Foundations of Education

Masters of Science in Education

EDU 560

Breyer State University
Instructor: Leon A. Barrett, Ed. D.

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Foundations of Education, a Masters level course in the curriculum for the degree, Masters of Science in Education. I am looking forward to work with you in this course. I anticipate that the content will prove to be very valuable to you in your career as an educator and in your later pursuit of further studies. So please learn as much as you can as you progress through the course.

The Foundations of Education is an exciting course that provides an overview of some of the important features of an education system. It also provides opportunities to examine and analyze important aspects of your own educational system regardless of where you operate and regardless of the prevailing cultural, ideological and material backgrounds.  Topics will be discussed from various theoretical and ideological perspectives.  Consequently, there will be scope for you to argue or present your situation from a perspective of your own choosing. As this is a graduate course, it is important, however, for you to be open-minded and receptive to other perspectives even if you do not agree with them.  Examination of topics will occur largely within the context of perspectives on education. 

You will learn a great deal of valuable information, but most importantly, we will address the practical application of the course content.  To this end, your own experiences and knowledge about your education system will prove indispensable. The assignments will assist you in interacting with the course content.

TIME FRAME: This is a five-semester hour course. You are allotted ten weeks to successfully complete all of the requirements for the course. The first day of Week One will begin the day you register for the course, or the day you notify me that you are ready to begin. Please be cognizant of the time frame. It is rare that extensions of time are permitted, unless there is good justification. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be awarded six semester hours of credit.

TEXTBOOK: There are two (2) required textbooks for this course.

Book 1: Foundations of Education: The making of an education system by Leon A. Barrett, Sr., VLS Educational Services, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-926633-14-5 (This book can only be ordered from Titles Bookstore McMaster University,  905-525-9140  905-525-9140 EXT 24751)
 
Book 2: Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings, Second Edition. Edited by Alan S. Canestrari & Bruce A. Marlowe. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC: SAGE Publications, Inc. 2010. ISBN: 978-1-4129-7438-7

Your local bookstore most often will order them as a special order for you.  Or, you may purchase Book 1 from Titles Bookstore McMaster University 905-525-9140 Ext. 24751. Book 2 may be ordered online from: 

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EXAMINATIONS: There are two exams - a mid-term one and a final one - required for this course. The mid-term exam must be taken by the end of the fifth week in the course and the final exam by the end of the tenth week in the course. The exams are programmed and are located in the classroom for this course. The exams are “open book” essay type. To access each exam, you must send me an email requesting to have access to it. I will then program your access in. After, you will receive an email from me telling you that you are now authorized to access your exam. To access the exam, you will need your user ID and password. You will go into the classroom, click on the course, and click on the exam you are taking. The exam will appear on your screen. Once you access the exam, you have 24 hours to submit your answers to me by e-mail. The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam. Shortly after submitting your exam you will receive my assessment and your grade by email.

GRADING: The grading scale for this course is as follows:

90-100%    = A
80-89%      = B
70-79%      = C
Below 70% = Fail

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me. I am available as an instructor, facilitator, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course. Primarily, communication is through email. Our classroom for this course has a “chat” room. I am very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request. Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary. If at any time during this course you change your email address, please notify me immediately.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT: The written assignments for this course will be responses or reactions to the reading(s) or observations. These should be completed in a Word document and sent to me at my email address provided. Although course content is our focus, responses should be written in Standard English with proper punctuation. Text should be double-spaced with a 12-point font and using the APA style format. There is no required minimum or maximum number of pages for the individual responses. Responses should however be as precise as possible. Topics and assignments will be posted in advance to give you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the issues and do the necessary preparations to give your responses. I will give you feedback on your responses. Feedback will aim to assist you to do the best job possible in the course. So it is in this context you should view my responses.

FOR SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS, PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK "ASSIGNMENTS".

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1). Demonstrate understanding of different perspectives on education.
2). Formulate your own perspective on education.
3). Demonstrate understanding of various perspectives on the purposes of education and schools.
4). Demonstrate an understanding of how the purposes of education inform the structure, content and essential features of an education system.
5). Begin to establish some purposes for an education system you envisage.
6). Identify and analyze important features of an education system.
7). Demonstrate an understanding of how the various features of the education system contribute to the fulfillment of its purposes.
8). Demonstrate understanding of how to organize for effective communication.
9). Begin to develop an organizational structure for coordination of activities.
10). Begin to develop a model of an ideal school system.

COURSE CONTENT:

1). Conceptions of education.
2). Purposes of education.
3). Ways education is delivered.
4). Curriculum
5). Student population.
6). Teachers and teaching.
7). Evaluation and student outcomes.
8). School governance and organization.
9). Educational funding.
10). Social issues in education - multiculturalism, equity, integration of special needs students, parental/community involvement.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: I, Leon A. Barrett, Ed. D., teach in one of the public school systems in Ontario (Canada) where I have been focusing on literacy, assessment and evaluation, and the use of computer technology in the classroom. In addition to my teaching duties, I am involved in promoting youth leadership, providing leadership as a team leader, providing staff development, and developing and writing curriculum as part of a curriculum writing team. For a number of years I have been a mentor, coach and tutor to students at both the secondary and tertiary levels. I have also been writing articles on educational issues. In my over 38 years as a teacher/educator, I have taught elementary and secondary school students, and adults at various levels. I received my teacher training at The Mico Teachers College in Jamaica and my Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. I earned my Master of Arts degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/U of T) where I also completed the course work and Comprehensive Examination for my Doctor of Education in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning. I earned my Doctor of Education (Ed. D) in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Models from Breyer State University and Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in Higher Instruction from the International University Panama. My goal is to share my knowledge and experiences with you as you build your knowledge and advance in your career.

INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this program, you may contact the instructor at admassistant@breyerstate.com.

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