Education 902-5

Doctoral Seminar in Contemporary Educational Theory

CET, Tuesdays, 4:30-9:20

Professor S. de Castell--EDB 8545-- 291-3627-- decaste@sfu.ca

What has become of educational theory, under present social and technological conditions? What canonical ideas, texts, discourses are currently circulating across and within educational fields, discipines, specializations? What new understandings of learning, knowledge, education and pedagogy have emerged in contemporary educational scholarship? This course offers a guided tour through some of the most influential recent texts in education pointing out epistemological, curricular and pedagogical implications of emerging post-foundational educational theories..

Of equal concern will be identifying and sharing currently central theoretical work in students' own disciplinary fields, and here educational theory will be deployed as enhancement, and as periphery, to students' own research areas. As background to work in students fields of specialization, we will read about and discuss illustrative work by Dewey, Skinner, Illich, Freire, Bourdieu, Lyotard, Foucault, Habermas, Wertsch, Lave/Wenger, and we will discuss postmodernist, poststructuralist, and feminist contributions to theoretical work in and on education.

Required Readings:

All students are asked to pre-read The Glass Bead Game (Magister Ludi) a novel by Herman Hesse, and to come to the first class prepared to participate in a discussion of it. (Any library or used bookstore)

Selected Readings:

Each student is responsible for presenting to the class one of the following books:

• Freire: Pedagogy of the Oppressed
• Bourdieu: Reproduction in Education and Society
• Ranciere: The Ignorant Schoolmaster
• Lyotard: The Postmodern Condition
• Foucault: Discipline and Punish
• Habermas: Communication and the Evolution of society
• Wertsch: Voices of the Mind and Mind as Action
• Lave and Wenger: Situated Learning

Readings Across Specializations:

Each student is to select (preferably in consultation with her/his supervisor) ONE text which exemplifies contemporary educational thoery in her/his own field of specialization, to be presented to the class.

Evaluation:

Students will not write essays for this course; rather, each student will prepare an online teaching portfolio: a course proposal, outline and week by week syllabus for teaching "Contemporary Educational Theory" for students in their own area of specialization. Students will specify level and intended audience for their version of the course, and must ensure that their detailed outline adequately represents their own sense of what matters most about the texts we have read, and how they propose that understanding is best imparted to their selected student group.(50%)

Seminar Presentation of one general educational theory text (from list supplied) (25%)

Seminar Presentation of contemporary educational theory text in student's own field of specialization (25%)

Syllabus:

January 11, 2005: Introduction and Overview

The Glass Bead Game

January 18, 2005: Lecture "The day before yesterday"

Skinner, Dewey, Illich

January 26, 2005: Postmodern Education

Lyotard

February 1, 2005: The Ignorant Schoolmaster

Ranciere

WedotheoryBookClub

February 8, 2005: Emancipatory Pedagogy

Freire

WedotheoryBookClub

February 15, 2005: Class Cancelled: (Instructor away at conference, available on email)

Reading Week : Prepare your own course readings

February 22, 2005: Learning as Participation

Lave and Wenger

WedotheoryBookClub: Sue Barber on Rorty

March 1, 2005: Symbolic Violence

Bourdieu

WedotheoryBookClub

March 8, 2005: Institutional Violence

Foucault

WedotheoryBookClub

March 15, 2005: Negotiable.

March 22, 2005: Dialogicality and Appropriation

Wertsch

WedotheoryBookClub

March 29, 2005: Communicative Reason

Habermas

WedotheoryBookClub

April 5, 2005 : Final Project Due (Present your course to the class) opportunities to revise and resubmit may be extended as needed)