Foundations of Education
Plan your projects and define important tasks and actions
1. Educational Inequality
1.1. School Centered Explanation
1.1.1. schools have a significant affect on students
1.1.2. SCHOOLS DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
1.1.3. it is important though to understand unequal educational performances
1.1.4. focus both between and within school processes
1.2. Sociological Explanations of Unequal Achievement
1.2.1. 1.
1.2.2. 2.
1.2.3. 3.
1.3. two major sociological theories
1.4. functionalists believe schooling will produce unequal results
1.5. but these results out to be based om individual differences between students, not on group differences.
1.6. the role of school is to provide a fair meritocratic selection process for sorting out the best and brightest individuals, regardless of family background
1.7. Conflict theorists the role of schooling is to reproduce rather than eliminate inequality
1.8. but also concerned with inequality
1.9. both agree that understanding educational inequality is a difficult task.
2. History in U.S. Education
2.1. Reform Movement
2.1.1. 1. The common School Era (1837)- Horace Mann
2.1.2. all children have the right to school regardless of economic background
2.1.3. Free public education
2.1.4. education is "the great equalizer of the conditions of men"
2.1.5. radicals view it as a way to create social order and an easier way to create docile workers, which may be true, but it still allowed the average citizen the opportunity to advance it ways they never could. Mann believed schools could change social order and education can foster social mobility.
2.2. Historical Interception
2.2.1. 1.the Democratic Liberal school
2.2.2. equality of opportunity for all
2.2.3. equity and excellence
2.2.4. "The ideals of equality and excellence are just that, ideals. Democratic-liberals believe that the U.S. ed system must continue to move closer to each, without sacrificing one or the other dramatically.
2.2.5. 2. The Radical-Revisionist School
2.2.6. working class and laborers supported expansion of public schools because it did support their own interest, but it it was put in place to keep the gap of inequality in place.
3. Schools As Organizations
3.1. Governance
3.1.1. Senators
3.1.1.1. Richard Shelby
3.1.1.2. Jeffeson Jeff Sessions
3.1.2. House of Representatives
3.1.3. Mo Brooks (fifth district)
3.1.4. State superindentent
3.1.4.1. Thomas R. Bice
3.1.5. state school board representative
3.1.5.1. Ella B. Bell
3.1.6. Local School Board
3.1.6.1. president: karen duke
3.1.7. Local superindentent
3.1.7.1. Dr. Ed Nichols
3.2. Comparison to one Country
3.3. USA compared to Finland: United States Schools are complex and try to be student centered but fail in comparison to Finnish schools. U.S. schools can be influenced by the people, because they have the opportunity to vote, attending board meetings, and paying for schools with taxes. U.S. schools are extremely bureaucratic. They are democratic and have an open door policy. Student achievement varies especially in the different culturally and socioeconomic backgrounds, and testing is constant. In Finland there is an extremely high level of student success and achievement in areas such as math. science. and lit. , no matter the students background. They have abolished almost all standardized tests and emphasis on formative evaluation. They are very strict on who becomes a teacher. The book recommends that the US take notes from Finland,and I must say I agree.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Existentialism and Phenomenology
4.1.1. "e and p have so much in common and many phenomenologists are existentialist . They combined them together in the book. I as well felt a connection to both. I agree with some aspects of all the different philosophies but I definitely leaned towards these two the most.
4.2. Generic Notations
4.3. E: individuals are born into this life and need to make sense of the chaos
4.3.1. Local superindentent
4.4. E :Jean Paul Sarte (1905-1986) "existence precedes essence" people must create themselves, and they must create their own meaning. This is done by the choices people make in their lives.
4.5. E: Freedom and responsibility people have to awesome.
4.6. Pose questions as to how their concerns impact on the lives of individuals.
4.7. Key Researchers
4.8. EXISTENTIALISM
4.9. roots traced back to bible , but noted that is started in the nineteenth century with: Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
4.10. more recent: martin Buber (1878-1965); Karl Jaspers (1883-1976); Jean Paul Sarte (1905-1986);
4.11. Contemporary philosopher: Maxine Greene
4.12. PHENOMENOLOGY
4.13. primarily developed by Edmund Husserl (1859-1935); Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961).
4.14. Goal of Education
4.15. E: believe that education should focus on the needs of the individuals, both cognitively and affectively .
4.16. stress individuality
4.17. discuss of non-rational as well as the rational world; and tensions of living in the world, such as anxiety of conflict
4.18. Ep's go further. they emphasize the notion of possibility; the individual changes in a constant state of becoming.
4.19. Education as an activity liberating the individual from chaotic, absurd world!
4.20. Role of the Teacher
4.21. teacher should understand their own "lived worlds" as well as that of their students in order to help their students achieve the best "lived worlds" they can.
4.22. take risks; expose themselves to resistant students; work constantly to enable their students to becomne, "wide awake" -Greene
4.23. guide stiudents to become in touch with their worlds and to empower them to choose and to act on their choices.
4.24. The role of a teacher is intensely personal and carnies tremendous responsibility
4.25. Curriculum
4.26. biased towards the humanities
4.27. literature is very important because can evoke responses in readers that might move them to nbew levels of awareness or "wide awakeness"-Grenne.
4.28. art, drama and music encourage personal interaction.
4.29. to expose students at early ages to problems as well as possibilities, and to the horrors as well as accomplishments humankind is capable of producing.
4.30. Method of Instruction
4.31. intensely personal
4.32. each child has different learning styles, it is up to the teacher to discover what works for each child.
4.33. Martin Buber- " I-thou" approach. where student and teacher learn cooperatively from each other in a nontraditional, nonthreatening, frienship.
4.34. teacher constantly rediscovers knowledge, student discovers knowledge, and together they come to an understanding of past, present, and future. A FUTURE WITH RIPE POSSIBILITIES.
4.35. the role of a teacher is to help students understand the world through posing questions, generating activities, and working together. (Personal reflection: combination of plato's and dewey's teacher roles)
5. Politics in Education
5.1. Perspective
5.1.1. 1. Conservative
5.1.2. 2. Liberal
5.1.3. liberal perspective is concerned primarily with balancing the economic productivity of capitalism with the social and economic needs of the majority of the people.
5.1.4. liberals see the role of education as balancing the needs of society and the individual in a manner that is consistent with a democratic and meritocratic society
5.1.5. liberals believe that schools should ensure that all students have the opportunity to compete individually in the educational marketplace and that schools should reward individual effort
5.1.6. equality of opportunity and inequality be minimized.
5.1.7. improve failing schools, and balance within schools
5.1.8. 3. Radical
6. Sociological Perspectives
6.1. Relationship between School And Society
6.1.1. 1. Functional
6.1.2. 2. Conflict
6.1.3. until society is fundamentally changed, there is little hope of real school reform. (Bowles&Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America (1976))
6.1.4. Direct correspondance between the organization of schools and of society
6.1.5. Max Weber (1864-1920) people identify their group by what they consume and with whom they socialize
6.1.6. schools pass on to graduates specific social identities that either enhance or hinder their life chances
6.1.7. to understand the impact of culture on the lives of individuals and groups, one must understand the meanings that are attributed to cultural experiences by those who participate in them
6.1.8. 3. International
6.2. The Effects of schooling on Individuals
6.2.1. 1. Teacher Behavior
6.2.2. a teachers attitude has a HUGE impact on student learning
6.2.3. Rosenthal&Jacobson (1968) conducted a study that proved a teachers' expectations of students were found to directly influence student achievement.
6.2.4. Labels can affect student performance
6.2.5. Persell (1977) found that when teachers demanded more from their students and praised them more, students learned more and felt better about themselves.
6.2.6. teachers are NOT responsible for all failures of course
6.2.7. Motivation is key for teachers
6.2.8. 2. Student Peer Groups and Alienation
6.2.9. economic groups play a role
6.2.9.1. Is violence being the norm in society making a difference in the violence we see in schools?
6.2.10. student culture plays an important role in shaping students ' educational experience
6.2.11. four major types of college students, 1. careerists, whom generally come from middle to upper class backgrounds 2. Intellectuals whom usually come from highly educated families 3. strivers. whom usually come from working class. 4. unconnected. whom come from all backgrounds
6.2.12. 3.Education and Mobility
6.2.13. where people go to school affects mobility
6.2.14. occupational and social mobility start at the schoolhouse
6.2.15. who you are, where you come from and what type of school you can attend determines where you can go in your life..... social class, race, gender, merit variables play a key role
6.2.16. Rosenbaum (1976) linked mobility to tournament selection, where winners are allowed to proceed to the next round of competition, and losers are dropped from competition.
6.2.17. rules not even-handed and not everyone has the opportunity to set the rules.
6.2.18. Education CAN open doors, some just have it opened wider. Or in plain sight. what is easy for one type of citizen is extremely difficult or nearly impossible for another.
7. Equal Opportunity
7.1. Educational achievement and attainment
7.1.1. gaps have widened between African Americans, Hispanics, and whites in reading and writing
7.1.2. female students out perform male students in most areas
7.1.3. reading proficiency is both highly correlated with race, ethnicity, and parental level of education, with higher levels of education predicting higher reading proficiency
7.1.3.1. Response to the Coleman Study
7.1.3.1.1. coleman bekieves differences among schools do make a difference
7.1.3.1.2. findings still a matter of debate
7.1.3.1.3. some think where an idvidual goes to school has little effect on his or cognitive growth or educational mobility
7.1.3.1.4. coleman found private schools score higher on test than public schools
7.1.3.1.5. private schools do better for low income students
7.1.3.1.6. Geoffrey Borman and Maritza Dowling confirm Colemans original data from 1966 and his 1982
7.1.3.1.7. where an individual goes to school is usually related to race and socioeconomic background. but the racial and socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement than an individuals race and class.
7.1.3.1.8. both borman and dowling similar to coleman argue that and class are predictors of academic sucess
7.1.3.1.9. white middle class favoring must stop
8. School Reform
8.1. School Based Reforms
8.1.1. school choice: late 1980's at forefront
8.1.2. president regan and bush
8.1.3. 1990 supported in congress
8.1.4. intersectional include public and private
8.1.5. intrasectional only include public
8.1.6. charter schools
8.1.7. 1991 in Minnesota
8.1.8. emphasis on the development of each students individual capacities
8.1.9. charter schools are public schools that are free from many of the regulations applied to traditional public schools
8.1.10. in theory autonomous
8.1.11. paid for with tax dollars
8.1.12. varying research on performace
8.1.13. tuition vouchers
8.1.14. 1990 a number of states implemented school voucher programs. all of which were challenged in state courts ( violating church and state)
8.1.15. was not a violation
8.1.16. in relation to school choice
8.2. Societal, Community, Economic or political Reforms
8.2.1. five elements 1. meaningful learning goals 2. intellegent reciprocal accountability systems 3. equatable and adequate resources 4. strong professional standards and supports 5. schools organized for student and teacher learning.
8.2.2. standards
8.2.3. school improvement
8.2.4. school accountability but how and ion what form is correct
8.2.5. states taking control of schools
9. Curriculum and Pedagogy
9.1. Historical Curriculum Theory
9.1.1. Developmentalist curriculum
9.1.2. related to the needs and interests of the students rather than the needs of society
9.1.3. Dewey 1902
9.1.4. stresses flexibility in what is taught and how it is taught ( standards now do not let you flex in what is taught and I think that is somewhat good, so everyone has the same education readily available. it ensures the low income and the high income are learning the same things)
9.1.5. importance of relating schooling to the life experiences of each child in a way that would make education come alive in a meaningful manner!
9.1.6. progressive schools stemmed from deweys ideas
9.1.7. Social Meliorist Curriculum
9.1.8. radical wing of progressive education
9.1.9. developed in 1930's from both Dewey's writings and the response to the growing dominance of the social efficiency curriculum.
9.1.10. George Counts and Harold Rugg from Columbia University. They radicalized Dewey's philosophy into an explicit theory that schools could change society or at least help solve the fundamental problems.
9.1.11. school curriculum should teach students to think and help solve societal problems, if not change the society itself.
9.1.12. Maxine Greene and Paulo Freire.
9.1.13. actively change the world
9.1.14. preached but rarely practiced?!?!
9.2. Socilogical Curriculum Theory
9.2.1. Modern Functionalist Theory
9.2.2. developed in United States through the works of Talcott Parsons 1959, and Robert Dreeben 1968
9.2.3. curriculum has to change to meet the needs of society
9.2.4. teach students how to learn
9.2.5. the meritocratic system is reflected in the way schools operate, with the norm of Universalism(people are treasted according to universal principles of evaluation)
9.2.6. teach students values that are essential to a modern society
9.2.7. society is more cosmopolitan and tolerate
9.2.8. schools teach students to RESPECT OTHERS,TO RESPECT DIFFERENCES, AND TO BASE OPINIONS ON KNOWLEDGE RATHER THAN TRADITION.
9.2.9. positive view
9.2.10. knowledge and values!