Foundations of Education

The last three weeks of the course each explored the following question from a different perspective: What is the primary role and purpose of education?:

Week 20: Education for Disciplinary Initiation - The primary role and purpose of education is to instill in students a deep understanding of the major disciplinary traditions. (Focus on: subject knowledge.)

Week 21a: Education for Social Continuity - The primary role and purpose of education is to instill in students a deep commitment to a set of shared values rooted in societal traditions. (Focus on: cultural preservation.)

Week 21b: Education for Social Change - The primary role and purpose of education is to empower students to respond effectively to social inequities and global challenges (Focus on: cultural transformation.)

Week 22: Education for Inquiry Learning - The primary role and purpose of education is to empower students to make meaningful choices over their own learning, often in collaboration with their peers. (Focus on: individual development.)

As noted at the beginning of Week 20, each of the above weeks respectively corresponds to the course content for Weeks 8, 9, and 10:

Week 8: Education for Economic Development - The primary role and purpose of education is to ensure that Ontario is economically competitive with other provinces and countries by graduating a well-trained and educated workforce. (Focus on: society.)
Corresponds to: Week 20

Week 9: Education for Social Equity - The primary role and purpose of education is to ensure educational equity for traditionally under-serviced and marginalized groups, including women and girls, racialized students, and economically disadvantaged children and youth. (Focus on: social group.)
Corresponds to: Week 21b

Week 10: Education for Personal Development - The primary role and purpose of education is to ensure that each individual student has the opportunity to fulfill his or her unique potential by making personally meaningful choices related to one's learning. (Focus on: self.)
Corresponds to: Week 22

This week, the capstone assignment for the course is introduced which asks you to selectively draw on the content for Weeks 8, 9, 10, 20, 21, and/or 22 as you write a dialog between two teachers who are discussing their respective philosophies of education - I.e., what they each believe the primary role and purpose of education should be.