Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
---|---|---|---|
2500262 Sociology | OT | 4 | 0 |
This course aims at:
After the successful completion of the course, the students will be able to:
1. Thinking critically about education policy
1.1. The political sociology of education.
1.2. Theories on the role of the State in education.
1.3. The formation of education systems and education regimes.
1.4. The governance paradigm: the role of non-state actors in education.
1.5. Sociological approaches to the analysis of education policies.
2. Globalization and education policy
2.1. Theoretical approaches to the globalization and education relationship.
2.2. Global mechanisms and education policy influence.
2.3. The role of international organizations:
2.3.1. The World Bank: the power of lending and the monopoly over ideas.
2.3.2. OECD: governance by numbers.
2.3.3. UNESCO: moral authority and its limits.
2.4. The emerging private authority in education policy: transnational civil society and corporate power.
2.5. Case study: the PISA phenomenon.
3. Policies and programmatic ideas in education reform
3.1. Privatization and quasi-markets in education.
3.2. School choice and zonification.
3.3. National and international assessments.
3.4. New public management reforms: autonomy and accountability.
3.5. Teachers in education reform.
3.6. Vocational and technical education as a development tool.
4. Impact dimensions of education policy
4.1. Funding and efficiency.
4.2. Student achievement: outcomes and outputs.
4.3. Inequalities along social, gender and ethnic lines.
4.4. Social cohesion, inclusion and diversity: the segregation problem.
4.5. Innovation and diversity.
4.6. Teacher professionalism.
Please note that the syllabus may change slightly during the course of the academic year. Changes will be discussed in advance and announced to the students. For the latest version, it is advised to consult the course handbook distributed to students the first day of the class.
This class is structured as a student-centred, collaborative course, which places great emphasis on the role of peers in the learning process. Thus, students are expected to come to class having completed all the readings, to enhance discussions by sharing their experiences and insights every session, to pose questions and to engage with the contributions of their classmates.
The course is structured according to four types of activities that will follow different methodological principles:
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Type: Directed | |||
In-class exercices | 15 | 0.6 | 21, 1, 13, 4, 6, 5, 9, 7, 8, 14, 15, 22, 16, 19, 20 |
seminars | 23 | 0.92 | 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 7, 8, 12, 10, 14, 16, 17, 19, 18, 11 |
Type: Supervised | |||
tutorials | 30 | 1.2 | 13, 6, 22 |
Type: Autonomous | |||
autonomous work and study | 75 | 3 | 21, 1, 2, 13, 3, 4, 6, 5, 9, 7, 8, 12, 10, 14, 15, 22, 16, 17, 19, 18, 20, 11 |
Students will be assessed according to criteria based on an individual take-home, final exam; a group assignment; an oral presentation; and in-class presentation. The structure of the final grade is the following:
Other remarks relative to assessment:
Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Class presentation | 15 | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 13, 3, 4, 6, 5, 9, 7, 8, 12, 10, 14, 22, 17, 19, 20 |
Exam | 40 | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 7, 8, 12, 10, 14, 16, 17, 19, 18, 11 |
Group essay | 30 | 2 | 0.08 | 21, 13, 4, 5, 14, 22, 17 |
in-class assignment and participation | 15 | 2 | 0.08 | 21, 1, 13, 3, 4, 6, 5, 8, 12, 10, 14, 15, 22, 19, 20 |
Essential readings
Recommended readings
Essential readings
Recommended readings
Essential readings
Recommended readings
Essential readings
Recommended readings
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