Schooling and Scarcity|
|Certificates: The Study of Education|
Choice amidst scarcity is central to the field of economics. When economists study schooling, both individual choice and societal choice are at issue. The purposes of this course are twofold: it investigates pressing problems in education policy, and it introduces concepts that are crucial to a wide range of applications in economic analysis. Topics include the following: education of the economically disadvantaged, school choice and vouchers for education, the relative returns to a college education, public versus private schools, educational expenditures and outcomes, equal opportunity and compensatory education, international differences in the funding of education, and differences in the return to schooling by ethnicity, gender, and race.
||Gen Ed Area Dept:
|Course Format: Lecture / Discussion||Grading Mode: Graded|
||Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None
||Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available
|Special Attributes: FYI|
|Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Readings will be drawn from a variety of sources including book excerpts, journal articles, press clippings, government documents, "think-tank" reports, magazine articles, and documents from specialized web sites.
In addition, the following texts are required:
King, School Finance
Witte, The Market Approach to Education
Karoly, Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise
Kozol, Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America
Ravitch, Death and Life of the Great American School System
|Examination and Assignments: |
Students will be graded on class participation, 2 short papers (3-5 pages each), two quizzes, a final research paper, and a presentation to the class. There will be no final exam.
|Additional Requirements and/or Comments: |
Regular attendance and class participation. No unexcused absences.
|Instructor(s): Rayack,Wendy Times: ..T.R.. 10:30AM-11:50AM; Location: ALLB304; |
|Permission of Instructor Required|
Enrollment capacity: 19
|Permission of instructor will be granted during the drop/add period. Students must submit either a ranked or unranked drop/add request for this course.|
|Drop/Add Enrollment Requests|
|Total Submitted Requests: 3||1st Ranked: 1||2nd Ranked: 0||3rd Ranked: 1||4th Ranked: 0||Unranked: 1|