Bachelor [Education - Schools, Society, and Culture] From Colby College

A focus on social justice means that students in the Education Program explore the impact of cultural assumptions, societal norms, and institutional policies and practices on individuals and groups and examine the operation of power as it relates to the construction of knowledge and the preservation of privilege. 

In so doing, students are encouraged to analyze critically the intended and unintended oppressions resulting from specific educational and institutional practices by (1) considering the values and politics that pervade educational institutions, as well as the more pragmatic issues of teaching and organizing schools; (2) asking critical questions about how taken-for-granted assumptions and conventions about theory and practice came to be, and who in society benefits from such assumptions; (3) attending to differences in gender, race, social class, sexual orientation, and ability that result in political, social, economic, and educational marginalization and inequality, particularly for children and youth; and (4) examining the connections among different forms of privilege, particularly as these relate to and influence the development of children and youth. 

Students also are encouraged to move beyond critique to create and implement educational and institutional practices that promote greater social justice and equity in schools and society.

concentrators focus on the relationship between educational practices and a variety of institutional structures and systems, as well as cultural norms, values, and ideologies that shape the way schools and other educational