1. Politics of Education
1.1. Conservative Perpective
1.1.1. 1. Originally developed by William Graham Sumner, it looks at social evolution as a process that enables the strongest to survive, and also looks at human and social evolution as adaptation to changes in the environment.
1.1.2. 2. This viewpoint is the belief that the free market or market economy of capitalism is both the most economically productive economic system and the system that is most respectful of human needs.
1.1.3. 3. Primary emphasis is on the individual and suggests that individuals have the capacity to earn or not earn their place within a market economy, and that solutions should also be addressed at the individual level.
1.2. Traditional Vision
1.2.1. 1. Schools should pass on the best of what was and what is.
1.2.2. 2. Schools are necessary to the transmission of the traditional values of U.S. society.
1.2.3. 3. Encompasses the right liberal to the conservative spectrums.
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. Equality of Opportunity
2.1.1. central feature of U.S. History
2.1.2. Late 40's and 50's race, education, and school segregation were at the forefront of political,educational, and moral conflicts.
2.2. Social Engineering Reform
2.2.1. Proposed by Edward L. Thorndike
2.2.2. Schools could change human beings in a positive way and methods and aims of pedagogy scientifically determined.
2.3. Child-centered reform
2.3.1. G. Stanley Hall believed that schools should tailor their curriculums to the stages of child development.
2.4. Embryonic community
2.4.1. John Dewey thought that schools should reflect the child's community.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Functional Theories
3.1.1. 1. Emile Durkheim invented sociology of education in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
3.1.2. 2. Society is viewed as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work.
3.1.3. 3. Schools socialize students into the appropriate values, and sort and select students according to their abilities.
3.2. Effects of schooling on Individuals
3.2.1. 1. Knowledge and Attitudes-more years of schooling leads to greater knowledge and social participation.
3.2.2. 2. Employment-possession of a college degree is significantly related to higher income.
3.2.3. 3. Teacher behavior-when teachers demanded more of students and praised them more, students learned more and felt better about themselves.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Generic Notions-John Dewey's school became an "embryonic community" where children could learn skills both experientially as well as from books, in addition to traditional information, which would enable them to work cooperatively in a democratic society.
4.2. John Dewey (1859-1952) one of the founders of Pragmatism.
4.3. John Dewey's goal of education was to instill democratic and cooperative values in children so they could in adulthood transform the social order into a more democratic one.
4.4. The teacher's role is as a facilitator. The teacher encourages, offers suggestions, questions, and helps plan and implement courses of study.
4.5. The methods of instruction is problem-solving in groups and individually. The traditional way of teaching was replaced with individualized study, problem-solving, and the project method.
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. State Senators are Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions; House of representatives is Gary J. Palmer; State Superintendent is Dr. Tommy Brice; District 6 Representative on state school board is Cynthia Sanders McCarty; The Blount County superintendent is Rodney P. Green; Ken Benton represents my district on the Blount County school board.
5.2. Comparing U.S. educational system with that of Germany. The Germany educational system is significantly different from the U.S. educational system.
5.2.1. Germany's school system selects and sorts its children at a relatively young age and tracks them into a tripartite system of secondary education. The U. S. does not track children.
5.2.2. Germany's students spend part of their day in the lower secondary years working in apprenticeships in businesses and the other part in school. This is viewed as a model for U.S. vocational education.
5.2.3. Less than 15 % of German students complete university education. 30 % of U.S. students complete a baccalaureate degree.
5.2.4. German Universities are State supported and tuition free. U. S. Universities are not free.
5.2.5. German system appears to be meritocratic but academic achievement is related to social class background.
5.2.6. U.S. system is inclusive and equality of educational opportunity for all children is a strong normative value.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Historical curriculum theory I would advocate is social efficiency curriculum.
6.2. Social efficiency curriculum was a philosophically pragmatist approach developed in the early twentieth century.
6.3. Sociological curriculum theory I would advocate is Modern functionalist theory.
6.4. Modern functionalist theory was developed in the U. S. through the works of Talcott Parsons and Robert Dreeben.
6.5. Modern functionalist theory stressed the role of the schools in preparing students for the increasingly complex roles required in modern society.
6.6. Functionalists believed that schools teach students the value that are essential to a modern society.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Educational achievements of women students is that females achieve at higher levels in reading at ages 9, 13, and 17.
7.2. Attainment Gap for women-87.6 % of Females graduated from high school and 29.8% received a bachelor's degree.
7.3. Female students out perform male students in most categories, with the exception of mathematics and science, where they have made some gains.
7.4. Females also achieve higher levels in mathematics at age 9.
7.5. The Coleman Study (1982) in this study James Coleman and his associates found that when they compared the average test scores of public school students to private school students (in 10th grade) private school students outperformed public school students.
7.6. Females have outperformed males in reading since 1973.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Functionalist believe that unequal educational outcomes are the result of unequal educational opportunities.
8.2. Conflict theorists believe that the role of schooling is to reproduce rather than eliminate inequality.
8.3. For functionalists it is imperative to understand the sources of educational inequality so as to ensure the elimination of structural barriers to educational success.
8.4. One explanation for inequalities of education is centered on factors outside of the school, such as the family, the community, the culture of the group, the peer group and the individual student.
8.5. Another explanation for inequalities of education is centered on factors within the school, such as teachers and teaching methods, curriculum, ability grouping and curriculum tracking, school climate, and teacher expectations.
8.6. Conflict theorists, although not denying the deleterious impact of extra-school factors such as poverty, believe that schools play an important role in reproducing the problems.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Throughout the 1990's, public school choice, tuition vouchers for private schools, and charter schools have been key educational reforms.
9.2. Powers and Cookson summarized the available evidence on school choice they concluded five things.
9.2.1. 1. Market-driven choice programs increase stratification within the school districts.
9.2.2. 2. Choice programs increase the educational opportunities for minority students, who, without these programs, would be limited to their neighborhood public schools.
9.2.3. 3. Choice parents tend to be more involved in their children's education.
9.2.4. 4. Choice parents tend to be more satisfied with their children's education.
9.2.5. 5. There is a disagreement among researchers about the effect of choice on student achievement.