Educational Autobiography
You are required to produce an educational autobiography that will represent a critical reflection of your schooling experience.
-To do so, you need to associate aspects of your schooling experience with the social (family, peer group, community, society), political and historical context and to connect your understanding of this experience to sociological concepts and research that we have covered through class material.
In short, the basic requirement is to write a coherent essay relating your personal experience to the socio-political context associated with the schooling institution.
-You need to draw on specific course concepts, readings, and other sociological literature that addresses the issues.
-You will discuss. You will be evaluated on how well you have been able to relate social- structural factors and issues to your own experience.
In writing your paper:
- a) Reflect on your journey through education and select 2-3 experiences that share a common theme (are patterned in some way) or some experiences that were truly transformative. Use these as a way to organize your paper.
- b) Decide which theoretical perspectives or concepts fit your discussion of these experiences. Which theory/concepts explain your educational career best?
- c) Search through the class readings and other academic literature for ideas and concepts that relate to this theme/issue. You need to address issues of class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability or gender (whichever applicable depending on the focus of your paper). Use class readings and other sources to support your claims.
- d) Search for additional sources regarding the issues you address in your analysis (legislative decisions, major social policies, technological changes, academic debates, historical events, popular culture practices that shape school culture etc.)
- e) IF RELEVANT, locate your own history within the larger context of:
Local community, state, or national debates.
Educational provision or reform.
Broader historical changes.
- For example, starting school in 1990 means being in school at the time of the Bush administration’s debates over America 2000. Starting school in the mid-90’s during the Clinton years means being in school at a time of standards movement. Attending school in the early 1980’s and the Reagan years means a time of national criticism of public education and decreasing of federal funding.
- f) Be critical as you reflect on your past experience.
Reference or Works Cited
- You must use at least 3 resources (which I gave to you.)
- And 2-3 from outside academic