Sociological Approaches to Education Policy |
ΕΕ8 Sociological Approaches to Education Policy Semester: 7th Short Description: This course approaches education policy from the perspective of critical sociology (“policy sociology”) and aims to introduce students to the systematic and critical study of policies for education. It focuses on the analysis of dominant discourses created by the activity of supranational networks of policy making, which currently define the educational agenda and the limits of legitimate action. It also looks into the enactments of policy, that is to say, the ways in which educational institutions respond to policies and deal with the often conflictual and incompatible demands various policies pose on them. The course shifts between theory and the analysis of concrete policies (e.g., policies on lifelong learning) or value fields (e.g. identity) and aims to familiarise students with the post-structuralist currents of thought, especially Foucault inspired theoretical perspectives and the methodology of discourse analysis. Aims: The main objectives of the course are:
Learning Outcomes: Upon the successful completion of the course students should be able to:
The course is designed to enable students to develop the following competences: Search different sources, critical reading of policy texts, development of arguments, well-founded formulations of views/positions. Structure: 13 three-hour sessions. Students are called to engage in individual study, week by week, of relevant texts and bibliographical sources and to participate actively in the educational process. Seminars are the main method of teaching and learning and are based on the discussion of the texts students have studied as part of their homework. An effort is made to utilize knowledge students have acquired during their studies of preceding courses in sociology, sociology of education and sociology of educational practices; as well as to develop new knowledge and skills that will allow them to get deeper insights into the dynamic environments of education policy making, to analyse and describe policies that are crucial for education, and to explore the enactments of policies in specific, local contexts. Assessment: Students’ assessment is based on their actual and regular contribution to the seminar, and an oral examination. Bibliography: Ball, S., Maguire, M. & Braun, A. (2012) How schools do policy. Policy enactments in secondaryschools, London, Routledge. |