Education

This course looks at some fundamental questions about the purposes of education. This course teaches students to think about the idea that schools are central in reproducing and reinforcing inequalities, such as those associated with social class, race, and gender. This course considers the paradox between the emancipatory aspirations of education and the practical disparities in its outcomes. This course also addresses a series of issues which animate current educational debate in the UK, such as selection by "ability" in grammar schools and universities, the notion of lifelong learning and continual personal development, and the educational "problem" of white working-class boys.

This course examines the tensions and contradictions that arise from societal, political, and economic demands in relation to the developing role and form of education policy and practice. It considers education as the cornerstone for the realization of competing social imaginaries by examining the complex ways in which economic priorities, technological advancements, and demographic, and labor trends intersect, posing new problems and new demands for education. This course considers the use of artificial intelligence, the Quantified Self Movement, and satellite-enabled distance learning as concrete manifestations of these global trends. 

Social Entrepreneurship describes the discovery of opportunities to create social impact. How can companies create greater social change through social entrepreneurship? This class examines innovative responses to social needs, the role of private companies, for-profit and not-for-profit, and the challenges associated, with a specific application to education. The course analyzes theoretical issues such as defining the social good and assessing the role of market forces, philanthropy, and government. The course utilizes practical issues such as organization level growth, funding strategies, and creating an organizational mission. The course applies the theories and paradigms of social entrepreneurship to education.

The history of Jewish education spans millennia. This course examines the history of Israeli education from its religious roots in the 18th century to its current national expressions in the 21st century. In the process of communicating this historical overview of Jewish and Israeli education, students witness the different roles of religion, nationalism, languages, politics, gender, and culture in the formation of Israeli education. These forces also had a role in separating and integrating different segments of Israeli population, including European and Mizrahi Jews and Arabs. This education system and its forces of integration and segregation emanated both from internal forces within the Jewish and Zionist world as well as from foreign forces and influences. Education in the Zionist movement and Israel played a crucial role in formulating the identity and nature of Israeli nationalism and in forming the state.

This is an individual study project. Students must have a well-developed idea of the theme of the study. A faculty teacher is appointed as supervisor, and an agreement is signed between the student and the teacher describing the title, contents, ECTS credits of the study. A supervisor normally meets with the student between two and four times in order to discuss the progress of the individual study, or any problems encountered. Most supervisors also choose to read and comment on parts of the study. Students applying to do an individual study must submit a detailed project description with their application. Exams for Individual Study Projects may be oral, written or a combination of the two. This version of the course is worth 6 quarter units and corresponds to a workload of 206 hours.