Exploring Education ― An Introduction to the Foundations of Education

Exploring Education offers an alternative to traditional foundations texts by combining a point-of-view analysis with primary source readings. Pre- and in-service teachers will find a solid introduction to the foundations disciplines -- history, philosophy, politics, and sociology of education -- and their application to educational issues, including school organization and teaching, curriculum and pedagogic practices, education and inequality, and school reform and improvement. Revisions to this 5^th edition includes the addition of discussion and new readings on the impact of the Common Core, Common Core, assessment, and more coverage of diversity and disability. At a time when foundations of education are marginalized in many teacher education programs and teacher education reform pushes scripted approaches to curriculum and instruction, Exploring Education helps teachers to think critically about the "what" and "why" behind the most pressing issues in contemporary education.

Features include:

• Incorporates full-length primary source readings, giving students illustrations of theoretical concepts and providing opportunities for critical and reflective thinking.

• New questions for further discussion contextualize chapter content and readings, and push students to think critically about key issues.

• Balances a realistic analysis of both problems and solutions to provide prospective teachers with a view of the opportunities and possibilities of school reform.

?

Alan R. Sadovnik is Board of Governors Distinguised Service Professor of Education, Sociology, and Public Administration and Affairs at Rutgers University, USA.

Peter W. Cookson, Jr. is a Principal Researcher and Director of The Equity Project at the American Institutes for Research, USA and teaches in the Sociology Department at Georgetown University, USA.

Susan F. Semel is Professor of Education at the City College of New York, USA and Professor of Urban Education at the City University of New York Graduate Center, USA.

Ryan W. Coughlan is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Guttman Community College, CUNY, USA.