2021-2022 Catalog

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 201Sociocultural Foundations of Education

4 units

EDUC 207Conflict in Education

4 units

EDUC 300Community 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.

Transfer Credit Policies

The Education Department policy on transfer credit conforms to College policy. At most four units will be accepted in transfer toward the minor (this includes all courses taken outside the department, including study abroad courses). Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.

Courses

Education Courses

Faculty

Regular Faculty

Ronald Solórzano, chair

Professor

B.A., M.Ed., Loyola Marymount University; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

La Mont Terry

Associate Professor

A.B., M.A.T., Occidental College; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

On Special Appointment  

Anthony Tróchez

Non-Tenure Track Instructor

B.S., University of California, Berkeley; M.A., University of California, Los Angeles

Kenjus Watson

Non-Tenure Track Assistant Professor

A.B., Occidental College; M.E., Pennsylvania State University; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Désirée Zamorano

Non-Tenure Track Associate Professor

Director of the Community Literacy Center

B.A., University of California, Irvine; M.A., California State University, Dominguez Hills