27 courses with the subject EDU, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
Instructors Gay Traces historical development and underlying philosophies of educational institutions and practices in the United States; considers current roles and functions of the school in relation to other social institutions. Satisfies the Historical Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall and Spring)
Instructor Gay A study of classic and contemporary documents in Philosophy of Education. Includes readings, discussions, and analyses of approximately twenty different philosophers from the fifth century BCE to the twenty-first century. Satisfies Philosophical and Religious Perspectives requirement.
Instructor Staff This course is designed to develop students as effective consumers of educational research and introduce them to the theory and practice of social science research in education. Students will gain a broad understanding of educational inquiry, thinking about the scientific method with applications for social science research, and understanding the structures and types of research projects. Students will learn how to conduct experiments, design surveys, undertake field research, and examine existing quantitative data.
Instructor Marsicano This course introduces students to the comparative study of educational institutions and cultures in India, Chile, the UAE, China, Northern Ireland, and the United States. We will examine a number of issues, including but not limited to: The role of NGOS and international organizations, educational reform efforts, colonialism and empire, educational access, attainment, and success around the world. Students will write a research paper, in addition to reviews and class assignments. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Stutts An overview of the psychological disorders of childhood, including their description, classification, etiology, assessment and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the theoretical and empirical bases of these disorders, focusing on relevant research methods and findings as well as case history material. Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Educational Studies minor credit. Public Health minor credit. Psychology Major credit (Clinical column) Prerequisites & Notes PSY 101
Instructor Flaherty (Cross-listed as Psychology 241.) Research and theory on the cognitive, socio-emotional and physical changes in development from prenatal through middle childhood. Emphasis on how culture shapes child development and applications to educational settings. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Psychology 101.
Instructor Marsicano COVID-19 was not the first pandemic. It will not be the last. Colleges and schools - typically slow-moving, conservative institutions - had to rapidly respond to the crisis. What were the effects of these transitions on education and public health? This seminar course draws on this question not just for the COVID-19 pandemic, but historical public health crises as well. The course will examine how the medieval universities (Cambridge, Oxford, Coimbra, Bologna, etc) responded to outbreaks of the plague. Students will learn how schools in the 1920s-1940s served as a springboard for mass vaccination against Polio and examine the ways in which K-12 schools respond to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. Students will write a case study paper using historiographical and social-science methods as the final product for the course. Satisfies Educational Studies Interdisciplinary major and minor requirement.
Instructor Gay Democracy and Education examines philosophical and theoretical positions which contend that education is a public good and is essential to the cultivation of a democratic civil society. Through critical analysis and scrutiny, students investigate the notion that public schooling in the United States should be based on principles of equitable access and that every individual has a right to educational opportunities which are just, fair, and democratic. Satisfies the Philosophical and Religious Perspectives requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Murray This course is designed to introduce students to major issues in U.S. K-12 education policy including those related to school accountability and other market-based reforms, school finance, school desegregation, teacher labor markets, and curriculum and instruction. Students will build an understanding of the disciplinary frameworks of education policy analysis and learn the methodological tools, approaches, and concepts researchers use to evaluate policy and shape policy debates. Students will also engage with the politics of education policy through an examination of key actors and institutions that influence adoption and implementation at the local, state, and federal levels. This course will offer a variety of opportunities for students to analyze current policy issues through original briefs, research, and translation of their findings to a broader audience. Satisfies Political Science major requirement. Satisfies Educational Studies minor requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor B. Murray Educational data and quantitative data analyses have come to play a powerful role in the way we govern our schools. In this course, students will learn to be critical consumers and skilled producers of such analyses. In the applied portion of this class, students will learn data management, analysis, and visualization strategies by working with real data gathered in educational settings to answer research questions of policy and practical interest. Satisfies a requirement in the Educational Studies minor. Satisfies a requirement in the Digital Studies interdisciplinary minor. Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies a Mathematical and Quantitative Thought requirement.
Instructor Gay This course provides an overview of academic theory essential to understanding competitive sports coaching in secondary schools and colleges. The student will evaluate, apply, and synthesize current theoretical perspectives and research in coaching sports. Topics include coaching philosophy, communication, pedagogy, skill development, and team management. Satisfies a minor requirement in Educational Studies.
Instructor Marsicovetere The United States is constantly stalled in a never-ending debate over the role of governments in schools, colleges, and universities. This course will explore that debate by examining the political dimensions of the major educational issues of our time including, but not limited to, the school choice movement, gun violence in schools, sexual assault on university campuses, school desegregation, and policies related to college affordability. The course will draw on methodologies from political science and economics and will focus on power dynamics and political action in education and society. In addition to traditional writing assignments and assessments, students will produce a white paper for a state or local legislator, non-profit organization, or other policy-related client on an educational policy issue of interest. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies an elective in the Political Science major. Counts as an American politics course.
Spring 2026 Instructor McElrath This course explores how the pursuit of a college degree functions both as a mechanism for reproducing inequality and as a pathway for social mobility in the United States. Students will engage with foundational and contemporary theories of social stratification and education to analyze how educational systems reproduce or mitigate inequality. This course is organized around three key junctures in the path towards college degree attainment: the transition from high school to college, experiences within higher education, and movement from college to the labor market. We will explore topics like access to highly selective institutions, college experiences of first-generation students, and how labor market ‘success’ varies by major and the institution that the degree is from. Students will design a research-informed intervention aimed at reducing an identified form of inequality within higher education.
Instructor Marsicano This seminar course is designed to give students an insight into the theory and practice of postsecondary education. Students who take this course will be exposed to various topics in higher education including, but not limited to the development of the American university, social theory and the purposes of higher education, higher education in the modern era, the role of government in postsecondary education, privatization and for-profit education, religion, gender, race, Greek life, college athletics and free speech. By the end of the course, students should have both a broad understanding of the American higher education landscape and a deep understanding of a major issue in the field. Satisfies a requirement in the Social and Cultural Studies category of the Educational Studies minor. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Bailey (Cross-listed as SOC 330.) An introduction to the sociological study of education in the United States, including an examination of the school as an organization within a larger environment. Explores the link between schools and social stratification by analyzing the mutually generative functions of schools and considers how processes within schools can lead to different outcomes for stakeholders. Provides major credit in Sociology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)
Instructor Akers This course examines early childhood education and care services and policies in the United States, as well as related challenges and potential solutions. Specifically, the course focuses on issues related to service quality, access, and equity; the need for more effective approaches to the workforce, funding, and governance; and the importance of parental voice. Satisfies Educational Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Fernández This course provides an introduction to second language acquisition theories and research, exploring the limits and possibilities of instructed and natural contexts. Topics include the nature of language, the role of the native language, second language acquisition universals, theoretical and pedagogical approaches, nonlanguage influences, instructed second language learning, and linguistic data analysis. Students will engage in critical discussions of the readings and observations of foreign/second language classes, and either produce a research-based instructional intervention or linguistic fieldwork analysis. Satisfies a Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Students must have fulfilled Davidson’s foreign language requirement or its equivalent before enrolling in the course.
Instructor Fernández In this community-based learning course, students will devote time inside of class and in the local community to scholarly research and evidence-based practices for supporting the literacy development of immigrant school-aged children. Students will learn about the experiences of emergent bilinguals in US public education, research on literacy in second-language learners, and grassroots reading campaigns to raise the academic achievement of underserved students. During fall 2021, students enrolled in the course will be trained as highly qualified literacy tutors through a special partnership between Educational Studies and the Augustine Literacy Project. Satisfies a minor requirement in Educational Studies Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement Satisfies the Cultural diversity requirement Prerequisites & Notes Suitable for Davidson students interested in elementary education, literacy, immigrant education, community engagement, and education policy.
Instructor Fernandez, Marsicano Students will learn how to evaluate and make informed decisions about educational language policy and practices. We will begin the course with a macro focus on historical and current educational language policies and frameworks in the United States. Students will compare these to those elsewhere by investigating and leading a class discussion on the language situation in and policies of a country or region of their choice. During the second part of the course, we delve into bilingual education planning, including language curricula and instruction, teacher preparation, administrative support, and material resources needed to design successful programs. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Gay War, Peace, and Education confronts the complex relationship most Americans have with war by detecting components of the hidden curriculum in schools that serve to endorse war. The course will focus on five such components: masculinity and hero worship, patriotism, hatred, religion’s frequent support of war, and war as an arena for supplying existential meaning. Satisfies the Philosophical & Religious Perspectives requirement
Instructor C. Marsicano This course will survey selected social innovations aimed at improving social and educational outcomes for youth, and introduce students to theoretical and empirical approaches to assessing the effectiveness of innovations. Following the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, a social innovation is defined as “a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than present solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals.” Through the course, students will understand the evaluative needs of different stages of innovation, learn to connect appropriate research designs, and become critical consumers of research that examines social and educational innovation. Course participants will also have the opportunity to interact with local and national social entrepreneurs through a series of in-person and remote guest lectures. In addition, students will engage in intensive case study of select social innovations, and design an evaluation plan for a new or existing innovation. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies a major requirement in the CIS major Educational Studies & Public Policy Studies. Satisfies a minor requirement in Educational Studies. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Murray The family that you’re born into profoundly shapes your life chances. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from sociology, political science, and psychology we will learn how family background and other non-school factors shape unequal educational experiences and outcomes in K-12 and beyond. We will trace the historical development of programs, policies, and reform efforts that seek to narrow educational inequality by centering families and communities. We will also evaluate the successes and failures of those initiatives while re-imagining best practices for family and community engagement. Satisfies Educational Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Staff Independent Study in Education
Instructor Bailey Areas of study and experience vary according to the faculty member’s educational objectives and preferences. Requires approximately eight hours per week in a formal or nonformal school setting, weekly meetings with faculty member and peers, and production of a digital portfolio that synthesizes the completed minor courses. Prerequisites & Notes Requires approval of the instructor.
Instructor S. Campbell The academic component of a five-week summer program, beginning in late May and ending in late June, located in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Focused on international education and the theme of Education in Divided Societies, the course carries one credit, EDU 401, replacing or in addition to EDU 400, which is currently offered yearly and offers students (majors, minors) domestic experiential learning in Education. Satisfies Educational Studies major and minor requirement.
Instructor Gay In the senior seminar students will synthesize their learning and knowledge of the four pillars of educational studies as presented in the educational studies major: the historical and philosophical foundations of educational practice, learning and development, social and cultural aspects of education, and policy studies in education. Such synthesis will focus on a particular theme or topic that will be determined by the instructor. Possible topics might include local and federal policy, culturally relevant pedagogy, critical theory, freedom of choice, parental rights, etc. Students will display their thinking and research skills in a project or thesis that will be either terminal or serve as a scaffold for those who plan to present their work in an honors thesis or project: EDU 496.
Instructor Gay An intensive, in-depth analysis of an interdisciplinary project topic. Satisfies Educational Studies major and minor requirement
Source: Davidson College's catalog, linked per course · table learning_unit · CourseShelf publish 61
