Street-Level Pedagogy: Fostering and Communicating Social Equity Through Course Syllabi

Abstract

This article examines frontline educators as street-level bureaucrats and their pedagogical philosophies, approaches, and choices—what we are calling “street-level pedagogy” to prepare current and future public servants and nonprofit leaders. This provides crucial insight into how (or if) social equity is incorporated into syllabi through a critical reflection on what materials and perspectives are assigned and how they are communicated. Our findings show that gender diversity is more visible, largely through authors of assigned readings, but that visibility is dependent upon presentation method (i.e., citation style). The gender of the professor is linked to gendered patterns in selection of authors of assigned readings. Other types of diversity and intersectionality were visible in course topics and readings, which are discussed along with implications for communicating social equity in graduate nonprofit curricula.