PHES 498 Outline

THE KING'S UNIVERSITY

COURSE NUMBER:

PHES 498

COURSE TITLE:

Special Topics in Politics, History and Economics:

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Michael DeMoor

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A course on a topic of special interest to members of the PHE program (or a guest presenter) and offered on a non-recurring basis.

Prerequisites: Six credits in any of the constituent disciplines in the PHE program at the 300 or 400 level.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Province of Alberta, Education Act, 2012: http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=e00p3.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779769346
Other readings and documents to be agreed upon by seminar participants.

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Seminar Participation	30%
Seminar Presentation	20%
Weekly Questions	10%
Critical Review	40%

	100%

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

To come to grips with a an important aspect of provincial policy and to see how the differing values, assumptions, and priorities of different governments affect policy-making and implementation.
To relate previous learning in PHE to a particular set of concerns (education, pluralism, public policy analysis)
To have a good time talking together about interesting things, as well as developing policy analysis and public presentation skills.

COURSE OUTLINE:

This open-ended seminar course will examine education policy in Alberta, beginning with the 2012 Education Act which the new NDP government in Alberta decided not to proclaim in Sept 2015 as scheduled, in order to examine it. We will begin with an overview of the act and then focus in on particular areas of policy identified by seminar participants as particularly interesting, important or problematic. The seminar will aim to put together a discussion document with the aim having a meeting with the education minister or some similar party near the end of term. If any public hearings are scheduled on the review of the act, we will also aim to participate in
those.

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.