Students will examine the school system in South India. The system consists of four major types: Federal, State, Corporation and a wide-range of private schools. Sampling experiences in all of the four categories of schools will be arranged. Students will take a train ride to visit a school in a small town and as well as a village. The village visit will coincide with the three-day Pongal festival, the Indian Thanksgiving in villages.
PLU students will be expected to examine the textbooks (all of the textbooks are in English, except in corporation schools) and make a comparison with the textbooks for equivalent grades in the USA. They will be opportunities to interact with the teachers, administrators and students and also observe the different teaching resources and methods used in schools. Interested students will have the opportunity to teach in short one-hour lessons in US history or English in the schools.
Course Objectives:
- Examine social class and structure in India's educational practices.
- Analyze the role of English language and religion in education in India.
Course Credit:
EDUC 385: Comparative Education in India. C (GUR/GenEd), department credit. Open to non-Education majors as elective credit. Sociology, Anthropology and Mathematics students will be able to do projects related to their field.