EDPS 617: Children in Poverty: Educational Implications 2003
CREDITS: 2 Semester hours
PREREQUISITES: None.
EMU PROGRAM THEME
Inquiry, advocacy and leadership in education for a diverse and democratic society.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Course analyzes the critical poverty conditions of children, youth, and families, and the implications for educators. Emphasis is on social-psychological development, educational advocacy, and interventions that promote understanding of ethnic, cultural and socio-economic diversity.
PURPOSE/RATIONALE
The goals of the course are to develop understanding and awareness of the impact of poverty, homelessness, and systemic violence on the lives of children, women, and families, with a particular focus on the intersection of gender and race. The experiences of vulnerable families and communities in crisis and the need for building school/family/community partnerships are discussed and educational advocacy is explored and developed. Learning environments that promote awareness and respect for cultural, ethnic, family, and socio-economic diversity are emphasized and progressive models-in action are presented.
OUTCOMES/OBJECTIVES
1
.To demonstrate an in-depth systemic understanding of the intersecting
historical, social, and economic conditions that create and perpetuate poverty
in the
To demonstrate and apply theoretical and practical knowledge of the major obstacles to self-sufficiency confronting single parent families in poverty, with a particular focus on gender and race.
To critique current and research-based information about the social-psychological impact of poverty on early childhood and youth development, including an analysis of deficit theories, myths about families and children in poverty, at-risk constructs, and alternative practice models
To demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between schooling and poverty and to use current and research-based information to critically evaluate personal and professional practice, with a particular focus on exclusion, discrimination, and family diversity
To demonstrate an understanding of welfare and public service delivery systems; the acquisition of resource and referral skills, and the ability to function as an advocate for children and families in poverty.
To demonstrate an understanding of cross-national models of early education and
family support policies
7. To create learning environments that promote awareness and respect for cultural,
ethnic, and economic diversity
COURSE OUTLINE
I. FAMLIES IN PERIL
· Demographic, social, economic, and historical contexts; public policies and children in poverty
II. THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY: CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
· The triple crisis: health care, child care, and housing
SUGGESTED TEXTS AND READINGS
Polakow, V. (1994). Lives on the edge: Single mothers and their children in the other American. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Polakow, V. (2001). The public assault on
Children’s Defense Fund. (2002). The state
of
EDPS 617 Instructor designed course pack of articles and article handouts.
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Lecture presentations, small group discussions, partner/team collaborative assignments and presentations, internet searches and use of web-based resources in class.
ASSESSMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
1. Active Participation Attendance is very important and will be checked at each class. Active participation also means active participation in small group and class discussions, completion of reading assignments, and readiness to discuss assigned topic issues (10%)
2. Two “Critical Reflection” essays. The purpose of these essays is to give students an opportunity to critically reflect on issues in assigned readings and to demonstrate developing knowledge and understanding of the topics under discussion (20%)
3. Major Lived-World Assignment. The purpose of this field-based team assignment is to immerse students in the lived realities of a fictional family in poverty, requiring them to research and document the multiple economic and emotional obstacles confronting a single parent with young children; to prepare updated resource and referral information, and engage in reflective self-analysis of their own assumptions. (40%)
4. Final Project: The purpose of the final project is to apply critical analytic knowledge about
children and families in poverty in a variety of diverse formats: preparation of an annotated
bibliography resource for a specific audience; an advocacy resource manual developed for a
specific community; a research paper, or a school-based or community-based advocacy
intervention (30%)
.
KNOWLEDGE BASE: BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books S., & Polakow, V. (Eds.). (2001). Poverty and Schooling. Educational Studies 32 (3). Special issue.
Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflicts in the classroom. New York: The New Press
Garbarino, J. (1992). The meaning of poverty in the world of children. American Behavioral Scientist, 35(3), 221-237.
Gordon, L. (Ed.). (1990). Women, the state and welfare. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.
Grubb, W. N., & Lazerson. M. (1982, 1988). Broken Promises. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Gormley, W. T. (2000). Everybody's children: Child care as a public problem. Washington, D.C.:The Brookings Institution.
Knapp, M. S. (et al ). (1995). Teaching for meaning in high poverty classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.
Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities. New York: Crown publishers.
Quint, S. (1994). Schooling homeless Children. New York: Teachers College Press
Polakow, V. (1997) Who cares
for the children?
Swadener, B. B., & Lubeck, S. (Eds). (1995). Children and families at promise:
Deconstructing the discourse of risk, Albany, NY: SUNY Press