75086 - Education Systems and Policies

Academic Year 2020/2021

Learning outcomes

The course enables students to: – be familiar with the structure of education systems in the developed world; – recognize the goals of knowledge transmission, socialization, and selection typically pursued by education systems; – be knowledgeable about sociological theories dealing with education; – understand selection mechanisms enacted via education systems; – identify the interests of the various stake-holders involved in educational activities; – grasp the key features of the comparative approach to the study of teaching and learning processes; – apply a set of tools for analyzing educational policies (as pertains, for example, to social inequality) and thus interpret them, convey their chief characteristics and assess their outcomes.

Course contents

The course is organized with one-half of lectures taught online via MS Teams (20 hours) and another half taught in presence (20 hours). The number of students allowed in class is determined by classroom capacity and by the health and safety provisions concerning the pandemic emergency. If the number of students who wish want to attend classes in presence is higher than the number permitted by the rules, a system of shifts will be organized so to allow students to participate. Regardless of the health-related conditions and the specific organization of the course, students will be able to follow the lessons of the entire course remotely via MS Teams.

The course enables students to:

- be familiar with the structure of education systems in the developed world;

- recognize the goals of knowledge transmission, socialization, and selection typically pursued by education systems;

- be knowledgeable about sociological theories dealing with education;

- understand selection mechanisms enacted via education systems;

- identify the interests of the various stake-holders involved in educational activities;

- grasp the key features of the comparative approach to the study of teaching and learning processes;

- apply a set of tools for analyzing educational policies (as pertains, for example, to social inequality) and thus interpret them, convey their chief characteristics and assess their outcomes.

Readings/Bibliography

Regularly attending students (see below) may decide to write an original paper on a topic agreed upon with the professor *and* take a written exam in which they must display familiarity with *one* text chosen among the following (all available on-line in pdf format):

- OECD. Education at a Glance 2020: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD, 2020 (Chapters A, B, C and D);  

- OECD. Education Policy Outlook 2019: Working Together to Help Students Achieve Their Potential. Paris: OECD, 2019 (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, plus 5 countries chosen from those addressed in Chapter 8);

- European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. The European Higher Education Area in 2020: Bologna Process Implementation Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020;

- OECD. PISA 2018 Results, volume II: Where All Students Can Succeed. Paris: OECD, 2019.

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Non-attending students (as well as attending students who prefer not to write a paper) need to take a written exam based on one of the texts listed above for attending students *plus* the following text:

Steven Brint. School and Societies. Stanford Social Sciences, 2nd ed., 2006 *or* 3rd ed., 2017 (Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).

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If the pandemic emergency endures, the written part of the exam will be replaced by an oral exam via MS Teams.

Teaching methods

Face-to-face lectures.

Assessment methods

The exam is administered in exclusively *written* form (health emergency permitting). The only valid mark is the one achieved in the most recent attempt to pass the exam. Candidates who do not participate in an exam for which they have registered cannot participate in the following exam session. Students can refuse a passing mark just one time.

Students who attend regularly (no more than *3* absences) may decide to deliver a written paper on a topic agreed upon with the professor. In this case, the final mark will be based on an evaluation of the presentation or paper and a final written exam involving the texts mentioned above.

Exam modes may change in light of the ongoing Covid19 public health emergency.

Please note that Art. 25, Paragraph 2 of the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the University of Bologna requires that "in course exams and degree programme final exams, students must refrain from conduct that may cause disturbance or obstacle or involve harmful and/or dishonest consequences towards other students and the institution. Plagiarism or copying of other people's texts or other behaviours that hinder a correct evaluation of exam performances are contrary to the principles of this Code”.

Office hours

See the website of Giancarlo Gasperoni

SDGs

Quality education Gender equality Reduced inequalities

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.