1. Politics of Education
1.1. What Counts?
1.1.1. Economic boundaries affect the quality of education in low income areas
1.2. Hijacked!
1.2.1. NCLB-Encourages teachers to "teach to the test"
1.3. The Purpose of Schooling
1.3.1. Intellectual purpose-to teach cognitive skills such as reading, writing and math
1.3.2. Social-to socialize children into various roles, behaviors and values of society
1.3.3. Economic-to prepare students for their later occupational roles
1.3.4. Political-to teach children he basic rules of society
1.4. Political Prospectives
1.4.1. Conservative-individuals and groups must compete in the social environment in order to survive, human progress is contingent on individual intiative and drive
1.4.2. Liberal-believe that individual effort is not enough, government should help those in need. Believes that entire groups are affected by society.
1.4.3. Radical-believe that the capitalist system is central to U.S. social problems. They recognize that the capitalist system will not change and most Americans support it. Believe that social problems are caused the structure of US society.
1.5. Neo-Liberal Prospective
1.5.1. Theory favoring free trade, minmal government intervention, reduced expenses on social services
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. The Age of Reform
2.1.1. Established idea of a free public education
2.2. Urbanization and the Progressive Impetus
2.2.1. John Dewey-advocated for the creation of a curriculum that would allow for the child's interests and developmental level
2.2.2. 57.6 % of Children were Foreign Born
2.2.3. Emergence of the first public high school
2.3. Post World War Era
2.3.1. PLessy vs, Ferguson-Court upheld Louisiana law that segregated railway passengers by race -Concept of separate but equal developed.
2.3.2. Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education- Supreme court ruled that state-imposed segregation of schools was unconstitutional
2.3.3. Milliken vs. Bradley- ruled that Detroit interdistrict city busing plan was unconstitutional.
2.4. Cycles of Reform
2.4.1. 1983 National Commission on Excellence-released A Nation At Risk which cited high rates of adult illiteracy and low SAT scores.
2.4.2. NCLB & RTT-purpose was to provide quality and equal education to all children
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Major Stakeholders
3.1.1. State Senators-Senator Bobby Singleton
3.1.2. House of Representatives-Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions, Terry Sewell, Artis Mccampbell
3.1.3. State Board Member-Jeffrey Newman
3.1.4. Local Superintendent-Dr. Paul McKendrick
3.1.5. Local School Board-Lee Garrison, Enerstine Tucker, Norman Crow Jr., Cason Curry, Harry Lee, Marvin Lucas, Erskine Simmons, Clarence Sutton Sr.
3.2. Another Country's Educational System-Japan
3.2.1. educational system produces skilled workers and highly competent managers
3.2.2. education extended from 6 to 9 years
3.2.3. highly competetive
3.2.4. High regard for education-Double schooling phenomenon. Two systems of schooling. First system is the traditional public school and second is the nonformal school that act as a national system of tutorial opportunities for kids.
3.2.5. Have a high regard for moral education.
4. Curriculum and Pedagogy
4.1. Historical Curriculum
4.1.1. Social Efficiency Curriculum-Different groups of students with different sets of needs and interests needs should receive different types of schooling.
4.1.2. The development of standardized tests is related to the differentiation of the curriculum.
4.1.3. At the elementary level, IQ tests are used to assign students to ability groups and ability grouped classes.
4.1.4. At the secondary level, standardized tests as well as previous achievement place students into different curriculum tracks.
4.1.5. Tracks-Academic, College Bound, and Vocational https://youtu.be/7HHjMs__ljMl
4.2. Sociological Curriculum-concentrates on the function of what is taught in schools and its relationship to the roles of schools within society.
4.2.1. Functionalists theory-belief that the role of the school is to integrate children into the existing social order-a social order that is based on consensus and agreement. https://youtu.be/5jOZqVnQmdY
4.2.2. Functionalism in Education- https://youtu.be/2bq90RKDT0w
5. Equality of Opportunity
5.1. Educational Achievement and Attainment
5.1.1. The achievement gaps between whites, blacks and Hispanics has increased due to parental level of education.
5.1.1.1. Gaps decreased because of programs such as Head Start
5.1.2. On SAT tests, females still out perform ,ale students in most categories except in math and science.
5.1.3. Congress passed the Education of All Handicapped Children Law
5.1.3.1. 6 Basic Principles-(1.) The rights to access of public education. (2). the individualization of services. (3). The principles of "least restrictive" environment. (4). the scope of broadened services to be provided by the schools and a set of procedures for determining them. (5.) the general guidelines for identifying disability. (6). The principles of primary state and local representatives.
5.2. Coleman Study
5.2.1. James Coleman won a grant to study the relationship between organizational characteristics of schools and student achievement.
5.2.2. Grant was meant to show that African-Americans and whites have different schooling experiences.
5.2.3. Students who attended schools that were mostly middle class were more likely to perform better on tests than students who attended schools where middle-class students were not the majority.
6. Educational Inequality
6.1. School Centered Explanation of Educational Inequality
6.1.1. Between School Differences-Schools in higher socioeconomic areas have climates that are more conducive to academic achievement.
6.1.2. The cultures and climates of schools in lower socioeconomic areas is different from each other.
6.2. Sociological Explanation of education Inequality
6.2.1. Social Class background has the most profound effect on educational achievement and attainment.
6.2.2. Group differences play an important role in creating inequalities.
7. Educational Reform
7.1. Vouchers were distributed and could be used in public or private schools. These vouchers were distributed to families as opposed to schools so not to violate the separation of church and state.
7.2. School Based Reform
7.2.1. Private schools were regarded as more efficient ways of educating over a public school education.
7.2.2. Charter Schools-Charter schools provided an alternative for low income areas in urban areas.
7.3. School Business Partnerships
7.3.1. These partnerships were formed out of fear that schools weren't educating students who could keep up the US economy.
7.4. Privatization
7.4.1. For profit and Not for profit companies take over the responsibility of providing education or services which enhance education in the schools.
7.5. School to Work Programs
7.5.1. Programs meant to give employment opportunities for students who are not going to a four year college.
7.6. Teacher Education
7.6.1. Teachers were held accountable for success or failure of students.
7.6.1.1. NEA formed out of fear for teachers taking the responsibility for student failure.
7.7. Political Reform
7.7.1. State policy makers have devised reward/punishment systems for districts who succeed or fail to meet expectations academically.
8. Sociology of Education
8.1. School and Society
8.1.1. Socialization-schools, parents ,churches and synagogues shape children's perceptions of the world
8.1.2. Schools wittingly or unwittingly promote gender definitions
8.2. Theoretical Perspectives
8.2.1. theory-an integration of all known principles, laws and information pertaining to a specific area of study
8.2.1.1. Functional Theory-view society as a machine where one part communicates with another to produce the energy required to make a society work.
8.2.1.1.1. Conflict Theory-Belief that society is held together by economic, political, cultural and military power.
8.3. Effects of Schools on Individuals
8.3.1. Knowledge and Attitudes-Education
8.3.1.1. research indicates that differences between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies do make a difference in student learning.
8.3.2. Employment
8.3.2.1. academic credentials help idividuals to obtains higher status jobs early in their career.
8.3.3. Education and Mobility
8.3.3.1. civil religion-belief that education is the great stabilizer in the great "status race"
8.3.4. Inside the Schools
8.3.4.1. Curriculum expresses culture
8.3.4.1.1. curriculum within schools has a direct impact on the probabilities of students attending college
8.3.5. Teacher Behavior
8.3.5.1. Teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior
8.3.5.1.1. Teachers are models and instructional leaders
8.3.6. Student peer groups and alienation
8.3.6.1. Nobody wants to be labeled a nerd, student culture idealizes athletic ability
8.3.6.1.1. adult culture of teachers and administrators is on conflict with the student culture. This conflict can lead to alienation.
8.4. Education and Inequality
8.4.1. Inadequate Schools
8.4.1.1. Urban schools have failed to adequately educate minority and poor children
8.4.1.1.1. Differences in school systems reinforce existing inequalities
8.4.2. Tracking
8.4.2.1. refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on students. abilities
8.4.2.1.1. based on class or race
8.5. De Facto Segregation
8.5.1. racial segregation in public schools that occurs by fact rather than legally
8.5.1.1. African-Americans from low income communities who attended racially mixed schools are more likely to graduate from high school and college.
8.6. Gender
8.6.1. Men and women do not share equally in US society
8.6.1.1. Men are frequently paid more than women for the same work
8.6.1.1.1. Studies show that that boys get more attention than girls
8.7. Current Educational Crisis
8.7.1. 1/3 of nations' children are at risk in a failing school
8.7.1.1. 15 million children are being reared by single mothers with low incomes
8.7.1.1.1. 1/4 of US children live in poverty
9. Philosophy of Education/ Pragmatism
9.1. Generic Notions
9.1.1. School should be an embryonic community where children can learn skills both experimentally as well as from books. This information should enable them to work cooperatively in a more democratic society.
9.1.2. Pragmatic ideas known as progressive.
9.1.3. Progressive ideas rest on the ideas that children are active, organic beings that are growing and changing. This means that they require a course of study that reflects their stages of growth and development.
9.2. Key researchers
9.2.1. George Sanders Pierce
9.2.2. William James
9.2.3. John Dewey
9.2.4. John Locke
9.2.5. Francis Bacon
9.2.6. Jean Jacques Rousseau
9.3. Goal of Education
9.3.1. School is a place where ideas can be implemented, challenged and restructured.
9.3.2. School should provide a conjoint experience and that it should function as preparation for life in a democratic society.
9.3.3. Growth
9.4. Role of Teacher
9.4.1. Encourages
9.4.2. offers suggestions
9.4.3. questions
9.4.4. helps plan and implement courses of study
9.4.5. Teacher writes curriculum and must have command of several disciplines in order to create and implement curriculum.
9.5. Method of Instruction
9.5.1. Problem solving/Inquiry Method
9.5.2. Core Curriculum
9.5.3. Curriculum should change and reflect children's interest and needs.