1. Politics of Education-Ch. 2
1.1. Purposes
1.1.1. Intellectual: to teach basic cognitive skills (reading, writing, math)
1.1.2. Political: to teach patriotism and political democracies; teach children the laws
1.1.3. Social: to teach children basic socialization; teach them roles, behaviors, and values of society
1.1.4. Economic: prepare students for jobs/careers; select, train, and allocate students into division of labor
1.2. Perspective
1.2.1. Explanations of Unequal Educational Performance: liberals suggest lower socioeconomic classes do not do as well in school. Radicals also believe this, but unlike liberals, they believe the economic system is to blame. They believe change in the political-economic structure would help this issue.
2. History of U.S. Education-Ch. 3
2.1. Post WWII Equity Era: 1945-1980: The debate of equal educational opportunities continued. They were concerned with expanding educational opportunities to post-secondary level. The demand for equal opportunity was a central feature of this era.
2.2. Conservative Perspectives: They support democratic goal of equal opportunity and mobility, but they believe that the pursuit of social and political objectives caused significant harm to the traditional academic goals of education.
3. Sociological Perspectives-Ch. 4
3.1. Theoretical Perspectives
3.1.1. Functionalist Theories: they see society as a machine, where one part articulates with another to create the dynamic energy mandatory to make society function
3.1.2. Conflict Theories: according to these, schools are similar to social battlefields. Students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators, etc.
3.1.3. Interactionist Theories: these attempt to make the commonplace strange by turning on their heads everyday taken for granted behaviors and interactions between students and students, and between students and teachers
3.2. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
3.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes: when public and private schools were researched, this research showed that in schools where students are encouraged to take academic subjects and where there is consistent discipline, student achievement level go up
3.2.2. Employment: students believe that being a college graduate will lead to greater employment opportunities, and they are correct
3.2.3. Education and Mobility: the belief that occupational and social mobility begin at school is a crucial component of the American ethos. The number of years of education is one measure of educational attainment, but where people go to school also affects their mobility.
4. Philosophy of Education-Ch. 5
4.1. Pragmatism: George Sanders Peirce and William James described it by the phrase: By their fruits ye shall know them.
4.1.1. Generic Notions: Dewey's pragmatism; students could learn skills experientially as well as from books, in addition to traditional information, which would enable them to work cooperatively in a democratic society
4.1.2. Key Researchers: George Sanders Peirce, William James, John Dewey
4.1.3. Goal of Education: Dewey's philosophy of school made an attempt to balance social role of school with its effects on the social, intellectual, and personal development of individuals
4.1.4. Role of Teacher: teacher is no longer the authoritarian figure; teacher makes suggestions, asks questions, and helps plan and implement courses of study
4.1.5. Method of Instruction: children ask questions about what they want to know, children converse quietly with one another; work individually or in a group
4.1.6. Curriculum: integrated curriculum- a particular subject under investigation by students would yield problems to be solved
5. Schools as Organizations-Ch. 6
5.1. Major Stakeholders in Your District
5.1.1. State Senator and House of Representative: Doug Jones, Terri Sewell, Mo Brooks, Martha Roby, Bradley Byrne, Gary Palmer, Robert Aderholt, and Michael D. Rogers
5.1.2. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
5.1.3. Representative on State School Board: Mary Scott Hunter
5.1.4. Local Superintendent: Mr. James B. Cunningham
5.1.5. Local School Board Members: Mr. James B. Durham, Jr., Mr. Randy McClung, Mrs. Carolyn Martin, Mrs. Kathy Prater, Mr. Neal Baine, and Mr. Jim Cunningham
5.2. Elements of Change within School Processes and School Cultures
5.2.1. Conflict is a part of change. When you try to democratize a school, it brings issues and disagreements to the surface.
5.2.2. New behaviors have to be learned. With change comes new relationships and behaviors. The process has to include building trust , enabling leadership, learning techniques of communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
5.2.3. Team building has to involve the entire school. You must include everyone or else resistance to change will occur.
5.2.4. Process and content are interrelated. The process a team uses to work is just as important as the content of educational changes it attempts. You have to trust your coworkers and be open-minded. You also have to share things with them.
6. Curriculum and Predagogy-Ch. 7
6.1. Curriculum Theory
6.1.1. Developmentalist curriculum: This curriculum is related to the needs and interests of then students instead of the needs of the society. This approach to teaching considered each child's different developmental levels, needs, and interests. It is student-centered. It allows flexibility in both what is taught and how it is taught.
6.2. Two Dominant Teaching Traditions
6.2.1. Mimetic Tradition: This tradition is based on the idea that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students. In this tradition there is the assumption that the educational process involves a student-teacher relationship. In this tradition, learning goals are stated and assessments are given. Didactic transfer is used meaning the students are lectured and a presentation is given.
6.2.2. Transformative Tradition: This tradition is based on the idea that the purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way (intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally). They are not authoritarian figures, but they believe the teaching and earning is inextricably related. Conversation is a major part of this teaching tradition. Dialectical method is used which involves questioning.
7. Equality of Opportunity-Ch. 8
7.1. Impacts on Educational Outcomes
7.1.1. Class: Education is expensive. The longer a child is in school the more likely they are to need financial support from parents. Students from upper- and middle-class families are expected to finish school while students from lower-class families have lower expectations.
7.1.2. Race: Asian students outperform any other race. White students outperform black and Hispanic students. Black students outperform Hispanic students. Black and Hispanic students' SAT scores are much lower than that of white and Asian students. Race is also linked to social class.
7.1.3. Gender: Girls are less likely to drop out of school than boys. Girls also have a higher proficiency level in reading. The only subject boys are more likely to excel at is mathematics, and that is because teachers tend to assume females will not do as well as males in math.
7.2. 2 Responses to the Coleman Study
7.2.1. Catholic schools seem too advantage the low-income minority students in urban areas. They are also becoming more elite and similar to suburban public schools. They serve the poor.
7.2.2. Where an individual goes to school is often based related to her race and socioeconomic background. The race and socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement than an individual's race and class. Education reform needs to eliminate race and class segregation. School programs play an important part in doing this.
8. Educational Inequality-Ch. 9
8.1. 2 Types of Cultural Differences Theories
8.1.1. "Black children do less well in school because they adapt to their oppressed position in the class and caste structure." There is a "job ceiling" in America for blacks as well as other minorities. Their families don't encourage them to go after their dreams, but instead they make their children deal with their inferior life chances. More affluent families also take their children to concerts, museums, etc. because they can afford to do so. They also give their children parental involvement and pay for their college.
8.1.2. "A second type of cultural difference theory sees working-class and nonwhite students as resisting dominant culture of schools." From this idea, these students embrace an anti-school attitude instead of accepting the white middle-class academic culture of academic success.
8.2. 4 School-Centered Explanations
8.2.1. School Financing: Schools in more affluent (public schools) neighborhoods get funding while those in poor inner cities do not. Public schools are financed in multiple ways. One way is by property taxes in their communities. Property values are higher in more affluent communities; therefore, these communities are able to raise much more money than poor communities.
8.2.2. Effective School Research: Within school differences are just as significant as between-school differences.
8.2.3. Between School Differences: School climates affect academic performance. Working-class neighborhoods are far more likely to have authoritarian and teacher-directed pedagogic practices. Middle-class communities are more likely to have less authoritarian and more student-centered pedagogic practices and have a humanistic liberal arts college prep curriculum at the secondary level. Upper-class students are more likely to attend elite private schools with authoritarian pedagogic practices and classical-humanistic college prep curriculum at the secondary level.
8.2.4. Within-School Differences: In elementary classrooms, children are split up into groups. These groups are based on standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, etc. For the most part these groups are each taught the same curriculum just in a different way or at a slower/faster pace. The teachers also place different expectations on certain students according to these groups.
9. Educational Reform-Ch. 10
9.1. 2 School-Based Reforms
9.1.1. Privatization: Large for-profit companies take over failing schools and school districts. The success of these types of reforms has been mixed. Some have successfully educated numerous adult students, and some have had very low graduation rates and were closed by the federal government.
9.1.2. Teacher Education: If the teachers and teaching was the issue with certain schools then maybe it is time to analyze the education and training of teachers. College of education institutions were the subject of national scrutiny. Change in the educational policy began which included the restructuring of schools and the teaching profession, the elimination of the undergraduate education major, the recruitment of minorities into the teaching profession, and the increase of standards in teacher education and in teaching.
9.2. 2 Reforms that Impact Education
9.2.1. School Choice: Intersectional choice plans include public and private schools. For example certain cities provide tuition vouchers to students who attended private neighborhood schools. When private schools were included in choice plans it started a debate because there are issues of constitutionality and equity inherent in any public policy that transfers funds from the public sector to the private sector. It would raise questions of equal educational opportunity. Intrasectional school choice policies include only public schools. Some states permit students to attend school in any public school district in the state, as long as the nonresident school district is willing, has space, and the transfer does not upset racial balance.
9.2.2. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): It replaced No Child Left Behind. This act represents key building blocks for school systems that sets high expectations for students, provides necessary resources for meeting those expectations, measures and reports progress toward them, and ensures action when any school--or students--fall off track.