Issues and Problematics in Contemporay Education

Code:

PDCE03

Acronym:

QPEC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Educational Sciences

Instance: 2022/2023 - A

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Education Sciences
Course/CS Responsible:	Doctoral Program in Educational Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
PDCE	26	Official Curricular Structure 2007	1	-	20	120	540

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students
Obs.: Português e Inglês

Objectives

Research in education assumes specificities rising from the field itself and from the dialogue with contemporary theoretical frameworks in which society, the actors’ agency and actors themselves are conceptualized. This course intends to address a set of theories and theoretical/conceptual frameworks basing research in education and social sciences, and to map out the latest developments of the problematiques and issues of education. Therefore, it convenes these perspectives impacting on the conceptualisation and development of education, in the broadest sense, and, more specifically, on education systems, educational institutions and educational categories (teacher / trainers; pupil/ student/trainees; lecture / www, etc). Education is assuming a central role in the political and economic discourses anchored on the so-called ‘knowledge society’, thus actively reconfiguring educational concepts. The fixation of their meanings is a field of discursive and ideological struggle that needs to be critically examined and understood in the light of the 'renegotiation' of the modern social contract. It is under this sociological and epistemological perspective that this course looks at education policies, the issues of citizenship and participation, the personal and professional identities, the nature of knowledge and its translation into curricula and youth and adult education are dealt with.
This proposal also relates to the contemporary transformations with a strong impact on the lives of societies and, in particular, on educational spheres and contexts, such as the digitization processes that will cross-cut discussions and analyses.
The course is organised in modules and aims to promote and deepen the knowledge of the most influential perspectives - with an emphasis on the most contemporary debates - which established education as a field of research. The course aims to contribute to the development of competences enabling students to locate their own research in the contemporary epistemological landscape of the social and education sciences. 
In line with these modules, seminars are organized on authors who are central to the configuration of the field of social sciences and education. In this course, modules are also offered which students can choose according to their research interests. The modules are closely articulated with the strategic research areas of the Center for Educational Research and Intervention and with the research carried out by the teachers involved.

Objectives

- To address a set of theories and theoretical/conceptual frameworks basing research in education and social sciences,
- To map out the latest developments of the problems and issues of education.
- To deep the knowledge of the most influential perspectives - with an emphasis on the most contemporary debates - which established education as a field of research
- To contribute to the development of competences enabling students to locate their own research in the contemporary epistemological landscape of the social and education sciences. 

Learning outcomes and competences

• Deepen the understanding of the main traditions in Educational and the Social Sciences.


• Critical knowledge about core concepts and their meanings, considering the different research and knowledge traditions and perspectives on society and education.


• Knowledge about the complexity and density of the conceptual networks convened to address social and educational problems.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

n.a.

Program

A . Social theories and theories of education 
B. Education and social change
C. Education and the formation of identities in an era of transition.
D. Knowledge (s), policies and curricular practices and management
E. Youth and adults education and training
F. Education, citizenship and participation

Mandatory literature

Elliot, Anthony; Contemporary Social Theory: An introduction , Routledge, 2014
Paulston, Roland G. ; Mapeando a Educação Comparada depois da Pós-Modernidade, , Educação, Sociedade e Culturas, 16, 203-239., 2001
Young, Michael F. D. ; Conhecimento e currículo – do socioconstrutivismo ao realismo social na Sociologia da Educação,, Porto Editora, 2010
Bauman, Zigmunt; The Individualised Society, Blackwell Publishers, 2001
Giddens, Anthony; Dualidade da estrutura. Agência e estrutura. Oeiras: , Celta Editora, 2000
Bernstein, Basil; Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity – theory, research, critique, Routledge, 2000
Dale, Roger ; Globalization and the Rescaling of Educational governance: a case of sociological ectopia, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007
Baert, Patrick & Silva, Filipe Carreira da ; Teoria Social Contemporânea, Mundos Sociais, 2014

Teaching methods and learning activities

- Presentations
- Text analysis
- Collective debates

keywords

Social sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Defesa pública de dissertação, de relatório de projeto ou estágio, ou de tese	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	50,00
Elaboração de projeto	50,00
Total:	100,00

Eligibility for exams

In line with the the norms of the Rules for the Evaluation of the Students of the University of Porto.

Calculation formula of final grade

The evaluation  of the curricular unit is developed in line with the evaluation framework of the Doctoral Programme in Education Sciences.

Examinations or Special Assignments

For the first module, Social Theories and Theories of education, the  students are asked to write an essay on the basis of a selected work, by an  author whose research and scholarship had (and has) influenced the field of social and education research

Internship work/project

n.a.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

n.a.

Classification improvement

n.a.