The Political Economy of the School
SUP 448
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Identifies political and economic influences on education policy, assesses relevant policy research, and discusses the practical challenges faced by today’s education innovators. Topics include teacher quality, collective bargaining, class size, school finance, accountability, early childhood, charter schools, and vouchers. Tuesday sessions focus on research approaches and findings; Thursday sessions discuss challenges faced by practitioners, who will be on campus to impart their experiences. The following practitioners will participate as Academic Visitors: Clint Bolick, Justice, Arizona Supreme Court; Derrell Bradford, President, 50CAN; Alberto M. Carvalho, Los Angeles Unified School District; Robin Lake, Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education; Joseph Olchefske, Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Education; Former Superintendent, Seattle Public Schools; George Parker, Senior Advisor, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools; Former President, Washington, D.C. Teacher’s Union; James Peyser, former Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Michelle Rhee, CEO, 7 Ventures; Former Chancellor, Washington, D.C. Public Schools; Lisa Snell, Senior Fellow, Stand Together Trust; Rocco Testani, Partner, Eversheds-Sutherland, Atlanta, Georgia; John White, Watershed Advisors; Former State Superintendent, Louisiana
This course is cross-listed as Government 2490, (FAS) The Political Economy of the School and SUP 448 (HKS).
Course Notes
Also offered by the Government Department as Gov 2490. Permission of instructor required for all undergraduates.
Class Notes
This course has an in-person final exam during the December 9-18 exam period. Students are responsible for ensuring that they do not register for classes with exams scheduled at the same time. Please refer to the posted final exam schedule.
Recommended Prep
Note: Background in statistics expected.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
