1. Chapter 4: Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Theoretical perspectives concenining the relationship between school and society
1.1.1. Funtionalism: social structure is interdependent on one another to have stability in society.
1.1.2. Conflict theory: the more powerful groups being dominant over the weaker groups by using force and manipulation (p. 118).
1.1.3. Interactionalism: Assessments and branches of the functional and conflict theories. An approach to understand others by behaviors and environments.
1.2. 5 effects of schooling on individuals:
1.2.1. Knowledge; individuals gain more knowledge with higher education
1.2.2. Employment: higher education shows more money earned in professional and technical jobs
1.2.3. Gender: at the end of high school, girls have lower self esteem and lower ambitions than boys. This could be the gender gap in school settings such as males having more authority positions.
1.2.4. Inadequate Schools: differences in schools and school systems reinforce inequality (p. 126). The better the school, the greater the chances are for the success of the individual.
1.2.5. Tracking: placing kids in a certain study based on their abilities. With many studies finding that tracking decisions were based on other criteria such as class or race (p., 127)
2. Chapter 6: Schools as Organizations:
2.1. Alabama Senators
2.1.1. Richard Shelby
2.1.2. Doug Jones
2.2. DeKalb County Representative
2.2.1. Robert Aderholt: District 4
2.3. Alabama Superintendent
2.3.1. Anne Moore (Interim)
2.4. Alabama School Board
2.4.1. Mary Scott Hunter: District 8
2.5. Fort Payne City Superintendent
2.5.1. Jimmy Cunningham
2.5.2. School Board: James Durham, President; Randy McClung, VP; Carolyn Martin; Neal Bain; Kathy Prater
2.6. Elements of Change Within School Processes and Cultures
2.6.1. "Conflict is a necessary part of change." (p. 232) Making school available to everyone exposes problems within the school and different ideas participants have.
2.6.2. "New behaviors must be learned." (p. 232) When change occurs with a democratic society, new behaviors are learned.
2.6.3. "Team building must extend to the entire school." (p. 232) Schools must share decision making and ideas with one another making sure everyone feels equally important.
2.6.4. "Process and content are interrelated." (p. 232) The approach used is as important as the goal being accomplished. Trust and openness of the team determines the quality of the outcome.
3. Chapter 7: Curriculum and Pedagogy
3.1. The two dominant traditions of teaching are Mimetic and Transformative.
3.1.1. The mimetic tradition of teaching is for the teacher to transfer specific knowledge to the students (p. 296). The best way to transfer knowledge is through lectures and presentations, also known as the didactic method. It is important that the teacher and student have a certain role. The teacher must have goals of learning for the student and the student must be able to prove they have absorbed the information.
3.1.2. The transformative tradition is the belief that education's purpose is to change the student in a meaningful way that includes intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally (p. 297). The teacher uses the didactic method and also has the student be a part of the learning process which results in some form of growth (p 297). It is difficult to determine the students knowledge gained and this style of teaching is thought of as an artistic endeavor (p. 297)
3.2. Social Efficiency Curriculum: This was developed in the early 20th century as a result in the increased number of students for secondary education (p. 282). This curriculum is based on the different needs and gifts of students. Students with different needs or aspirations could receive different types of schooling (p. 283).
4. Chapter 8: Equality of Opportunity
4.1. Educational Outcomes
4.1.1. Class: Greater expectations to finish higher education of upper or middle class families, Upper and middle class families provide greater financial support to children in school or college, and there is a correlation between parental income and children's performance on achievement tests (p. 342).
4.1.2. Race: Hispanic and African American students have higher drop out rates than white students. When reading at the intermediate level, white students have a higher percentage than minorities which directly affects testing scores. Minorities do not have the same educational opportunities as whites (p. 343).
4.1.3. Gender: Females have lower drop out rates, females have a higher level of reading proficiency than males (p. 343). Males outperform females in Math. Males also score higher on SAT tests than females.
4.2. The Coleman Study of 1982
4.2.1. Private school students outperformed public school students. Private schools demand more from their students than do public schools. Differences among schools do make a difference. The data gathered in 1982 challenged the 1966 findings.
5. Chapter 9: Educational Inequality
5.1. Cultural Differences Theory
5.1.1. John Ogbu's macrosociological perspective suggests that the working class students adapt to the unequal realities of the class structure. (p 424)
5.1.2. Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural capital affect educational inequality. (p 424) This means that middle or upper class families are able to give their children more cultural and social experiences. An example of this is introducing children to art, music, museum's, travel, having parental involvement and networks for educational resources.
5.2. School Centered Explanations of Inequality
5.2.1. School Financing: Schools in more affluent areas get more money due to circumstances such as higher property taxes that fund education. This allows schools to spend more money per student.
5.2.2. Atmosphere: a climate of high expectations for students by school staff
5.2.3. Teachers and curriculum: teachers who spend most of their time teaching and students who are directed to stay on task to learn. Curriculum taught has also shown differences.
5.2.4. Leadership within the school: Strong administrative leadership such as a principal
6. Chapter 10: Educational Reform
6.1. School-based reforms
6.1.1. School-Business partnerships: Business leaders became concerned about the future of the economy due to the lack of education among youth. Businesses made partnerships with school districts to hopefully increase "test scores" and also provided college scholarships for poor students.
6.1.2. Privatization: Private education companies becoming involved with public schooling. This means that the profitable companies were hired by school districts to help the "failing schools" and hopefully make an impact on the education of their students.
6.2. Other Reforms
6.2.1. State intervention / Mayoral Control: State take over is when the state takes over a school district. Focuses on rewards and sanctions as accountability measures. State takeover happens when there is poor academic performance among students. Mayoral control happens when overseeing the business of the urban school district is governed in the mayor's office instead of the local school board. This is believed to eliminate corruption and leads to better management and meeting budget requirements. Some see this as reducing parental and community involvement. (p. 537)
6.2.2. Community based reforms that meet the many needs of students and their families. This idea is that schools are full community service providers for their area. Examples of needed services are adult education, health clinics, recreation facilities, after school programs, mental health services, drug and alcohol programs, job placement, training and tutoring services (p. 539).
7. Chapter 2: Politics of Education
7.1. 1) The four purposes of education are Intellectual, political, social and economic. Intellectual purposes are to teach students basic knowledge, political purposes are to prepare citizens who will participate in political order and teach the basic laws of society, social purposes are to solve social problems and to socialize children into various roles, and economic purposes are to prepare students for their occupational roles in society.
7.2. 2) The conservative perspective believes that the role of school is to provide educational training to ensure the most talented and hard-working individuals to have the tools they need to maximize economic and social productivity. The conservative perspective believes that unequal performances of students are based on the individual's intelligence and hard work. The conservative's perspective on educational problems are a result due to the demands of a liberal perspective. The conservative's feel that the educational system has lowered the standards.
8. Chapter 3: History of Education
8.1. The most influential reform movement was "the common school". This meant school was free and publicly funded. This paved the way for every child to get an education.
8.2. The democratic-liberal historical interpretation of education is believing that schools should provide everyone with an opportunity to succeed.
9. Chapter 5: Philosophy of Education
9.1. Pragmatism: A philosophy that encourages people to find what works in order to achieve their desired ends. (p. 186)
9.1.1. Generic Notions: Education should improve society and children should learn from books in traditional ways and also in experimental ways. Teachers should start with the child's interests and needs. The child should be allowed to help with planning their course of study. (p. 188) Students should be responsible and have freedom so this will prepare them to live in a democratic society.
9.1.2. Key Researchers: Key researchers of pragmatism were George Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), William James (1842-1910), and John Dewey (1859-1952). European philosophers that were also credited are Frances Bacon, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
9.1.3. Goal of Education: Schools were a place where ideas can by implemented, challenged, and restructured. (p. 188) The goal was to provide students with knowledge on how to improve social order. (p. 188) School should prepare students how to live in a democratic society as well as meeting the needs of the students and society.
9.1.4. Role of the Teacher: Teachers should have the role of facilitator where they encourage, offer suggestions, and help plan courses of study for students. (p.189)
9.1.5. Method of Instruction: Students learn individually and in groups. Students also participate in problem solving instruction. Students begin by asking questions that reflect what they want to know or are interested in.
9.1.6. Curriculum: Curriculum changes as the social order changes and as the student's needs and interests change. (p. 190)