EDCI 658 – History of Education
Summer 2009
Instructor:
Graduate Asst:
Office:
Office Hours:
Phone:
Email:
Lynn M. Burlbaw
J. Kelton Williams
Harrington Tower 330
Dr. Burlbaw: By appointment during week of 1 June to 5 June; 1:30 to
2:30 daily during week of 8 June to 12 June. I WILL NOT be available
for office hours between 15 June and 28 July.
Kelton Williams: By appointment
979-845-6195
burlbaw@neo.tamu.edu
personal web site lburlbaw.cehd.tamu.edu
kelton_williams@yahoo.com
Dr. Burlbaw will be on a Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar between 15 June and 26 July in
Oman and Jordan and will have intermittent Internet service. Messages sent between these dates
may not be answered promptly.
Description of Course: The genesis of formal education in the Western world beginning with
the ancient Greeks and working though the Enlightenment; tracing the idea that schooling is a
fundamental part of human existence and therefore crucial to all questions concerning the human
condition. (Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog 2006-2007, 315).
Course Objectives
At the end of this course, the student will
- Be able to explain the genesis of ideas found in education in Europe and the United
States
- Explain how ideas conceived and articulated by historical figures appear and reappear
throughout western education
- Demonstrate some level of competence in doing qualitative, document based research
Required Textbook available at Campus Bookstore and on-line
Gutek, Gerald L. A History of the Western Educational Experience, 2nd ed. Prospect
Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1995. ISBN 0-88133-818-4
Supplemental materials are available on the course web site at elearning.tamu.edu
Class Attendance: Class will meet in various configurations to accommodate summer plans.
During the week of 1 June to 5 June, class will consist of work done on the internet through
Vista/Blackboard. During the second week, 8 June to 12 June, class will be held from 3:00 to
6:00 pm daily in Room 103 of Little Harrington. Between 15 June and 3 Aug, students will
work independently on course assignments which will be presented during class on 4 and 5
August meeting 9 to 4, in Little Harrington 104.
Page 1 of 8 Summer 2009
Students are expected to attend each class session and come prepared for class by completing the
required readings and/or assignments.
I understand that, as professionals, you may have obligations that require you to miss a
class. If you must miss a class meeting, please let me know prior to the session and make
arrangements to complete the assignment(s) due that meeting date. Failure to do this may
result in no credit being given for an assignment or activity.
University rules on attendance can be found at http://student-rules.tamu.edu/search/rule49.htm
Assignments: Four types of assignments will be completed in this course (descriptions follow):
First type:
Internet-based responses to specified class readings
Second type: A stand-alone movie/power point presentation based on class readings, the
text book, and outside sources
Third type: A biography of a female educator and an electronic presentation based on
biography. These will be assigned before June 12
Fourth type: A paper and oral presentation on education in a foreign country – these
will be chosen/assigned before June 12 – papers will be posted for reading
and each student must review and provide feedback on 3 papers by July
31st.
Grading and Work Completion
Students are expected to complete assignments by the date indicated in the Assignment
Calendar.
All assignments will be graded and points awarded for work completed. Late assignments will
be assessed a penalty of 10%.
Grades will be assigned as follows:
Grade of “A” will be assigned for accumulating between 94% and 100% of total points
Grade of “B” will be assigned for accumulating between 86% and 93.9% of total points
Grade of “C” will be assigned for accumulating between 75% and 85.9% of total points
An incomplete will be given only upon written request and then only if the request meets the
requirements listed in the Student Rules under Section 10: Grading. http://studentrules.tamu.edu/rule10.htm
Course Evaluation – the evaluation of a course is one of the measures used to assess quality,
strengths and need for improvement. Each student who completes the course evaluation will
receive an additional 50 points on their accumulated points for the semester.
Page 2 of 8 Summer 2009
Assignments and Values
Assignments
Web Assignment for Furay and
Salevouris Book – on Vista/Blackboard
Quizzes on Gutek Book – one quiz a day
Country History Paper (150), responses to
posted papers (50) and Presentation (50)
Recurring Theme Product (250)
Woman Educator Product (250)
Number
4
Value
50
Total
200
5
1
50
250
250
250
1
1
250
250
250
250
Total Available Points for Course
End of Course Evaluation
1
50
Total Available Points for Course with evaluation bonus
Grading Rubrics will be provided for the three presentation assignments.
1200
50
1250
Description of Assignments
First: Internet-based responses to specified class readings
For each chapter from the Furay and Salevouris book (these chapters are posted to
Vista/Blackboard), students will participate in a threaded discussion on the content and use of the
ideas in the chapter in helping them understand the topic of the chapter and how they can apply
the content of the chapter to their individual lives and understanding of history. Each student is
expected to make at least one posting and respond to one other posting.
Second: A stand-alone movie/power point presentation based on class readings, the text book,
and outside sources.
An important course objective is that students will be able to identify and explain how ideas
conceived and articulated by historical figures appear and reappear throughout western
education. This assignment provides the medium for a student to complete this objective.
For this assignment, a student will prepare a self-running presentation 10 - 15 minutes in length
that identifies a recurring idea and provides information about that idea. This presentation may
be a video, a narrated power point, a combination of both or some other medium. The
expectation is that the presentation will consist primarily of images that convey information
about the topic
CAUTION: Regardless of the medium, the presentation cannot consist, either solely or
significantly, of reading text from a screen that the viewer can read for him or herself.
The idea(s) included in the presentation must have been found over a period of not less than 500
years.
Page 3 of 8 Summer 2009
You will probably want to use the Gutek book as a basis for choosing your topic and for a large
part of your content but you will need to go beyond the book to find supplemental materials,
especially images to illustrate the presentation.
The presentation should show the genesis of the idea, whose idea was it how it developed at the
time and when and how it recurs in at least two other periods in the history of education. The
idea may be modified in subsequent versions but the connection to the original should be shown.
You will provide, along with the electronic version of the presentation, a typed transcript of the
narrative of the presentation. The presentation may be submitted using a variety of electronic
storage devices: SD cards, CDs, DVDs.
A story board outline of your presentation will be due on June 30th. This will be submitted to
Kelton Williams, a graduate student who is helping with the course. He will provide written
feedback to you by July 7th. If you wish to have feed back earlier, please make those
arrangements with him. His email is kelton_williams@yahoo.com Failure to submit a story
board by June 30 may result in no feedback prior to the time of submission of the project.
Third: A biography of a female educator and an electronic presentation based on biography.
These will be assigned before June 12
Selecting from a list of possible female educators, students will prepare a 5-10 minute
biographical sketch of the educator. Students, in consultation with Dr. Burlbaw, may
propose to study a person not on the list.
The presentation will follow the structural guidelines outlined in the second type of assignment.
Each presentation will include the following as a minimum
Contextual information about the society at the time the educator lived.
Details on the personal life of the female educator
Contributions to education
Significance of the educator – basically, why should we know about this person and her
work?
You will provide, along with the electronic version of the presentation, a typed transcript of the
narrative of the presentation. The presentation may be submitted using a variety of electronic
storage devices: SD cards, CDs, DVDs.
Your presentation will be played on one of the days in August and 10-15 minutes will be
allocated for a discussion on your person.
Page 4 of 8 Summer 2009
Fourth: A paper and oral presentation on education in a foreign country. These will be
chosen/assigned before June 12.
Papers for this assignment will be posted to the Blackboard/Vista site by July 20 for review by
colleagues in class. As soon as you have posted your paper, create a new topic in the
threaded discussion area so others have a place to post their reflections on your paper.
Students are expected to review at least 3 papers and provide comments on the papers
no later than July 31st.
From a list, the student will pick a country to research and prepare a report on schooling in that
country. The written report, not counting title page or references, will be between 1500
and 2500 words. The paper will have margins of 1.5 inches on the left side and 1 inch on
the remaining sides and will be double spaced. Students may, upon consultation with Dr.
Burlbaw, propose to study a country not on the list provided in class.
The following topics should be covered in the paper:
Who is educated? How many students are in school? General demographics of schooling.
What is the structure of the educational system – include pre and post-secondary
educational programs.
How is education funded in the country? Is the amount and source of funding the same
at all levels?
What role does education play in the development and maintenance of the society of the
country?
What social, financial, and political challenges face the country and how is the
educational system used to solve those challenges?
What is the future of education in the country? Will it be more expansive, contract, stay
the same?
On one of the last class meeting days, you will be given 10 – 15 minutes to present your
information. If, based on feedback provided by classmates, you wish to revise your paper prior
to the presentation, you may submit the revised paper at the time of your presentation.
Page 5 of 8 Summer 2009
Course Calendar
Below is a calendar showing the dates various assignments will be due. Following the calendar is
a description of the various assignments.
Date
June 1
June 2
Assignments from the below listed books are due on the following dates
Subject of Class Meeting
Due on this Day
Introduction to Course, Syllabus, Book
Chapter 1: The Uses of
Chapters 1, 3, 5 and 13 are found on
History
Vista/Blackboard and are from The
Methods and Skills of History: A
Practical Guide, 2nd Edition. Conal Furay
and Michael J. Salevouris. Wheeling,IL: Harlan
Davidson, Inc., 2000.
June 3
June 4
June 5
June 8
June 9
June 10
June 11
June 12
June 30
July 20
Chapter 3: Continuity and
Change
Chapter 5: Thinking in Time:
Context
Chapter 13: The History of
History
Chapter 1 from Gutek Book
Chapters 2 to 4
Response on Threaded discussion to
Chapter 1 of Furay book
Response on Threaded discussion to
Chapter 3 of Furay book
Response on Threaded discussion to
Chapter 5 of Furay book
Response on Threaded discussion to
Chapter 13 of Furay book.
Read Chapters 2 to 4 of Gutek book
Chapters 5 to 8
Class meets 4 pm to 6 pm
Chapters 9, 12 and 13
Chapters 10, 11 and 14
Chapters 15, 21 and 22
August 4
Chapters 17 to 20
August 5
Project Presentations
Story board of presentation due
Country Papers posted to
Blackboard/Vista site
Presentation of Country Papers
Presentation on Female Educators
Presentation of Historical Projects
Page 6 of 8 Summer 2009
Diversity Statement for the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture
The Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture (TLAC) does not tolerate discrimination,
violence, or vandalism. TLAC is an open and affirming department for all people, including
those who are subjected to racial profiling, hate crimes, heterosexism, and violence. We insist
that appropriate action be taken against those who perpetrate discrimination, violence, or
vandalism. Texas A&M University is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity institution
and affirms its dedication to non-discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age,
sexual orientation, domestic partner status, national origin, or disability in employment,
programs, and services. Our commitment to non-discrimination and affirmative action embraces
the entire university community including faculty, staff, and students.
Excused Absences
Excused Absences
7.1 The student is responsible for providing satisfactory evidence to the instructor to substantiate
the reason for absence. Among the reasons absences are considered excused by the university are
the following:
7.1.6 Injury or illness that is too severe or contagious for the student to attend class.
7.1.6.1 Injury or illness of three or more days. For injury or illness that requires a
student to be absent from classes for three or more university business days (to
include classes on Saturday), the student should obtain a medical confirmation
note from his or her medical provider. The Student Health Center or an offcampus medical professional can provide a medical confirmation note only if
medical professionals are involved in the medical care of the student. The medical
confirmation note must contain the date and time of the illness and medical
professional's confirmation of needed absence.
7.1.6.2 Injury or illness less than three days. Faculty members may require
confirmation of student injury or illness that is serious enough for a student to be
absent from class for a period less than three university business days (to include
classes on Saturday). At the discretion of the faculty member and/or academic
department standard, as outlined in the course syllabus, illness confirmation may
be obtained by one or both of the following methods:
a. Texas A&M University Explanatory Statement for Absence from Class
form available at http://attendance.tamu.edu
b. Confirmation of visit to a health care professional affirming date and
time of visit.
7.1.6.3 An absence for a non acute medical service does not constitute an
excused absence.
To view all Student Rules, please go to: http://student-rules.tamu.edu/
Page 7 of 8 Summer 2009
Americans with Disabilities Act Statement
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides
comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this
legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that
provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability
requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for
Students with Disabilities in Room B118 of Cain Hall. The phone number is 845-1637. For
additional information visit http://disability.tamu.edu
Plagiarism Statement
The handouts used in this course are copyrighted. By “handouts,” I mean all materials generated
for this class, which include but are not limited to syllabi, quizzes, exams, lab problems, in-class
materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets. Because these materials are copyrighted,
you do not have the right to copy the handouts, unless I expressly grant permission.
As commonly defined, plagiarism consists of passing off as one’s own the ideas, words, writings,
etc., which belong to another. In accordance with this definition, you are committing plagiarism
if you copy the work of another person and turn it in as your own, even if you should have the
permission of that person. Plagiarism is one of the worst academic sins, for the plagiarist
destroys the trust among colleagues without which research cannot be safely communicated.
If you have any questions regarding plagiarism, please consult the latest issue of the Texas A&M
University Student Rules, under the section “Scholastic Dishonesty.”
Page 8 of 8 Summer 2009