George Mason University s13

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION LEADERSHIP: ECONOMICS AND LEADERSHIP

EDLE 803 (3 Credits)

Spring 2007 Syllabus

Instructor: William J. Fowler, Jr., Ed.D.

Phone: 703.993.9190

Fax: 703.993.3643

E-mail:

Office: Commerce II, Room 106

Website: http://blackboard.gmu.edu

Mailing Address:

George Mason University

4400 University Dr., MSN 4C2

Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

Schedule Information

Meeting Times: Class will meet Wednesdays from 7:20-10 pm in Commerce II, room 101.

All students are expected to attend every class session. Personal problems that prevent students from attending class should be reported ahead of time to the instructor via telephone or e-mail.

Location: Commerce II, room 101

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 6-7 p.m., and by appointment.

Course Description

This is the third in a three-course sequence designed to introduce students to foundations of education and issues in education leadership, with a specific emphasis on the economics of education. The general emphasis in the sequence is on students learning how to explore their research interests in the context of the larger sweep of education as a field and within leadership as a focus. School administrators now must comprehend such complex and controversial issues in the economics of education as school reform for at-risk students, educational choice, charter schools, productivity and incentives, accountability, and public investment in education.

This course explores economic theory and practice as applied to education leadership. Educational leaders need to understand how economists apply general economic principles and theories (e.g., investment, labor, productivity, cost efficiency, supply and demand) to educational systems and their impact on economic growth. The first section of the course is a broad introduction to the economics of education, with particular emphasis on the profitability of investments in education at both the individual and societal levels. We explore such questions as: Why invest in education? What is human capital theory? To what degree does education contribute to personal and national economic growth? What is the relationship between what schools teach and the skills required in the labor market?

The next section of the course revolves about the production of education – what makes schools more or less effective in attaining economically desirable outcomes. Central to this discussion is consideration of the allocation of educational resources, and how such societal goals as efficiency, equity, liberty and adequacy are viewed from an economic perspective.

The coursework then turns to specific policy issues that economists have examined: first, economist’s arguments for applying market forces to education, particularly school choice and privatization; second, the issue of teacher supply and demand. Third, the implications of inequality for education policy.

Student Outcomes

The following are basic student outcomes for the three-course sequence in Foundations of Education Leadership:

1. Students will apply various social sciences to issues in education;
2. Students will be knowledgeable about the myriad issues that impact education leadership;
3. Students will apply multiple analytical perspectives to education leadership;
4. Students will be prepared to function as education leaders in a rapidly changing social, economic, and legal environment; and
5. Students will use research literature to address a specific research question related to education leadership.

Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards Addressed

Course Materials

Required Texts

The following are required readings:

Odden, Allan R., and Lawrence O. Picus (2004). School finance: A policy perspective (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.

Rothstein, Richard. (2004). Class and Schools. Washington, D.C. Economic Policy Institute.

Odden, Allan R. and Sarah Archibald. (2001). Reallocating Resources: How to Boost Student Achievement Without Asking for More. CA: Corwin.

Education Week. No Small Change. Jan. 6, 2005, 24, 17.

Articles on e-reserve in the GMU library

Recommended Text

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Outside-of-Class Resources

All students are expected to have access to a personal computer and the ability to use basic word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail and Web browser programs. Students must use the GMU e-mail accounts for electronic correspondence in this class, and BlackBoard.

Nature of Course Delivery

Each class will include will include a variety of activities and exercises. Broadly speaking, your primarily responsibilities are 1) to read the economic literature on a course topic; 2) to share your questions, reflect on your experiences, and engage in productive discussion to make the literature relevant to the world of practice that we experience and understand; and 3) to write, share your written work, and provide feedback to others in a respectful fashion.

Student work will reflect what is expected from scholars. As such, students are expected to

§  Write papers that are well researched, proofed, submitted in a timely fashion, and that conform to APA guidelines;

§  Participate actively in class discussions in a manner that challenges the best thinking of the class;

§  Provide constructive feedback to others both on their ideas and on their written work, striving to learn from each other and to test each other’s ideas.

§  Students will enhance course content through sharing their research in a specific topic area by presenting to their peers and instructor(s).

Facilitator roles

As advanced doctoral students, each member of the class will be expected to take the lead in facilitating learning activities for one class during the semester. Specifically, you will conduct a brief review of literature on an applied topic related to the course topic we are studying during the week you serve as facilitator (e.g., equity). You will be responsible for:

§  Reviewing the research literature on the course topic, and preparing and distributing to the class a “short essay” on the topic with appropriate references sufficiently ahead of time for the class to read it.

§  Designing appropriate class activities that may include lecture/presentation of material on the topic; discussion or debate relating to the topic; an exercise (e.g. a case analysis, a role play); and

§  Connecting the discussion to the week’s economics of education topic.

Grading

Letter grades will be assigned according to the weights and grading scale listed below.

Below are the basic weights of the various kinds of work required for the class, but students should always bear in mind that grading is primarily the instructor’s judgment about performance on a particular assignment. The intent is to indicate student success in completing the assignment, not the level of effort put into it.

Class Participation 20 percent

Short essay and presentation 30 percent

Economics of Education Application 30 percent

Economic Article Review 20 percent

The writing assignments build on the writing completed in the first course in this sequence and is described in detail on assignment sheets and in individual rubrics found at the end of the syllabus. Class participation has the following components:

Ø  Preparation for class, including completing reading assignments on time and thinking about topics to be handled or discussed.

Ø  Listening actively and attentively to class members and to instructors.

Ø  Making oral contributions in small and large groups in every class session—offering original ideas as well as responding to what others have said.

Ø  Making thoughtful contributions to Blackboard discussions.

Ø  Participating as both a presenter and a discussant of literature reviews in a small group setting.

Grading Scale

A = 95 – 100 percent

A- = 90 – 94 percent

B+ = 85 – 89 percent

B = 80 – 84 percent

C = 75 – 79 percent

F = 74 percent or below

CEHD/GSE Expectations for All Students

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and the Graduate School of Education (GSE) expect that all students abide by the following:

Students are expected to exhibit professional behavior and dispositions. See http://cehd.gmu.edu for a listing of these dispositions.

Students must follow the guidelines of the University Honor Code. See http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/#TOC_H12 for the full honor code.

Students must agree to abide by the university policy for Responsible Use of Computing. See http://mail.gmu.edu and click on Responsible Use of Computing at the bottom of the screen.

Students with disabilities who seek accommodations in this course must be registered with the GMU Disability Resource Center (DRC) and inform me, in writing, at the beginning of the semester. See www.gmu.edu/student/drc or call 703.993.2474 to access the DRC.

Students must be aware of the consequences for plagiarism. Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional use of others’ ideas, words, data, figures, pictures, sequence of ideas, or arrangement of materials without clearly acknowledging the source (based on the Mason Honor code at http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/plagiarism.htm ). I intend to use the plagiarism-detection service Turnitin.

Proposed Course Topics

1. 1/24/07 Introductions to each other; Introduction to the economics of education. Choosing course topic for short essay and presentation.

2. 1/31/07 Investment in Education — Human Capital Theory

3. 2/07/07 Costs and Benefits of Education

Revisiting literature reviews for their application to Economics of education—process check

4. 2/14/07 Education and Economic Growth

5. 2/21/07 Education and Labor

Economic article review due

6. 2/28/07 Educational Production Theory

7. 3/07/07 Efficiency in Education

3/14/07 spring recess — no class

8. 3/21/07 American Education Finance Assn. — Baltimore, MD

[Obtain paper relevant to your research topic.]

9. 3/28/07 Equity in Education

10. 4/04/07 Adequacy in Education

11. 4/11/07 American Education Research Assn. — Chicago, Ill. — no class (make-up during finals 5/09/07).

12. 4/18/07 School Choice and School Privatization

Economics of education application paper due

13. 4/25/07 Supply and Demand of Public School Teachers

14. 5/02/07 Inequality in America and Education Policy

15. 5/09/07 Discuss what you have learned about economics of education,

and how you will apply this knowledge in your professional life.

Writing Assignments and Assessment Rubrics

ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION APPLICATION

30 points

This writing assignment has the following goals:

1. To give students the opportunity to apply a specific analytical perspective to a research area of interest to them.
2. To help students think about conceptual frameworks for addressing research questions.

This paper requires students to analyze their chosen research topic from the perspective of the economics of education to enhance the reader’s understanding of the topic’s issues. It helps to build students’ understanding of their topics in terms of economic implications. Students are expected to:

·  Use their texts and additional sources to learn about important economic pressures that have an impact on the topic of their research questions

·  Write a thesis that names the two or three most important economic concepts related to their topic

·  Write the body of the paper to demonstrate the validity of the thesis

·  Conclude by re-stating the thesis and discussing strengths and weaknesses in the economic concepts and implications for further study

The paper should be written persuasively and should not exceed 10 pages (excluding citations, Tables, Figures, etc.). Citations must be consistent with APA style and a full list of references must be included at the end of the paper.

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ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION APPLICATION ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

Supporting Arguments (10 points)

Conclusion (10 points)