NEW COURSES
University of California, Santa Cruz

PSYC 213: Student Achievement and the Culture Cycle – Graduate Course 
Students are shaped by and and conversely shape the larger educational contexts in which they participate. This is known as the Culture Cycle, which is composed of four features: ideas, institutions, interactions, and individuals. Specifically, the Culture Cycle allows us to e examine how cultural ideas about who is a “good” student inform policies and practices in academic institutions, and how these subsequently shape the daily interactions between teachers, parents, and students, and finally, how these interactions inform individual learning and performance. In this course, explore and review social-psychological research in education from a culture cycle perspective. Using a cultural framework allows us to take a holistic view of student achievement and reminds us that to influence the student experience in a meaningful way, we must change the cultural features of our learning environments. 

PSYC 159R: Achievement Disparities: A Social Psychological Perspective – Senior Seminar
American classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, yet achievement gaps persist across all levels of education. An achievement gap refers to a significant and persistent disparity in educational performance or attainment between different social groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, and social class). In this course, we explore contributing factors to the achievement gap and discuss research-based strategies to alleviate the gap for various groups. While the course will draw from work in education, sociology, and anthropology, the main perspective will highlight social-cultural psychological theory and research. The course is designed to help students develop an in-depth understanding of issues in inequity in education and to begin a conversation about changing persisting patterns in achievement in America.

PSYC 140F: Mind, Society, & Culture
What is culture? How does culture influence our daily experiences and lives? To what extent are our ways of thinking and being common to people around the world or unique to our social, cultural, and historical contexts? In this course, we explore how culture influences human thought, perception, motivation, values and meaning systems, and behavior. We will answer these questions using social psychological, cultural psychological, anthropological, and sociological approaches. The course is designed to help students learn about the importance of paying attention to culture and of developing cultural competency in your everyday endeavors in school, at home, in relationships, and at work.