1. Sociological Perspective
1.1. Organize
1.1.1. Centrally Controlled schools
1.1.1.1. At times schooling has appeared more of a franchise operation, dependent on a recipe handed-down by Government rather than the exercise of professional expertise by teachers
1.1.1.2. Eugenics: the Government deemed Mentally handicap patients unfit for reproduction, so them had them sterilize. In 1982, Alberta introduced the Sexual Sterilization Act which Promoted the Surgical sterilization of "mental defectives". This Policy remained in effect in Alberta until 1972
1.2. Freedom vs Control of State Education
1.2.1. Penguin Revolution, the freedom to choose.
1.2.1.1. Education and Society- Changed Status Quo
1.2.1.1.1. Wanted To Change What Education Look Like
1.2.1.2. Centralized Authority
1.2.1.3. end to municipalization of subdized Education
1.2.1.4. Quality Education For All
1.3. Inequality
1.3.1. Liberalism in Ralph Gov't promoted equality of opportunity and social achievement based in merit rather than family, race,gender, or social class
1.3.2. Privatisation and market forces can lead to greater inequalities in society. State ownership and the notion of collective responsibility can help to minimise the detrimental effect of these forces.
1.3.2.1. Dr.Jerrold Kachur: You can increase opportunity for anyone but it doesn't increase their social class just their opportunity to move up or down.
1.3.3. The Central Marxist claim that Public Schools produce social inequalities, that youth born disadvantage remain disadvantage. (Davies&Guppy, 2010)
1.3.3.1. Stereotyping disadvantage youth, devaluing their culture and skills, and steering them into lower streams. (Davies&Guppy, 2010)
1.4. Globalization
1.4.1. The process which a business starts operating on an international scale
1.4.1.1. Education is treated as both " the problem" and the " solution" for productivity decline and international competitiveness
1.4.1.1.1. Moving Education from more of a fundamental issues and community development to the inability of the business community to maintain economic Growth. (Jerrold)
1.4.2. It benefits the middle class and especially the rich and powerful, but has hurt the poor and powerless
1.4.3. If one nation so chooses to withdraw from the global economy, the entire thing could collapse. -one nation profits while another nations falls.
1.5. Class Difference
1.5.1. Upper Class
1.5.1.1. Private Schools
1.5.1.1.1. Example: when i was in grade 3 I was place in a Christian Private School. At first it was great, with the small classes and help sessions, but it cost my parents an arm and a leg. So if you can't afford Private education then public is the only way to go
1.5.2. Lower Class
1.5.2.1. Public Schools/ No Education
1.5.2.1.1. Young Children from low-income households are four times more likely to experience delay in vocabulary development...... teenager with university educated parents are considerably higher on reading math, and science.(Davies&Guppy, 2010)
1.5.3. Parents' education, income and occupational prestige remain strong predictors of children's school success ( Davies&Guppy, 2010)
1.5.4. Native Studies
1.5.4.1. Consequently, schools often fail to empower the native people in the education Field (Anuik, 2013)
1.5.4.2. High Drop Out Rates
1.5.4.3. Teachers Must be Mindful that the process to draw out learners gift is already happening in the community.... to see the gifts as "bundles inside of us" ( Anuik, 2013)
1.5.4.3.1. As teacher, we must reflect and listen to the community so we can come to know their value, language and principles shared by the community, before we take any radical changes into the classrooms, so that parents/ and the community can feel part of the Student' learning progress.
2. Philosophical Perspective
2.1. Education is ideological
2.1.1. All human knowledge is socially constructed, Education itself can never be neutral or value free.
2.1.1.1. Besides Learning role models from the significant others, students are also influenced by their peers group, especially during adolescence when individuals being to explore various possible identities and affiliations (Schools As An Informal System Of Socialization, 2007)
2.1.1.1.1. From my past experience, I already know that students would listen more to their fellow peers than their Adult role modals. That being said, I must in my future practicum be prepared to modify my lesson plan to incorporate pop culture into the classroom practice.
2.2. Funnel Type of Work Force
2.2.1. For every single job, many applicants go in at the top of the funnel, but only a single final candidate comes out at the bottom. That single person, who is determined to be best qualified, is the one who gets the job offer
2.3. Constructivism
2.3.1. Cognitive Learning
2.3.1.1. The Adoption and expansion of Province wide and national testing and students achievement exams
2.3.1.1.1. These days, if a school's standardized test scores are high, people think the school's staff is effective. If a school's standardized test scores are low, they see the school's staff as ineffective. In either case, because educational quality is being measured by the wrong yardstick, those evaluations are apt to be in error. Even though I did great on my Provincial Exams in High School, I remember the "Stress" I endure for one simple mark solely based on memorization.
2.3.2. Exogenous Constructivism (O'Donnell, 2008)
2.3.2.1. Knowledge Derived From The Environment
2.3.3. Endogenous Constructivism (O' Donnell, 2008)
2.3.3.1. Construction of New Knowledge structures from existing Knowledge
2.3.4. Dialectical Constructivism( O'Donnell, 2008)
2.3.4.1. Knowledge Lies In Continual Interaction Between the Individual and the Environment
2.4. Socialism
2.4.1. Also know as Welfare State:
2.4.1.1. Human beings are basically cooperative by nature. It is this that brings out the best in people. There are those, who through no fault of their own, need the support of society and there is a collective responsibility for this.
2.5. Neoliberalism
2.5.1. In practice, this means deregulation, tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy concomitant with resulting cuts to public services and privatization, elimination of labour and environmental standards, and outsourcing of manufacturing to sweatshops in the developing world
2.5.1.1. Governments, rather than serving their citizens, would be restricted to facilitating business by enforcing contracts and guarding private wealth
2.5.1.1.1. Motivation: Profit Making
2.5.1.1.2. Support Privatization/ Business
2.6. Behavioural
2.6.1. Represent Situationally Appropriate and Desirable Actions( O'Donnell,2008)
2.6.1.1. Education Reform Across Canada didn't follow this learning, instead focus on Constructivism Learning in School.
2.6.1.1.1. Example: One of the Hardest thing in school for me was the Provincial Exams in Elementary and the HLAT Reading and Writing test. English is my second language so it was hard to keep up with the class as I found myself a few steps behind the rest. So i guess I went hard at it and practice.
2.6.1.2. Functionalist view of socilization perceives the individual as reacting and responding to people and situations in her or his world. ( Schools As An Informal System of Socialization, 2007)
2.7. Social Learning Theory ("O'Donnell, 2008)
2.7.1. We Learn From Others, Particularly b observing them and imitating their behaviour.
2.7.1.1. Not involved in Ralph Klein Changes to Alberta's Education.
2.7.1.2. Socialization: refers to the complex, life-long learning process throughout which individuals develop a sense of self and acquire knowledge, skills and values required to fulfill social roles. ( Schools As An Informal System of Socialization, 2007)
2.7.1.2.1. Example: aside from socializing in school, I participated in after school activities such as Scouts, Soccer Club, and Music class as a mean to explore my hobbies with like- minded individuals.
2.7.1.3. The Indian Values are the means to enable Childrean to Learn the forces which shape him: The history of his people, their values and customs, their language. The results is a child whi knoews himself or his potential as a human being ( Anuik, 2013)
2.7.2. Middle-class households offer environments enriched by greater cognitive challenges, more dedicated work habits, and an assortment of literacy-enhancing activities. ( Davies&Guppy,2010)
2.7.2.1. Example: Coming from a low middle-class income home, my parents took time with me and my brothers in our lessons in Spanish.
3. Historical Perspective
3.1. Capitalism
3.1.1. Government should not interfere with business and industry by trying to regulate them. Free enterprise means that the ‘market’ will decide which business and initiatives will succeed and which will fail
3.2. Tories
3.2.1. Ralph Klein Leader of the Conservative Government of Alberta from 1992-2006
3.2.1.1. Budget Cuts ( Education and Health Care), Alberta Had a Debt of 15.4 Billion Dollars, and the conservative governemtn under Klein wanted to eliminate the Debt for Economic Growth
3.2.1.2. Alberta Education
3.2.1.2.1. Reconstructed
3.2.1.3. Laid off Public Service Workers
3.2.1.3.1. Teachers
3.2.1.3.2. Nurses
3.2.1.3.3. Teacher Aid
3.2.1.3.4. Privatized Schools
3.2.2. Guest Speaker: Social worker. Teaching is not "Politically Neutral". Politics is the social process through which collective power is generated, organized, distributed and use in social system. Although the concept of politics is most often associated with goner meant institution, social logically it can be applied to virutally any social system.
3.2.2.1. Even so, Alberta as a whole has been recuperating from the negative cut backs it recieved during the 90's. As a current student, i can feel thepinch Ralph Klein left behind. Tuition is high, class sizes is bigger and Redford had reduce the education budget just beacuse we fell on the red by 1 billion.
3.2.2.1.1. Social Worker: Teaching is a political act: Every time curriculum revision are contemplate, interest and lobby groups line up at the government door trying to ensure their perspective is included. Power and privilege are deeply embeeded in everything
3.3. Post War Education
3.3.1. Welfare State
3.3.1.1. The traditional methods of rote memory and factual, teacher-centered instruction were still used for a while in classrooms throughout the country, the ideas of creative, student-centered instruction soon became the norm
3.3.1.1.1. Canadian Education also has been seeing increased involvement by the federal government, Public Money were use to run Public Schools Centrally Control by the Government
3.3.1.1.2. Under the Canadian Constitution, Province have the responsibility for Education
3.3.1.1.3. Government has a responsibility for the ‘public good’. Decisions should therefore not be left solely to the ‘free’ market but should be made in order to ensure the welfare of all members of society
3.4. Equal Opportunities for all " living off the Margin" and Privatize
3.4.1. Even in nominally free public schools, children from less affluent background earn lower grades and test scores ( Davies and Guppy, 2010)