This reader was designed and compiled for EDUC 3013, School and Society, in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The readings included in this volume have been chosen from a variety of sources to present multiple perspectives. Some of them are classics in the literature, and others are more recent publications.
The collection is the result of decades of work by faculty and doctoral students who teach School and Society; it represents work that best explains and illustrates some of the topics covered in the class. School and Society, broadly conceived, covers five major themes: Curricular and instructional traditions in U.S. public schools; how schools are funded and governed; equity and school quality in student achievement; diversity and social justice in education, and current school reforms. Threaded throughout the course are discussions of historical, social, political, and economic theories, policies and events that help explain why U.S. schools operate as they do.
School and Society introduces potential teachers and others interested in education to principles of social justice, equality of educational opportunity and equitable outcomes that public education attempt to achieve.