Fall 2023 - 61120 - PA 388K - Advanced Topics in Public Policy

Education Policy. In this class, we will read education research and conduct student-led debates on the effects of major education reforms of the past 100 years. Proceeding in historical stages, we will start with justice-driven efforts to desegregate schools and provide children with more equal school funding and resources. We will continue with market reforms designed to increase school choice and accountability. And we will finish with the growing role of technology and cognitive science in shaping how children are taught. You will read and summarize three to four research articles per week. And you will lead class debates at least twice during the course of the semester. Some of the research articles are technical and quantitative, so if you take Advanced Empirical Methods before or during Education Policy, you will be better able to understand the readings.