ERIC Number: EJ854815
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jun
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0003-1232
EISSN: N/A
Critical Experiential Pedagogy: Sociology and the Crisis in Higher Education
Kapitulik, Brian P.; Kelly, Hilton; Clawson, Dan
American Sociologist, v38 n2 p135-158 Jun 2007
Higher education is in crisis, especially in the public sector. Over the past few years, tuition at state universities across the country has increased dramatically, their budgets have been slashed and federal funding for need-based financial aid has been reduced. The results are increased class sizes, fewer course offerings, more adjunct faculty and fewer working-class students at public colleges and universities. In Massachusetts, where we teach, these trends are particularly pronounced. In this paper, we describe "Crisis in Higher Education," a "critical" experiential course we offered to raise student awareness about the crisis and to encourage them to work for change on our campus. This course is an example of critical experiential education because it integrates classroom learning with political activism. This article describes the context and rationale for teaching the course, reports on students' responses to its form and content, and discusses what we learned from this experience.
Descriptors: Higher Education, State Universities, Public Colleges, Educational Finance, Experiential Learning, Public Sector, Adjunct Faculty, Sociology, Budgets, Tuition, Perception, Class Size
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A