EDU 781 – Institutions and Processes in Education

Professor: Gretchen Lopez

“The engaged voice must never be fixed and absolute but always changing, always evolving in a dialogue with a world beyond itself.” (hooks, 1994, p. 11)

This course – a requirement for graduate students in Ph.D. programs from across departments in the School of Education – covers: institutions of education including the public’s interest in education; social contexts and processes of learning; and the uses of data in judgment. Through this course, student will explore these topics with a specific focus on the theme of engaged scholarship – critical lessons and educational change.

The course is organized to address critical issues across forms and expressions of education, and through multi-disciplinary perspectives, analysis, and findings. Students will develop knowledge, positions, and proposals of local concern and broader significance. The course structure includes large and small group discussion, collaborative work, examining research- based practices, and learning from faculty across different departments or institutions that will share their ongoing work and the context of its development. The overall intent is to engage each other in significant, constructive work addressing pressing needs for education.