EDC U 406: Sociocultural Perspectives: Building School, Family & Community Relationships

Examine the interrelationships among students, schools and society. Learn about the ways in which race, class, gender, language, culture, and ethnicity influence how we define each other and ourselves within the broader culture of U.S. society. Explore the historical antecedents influencing the lives of exclusive and diverse peoples of the United States, as a foundation for understanding the policies, goals, assumptions, strategies, and practices of multicultural approaches to education. Draw on various models to construct educational curricula that are multicultural and socially re-constructionist. Within the context of public schooling today, read about how to develop students' "cultural consciousness" of the shared societal assumptions, experiences and/or our interactions with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Prepracticum experiences will deepen understandings of the interrelationships among students, schools and society.