My Foundations of Education

1. Philosophy of Education

1.1. Rooted in Practice

1.2. philosophy on its own stands on with no specific end in mind

1.3. Idealism has many branches within Philosophy

1.4. Goal of Education-search for the truth

1.5. teaching should be based in acedemic disiplines

1.6. Curriculum is central and yet flexible

2. Schools as Organizations

2.1. Must examine the cultures and differences of each school

2.2. The US school system is more open than most others

2.3. Private schools allow more focus on religion than private schools

2.4. No other school system is as complex as the US system

2.5. Successful schools have a "We" feeling

2.6. Successful schools develop their own culture within a community

3. Curriculum and Pedagogy

3.1. Functionalist perspective-schools are there to transmit knowledge

3.2. Developmentalist Curriculum is related to the needs of students

3.3. Curriculum must be stratified in order to be effective

3.4. There will always be controversy surrounding curriculum

3.5. represents a codification of knowledge

3.6. can create a false dichotomy within schools

4. Equality of Opportunity

4.1. Society is stratefied

4.2. Focuses on the link between class and performance

4.3. Contition of Education doesnt include socioeconomic classification

4.4. Why do differences in schools exist?

4.5. Emperical knowledge is showing that there are many outdated ideas

4.6. School differences make a difference in student outcome

5. Sociological Perspective

5.1. Theoretical Perspective-allows one to see past perspectives

5.2. interdependence-examine how well parts are integrated

5.3. Karl Marx didn't actually write that much about educational reform

5.4. The Sociology of Teaching-Willard Walller

5.5. Social Capital-networks and connections

5.6. Cultural Capital-Knowledge and Experience

6. Educational Inequality

6.1. School districts are often zoned for inequality

6.2. Research has shown that minority students often score lower on standardized tests

6.3. A climate of higher expectation often yields higher results

6.4. Strong leadership is crucial to higher performance

6.5. More instructional time=higher retention

6.6. schools often reproduce inequality

7. Educational Reform

7.1. NCLB-Initiated by Bush

7.2. Race to the Top-Initiated by Obama to meet the needs of NCLB

7.3. Both focused on turning around low performing schoools

7.4. Voucher programs allow students of lower socioeconomic standing to attend private schools

7.5. Charter Schools are free from many state regulations

7.6. However, they must perform on a higher level

7.7. Many School to Work programs are becoming prevalent across the country

8. The Politics of Education

8.1. Conservative-

8.2. Liberal Perspective-Focuses more on groups than individuals. Believes that government involvement is ultimately necessary.

8.3. Radical Perspective-Doesn't believe that free market capitalism is the best form of economic organization, but instead that democratic socialism is best.

8.4. Neo-Liberal Perspective- relatively new, focus on urban school reform, and narrowing the achievement gap

8.5. Each idea has levels in the others

8.6. All have founding is modern education

9. History of Education

9.1. Varied approaches have changed over the years

9.2. Schools have taken over other roles from the community

9.3. Schools help focus on large social issues

9.4. School reform is a vague concept that has unclear origins

9.5. Many early school reform ideas weren't popular with the public

9.6. School reform ideas have cycled in and out over the years.