Educational Policy Studies - EDPS

The information below lists courses approved in this subject area effective Fall 2015. Not all courses will necessarily be offered these terms. Please consult the Schedule of Classes for a listing of courses offered for a specific term.

500-level courses require graduate standing.

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104 Race, Place, and Schooling: African Americans and Education
3 hours. Examination of the social, political, cultural, and economic factors shaping African Americans' educational experiences in the United States historically and currently. Same as AAST 104. Individual and Society, and US Society course.

361 Education in Urban Context
3 hours. Cross-disciplinary, critical analysis of relationships between public schools and their urban contexts, with attention to implications for teaching and learning. Prerequisite(s): Senior standing or above and admission to the Bachelor of Arts in elementary Education program.

412 Politics of Urban Education
3 OR 4 hours. Relations between school governance and politics. The role of educational interest groups, school boards, professional educators, and citizens in formulation and execution of educational policy. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

449 Early Childhood /Early Childhood Special Ed: Perspectives, Policies and History
3 hours. Perspectives, policies, history, and foundations of Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education. Emphasis on the effects of changing economic, political, legal, social, and views of human development. Same as EPSY 449 and SPED 449.

453 Topics in Educational Policy Studies
3 OR 4 hours. Topics are announced at the time the class is scheduled. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours.

480 Youth Culture Community Organizing and Education
4 hours. Introduction to the tenets of community organizing in partnership with contemporary interpretations of youth culture as a means to interpret urban public education. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; or consent of the instructor. Recommended background: Experience with working with youth in K-12 classrooms, community organizations, community centers, and faith-based groups.

500 City Schools: Education in the Urban Environment
4 hours. Cross-disciplinary, critical analysis of relationships between public schools and school districts and their urban environments, with attention to implications for school improvement. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

501 Education Finance and Budgeting
4 hours. Role of government, school boards, and community in funding education. Principles of school and district financial planning, management, and analysis. Equity issues in school finance. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

502 Advanced Foundational Studies in Philosophy of Education
4 hours. Advanced investigation of historical and emergent themes in philosophy of education, with specific attention to competing perspectives on human nature and knowing, methods of philosophic inquiry, and the nexus of democratic and educational theory. Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in a doctoral program or consent of the instructor. Recommended background: ED 402.

503 History and Historiography in Education
4 hours. An advanced critical analysis of the history of education in the United States, with specific attention to competing historical perspectives, historical methods of investigation, and the educational histories of different population groups.

505 Social Theory in Educational Foundations
4 hours. Investigates competing theoretical perspectives in the social foundations of education, addressing the evolution of social and educational theory. Prerequisite(s): Enrollment in a doctoral program or consent of the instructor.

510 Introduction to Doctoral Education in Policy Studies
4 hours. Required doctoral seminar taken in the first year of doctoral study. It introduces students to doctoral education, theoretical perspectives and research problems in both concentrations of the Ph.D. program, Policy Studies in Urban Education. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education program or consent of the instructor.

511 Introduction to Academic Writing in Educational Policy Studies
2 hours. Assesses the academic writing skills of PhD students and introduces them to the various genres of writing they will be doing while completing coursework on the way to their dissertation. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Admission to the Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education program or consent of the instructor.

512 Data and Interpretation in Educational Policy Studies
4 hours. Methodology course providing students with basic understanding and skills in assessing, interpreting and representing quantitative and qualitative evidence in educational policy studies research. Students study research design and critique. Prerequisite(s): ED 500 and enrollment in the Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education program or consent of the instructor.

535 Human Development for School Leaders
4 hours. Deepens school leaders' understanding of human development across the lifespan, from birth to adult learning in schools; includes attention to differentiated instruction, SpEd inclusion, and ELL learners in all age groups. Same as EPSY 535. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

544 Research Design in Educational Policy Studies
4 hours. Alternative research design models and evaluation methodologies; quantitative and qualitative approaches; ethnography; historiography; experimentation and quasi-experimentation; institutional and practitioner research designs and methods. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor or admission to the Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education, or the Ed.D. in Urban School Leadership.

548 Leading Improvement of Literacy Learning
4 hours. Leadership development to promote effective reading and writing instruction across the curriculum with particular attention paid to effective organizational and instructional strategies for PreK-12 students. Same as CI 548. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

549 Critical Pedagogy: Practice and Theory
4 hours. Examine theory and practice of social justice teaching in schools, including: history liberatory pedagogies, culturally relevant and critical pedagogies, funds of knowledge, critical multiculturalism and anti-racist pedagogy, critical race theory. Same as CI 549. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

550 Improving Education Organizations
4 hours. Introduction to theories, processes and leadership of organizational change in education. Particular emphasis is placed on alternative approaches to organizational change in schools, such as "turnaround" change and continuous improvement. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

551 Cycles of Inquiry for Improving Schools
4 hours. Introduces an integrated model of school assessment practices that bridges the gap between internal and external assessment; introduces descriptive statistics, data representation and cycles of inquiry as core drivers of continuous improvement. Extensive computer use required. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

552 Leading Urban Schools
4 hours. Describes the deep structure of conventional and transformational approaches to the principal's role in improving school leadership. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

553 Leading Urban School Systems
4 hours. Leadership and management responsibilities of system-level administrators in urban school districts. Theory and research on system level leadership using case study analysis and field work with system administrators. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

555 Political Economy of Urban Education
4 hours. Politics of urban school policy and practice. Interest groups, school boards, educators, citizens, and governments as political actors. Educational leadership in political context. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

556 Leading Classroom Diagnostics and Interventions
4 hours. Instructional improvement role of educational leaders of urban schools. Human resource development, parent/community support, supportive organizational contexts. Strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

557 Developing Organizational and Leadership Capacity
4 hours. Assessment and development of organizational and leadership capacity in urban schools. Human resource development, parent/community support, supportive organizational contexts. Strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

558 Leading Improvement of Mathematics Learning
4 hours. Leadership understandings that promote high quality mathematics instruction with particular attention to student and adult learning for early childhood, intermediate, middle school and high school levels. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

559 Internship in Education Leadership
4 hours. Provides on-site coaching, mentoring and classwork to support students' entry into Ed.D. residency, facilitates integration of coursework and leadership practices, and intensifies leadership learning throughout the year.4 hours. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Extensive computer use required. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

563 Politics of Gender, Sexuality, and Education
4 hours. Cross-disciplinary examination of issues related to gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation in education, with critical attention paid to educational policy and practice. Same as GWS 563. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

565 Globalization and Education
4 hours. Examines implications of global economic, political, and cultural processes for educational policies and practices at local and national levels. Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; and consent of the instructor.

566 Cultural Studies in Education
4 hours. Examines origins, evolution, and current frameworks of cultural studies, with a focus on educational policy and practice. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

567 Economics of Education
4 hours. Introduction to the economics of education. Relates education and income, studies and conditions for efficient production of education, teacher markets and school finance. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

568 Education and the Law
4 hours. Legal rights, responsibilities, and authority of students, parents, teachers, administrators, boards, and government units in relation to schools. Legal issues in education policy and practice. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

570 Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Education Policy
4 hours. Historical and philosophical research methodology in the study of educational policy. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

571 The Education Policy Process
4 hours. Influences on the processes of educational policy making, adoption and implementation, with a focus on the school leader?s role. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

572 Sociology of Education
4 hours. Education as a social institution in interaction with other institutions, such as the economy. Topics include the emergence of national systems of education, purposes of education, inequality and educational reform. Same as SOC 572. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

573 Seminar in Education Leadership Practice
4 hours. Budget and finance, strategic planning and decision making, communication, use of data and technology, parent/community relations, student support services. Different sections will focus on school-level and system-level administration. May be repeated. 4 hours is required for the Illinois Type 75 certificate. Additional hours may be needed for students to satisfy local school system administrator certification requirements (such as Chicago Public School's 1019 requirement). Prerequisite(s): Admission to the Ed.D. in Urban Educational Leadership program and consent of the instructor. Requires concurrent registration in EDPS 559.

574 Impact of College on Students
4 hours. Introduction to research on the impact of college on students. Emphasis is placed on methods of assessing impact and research on college effects. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

575 Higher Education Organization and Administration
4 hours. Perspectives on organization, leadership, and administration of higher education. Understandings from organization theory and research on postsecondary institutions applied to issues in higher education administration. Prerequisite(s): Admission to Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis program or consent of the instructor.

576 History of Higher Education
4 hours. Focus on key historical events that have had enduring implications for colleges and universities. Emphasis on social, political, economic, intellectual, and legal forces shaping American higher education. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

577 American Academic Profession
4 hours. Foundations of the academic profession. Emphasis on institutional and disciplinary variation in the performance, evaluation, and reward of faculty activities. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

578 Political Theory and Education Policy
4 hours. Theoretical perspectives on the role of politics in the development of educational policy at the federal, state and local levels. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

579 Organization Theory in Education
4 hours. Organizational effectiveness and organizational improvement in education. Multi-disciplinary and historical perspectives and their application to understanding the nature and function of educational organizations. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

581 Collective Bargaining in Education
4 hours. Role of collective bargaining in governance, function, and improvement of school systems. Models and processes of negotiation, engagement, and conflict resolution. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

582 Cultural Pluralism and Education Policy
4 hours. Social philosophical analysis of the theory of cultural pluralism, its relation to the liberal-experimentalist tradition in educational thought; selected equal educational opportunity policies; recent federal and state legislation on multicultural education. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

583 Women in Education
4 hours. An overview of girl's and women's educational experiences and placement within the academic structure (as students, professionals and intellectuals). The impact of gender on the realization of educational, economic and social opportunities. Same as GWS 583. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor or enrollment in the Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education program.

586 Practitioner Inquiry for School Leaders
4 hours. Development and application of systems and protocols that support progressive cycles of formative assessment and institutional problem-solving; leadership development strategies for taking these systems to scale. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Extensive computer use required. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

587 Methods of Case Study Research
4 hours. Study and practice in documentary and field research methods of collecting, organizing and integrating educational data for case study. Includes attention to interviewing, observation, ethnography, and historiography. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

588 Critical Race Theory: Race and Racism in Education
4 hours. Examines theories of race and racism in education within the interdisciplinary construct of Critical Race Theory. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

589 Administrative and Leadership Theory in Education
4 hours. Introduction to administrative and leadership theory, focusing particularly on issues of leadership and administration in organization context. Applies theory to understanding the effectiveness of leaders and leadership and to contemporary problems.Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

591 Professional Capstone Inquiry
1 TO 8 hours. Students design, implement, and analyze results of a research problem in this area of specialization. Completed study is reviewed by faculty. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours. Prerequisite(s): Consent of student?s doctoral advisor.

592 Professional Career Training in Education Policy Studies
1 TO 4 hours. Faculty supervised training through university teaching, research or field-based practice. May be repeated to a maximum of 16 hours. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor and approval of the Department Chairperson.

593 Doctoral Research Project
1 TO 8 hours. Students design, implement, and analyze results of a research problem in this area of specialization. Completed study is reviewed by faculty. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 hours. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

594 Special Topics in Educational Policy
4 hours. Exploration of an area not covered in existing course offerings. Topics vary. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

596 Independent Study in Educational Policy Studies
1 TO 4 hours. Students carry out independent study in Educational Policy Studies under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated to a maximum of 12 hours. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the advisor and the Department Chairperson.

599 Dissertation and Thesis Research in Educational Policy Studies
0 TO 16 hours. Research on the topic of the student's dissertation. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. May be repeated. Students may register in more than one section per term. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the dissertation advisor.

Information provided by the Office of Programs and Academic Assessment.

This listing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract. Every attempt is made to provide the most current and correct information. Courses listed here are subject to change without advance notice. Courses are not necessarily offered every term or year. Individual departments or units should be consulted for information regarding frequency of course offerings.