Understanding Urban Communities

Course Description

This course will introduce students to key issues in urban education, focusing on both formal schooling and informal educational settings. It will use readings from history, sociology, and political science - as well as the popular media - to provide students with a deeper understanding of the larger social and political processes that shape cities and their schools. The course will also cover such key issues as the achievement gap, funding inequalities, high school dropout, school violence, and various approaches to school reform. A key focus of the course will be identifying strengths and assets within urban communities and countering the "deficit" narrative that dominates popular perceptions of urban education. Another key focus will be on identifying promising practices within schools and other organizations that serve urban youth. For this reason, students will conduct research on possible policy interventions, study a particular intervention in depth, and write about that intervention. As a Writing Intensive course, this class will provide students with significant instruction and support in the following areas: conducting research on social policy interventions, evaluating sources, using research to craft an argument, and writing one argument-focused social science research paper and one policy brief. Students will be encouraged to make connections between theory and research on urban education and the challenges and opportunities they may face as practitioners.

Code

URBE 4496

Credits

3

Subject

URBE

Programs That Include This Course

• Bachelor's Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Community Engagement
• Minor Minor in Education
• Minor Minor in Human Development and Community Engagement
• Minor Minor in Social Justice - Honors Interdisciplinary
• Undergraduate Certificate Undergraduate Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion