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Canyon College

online Comparative Education course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: Comparative Education

Course Title:  ED565 - Comparative Education
Department:  Education
Instructor:  Charles Oseji, EdD, EdS, MPA, BS, E-Mail -- Vita

It is time we admit that American education is in crisis. Our children lag so far behind students in other countries, and they are losing ground in almost every academic area. In this course, we will attempt to put this crisis in perspective by comparing the educational practices in the United States to that of Japan, Taiwan, and China.

We will examine and analyze the role of standardized tests, tracking, special education, class size, money, classroom discipline, textbooks, and parental involvement and arrive at some unusual and startling conclusions that will drastically alter your understanding of the problems and possibilities of our schools.

We should not blame television for children's poor performance; nor the underpaid, or poorly trained teachers. Contrary to opinion by some, class size should be increased, and children should not begin academic preparation in preschool and kindergarten. What an amazing and uncomfortable concept.

Most importantly, this course will attempt to show that parental involvement is critical to children's learning process and schools should acknowledge and reward individual effort rather than emphasize innate ability. Identify clarity of purpose to the debate of children's education that is missing from the school.

The course lectures are objectively written in a clear and concise style. The intent is to provide a genuinely and accurate portrait of Japanese education and its differences from the U.S. educational system. Centering on the elementary years, will clear up many of the stereotypes of Japanese schooling that have prevented us from perceiving the roots and strengths. This is a critical course of importance to any prospective teacher, policy maker, and parents of today as we rethink what kind of schools and teaching we need.

INSTRUCTIONAL TEXT BOOKS:

There is no one book that will provide a comprehensive analysis of the world’s educational systems. Therefore, there are "no text books" in this class. It is Lecture and discussion based. Download each lecture per module for your review. Read the module and respond to the questions as associated with that module. Write out the question, and then respond to that question. Once again, each page must have the proper APA formatting style for credit. Please see APA manual, 5th Edition.

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT:

As a student of Canyon College you will have the opportunity to contact the instructor on many different avenues. You may contact the instructor anytime you have a concern or question about the course. Your interaction with the instructor is one-on-one and this is highly beneficial as you proceed through the course. If you send an email, on the subject line please identify the course name, and your name. All document material submitted must have the college name, class name as a header, the date, the assignment, module number, page number of each page and your first and last name. This is mandatory.

Example Email:

Subject Line: Canyon College: ED565: Teleconferencing, 9/11/06, Module 1A, John Adams

- or -

You may shorten to: CC: ED565, Teleconf, 7/11/06, Mod1A, J. Adams

Example Module Responses/Testing:

Canyon College, ED565 Comparative Education, August 10, 2006, Module One, Problem 1, John Adams

- or -

You may shorten to: CC: ED565, Comparative Education, 8/10/06, Mod1A, J. Adams

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS:
  1. All students are expected to "attend" the course by completing all course assignments in an academic manner and with complete preparation.

  2. Grammar, punctuation, spelling and overall composition will be including in the grading of all assignments.

  3. Students are required to complete each Module within a two-week time frame. At the student's request, and successful completion of a module in less than one week, the instructor will provide students with subsequent units of homework in advance.

  4. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:

This is a distance-learning course offered through Canyon College and this class is a partially self-paced program in that you may complete a specific weeks work at anytime during that week time frame, it is essential that the student review all available materials (if applicable) located in the text, lecture notes, classroom, e-mail, and syllabus. Module expected time of completion is approximately 2 weeks to complete. This is an 8-week course* depending on student completion, some may finish earlier.

SUGGESTED READINGS:

Hanson, J.W. and Brembeck, C.S. (1966). Education and the development of nations. New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Harbison, F.H. (1973). Human resources as the wealth of nations. New York : Oxford University Press.

Simmons, J. (Ed.) (1980). The education dilemma: Policy issues for developing countries in the 1980s. New York : Pergamon.

POLITICAL:

Lisovskaya, E., Karpov, V. (1999). New ideologies in postcommunist Russian textbooks. Comparative Education Review, 43:4.

Talbani, A.(1996). Pedagogy, power, and discourse: Transformation of Islamic education. Comparative Education Review, 40:1.

Torney-Purta, J. (2000). Comparative perspectives on political socialization and civic education. Comparative Education Review, 44:1.

ECONOMIC:

Buchmann, C., Brakewood, D. (2000). Labor structures and school enrollments in developing societies. Comparative Education Review, 44:2.

World Bank. (2000). World development report. Washington, DC : World Bank.

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL:

McGovern, S.M. (2000). Reclaiming education: Knowledge practices and indigenous communities. Comparative Education Review, 44:4.

Zou, Y., Trueba, E.(1998). Ethnic identity and power: Cultural contexts of political action in school and society. Albany : State University of New York Press.

WOMEN'S EDUCATION:

Kane, E. (1996). Gender, culture, and learning. Washington , DC : USAID.

Prather, C. (1991). Educating girls: Strategies to increase access, persistence, and achievement. Washington , DC : USAID.

Stevens, D. (1999). Girls and schooling in developing countries. International Journal of Educational Development, 20:1.

THEORETICAL:

Peters, M. (1998). Naming the multiple: Poststructuralism in education. Westport , CT : Bergin & Garvey.

Popkewitz, T.S., Brennan, M. (1998). Foucault's challenge: Discourse, knowledge, and power in education. New York : Teachers College Press.

Stronach, I. , Maclure, M. (1997). Educational research undone: The postmodern embrace. Buckingham , UK : Open University Press.

JOURNALS:

Comparative Education

Comparative Education Review

International Journal of Educational Development

WEB SITES:

www.unesco.org

www.un.org

ACTIVITES:
  1. Read educational journal of your choice, select one of the countries of Japan, China, or Taiwan and write a five-page essay, describing the educational structure. (Midterm examination. Due the 4th week of class)

  2. Write a seven-page project dealing with an issue in the U.S. educational system that you would want addressed. (Due last day of week 8)
GRADING:

Completed & timely submitted Assignments   40
Mid Grade   30
Final Grade   30
Total Points   100

SUBMITTING EXAMS:

There will be no examinations in this course. You will be graded as stated in the Grading section of this Course Outline per Module from your Assignment submissions. Just because there are no examinations in this course, does not mean that this will not be challenging. It will! Believe me, it will. Outside research or Internet exploration is encouraged.

GETTING STARTED:

As soon as you receive your Lecture Notes, or if this course requires a textbook, you may begin your course of study. The instructor will download your Lecture Notes (if applicable, or if you have the textbook start to read the required assignments as listed per Module. There is the option to go to the course and download the modules yourself. These may include chapter or lecture reading, discussion & Internet assignments. Please check the Assignment board/ or Module for Module Postings assignment requirements. When you have completed all assignments for Module1, you may go ahead and take the examination for Module 1. (Some courses do not have examinations)* When completed, submit it to the instructor and begin your reading assignments for Module 2, and continue this way to completion of the entire course. Average time for each module is 2 weeks, and can be extended if needed, but only with the instructor's approval.

MODULE READING 1 - 4:

Read the following chapters or Lecture Notes and answer in your own words the assignment questions posted for Module 1 Assignment. Once again, write out the question fully, and respond below. There may be supplemental attachments to the module that will require completion. Do not exceed more than 5 paragraphs page per question*. Upon completion, please email your documents to your instructor.

There may be additional Course and or Internet Assignments throughout the course to enhance learning purposes, as well as reference material, which is mandatory for you to review to pass this course. Reminder: You will need to submit the answers in the format as discussed via email, online to the instructor as requested.

Refer to the course Syllabus for instructions. Good luck and enjoy.

Lecture Content for Module One
Introduction

Academic Achievement

Children's Lives

Lecture Content for Module Two
Socialization and Achievement

Effort and Ability

Satisfaction and Expectations

The Organized School

Module Assignment(s)

No midterm for this course. (A mid term grade will be submitted to the college from your assignment submissions)

Lecture Content for Module Three
The Profession of Teaching

The Practice of Teaching

Module Assignment(s)

Lecture Content for Module Four
Defining the Solutions

Module Assignment(s)

No Final