1. Politics of Education
1.1. Purposes of Education
1.1.1. 1. Intellectual
1.1.1.1. to transmit specific knowlege and cognitive skills; to develop higher-order thinking skills
1.1.2. 2. Social
1.1.2.1. to help solve social problems; socialize children into roles, behaviors, and values of society; ensure social cohesion
1.1.3. 3. Economic
1.1.3.1. prepare students for their later occupational roles; to select, train, and allocate individuals into divisions of labor
1.1.4. 4. Political
1.1.4.1. teach allegiance to existing political order; prepare citizens to participate in political order; assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common politcal order; and to teach the basic laws of society
1.2. Role of the School
1.2.1. Liberal- equal opportunity for education; development of respect for other cultures; stresses individual and societal needs enabling development of talent, creativity, and sense of self
1.3. Unequal Performances
1.3.1. Liberal- students begin school with different life chances causing some to have extreme advantages and other to have extreme disadvantages; place policies and programs to equalize the opportunity of education
1.4. Educational Problems
1.4.1. Liberal- underachievement within minority groups; too much emphasis on authority and discipline; quality and climate differences between urban and suburban schools; traditional curriculums leave out cultural diversity
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. Post- World War Equity Era
2.1.1. debates on whether everyone should get the same education; demand for explansion of educational opportunity; concerned with expanding post-secondary educational opportunities; and translating these equal opportunities to all levels of education
2.2. The Democratic-Liberal School
2.2.1. Common School Era- first step in opening U.S. education to all (Horace Mann and Henry Bernard)
2.2.2. Progressive Era- expanded opportunity and purpose of education; more students from more diverse backgrounds were schooled for longer periods of time; "provides a place for everyone who wishes one, and in the end yields the most educated populations in the world" (Lawrence Cremin)
2.2.2.1. Conflict Theories: the ability for dominant groups to impose their will on subordiante groups to force cooperation and manipulation; society is economic, political, cultural, and military powered; do not see see social problems in schools as straightforward, but as a constant social struggle (students-> teachers-> administrators)
2.2.2.1.1. Karl Marx, Max Weber, Randall Collins,
2.2.3. Democratic-Liberals believe that education must move closer to both equality and excellence without sacrificing one to the other too dramatically
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Local District Stakeholders
3.1.1. Federal Senators: Richard Shelby and Doug Jones
3.1.2. Federal House of Representatives District 5: Mo Brooks
3.1.3. Alabama Senator District 3:Authur Orr
3.1.4. Alabama House Representative District 9: Ed Henry
3.1.5. State Superintendent: Ed Richardson
3.1.6. Represenative on State School Board District 6: Cynthis McCarty
3.1.7. Local Superintendent Morgan County Schools: Bill Hopkins
3.1.8. Board Members Morgan County Schools: Jimmy Dobbs, Tom Earwood, Adam Glenn, John Holley, Paul Holmes, Billy Rhodes, Mike Tarpley
4. Sociological Perspective
4.1. Theoretical Perspectives
4.1.1. Functional Theories: stresses an interdependence of the social system; view society as a machine whose parts have to work together to function; educational reform should create stuctures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity
4.1.1.1. Emile Durkheim
4.1.2. Interactional Theories: based on an everyday level; looks at taken-for-granted interactions between students and students, students and teachers, etc.; questions processes in which students are labeled gifted or disabled
4.1.2.1. Basil Berstein
4.2. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
4.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes- higher ther social background of the student, the higher the achievment level; differences in academic programs make a difference in student learning; differences in schools are directly related in student outcomes; academically oriented schools produce higher rates of learning; the amount of time students spend in school is directly related to how much they learn; students with higher levels of achievement are more likely to participate in politics and public affairs
4.2.2. Employment- white collar employers expect college education for higher positions; generally you learn a job by doing a job so a college education is not neccessary; it is easier to be hired for higer-status jobs as a college graduate and you make more money starting out
4.2.3. Education and Mobility- education is the "great equalizer" in the "great status rate"; in general Americans believe that education leads to economic and social mobility; individuals rise and fall on their merit
4.2.4. Student Peer Groups and Alienation- idealizes athleticism, looks, and "coolness"; violence is more acceptable in today's society; average 12 year old has seen 18,000 TV murders; break up into 4 groups during college (careerists, intellectuals, strivers, and the unconnected)
4.2.5. Teacher Behavior- teachers make more than 1,000 interpersonal connections a day; they wear many hats (some conflict and potentially cause burnout); models for students; teacher expectations are directly related to student performance (self-fulfilling prophecies);
5. Philosophy of Education
5.1. Pragmatism
5.1.1. Generic Notions- (Dewey) attainment of better society through education; children learn skills through experiments, books, and tradional information that makes them cooperative in a democratic society; teachers start with needs and interests and allow children to help with planning their course of study; group learning; experimental learning; children are active and need an active learning environment
5.1.2. Key Researchers-John Dewey
5.1.3. Goal of Education- (Dewey) to function as preparation for life in a democratic society; schools should be a place where ideas can be implemented, challenged, and reconstructed with the goal of providing students with the knowledge of how to improve social order
5.1.4. Role of Teacher- not an authoritarian figure, but a facilitator of learning instead; encourages; offers suggestion; helps plan and implement courses of study; write curriculum; has control of disciplines
5.1.5. Method of Instruction- individually and in group settings; students should ask questions about what they want to know before starting a unit (problem solving or inquiry method); books written within the classroom are used; field trips and hands on experiences are integral; schedules are more fluid and have some give
5.1.6. Curriculum- integrated curriculum (engaging all areas of study); working from the known to the unknown; curriculum changes as student interest changes
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Developmental Theory
6.1.1. Related to the needs and interests of the students; emenates Dewey's relationship between child and the curriculum; emphasizes Piaget's process of teaching as well as content; student centered; stresses flexibility in what is taught and how it is taught
6.2. Mimetic Traditions
6.2.1. Purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students using didactic method; the lecture is the main form of transmission; assumes the educational process involves the relationship between the teacher and the studentand that the student does not have what the teacher has; emphasis on measurable goals and objectives have become a central component
6.3. Transformative Tradition
6.3.1. purpose of education is to change the student in a meaningful way- intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally; teachers provide a more multidimensional theory of teaching; reject authoritarian relationship between teacher and student; dialetical methods- use of questions to guide learning; views teaching as artistic; goal of education is growth leading to more growth
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Race: (16-24 year olds) 5,2 white students drop out; 9.3 african american students drop out; 17.6 hispanic students drop out
7.2. Gender: Female- less likely to drop out of school; higher reading and writing proficiency; Males- higher math and science proficiency; more likely to out score females on SATs;
7.3. Class: Upper and middle class families are more likely to expect their children to finish school; working-class and underclass view school as less of a priority; number of books in family homes relate to academic achievment; teachers think more highly of upper/middle class; leads to labeling students and self-fulfilling prophesies
7.4. Coleman Study (1982)- Private school sophomore out performed public school student in all subjects; argued that differences among schools do make a difference; private schools were more effective because they place emphasis on acadmeic activities and enforce disciplines; private schools demand more from their students and get it.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural Differences Theory
8.1.1. Working-class and nonwhite students resisting the dominant culture fo the schools. Students reject the middle-class culture of academic success and embrace a drifferent, antischool culture, once the is opposed to the culture of schooling that currently exist. The resistance results in often dropping out and into the world of work
8.1.2. Lemann chronicled the cycles of poverty, hopelessness, and despair from the balck migtration from Mississippi Delta to Chicago. Economic transformations and conditions are the root cause of property, and that racism and deiscrimination exacerbate the problems. Culture also part of the problem. While you can not blame the poor for their situation you must also acknowledge that such lifestyles should not celebrated as "resistance".
8.2. School Centered Differences
8.2.1. School Financing: Public schools are finaced through the combination of local taxes and federal sources. Local property taxes are a main contributor in financing. Poorer communities have low property taxes thus receive less money. On the flip side, more affluent communites have higher property taxes and receive more in financing. State aid is often given to schools bases on equalization. This sometimes becomes a polical issue as to which communities receive the most funding.
8.2.2. Effective School Research: Differences in school resources and quality do not adequately expalin between-school differences in academic acheivement was viewed by teachers as a mixed blessing. The question here is do students outside of the middle-class actually under perform because of inferior schools?
8.2.3. Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices: Are the performance in schools different because of the curricula, pedagogic practices, and expectations? Lower income schools do not perform to the same level as higher communities or even private schools for that matter. Is is because of the size of the classes, expectation of success, etc.
8.2.4. Curriculum and Ability Grouping: Not only is there a difference in between students but within an individual school itself. Ability grouping vs Curriculum grouping. Ability grouping is based of the students abilities but studying the same curriculum. Curriculum grouping is when all students studying the same curricula no matter of each individuals ability levels.
8.2.5. Gender and Schooling: Some say that because much of the educaitonal system was developed by men that schooling often limits the educational oppurtunities and life changes of woman in a number of ways. Woman socialize differently, education system supports traditional roles and gender inequalities.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School Based Reform
9.1.1. School Business Partnerships- business leaders became concerned that schools were not producing adequate graduates; partnerships to restructure and implement site-based management plans; some included raising test scores and others promoted scholarship opportunities; little evidence of improvement
9.1.2. Privitization- for profit companies took over the management of failing schools; majority of contract for supplemental tutoring; too early to assess the efficiency of the contracts but it is clearly a lucrative business;
9.1.3. Societal Reforms
9.1.3.1. Full Service Community Schools- plan to educate the whole community by opening its doors to meeting the needs of through education, physical, psychological, and social needs; specifically designed to help at risk neighborhoods.
9.1.3.2. School Finance Reform- demonstrate the potential to improve low-income schools and minority children; promotes early childhood programs, summer programs, and after school programs; school/community housing and nursing stations