PBPL817

This course is designed to introduce students to urban educational policy, with particular focus on the major issues and challenges facing urban and suburban policymakers. After a brief overview of the shape and history of the American school system, we will move toward considering a variety of different perspectives on why it has proven so difficult to improve America's schools. We will examine standards-based, market-driven, professionally-led and networked models of reform, looking at their theories of change, implementation challenges, and the critiques leveled against these approaches. We will examine a variety of recent reform efforts at both the federal and state levels. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which immigration and educational policy interact.