1. Politics of Education
1.1. Intellectual
1.1.1. teaching based on cognitive skills
1.2. Political
1.2.1. To teach children of the political order and teach them the laws of society
1.3. Social
1.3.1. To teach children how to behave and work in society.
1.4. Economics
1.4.1. To prepare students for their future jobs.
1.5. The role of school
1.5.1. The conservative perspective believes in teaching students what is necessary to prepare them to be productive individuals of society. It also believes in preparing students for adult roles in society.
1.6. Explanations of unequal performance
1.6.1. Conservatives believe students succeed and fail on their own accord. The school system from this perspective allows students to succeed. If students fail, it is because they most likely come from a "group that is deficient."
1.7. Definition of educational problems
1.7.1. Liberals argue that schools limit the opportunities of minority children. Schools focus too much on discipline, therefore not allowing students to grow. School "curriculum leaves out diverse cultures of groups."
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. 1. I believe the rise of the common school had the most influence on education. Students were not receiving the education they needed. Horace Mann made the first state board of education. He argued for free public education. Public school has allowed many people to receive a free education including myself. Women were also allowed to go to school during this era.
2.2. 2. Historical conservative perspective
2.2.1. The conservatives sat the progressive education has failed with teaching students about their heritage. Education has become watered down.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Functionalism
3.1.1. All parts of society work together to make society function.
3.2. Conflict theories
3.2.1. Social order is based on higher authoritarians pushing their ideas and ways on the lower authoritarians.
3.3. Interactionalism
3.3.1. Extends the functional and conflict perspectives but does not show what school looks like on an everyday basis.
3.4. 5 effects of schooling
3.4.1. 1. Knowledge and attitude
3.4.1.1. The more educated schools allow students to become impacts how those students act in society.
3.4.2. 2. Employment
3.4.2.1. School does not necessarily guarantee job performance, but does impact higher occupation hiring.
3.4.3. 3. Teacher behavior
3.4.3.1. Students look up to teachers, the way they dress, act, talk, walk, students pay attention to everything teachers do. Teachers are role models for students.
3.4.4. 4. Student peer groups and alienation
3.4.4.1. The groups students choose to hangout with usually project what kind of adult or individual in society a student will be. Also, the groups students choose can cause some students to be alienated by teachers and administrators.
3.4.5. 5. De Facto Segregation
3.4.5.1. Segregated schools affect the achievement of racial and ethnic inequalities while racially mixed schools boost the achievement of minorities, but do not hurt the achievement of whites.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Pragmatism- A Philosophy that instructs people to find a way that works to achieve their desired goal.
4.1.1. Generic Notation
4.1.1.1. Educators first focus on the individual child and allows he or she to help make their own lesson plans. Pragmatism uses "project method and group learning."
4.1.2. Key Researchers
4.1.2.1. Francis Bacon, John Locke, Jean-Jaques Rousseau, and John Dewey.
4.1.3. Goal of Education
4.1.3.1. John Dewey believed education should focus on community needs and individual needs.
4.1.4. Role of Teachers
4.1.4.1. The teacher gives the lessons and helps the students learn. The teacher helps educate rather than dominate the lesson.
4.1.5. Method of Instruction
4.1.5.1. Students learn by both problem-solving and inquiry method.
4.1.6. Curriculum
4.1.6.1. Progressive schools follow an integrated curriculum. They do not follow a fixed curriculum.
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. Major Stakeholders
5.1.1. Federal State Senators
5.1.1.1. Richard Shelby and Doug Jones
5.1.2. House of Representative
5.1.2.1. Mo Brooks
5.1.3. Alabama State Superintendent
5.1.3.1. Ed Richardson
5.1.4. Alabama State Board of Education
5.1.4.1. Kay Ivey- President, Stephanie Bell- Vice President, Ed Richardson- Secretary, Cynthia Sanders McCarty- Pres. Pro Tem/ District 06, Ella B. Bell- District 05, Jeffery Newman- District 07, Jackie Zeigler- District 01, Betty Peters- District 02, Yvette M. Richardson- District 04, Mary Scott Hunter- District 08
5.1.5. Local Superintendent
5.1.5.1. Kevin Dukes
5.1.6. Local Board of Education
5.1.6.1. Cecil Gant, Chad Gorham, Dr. Angela Guess, Kenneth Story, and Charles West
5.2. Elements of Change
5.2.1. 1. Conflict is required for change. The conflicts must be addressed in order for change to occur.
5.2.2. 2. New behaviors arise during change. In order for change to occur, staff and administration must learn to communicate and trust.
5.2.3. 3. Team building must occur with in the school. Decision making must be shared among the school's staff.
5.2.4. 4. The process of change and the content of change are equally as important. How the change is carried out and handled among the staff will influence future changes and commitments.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. The humanist curriculum theory
6.1.1. The humanist curriculum focuses on the past, mainly traditional liberal arts. Western heritage has traditionally been the basis for the humanist theory. With this theory, students get knowledge in common subjects, such as English, mathematics, history, and science. Students gain knowledge in the subjects by studying "the best of what has been taught or written" (p.282).
6.2. Dominant traditions of teaching
6.2.1. Mimetic- The purpose of education is to relay certain knowledge to the students done so by lecture or presentation known as the didactic method. The mimetic tradition relies heavily on communication between the teacher and the student. Information is transferred from one to the other.
6.2.2. The transformative tradition does not only rely on lecture and presentation, but also on conversation between the teacher and students where students become a major part in the learning process. The transformative tradition involves active participation of the students.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Class
7.1.1. Class affects education because school becomes expensive the longer a student attends. Students of upper-class families are expected to finish school, whereas students of middle-class and lower-class families are less likely to finish school. Students of upper-class families are more likely to succeed and have higher grades, whereas students of middle and lower-class families are more likely to underachieve.
7.2. Race
7.2.1. Race has an impact on how well students are likely to do in school. Whites have a lower drop out rate, whereas blacks and Hispanics have a higher drop out rate. Also, whites score higher in the SAT than minorities do and SAT scores have an impact on higher education.
7.3. Gender
7.3.1. Gender affects education because females are better students than males. Women are less likely to drop out than men. Also, Women are more proficient in reading and writing, whereas males are more dominant in mathematics. Males also score higher on the SAT than females do.
7.4. Responses to Coleman's Study
7.4.1. The first response to Coleman's study in 1982 was the difference between private and public schools. Some believe that not all private school characteristics have a significant impact on students' outcomes.
7.4.2. The second response to Coleman's 1982 study was much like the first. Boreman and Dowling believe that school segregation has more to do with a student's educational achievement than their race or socioeconomic status. The segregation of race and class within the school has to do with educational achievement.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural Difference Theories
8.1.1. John Ogbu says African-American students conform to their social class and therefore do less well in school. African- Americans have to "act white" in order to succeed in school when it comes to mostly white schools. Income also plays a part in the cultural difference African-Americans are receiving less pressure from their parents to succeed in school.
8.1.2. The second cultural difference theory says African-Americans embrace education a different way. They form an anti-school attitude and embrace a working-class culture. African-Americans then view school differently and sometimes end up dropping out to succeed in the working-class.
8.2. School-centered reasons for educational inequality
8.2.1. 1. School funding- Educational inequalities exist in school funding of public schools. Public schools in poor cities have less funding, whereas schools in affluent cities are able to fund the schools more.
8.2.2. 2. School climate- Lower socioeconomic schools produce lower academic achievement scores. Higher socioeconomic schools produce higher academic achievement scores. These facts cause inequalities in education.
8.2.3. 3. Ability grouping and curriculum- The way teachers and schools group students and the different ways curriculum is given causes educational inequalities. Schools group students into groups by class, race, ability, etc. This can cause educational inequalities , as well as, the differences in the ways teachers give curriculum.
8.2.4. 4. Gender and schooling- Schools limit the educational opportunities of women. Curriculum portrays men and women roles in a traditional way. They also give the impression that women always teach elementary grades while men teach secondary grades. This causes educational inequality for women.
9. Educational Reforms
9.1. School-based reforms
9.1.1. 1. Schol-Business Partnerships- Schools were not graduating students at a high enough level to revitalize the U.S. economy. Businesses found ways to partner with schools to help educate students. Businesses off scholarships to give poor students a chance at higher education. They also "adopt" schools. This partnership has not proven to help education significantly.
9.1.2. 2. Teacher Qualities- NCLB requires schools to have highly qualified teachers in each classroom. The problem is that the teachers are highly qualified but they are teaching "out-of-field." The teachers are teaching a subject they are not qualified to teach.
9.2. Political reforms
9.2.1. Mayoral control is when the mayor replaces the school board to manage achievement and budgets.
9.3. School Finance reforms
9.3.1. Lower level schools were to be funded more to help students in poorer districts. The funding did not significantly help the achievement gaps.