Education
Overview
"Be the change, to see the change"
Not everyone aspires to be a teacher, but we are all 'educators' in one sense or another. The faculty in Education invites Occidental's best and brightest to "be the change" by complementing a major course of study with an Education minor. The minor in Education will prepare students to address the complex challenges and issues related to education in our nation's evolving urban school communities. Students will learn to think clearly and analytically about schooling, pedagogy, educational policy and practice in a variety of school- and community-based educational settings.
Viewing the urban school as situated in broader communities is an essential contextual perspective that our program emphasizes. As such, an understanding of the urban community and neighborhood is fundamental in developing the problem solving skills necessary for effective agency in urban educational contexts. With this in mind, the Education Minor integrates foundational coursework with urban community engagement via internships and/or field experiences to provide a rich, collaborative and informative context for school reform, school improvement and educational activism.
Minor Requirements
COURSEWORK
A minor in Education requires 22 units of coursework.
Required Courses:
| EDUC 201 | Sociocultural Foundations of Education | 4 units |
| EDUC 207 | Conflict in Education | 4 units |
| EDUC 300 | Community Engagement in Education | 2 units |
Twelve units of EDUC electives
Students may select from any other courses offered in the department. At least four of the remaining twelve units must be completed in an Education course numbered 313 or higher.
The department occasionally accepts courses from other departments for credit. These decisions are made on an individual basis, in consultation with the department chair. No more than four (4) units either from other departments or transfer courses from other institutions (including study abroad courses) will be counted towards the minor.
Courses
Education Courses
Faculty
Regular Faculty
La Mont Terry, chair
Associate Professor, Education
A.B., M.A.T., Occidental College; Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles
Ronald Solórzano
Professor, Education; Affiliated Faculty, Latino/a and Latin American Studies
B.A., M.Ed., Loyola Marymount University; Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles
On Special Appointment
Suzie Abajian
Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Education
B.A., M.A., Occidental College; Ph.D., U.C. Los Angeles
Adelina Alegria
Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor, Education
B.A., C.S.U. Dominguez Hills; Ph.D., U.C. Santa Barbara
Kenjus Watson
Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Instructor, Education
B.A. Occidental College; M.Ed. Pennsylvania State University
Désirée Zamorano
Part-Time Non-Tenure Track Associate Professor, Education; Director of the Community Literacy Center
B.A., U.C. Irvine; M.A., C.S.U. Dominguez Hills