Foundations of Education

Social Foundations of Education

We must abandon completely the naive faith that school automatically liberates the mind and serves the cause of human progress; in fact, we know that it may serve any cause. [It] may serve tyranny as well as truth, war as well as peace, death as well as life . . . whether it is good or evil depends, not on the laws of learning, but on the conception of life and civilization that gives it substance and direction. In the course of history, education has served every purpose and doctrine contrived by man. If it is to serve the cause of human freedom, it must be explicitly designed for that purpose.

~ George S. Counts

What Is Social Foundations?

The foundations of education could very well be discussed in the following ways: social foundations of education; cultural foundations; socio-cultural foundations; educational foundations; etc. Regardless of the terminology, foundations of education refers to a "broadly-conceived field of educational study that derives its character and methods from a number of academic disciplines, combinations of disciplines, and areas of studies" (Council for Social Foundations of Education's Standards for Academic and Professional Instruction in Foundations of Education, Educational Studies, and Educational Policy Studies, 1996, p. 3).

Social Foundations Disciplines & Areas of Study

There are/can be multiple areas of study embedded within the larger field of social foundations of education. Those areas of study, or disciplines, include: philosophy; sociology; history; politics; anthropology; psychology; cultural studies; gender studies; comparative and international education; and education law and policy.

Why Study Social Foundations?

Educators should not only be proficient practitioners in the classroom, they should understand all aspects of their chosen field. Why do we educate? How do sociopolitical constructs impact education? How does the relationship between power, knowledge, and culture influence students, teachers, and the educational process? What are the purposes and aims of education? How can education influence society? Those are just a few questions future teachers investigate in social foundations courses. The purpose of foundations in teacher education is to bring the disciplinary resources mentioned above "to bear in developing interpretive, normative, and critical perspectives on education, both inside and outside of schools" (CSFE, 1996, p.3). The research agenda for scholars in Social Foundations of Education has always been "to critically examine the relations between knowledge and power in culture, in cultural transmission, and in cultural transformation"(Tozer, Gallagos, & Henry, 2011, p. xi). Foundations scholars work to improve education through critique and from the inside out -- preparing teachers for the classroom and with the ability to analyze injustices within the educational system.

Journals Focusing on Foundations of Education

Educational Studies (Publication of the American Educational Studies Association)

Journal of Educational Foundations

Democracy and Education

More to be added soon...