1. Pragmatism
2. Sociological Perspectives
2.1. Functionalists
2.1.1. A functionalist's perspective on education is to have a consensus perspective: examine society in terms of how it is maintained for the common good. A functionalist will put an emphasis on positive aspects of schools such as socialization: the learning of skills and attitudes in school.
2.2. Conflict Theory
2.2.1. Karl Marx is the father of social conflict theory, which is a component of the four paradigms of sociology. Social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than consensus and conformity.
2.3. Interactionalism
2.3.1. The Interaction theory is an approach to questions about social cognition, or how one understands other people, that focuses on bodily behaviors and environmental contexts rather than on mental processes.
2.4. Schooling of individuals
2.4.1. Teacher Behavior
2.4.1.1. Teachers have a huge impact on the way a student learns. Teachers are models for students and are also instructional leaders. I believe that teachers play a major role in encouraging or discouraging students to give their best effort and live up to their full potential in the classroom. Teachers are supposed to help motivate students to do their best and this is what makes all the difference.
2.4.2. Knowledge and Attitudes
2.4.2.1. Research indicates that differences between schools in terms of academic programs do make a difference when it comes to student learning.
2.4.3. Student Peer Groups
2.4.3.1. Student culture idealizes athletic ability, and looks. The culture of the teachers and students are in conflict with each other.
2.4.4. Alienation
2.4.4.1. This has had a negative effect on students. When students are by themselves and don't have any friends, it often results in violence.
2.4.5. Inadequate Schools
2.4.5.1. Students who attend private schools typically receive a better education than other students.
2.4.6. Gender
2.4.6.1. Girls usually start school cognitively ahead of boys. Usually by the end of high school, girls typically have lower self esteem than boys. Female students out perform males in arts, history, and mathematics. They also tend to have higher college attendance rates.
2.4.6.2. Men are still paid more for equivalent jobs
3. Philosophy of Education
3.1. Pragmatism
3.1.1. American philosophy that developed in the 19th century. Pragma means work. Pragmatism is when someone is focused on reaching a goal.
3.2. Generic notions
3.2.1. Founded on new psychology, behaviorism, and and the philosophy of pragmatism. Dewey's idea about education was focused on the interests of the child in the classroom,
3.3. Goal of education
3.3.1. Dewey says that the role of the school was to combine children into a democratic society. His primary goal of education was growth.
3.4. Role of the Teacher
3.4.1. The teacher is not the head from which all knowledge flows. The teachers encourages, suggests, and helps write the curriculum.
3.5. Method of Instruction
3.5.1. Dewey says that children can learn individually and in groups. He agreed with the problem solving or inquiry method. Fields trips were an important part of learning in Dewey's lab school.
3.6. Curriculum
3.6.1. Schools followed Dewey's core curriculum. Students used math, reading, science, and history, writing, music, and art.
3.7. Key Researchers
3.7.1. Aristotle used syllogisms to organize thinking. For a syllogism to work, all of it must be right. Through education, students learned to reason, and become able to choose the path of moderation in their lives.
4. Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Transmission of Knowledge
4.1. Social Meliorists is an idea in metaphysical thinking holding that progress is a real concept leading to an improvement of the world. The social meliorist also asks for courses to solve each new social problem. This may include educating students in general political and economic changes, but most of the time it means promote courses that solve problems
4.2. 2 dominant traditions of teaching
4.3. Mimetic
4.3.1. Conservative and says that there is a basic core of knowledge to be learned by all.
4.4. Transformative
4.4.1. Students needs should be the main focus of the curriculum.
5. Explanations of Educational Inequality
5.1. Two cultural differences
5.1.1. African American students usually dont perform as well because they adapt to their position in the caste. There is also a job ceiling in the U.S. for the African Americans. They have to deny their own culture and accept the dominant culture, which is known as the white middle-class.
5.1.2. Working class and non-white students usually resist the dominant culture of the schools. They often reject the white middle-class culture of academic success and embrace the anti-school culture., which is opposed to the culture of schooling as it exists today.
5.2. Describe 4 school-centered explanations for educational inequality
5.2.1. School financing
5.2.1.1. There is a huge difference in funding for between wealthy and poor school districts. Public schools are financed through local, state, and federal sources. Property tax is also a source of income.
5.2.2. Effective Schools
5.2.2.1. Effective schools that produce postive academic results all have the same characteristics: they monitor student learning, accountability processes for both students and teachers, and high expectations for students and teachers.
5.2.3. Gender and Schooling
5.2.3.1. Feminists agree that schooling limits educational opportunities for woman. Boys and girls are socialized differently through many school processes. Traditional curriculum silences woman by erasing important aspects of women's lives. Curriculum materials portray men's and woman's roles in traditional and stereotypical ways.
5.2.4. Between school differences: Curriculum and pedagogic practices
5.2.4.1. Upper class students are more likely to enroll at private schools, with authoritarian practices and a classical-humanist college prep curriculum. Middle class communities have less authoritarian and more student-centered practices. They also have a liberal arts college prep curriculum at secondary level. Schools in working class neighborhoods have more authoritarian practices and they also have a social efficiency curriculum.
6. Educational Reform
6.1. 2 school based reforms
6.1.1. School-business partnerships
6.1.1.1. During the 1980's business leaders were getting concerned that the nation's schools were not producing the kinds of graduates necessary to revive the U.S. economy. School business partnerships were formed. The most notable one was the Boston Compact. It began in 1982. In 1991, the Committee to Support Philadelphia Public Schools pledged management assistance and training to the Philadelphia School District. School-business partnerships have attracted considerable media attention, but there is little convincing evidence that they have improved schools.
6.1.2. Privatizations
6.1.2.1. Since the 1990s, the traditional distinction between public and private education has become blurred. The Edison company took over the management of failing schools . The Philadelphia Public Schools were taken over by the state of Pennsylvania in 2003 due to low student achievement. hired for-profit companies, including Edison, as well as local universities.
6.2. Economic Reforms
6.2.1. Developmental Realm
6.2.1.1. The developmental realm focuses on developing the whole child by having schools become more humane institutions.
6.2.2. Integrative Realm
6.2.2.1. Basic skills and knowledge is the focus for school improvement, as well as student achievement.
7. Politics of Education
7.1. 4 purposes of education
7.1.1. Intellectual
7.1.1.1. The intellectual purpose of education is to teach cognitive skills and to help students obtain higher thinking skills.
7.1.2. Social
7.1.2.1. The social purpose of education is to promote a sense of social and moral responsibility. Supplementing the efforts of other institutions of socialization such as the family or the church is also very important.
7.1.3. Economic
7.1.3.1. The economic purpose for education prepares students for future jobs.
7.1.4. Political
7.1.4.1. The political purpose for education is to educate future citizens, promote patriotism, and to teach children the basic laws of society.
7.2. The Role Of The School
7.2.1. Conservative Perspective
7.2.2. The conservative perspective of the school is providing the essential educational training to guarantee the most skilled and hard working individuals have the tools necessary to expand economic and social productiveness.
7.3. Explanations of unequal performance
7.3.1. Conservative Perspective
7.3.2. Conservatives believe that students rise and fall on their own intelligence. They believe that success is based on hard work and sacrifice. The school system is designed to allow students to succeed.
7.4. Definition of educational problems
7.4.1. Liberal Perspective
7.4.2. The liberal perspective is that schools have limited the life chances or poor children and have less student success. They also think that schools place too much emphasis on discipline and authority. This is not helping students develop as individuals.
8. History of U.S Education
8.1. Reform Movement
8.1.1. The struggle for free public education was led by Horace Mann of Massachusetts. He became the state's supervisor of education. The citizens voted to pay taxes to build better schools, to pay teachers higher salaries, and to establish special training schools for teachers. By the mid-1800s, most states had accepted three basic principles of public education: that school should be free, teachers should be trained, and children should be required to go to public school.
8.2. Plessy Vs Ferguson
8.2.1. Seperate but not equal.
8.3. Historical Interpretation
8.3.1. There were many interpretations as to why education was so important to the early settlers. Merle Curti attributed the use of formal schooling and protected freedoms such as thoughts, religion, and press. These freedoms were necessary for the preservation of the democratic society.
8.4. Three Historical perspectives.
8.5. Democratic-Liberal School.
8.6. Radical-Revisionalist School
8.7. Conservative School
8.8. John Dewey (scientific inquiry) is the father of American Education. His philosophy is the reason we have vocational schools.
8.9. The battle; standards of an education versus the education opportunity for all.
8.10. The college student movement for student rights.
8.11. Civil Rights Act of 1963.
8.12. Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896. Seperate but equal.
8.13. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Court declared state laws establishing seperate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.
8.14. Desegregation was the main focus.
8.15. Elementary/Secondary Education Act 1965 provided for special needs students.
9. Schools as Organizations
9.1. State Senator
9.1.1. Doug Jones
9.1.2. Richard Shelby
9.2. State Superintendent
9.2.1. Michael Sentance
9.3. Local Superintendent
9.3.1. Craig Pouncey
9.4. Local School Board Members
9.4.1. Ron Mitchell
9.4.1.1. Ali Lassel
9.4.1.1.1. Susan Harmon
9.5. Alabama Representatives
9.5.1. Bradley Byrne 1st district
9.5.2. Martha Roby 2nd district
9.5.3. Mike Rogers 3rd district
9.5.4. Robert Aderholt 4th district
9.5.5. Mo Brooks 5th district
9.5.6. Gary Palmer 6th district
9.6. Accountability Education Act of 2013
9.6.1. If your child attends a school that is failing you can send them to a private school.
9.7. Elements of change within school processes
9.7.1. Teachers are in conflict with students.
9.7.2. Curriculum v. social goals of students
9.7.3. Administrators and teachers are in conflict.
9.7.4. Communities are in conflict with administration.
9.8. Elements of change within school cultures
9.8.1. Studies show that the principal establishes the goals and levels of academic and social expectations and the effectiveness of discipline.
9.8.2. Conflict is necessary part of change.
9.8.3. New behaviors must be learned.
9.8.4. Team building must extend to all parts.
9.8.5. Process and content are interrelated
9.9. John Goodlad
9.9.1. Teachers must have a major part in reform.
9.9.2. Everyday life is a struggle for survival.
10. Equality of Opportunity
10.1. Class
10.1.1. Studies show that class is related to achievement on reading tests and basic skills tests. Children from working class families are more likely to underachieve.
10.2. Race
10.2.1. It is hard to separate race form class. Minority students receive fewer educational opportunities than whites.
10.3. Gender
10.3.1. In the last 20 years, significant gains have been made to equalize gender educational and professional attainment.
10.4. 2 responses to Coleman Study
10.4.1. Private schools students outperform public school students.
10.4.2. Differences in schools do make a difference.
10.4.3. The difference is in how much more demanding private schools are of their students.