A Truth Space for a Radical Commitment to the Social Foundations of Education

• In Event: Questioning and Creating "Truth Spaces" in Social Foundations Classrooms

Abstract

The course described in the final presentation is offered at a large land grant institution in the Pacific Northwest as a core requirement in a Master in Teaching program. As a unique response to the pressure for alternate routes to certification for teachers and for those programs to compete with online certifications and programs like Teach for America, this course is required in a program with very explicit goals to “partner with diverse communities for social justice and sustainability.” All of the students have bachelor degrees and have been admitted based on a recruitment plan to bring diverse teachers to a predominantly white teaching demographic. The program, facing challenges and pressures to cut Social Foundations from the curriculum––or embed it into methods courses––has combined a traditional Educational Psychology course together with Social Foundations where students are introduced to learning theories together with the systemic ways that injustice continues to be pervasive via schooling. The course is framed by the instructor's commitment to Black Lives Matter in School (Hagopian & Jones, 2020), and Abolitionist teaching (Love, 2019). This course sets a foundation for coursework, teaching practicum, and a masters project that aligns their content teaching with children’s rights, indigneous sovereignty, and sustainability.

This particular example is shared as a case study that illuminates the neoliberal pressures to streamline coursework and depoliticize teaching and shares how a team of radical educators respond to such pressures. The presenter will not only share their syllabus (course design, readings, assignments, and assessments that include a unique blend of traditional texts with podcasts, music, film, and fiction) but will also share the political struggles and tensions in higher education to keep Social Foundations courses in the curriculum. Insight from student experiences and reflections from the presenter shares creative and collaborative possibilities that emerge when the task to teach in support of social justice and sustainability doesn’t fall to one course while recognizing the importance of Social Foundations courses in teacher education.

Official Course Description:
The social context of American education including historical and contemporary influences; education in the context of history, politics, and society.

Author

• John J. Lupinacci, Washington State University
  Presenting Author