250331 Alternatives/ Open Education around the world (BS) (SoSe 2019)

The purpose of this course is to explore alternative/open education approaches developed by educators, parents, and students who were dissatisfied with current systems of education, in countries such as Germany, Denmark, England, Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey, and the U.S. We will study the educational philosophy and concepts behind free/independent/alternative/open schools in these and other countries. We will pay visits to such schools in or near Bielefeld, and other cities in Germany, when possible. The course requirements include readings suggested by the instructor AND the students, presentations, reflection papers, and a joint design of a contemporary alternative school. This course can be of interest to students of Educational Science and Social Sciences since the object of study constitutes a vital problematization of the market driven approaches to mainstream education in an increasingly authoritarian industry-four-point-zero-world.