Into the Field With Foundations: Social Foundations of Education and University/Public School Partnerships

Abstract

Historically, the knowledge, critical skills, and dispositions to be learned in educational foundations courses are explored within the confines of university classrooms, disconnected from the messy and complex realities in local public schools. Because the vast majority of university students in education courses are white and middle to upper-middle class, it is often difficult for them to see beyond their own experiences in school and understand the experiences of students who are members of marginalized or disenfranchized groups. This was the impetus for developing a model of place-based learning for university students—a model to help them develop stronger and more meaningful connections between theory and practice, a stronger sense of familiarity with students and teachers in the local community, and to give them hands-on experience building the trusting relationships with young people that are essential for deep learning. The partnership study described in this paper was intended to help students more deeply understand and apply concepts and theories being taught in a social foundations of education course, thereby shedding light on systemic inequalities that often exist within public schools.