The seminar is particularly appropriate for doctoral students preparing for comprehensive exams and dissertations. This doctoral level seminar is designed to examine a range of sociocultural theoretical perspectives on the study of language. Goals will be to develop familiarity with several perspectives, to consider their similarities and differences and their usefulness in researching language in educational settings, and to practice applying one or more in the language data. Students conduct a full ethnography as part of the course requirements. They are supported in identifying research questions, planning and implementing data collection and analysis, constructing their own ethical position, writing research proposals and formal reports, and presenting their studies at conferences.
Students read texts on cultural theory, ethnographic methodology, and ethnographic reports.
Permission of Instructor Required. This seminar is an advanced course designed to explore the interplay between law and the development of educational policy in schools and colleges. Selected topics to be examined include affirmative action, privatization in education, school finance, hate speech codes, the Massachusetts Education Reform Act, special education and religion and education. Students will write papers analyzing the interaction between law and educational policy. This seminar provides a mixture of group planning, support and guided individual study for those students in international education who are ready to work on a specific research topic for their M. Ed.