Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: identify the causes of the increased professionalization of teaching in the United States today and the ramifications of this phenomenon; link educational philosophies to applied educational practices; describe the development of American education and the factors that have influenced it, from roots in classical Western civilization through the current times; compare and contrast different theories of education, curriculum and instruction, and apply them; apply principles of multicultural education to classroom instruction identify at-risk behaviors and proper responses to such behaviors; and identify methods that can decrease or remove racial, ethnic or gender gaps in education.