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The University of Chicago

Critical Issues in Urban Education

Urban school reform in the United States is characterized by contentious, politicized debate. This course explores a set of critical issues in the education and educational reform space, with a focus on aspects of the field that have sparked controversy and polarized views. We will dig into these debates, situating them within the larger history of public education and school reform, and considering the viewpoints, the evidence, and translation of issues into educational policy. We will consider three broad topics in this course: 1. Federal Strategies in School Reform: How has the federal government legislated and incented public school reform? 2. School Choice: How does school choice aim to improve schools? 3. Accountability: What is the history of accountability in American public schooling? What are the policies and practices associated with accountability? Learning Goals This course will enable participants to: 1. develop an informed historical perspective about public schooling in the United States; 2. understand the unique contextual elements of the American approach to public schooling; 3. analyze and assess divergent viewpoints about American public school history and school reform policy. Teachers may be able to receive continuing education credit for successful completion of this course. To earn continuing education credits students must purchase and earn the Course Certificate, which they can then submit to the credit-issuing agency in their state. Students should also fill out the requisite paperwork stating that the affiliated provider is the Graham School at the University of Chicago, and that average time for certificate-level course completion is 18 hours. Students outside of Illinois should contact their state’s accreditation board to determine whether this course is eligible for continuing education credit. Note that it is up to the schools or districts that employ teachers to decide whether this course meet their requirements.

Status: Research
Status: Teaching
Course22 hours

Featured reviews

Reviewed Sep 12, 2018

Great course with great information to help me in my daily job but also with my non-profit and community advocacy work.

Reviewed Mar 9, 2017

Logically organised, informative and enjoyable. This was an excellent introductory course to Urban Education Issues and provided me with a solid starting point for exploring the subject.

Reviewed Mar 20, 2018

Very informative and entertaining. Learning the true requirements that makes up the no child left behind reauthorization is ver

Reviewed Jan 26, 2019

Help a lot, got to learn a lot from this course. As I am student-teacher, this course is really helpful to reflect upon the concerns and issues in the education.

Reviewed Jun 5, 2017

I loved this course. A great introduction to so many facets and perspectives of urban education.

Reviewed Oct 23, 2019

Excellent course to get the foundations and history of U.S. public education

Reviewed Mar 11, 2020

Enjoyable course with manageable requirements. Great ability to access the information around a busy schedule.

Reviewed Feb 11, 2022

i really learned a lot in this course. very relevant to my line of work as a teacher in urban locality.

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