EDS 102 FMA1 Assign Guide 1

EDS 102 – Social Foundations of

Education
Faculty Marked Assignment 2 (FMA2)

Course objective to be assessed by this FMA

Apply historical and sociological perspectives to the analysis of contemporary issues in education.

Expected output
1. Write a term paper analysing a contemporary issue in education using historical and
sociological perspectives.
2. Provide a lesson plan/training guide for teacher training in the analysis of that educational issue
through the lens of educational sociology. The purpose of the lesson plan or training guide is for
you to share your method of analysis to teachers/educators. This is so that others can replicate
your method of analysis codified in an instructional material. In other words you will share how
to think about this issue with other educators.

Writing guide
1. Use the template provided in the FMA2 assignment bin in our MyPortal course site.
2. There should be an abstract that summarises the content of the paper. The abstract should identify the
issue you will analyse, the sociological theories you will use for analysis, the educational reforms that
had already been done to address those issues, a list of your major criticism of the reform program, a
list of your recommendation to resolve the issues to the educational reform, and the method or
framework for analysing that issue used in your proposed lesson plan/training guide for teacher
training.
3. The introduction should state the purpose of the paper. Generally it should straightforwardly say:
“The purpose of this paper is to analyse the socio-educational issue of XXX. Its structural and
procedural problems ….”.
You may select ONE issue from our list in the course guide. (DON’T discuss multiple issues as the
paper is too short to have a deep analysis of many issues. Just focus on one social issue in education.)
a) Education vs. schooling
b) Educational institutions
c) Curriculum and pedagogy
 EDS 102 FMA1 Assign Guide 2

d) Equity and equality in education

4. Discuss ONE sociological theory you will use to analyse the issue’s problem in the phenomenon’s
social structure and social processes. Be consistent when using a theory, if you use functionalism then
use functionalism throughout the paper and don’t shift to conflict theory midway.
5. Describe the issue in education. Describe the structural and procedural problems. Provide examples.
Take note of what level of society you are analysing – micro, meso, or macro.
6. Describe the past educational reforms that were done to try to resolve the issue.
Specify the goal of the reform specific to the issue.
State whether the reform was successful or not. State the reason why it was successful or not.
Describe barriers and difficulties faced by the reform advocates and implementors.
7. Suggest three actions to resolve problems with the past reform. Your proposal may be to sustain the
reform, or to modify it, or to replace it.
9. As part of the recommendation, propose a lesson plan or teaching guide for studying the social issue
in education for teacher training. Imagine if you have to give a workshop to teachers for them to
discuss the issue, how should they go about it?
Note that in the body of the paper, just briefly described your lesson plan or teaching guide, the method
of instruction/facilitation, activities, and assessment strategies.
The actual lesson plan/training guide should be placed in the Appendix.
If you need ideas for strategies in issue-based teaching you may refer to the chapter “Reflective
Teaching Strategies” pages 42 – 98 from the following:
Evans, R.W., & Saxe, D.W. (eds.). (1996). Handbook on teaching social issues. Washington, D.C.:
National Council for the Social Studies.
8. Use APA citation and reference list format. Make sure you have an in-text parethetical citation in the
body of the paper for each entry in the reference list.

Rubric for assessment

Items 0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points
Issue no issue was the issue described an issue is an issue is
described is unclear described but it is described that is
or the issue is not a framed as being resolvable using
social issue in unsolvable using sociological
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Items 0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points

education—that is sociological solutions –
it is not a problem solutions – i.e. changing the
with social changing the structure or the
structure or social structure or process process in the
processes in of the system will system. The issue
education, schools, not solve it. For is properly framed
or example the issue in the level of
students/teachers is framed as a society (i.e. micro,
problem due to the meso, macro)
For example: lack personality of being analysed.
of classroom, individual leaders Examples are
textbooks, teacher —e.g. a corrupt provided
salaries etc. due to leader steals the illustrating the
lack of budget. No budget. How can issue described.
matter how you you solve that if
reorganise the the issue is framed
social structure or to be resolvable
change the only if the leader
processes, it will has a change of
not produce personality?
additional money if However if the
it is not there to issue is framed
begin with. This sociologically as
can only be a an issue of power,
social issue if there then it may be
are wasted funds in resolvable – eg.
the budget that can change the power
be saved by structure to weaken
efficiencies due to the control of that
restructuring of the leader (if the leader
organisational cannot be removed
structure or by popular action).
changing processes Or change the
of how things are process so that that
done. So be careful leader do not have
how you frame the approval authority
social issue. to any budgetary
decision.
Theory no sociological mentioned a discussed the discussed the
theory was sociological theory correct concepts correct concepts
described but the concepts and assumptions of and assumptions of
and assumptions a sociological a sociological
were not theory but the theory and applied
elaborated or were concepts were not the concepts as a
 EDS 102 FMA1 Assign Guide 4

Items 0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points

the wrong concepts used to analyse the tool to analyse the
and assumptions issue. Usually the issue. The concepts
(the concepts were theory is were used
from a different mentioned in a throughout the
theory) paragraph then paper, usually as
forgotten in the rest sub-headers to
of the body of the organise the
paper. analytic
description of the
elements/parts of
issue, its relation to
the other elements,
and to the whole
educational
phenomena being
described.
Past educational no past educational a past educational a past educational a past educational
reform reform was reform was reform was reform was
described described but it described and it is described and it is
appears unrelated related to the issue. related to the issue.
to the issue It is unclear if the It is clear if the
past reform was past reform was
successful or not. successful or not.
Barriers and
difficulties to
reform were
identified.
Recommendations did not recommend recommended recommended recommended
solutions to solutions to solutions to solutions to
problems with problems with problems with problems with
earlier reforms that earlier reforms but earlier reforms. earlier reforms.
try to solve the the solutions The solutions flow The solutions flow
issue appear to be from the analysis from the analysis
unrelated to the of the issue. of the issue. The
issue The solutions solutions appear
appear to be “pie- feasible and are
in-the-sky”/ grounded in the
wishful thinking or realities of the
not feasible and are issue analised.
couched in general
terms.
Lesson Plan/ did not include a included a lesson included a lesson included a lesson
Training Guide lesson plan/training guide. plan/training guide. plan/training guide.
plan/training guide But the lesson The lesson The lesson
 EDS 102 FMA1 Assign Guide 5

Items 0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points

plan/guide is not plan/guide is about plan/guide is about
about the issue the issue analysed. the issue analysed.
being discussed. The lesson The description of
plan/guide is about the instruction
the issue analysed. method, activities,
The description of and assessment are
the instruction clear enough to be
method, activities, replicated by a
and assessment are trainor.
clear enough to be The lesson
replicated by a plan/training guide
trainor. was pilot tested
with a group of
educators/teachers/
participants in a
video conference
or face-to-face.
Organisation of the The paper did not The paper only The paper followed The paper followed
term paper follow the partially followed the organisation of the organisation of
organisation of the the organisation of the template the template
template provided the template provided provided with
provided. modifications to
Modifications to make the
the organisation of presentation
the paper made it clearer (Good job!
less clear. (Huh? Additional section
You lost me in the headings makes
middle of the what you want to
paper. What the say clearer. Oh
heck are you trying wow! Additional
to say here?) Appendices with
real data on the
testing of the
lesson plan.)
Quality of writing I can’t understand There is a central There is a central There is a central
what you are trying thesis but the thesis but the thesis. Excellent
to say. Senseless grammar should be grammar is command of
aggregation of improved. Many academic. Very academic research
words. typographical few typographical writing. Very few
errors, the paper errors. The paper typographical
was not proofread. was proofread. Or errors. The paper
the paper tends to was proofread. The
be sentences are clear
literary/propagandi and concise.
 EDS 102 FMA1 Assign Guide 6

Items 0 points 1 point 2 points 3 points

stic rather than
academic research.
Cited list of Lacks a list of Has a reference list Has the properly Has the properly
references/citation references and but no formatted formatted
parenthetical in- parenthetical in- reference list and reference list and
text citation. text citation or vice citation. But the citation. The
versa. (always do a references do not selection of
search of your support what the references and
citations or paragraphs are quotations support
reference list if you trying to say. The the analysis of the
have a pair or not) quote is a truism issue.
(common
knowledge that do
not need a quote;
or quoted
something that the
reader would
already know); Or
the quote has
nothing to do with
what is being said
in the paragraph;
The quote is just
for literary
emphasis or a
moral lesson.
(Quotes should be
used to support an
argument)

Submission guide
1. Submit the paper in .odt (Libreoffice format) or .doc format. Do NOT submit a PDF document.
2. Always have a hard copy (printed) and file backup of your term paper. Software technology is never
perfect and shit could happen any time with your files.
3. Submit only through our course sites MyPortal assignment bin for FMA 2 for record purposes. DO
NOT submit by email as the email may be bounced or end in spam and deleted.
4. Always paraphrase and cite any quoted sentence or ideas referenced from the readings or other
references. Any paper with incidence of plagiarism will be rejected and NOT marked. Note that
MyPortal has an automated anti-plagiarism detection tool.
 EDS 102 FMA1 Assign Guide 7

5. Always proofread your work before submitting. Use the spelling and grammar checker of your
document word processor.

Reference
Evans, R.W., & Saxe, D.W. (eds.). (1996). Handbook on teaching social issues. Washington, D.C.:
National Council for the Social Studies.