Introduction

You are a part of a global effort to increase access to education and empower students through “open pedagogy.”  Open pedagogy is a “free access” educational practice that places you – the student – at the center of your own learning process in a more engaging, collaborative learning environment.  The ultimate purpose of this effort is to achieve greater social justice in our community in which the work can be freely shared with the broader community.  This is a renewable assignment that is designed to enable you to become an agent of change in your community through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  For this work, you will integrate the disciplines of Education and Spanish to achieve SDG #4: Quality Education.   

Learning Objectives

Providing quality education and closing the achievement gap in education are high-priority goals both nationally and internationally. This project will allow you to identify and analyze the differences in school systems and conduct a comparative analysis within two school districts. You may choose local, state, national or international comparisons. The first part of the project will include a proposal component where you outline districts you wish you compare, areas you wish to evaluate and resources you will use to support your research and comparative analysis. The second part/assignment of the project includes a deep dive and investigation in specific domains you wish to research. The sources in your investigation should include visits, interviews and other forms of true “connections” within the communities you are researching. The last assignment in this project includes developing a permanent product that facilitates awareness to others about your findings in the comparative analysis.

Purpose/Rationale

The awareness component will address specific issues in quality education, achievement gaps and possible solutions to ensuring more inclusive and equitable educational practices for all.

Instructions

Assignments #1: Proposal on Equity and Quality Education

Students will develop a proposal on the key components of the comparative analysis they will complete. The proposal should include the following:

• Education systems they plan to compare (local, state, international) and a justification for your selection
• Three specific educational domains you wish to compare such as:

1. Access
2. Equity (how they compare to each other)
3. Resources (funding, human resources, environment)
4. Success rates (scores, graduation rates, etc.)
5. Safety (measured by reported violence in school and school community, bullying data, etc.)
6. Presentation mode and justification
7. Paper/Report
8. Video
9. Newsletter
10. Power Point Presentation or Prezi Presentation
11. Resources

What resources will you use to compare education systems? At least one must be an outreach resource such as a school visit or interview. If your research is in an out-of-area district, consider using technology to connect with community members and teachers. Be specific with your responses.

1. Journals
2. Visits
3. Interviews
4. Other

Assignment #2: Comparative Analysis in Equity and Quality Education

In the second assignment, you will be diving deeper into the data of the two districts you are comparing. Your resources should be varied and address the specific areas you are researching and analyzing. Identify the two locations you are comparing and provide an explanation for each of the following:

• Name of country (ies), state(s) and district(s) you are comparing
• Specific comparative data on the three domains of choice (from Assignment 1/Proposal):

1. Access
2. Equity (how they compare to each other)
3. Resources (funding, human resources, environment)
4. Success rates (scores, graduation rates, etc.)
5. Safety (measured by reported violence in school and school community, bullying data, etc.)
6. Elaborate on how the data compares, where you observe gaps and inequities- be specific
7. Identify and explain three sources used to conduct the comparative analysis
8. Select two areas where you observe gaps or inequities and propose one solution for each gap

Assignment #3: Awareness and Social Action in Equity and Quality Education

In your third assignment, you will be synthesizing your research and publicizing it to bring awareness to the issue of quality education and closing the achievement gap. The following are possible products you can develop:

• Post work in Open Pedagogy site
• Submit report/newsletter
• Post work in community center/outreach location
• Use social media to inform others of efforts and possible plan

The awareness component must include two gaps you identified and one proposed solution to the educational gap. In identifying these possible solutions, consider what others who are reading or viewing your product could also do to address the issues of inclusive and quality education for all.