Sociology of Education

Duration

45h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Jean-François Guillaume

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course will take a critical approach to methods of school education and the effects caused by the habits and the routines which constitute them. During this academic year 2018-2019, we will consider critically the input difficulties in the teaching profession and the issue of early dropout of young teachers.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

The training provided in this Sociology of Education course aims to develop the following skills in sociology students: 1) the ability to deconstruct common sense propositions which are presented in the form of evidence, preconceptions, beliefs etc.; 2) the ability to transform a social problem into a sociological issue; 3) the ability to identify in routine or habitual practices, objects, and the ways of spatially and temporally organising pedagogical relations, the foundations of these schemes and the societal issues to which they respond; 4) the ability to organise a piece of documentary and bibliographical research on a given theme; 5) the ability to read, analyse and extract from an article or a theoretical piece of work the elements which are useful for analysing observable events; 6) the ability to prepare a written analysis report from an educational problem that will contain a description of observed facts ; the deconstruction of evidences ; the formulation of a sociological problem ; highlighting the structural elements of the pedagogical relationship ; 7) the ability to confront his personal analysis to analyzes by students autrs to complete , refine or correct the work ; 8) the ability to discuss theoretical claims and diagnoses which are made.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Knowledge of the education system in French-speaking Belgium is helpful.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Teaching is based on the analysis of accounts of critical incidents related by teachers in training or working teachers, and of problems or questions which are currently posed in compulsory education and in the teaching profession. Students will be provided with a syllabus setting out a summary of the problems and theoretical references. Finally, students should be able to come up with an investigative approach and a collection of data aiming to clarify a problem presented at the start of the course.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Resolution of problems / situations presented in the syllabus. Meeting and interviewing actors in the school environment. Using video reportage and observations conducted in the school environment.

Recommended or required readings

Course notes will be made available.

Assessment methods and criteria

Each student's work will be marked out of 120, with the marks distributed as follows. 60 points: an open-book, written examination. This will consist of short accounts of school situations which have to be "problematised", in other words to raise a coherent number of questions, to propose hypotheses about them and for each situation given, to raise the "problem" and come up with cross-cutting avenues for reflection on current issues in school education. The quality of sociological input will be assessed, taking into account the following criteria (in decreasing order of importance): 1) the accuracy and precision of sociological content (the concepts used have been correctly understood and defined); 2) the integration of different concepts used in the overall analysis (the assessment will be more favourable if the student has managed to combine different concepts, rather than provide a series of statements with no apparent link between them; 3) the perceptiveness and originality of the analysis presented. In the event that an exam result shows a serious lack of knowledge (a score of less than 7 out of 20), the student's overall grade will be given the same grade. In other words, the written exam is essential in order to pass the Sociology for Education exam.
60 points: an individual analysis of a problem presented during the first class on Sociology of Education.
This personal work involves a data collection approach ( observations questionnaires interviews) and drafting a written record of this. The individual report analyzing the collected data consist of a document not exceeding 20 pages, 1.5 line spacing , character 11).
The quality of sociological input will be assessed, taking into account the following criteria (in decreasing order of importance): 1) the accuracy and precision of sociological content (the concepts used have been correctly understood and defined); 2) the integration of different concepts used in the overall analysis (the assessment will be more favourable if the student has managed to combine different concepts, rather than provide a series of statements with no apparent link between them; 3) the perceptiveness and originality of the analysis presented.

Work placement(s)

No placements are planned. However, it will be possible to complete the analysis work through meeting stakeholders from the school world and by implementing the investigative devices defined.

Organizational remarks

Participation is required in the various work sessions.

Contacts

Teachers : J.-F. GUILLAUME, Tel. 04/366 35 03 - fax: 04/366 4751 Office 1.90 (Building B31, Sart Tilman) E-Mail : jean-francois.guillaume@ulg.ac.be

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