number of contentious issues in education and attempts to address the role of the law in shaping the public policy debate surrounding those issues. Through readings, film, and discussion, students will have the opportunity to explore a series of educational topics with a focus on the equity concerns they engender and the impact the legal system has on their resolution. The goal of this seminar is to provoke critical thinking around a series of issues in education and the law, to explore the meaning and implications of equity in education, and to re-examine some beliefs students may hold about the role and meaning of education in a democratic society.

Format: One portion of each weekly seminar will include presentations by the faculty or viewing of a film. Students will also be given readings to prepare for each session, and will be asked to provide a two page paper based on those readings in anticipation of each meeting. The purpose of the papers is to focus students’ thinking on a particular question (which will be noted in the syllabus) for each week. Students will use their writings as a basis for discussion. Grading: Grades will be based on participation in the seminar (25%), and the quality of written papers (one two-page paper for each of seven weeks) (75%).

About the instructor: Professor Patricia Gándara is in the Division of Education where she teaches Educational Psychology, Testing and Evaluation, and Education and Social Policy. Her recently published books are Over the Ivy Walls, The Educational Mobility of Low Income Chicanos, and The Dimensions of Time and the Challenge of School Reform.