About a dozen students were enrolled in the University of 91³Ō¹Ļās interdisciplinary minor āEducation, Schooling and Societyā (ESS) when it was established seven years ago. Today, the program is one of the largest minors in the College of Arts and Letters.
But more important than the programās rapid growth is its unique connection to local schools, according to ESS director Stuart Greene, associate professor of English and Arts and Letters associate dean for undergraduate studies.
āOur studentsā research is inextricably tied to problems that educators in the South Bend schools are facing,ā Greene said.
Designed to help them acquire diverse perspectives on important questions in education, ESS encourages students to view educational issues through the lenses of anthropology, English, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology and theology, thus enabling them to better understand the complexities of education and education reform.
āWe work with students on developing research methods and conducting interviews, focus groups, discourse analysis and ethnography,ā Greene said. āT³ó±šy do a capstone research project which allows them to see firsthand the effects of issues like poverty and segregation in schools.ā
Students have conducted research locally in Perley and Madison Elementary Schools; Brown Intermediate Center; Dickinson Intermediate Fine Arts Academy; Clay, Washington, Adams and Penn High Schools; and at the Robinson Community Learning Center, analyzing many issues, including single-sex classrooms, drop-out rates, mobility, parent involvement, testing and transitions to arts academies.
Many ESS students see the program as a way of acquiring foundational knowledge about education in preparation for applying to 91³Ō¹Ļās Alliance for Catholic Education program. ESS also offers resources for students interested in working for non-profits, conducting university research, policy making and pastoral duties.
āT³ó±š ESS minor allowed me to take a holistic and personal view of the role of education in society,ā said Mary Ronan, who recently completed her masterās degree in pastoral ministry at Boston College.
āMy senior research project was a case study focusing on one child at South Bendās Center for the Homeless,ā she said. āI wanted to take a deep, realistic and personal look at educational issues for children living in poverty. I discovered not only that the classroom experience plays a major role in providing a sense of stability for these children, but also that a variety of other experiences and individuals such as family, social workers and homeless center staff, become āeducatorsā in their day-to-day lives.ā
91³Ō¹Ļ professor of liberal studies F. Clark Power, who teaches in and helped Greene and former ESS co-director Julie Turner launch the program, says ESS introduces students to the psychological and sociological aspects of education.
āStudents take on the perennial issues that have intrigued the greatest intellectuals since Plato,ā he said. āHow do we acquire knowledge? What should we teach? What are the qualities of a good teacher? Can virtue be taught? ESS students get into local schools and conduct research on educational practices and school climate.ā
The win-win relationship helps schoolteachers and administrators develop a better understanding of their students and families and 91³Ō¹Ļ students become more committed to issues of civil rights and social justice.
āIt was a great gift to be invited into the childās life for the semester,ā Ronan said. āHer personal story and my findings had a tremendous impact on my desire to educate myself and others to create and be a part of a ājustā society. I have not forgotten her.ā
Next year, Ronan plans to initiate campus ministry programming at Rocky Mountain College and Montana State University in Billings, Mont.
āI am not a teacher in the traditional sense of the word,ā she said. āBut I do consider myself an educator through my desire to challenge and encourage students to grow into meaningful members of a society that promotes justice.ā