Schools and Social Inequality

Education has long been conceived of as the engine of social mobility, yet many factors dog modern efforts to close persistent opportunity and achievement gaps between low-income and minority youth and their affluent and white peers. This community-engaged course has a dual focus on content and research methods. Working with partner schools in Providence, students will investigate the macro, meso, and micro-level processes that enable the replication or remediation of social inequality, while simultaneously developing data collection techniques and analytic capacities. Complimentary class reading, reflection, and assignments will give context to and refine students’ learning in the field.