Educational Foundations and Research

EFR 501. Psychological Foundations of Education. 3 Credits.

A study of the learning process with secondary emphasis on how the learning process is affected by individual differences, growth and development, and personality. A background in undergraduate Educational Psychology is assumed. Both theories of learning and theories of instruction are considered. SS.

EFR 518. Multivariate Analysis. 3 Credits.

Multiple regression in generalized problem solving; discriminant analysis, factor analysis, multivariate analysis, canonical analysis, and multivariate analysis of covariance. Students are encouraged to analyze their own data including student-generated computer applications.

EFR 506. Multicultural Education. 3 Credits.

A review of the conceptual, historical and theoretical aspects of multicultural education. A major goal will be to provide educators with processes for incorporating multicultural education into educational environments; to meet the needs of culturally diverse students and to increase the cultural awareness and sensitivity of all students. North Dakota/Native American issues are primary elements of this course. On demand.

EFR 520. Designing the Qualitative Study: Advanced Methodologies. 3 Credits.

In this course, students will learn about and engage with advanced qualitative research methodologies that enable a nuanced and deep contextual understanding of social phenomena. Students will gain foundational knowledge in phenomenology, grounded theory, narrative, and ethnographic designs. Students learn how to blend components of these designs to ensure inquiries are relevant, with the intent of disseminating knowledge to the people who can use it. Knowledge about ethical research practices, including IRB requirements will also be addressed. S.

EFR 505. Educational Equity and Social Change in Schooling. 3 Credits.

Students will study how education, and specifically schooling, has shifted with changing social and cultural conditions; and in response how schooling has been used as a means to assert social control over students and communities. Students will learn how schools are a place where inequitable social structures are both reproduced and can also be reformed. Students' final product demonstrates an application of these understandings related to a specific educational organization in the creation of a collaborative, action-oriented, product that reflects the goals of social change. On demand.

EFR 508. Advanced Ethnographic Methodology: Inquiry into Culture. 3 Credits.

This course introduces the central concepts and methods employed by cultural anthropologists in the study of educational processes. Students will explore Ethnography as a unique form of field work and develop awareness and competency in viewing education Ethnographically. Education in this context is understood as more than just formalized and institutional systems of schooling. Students will survey the historical and comparative perspectives which help distinguish between "education" and "schooling" as a form of cultural transmission, while examining issues of ethnicity, social reproduction and disjuncture, the importance of place, globalization and perceptions of modernity all within the context of education. On demand.