My Foundations of Education
by Anna Baugher
1. It has been proven that males are better at mathematics than women are.(Which makes sense because I'm horrible at math)
2. Politics of Education
2.1. The Conservative perspective was developed by the sociologist William Graham Sumner. Conservatives believe in individual responsibility/initiative, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense.
2.2. The Liberal perspective was originally founded by the ideas of John Dewey. The perspective came into dominant use during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This era was known as the New Deal Era. Liberals believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all. They believe it is the governments duty to allocate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual human rights. Liberals believe that the role of the government should be to make sure no one is in need. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems.
2.3. Traditional visions view schools as a necessity in the transmission of the traditional values of U.S. society. The values include: hard work, family unity, individual initiative. Traditionalist believe that schools should teach the best qualities Americans need to have a successful life.
3. History of U.S. Education
3.1. The Post World War II Equity Era: 1945-1980
3.2. The debate was now on the goals of education and also whether or not all students should receive the same education.
3.3. The most important feature of this new reform was the demand for expansion of educational opportunity.
3.4. The debates between the traditionalist and progressives continued.
3.4.1. The Progressives believed in experiential education curriculum that responded to both the needs of the students and the times, child centered education, freedom and individualism, and the relativism of academic standards in the name of equity.
3.4.2. The traditionalist believed in knowledge-centered education, a traditional subject-centered curriculum, teacher-centered education, discipline and authority, and the defense of academic standards in the name of excellence.
3.5. Some important critics mentioned in the text: Mortimer Smith, Robert Hutchins, and Arthur Bestor.
3.6. The launch of the Soviet space satellite Sputnik ended "the great debate" because Americans could not stand the idea that the Soviets would win the space race. In response to the launch a national commitment to improve educational standards was put in progress.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Generic Notions about Progressivism
4.2. Progressivism focuses on the students more than the subject matter that is being taught.
4.2.1. Progressivism gives the students an opportunity to be independent.
4.3. Progressivism gives the students an opportunity to be independent.
4.4. Progressivism provokes student engagement by making learning fun.
4.5. Key Researchers
4.6. John Dewey
4.7. William Kilpatrick
4.8. Francis Parker
4.9. Goal of Education
4.10. The Goal of Education is strictly social. The role of the school should be to promote the development of moral and social values of the student as an individual. Progressivism helps students develop new ideas which helps society grow for the better.
4.11. Role of the Teacher
4.12. The teacher should act as the facilitator, teaching essential knowledge in a way that interests the students. The teacher should be a facilitator because the students need to experiment with doing things on their own to become independent individuals in society.
4.13. The teacher should act as a role model for the students.
4.14. Teachers should also be a content expert.
4.15. Method of Instruction
4.16. Progressivism methods of instruction are based on the interests of the students
4.17. Curriculum
4.18. The Progressivism view on curriculum is that educators are not set to teach a fixed curriculum, but rather the curriculum changes as the society changes as well as the children’s interests change.
4.19. There has to be a balance of essential subject matter (such as mathematics, literature, history, and the sciences) as well a balance in the student’s interests.
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. State Senators
5.2. Gerald Allen
5.3. Mark Blackwell
5.4. Pricilla Dunn
5.5. House of Representatives
5.6. Mike Hubbard
5.7. Victor Gaston
5.8. Jeffery Woodard
5.9. State Superintendent
5.10. Tommy Bice
5.11. Representative on State School Board
5.12. Governor Robert Bentley (president)
5.13. Local Superintendent
5.14. Trey Holladay (Athens City Schools)
5.15. Local School Board
5.16. Mr. Russell Johnson - President
5.17. Mrs. Beverly Malone - Vice President
5.18. Japanese School Systems
5.19. The first school system was established in Japan in the 1800s. The Japanese system of education is very competitive.
5.20. To get into a prestigious college students must pass exams that are extremely competitive. "This emphasis on achievement and attainment is exemplified by the fact that Japanese students excel in every measured international standard up to the age of 17, both for the top students and for the 95 percent of students who graduate from high school" pg. 227.
5.21. Japanese students have a very good work ethic that is from their culture.
5.22. The "double schooling" phenomenon originated in Japan.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. The Social Efficiency Curriculum (HISTORY)
6.2. This philosophically pragmatist approach came about in the early twentieth century.
6.3. The social efficiency curriculum was rooted in the belief that different groups of students, with different sets of needs and aspirations, should get different types of schooling.
6.4. This is a Progressivism curriculum. There should be student choice involved.
6.5. Modern Functionalist Theory (SOCIAL)
6.6. The Modern Functionalist Theory was developed through the works of Talcott Parsons (1959) and Robert Dreeben (1968).
6.7. This theory stressed the role of the schools in preparing students for the increasingly complex roles required in a modern society.
6.8. The functionalists believed the curriculum had to change to meet the new requirements of the modern world.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Women
7.2. In the past, women were less likely to attain the same level of education as males were. Today, woman are less likely to quit school than males.
7.3. Males are more likely to make higher grades on the SATS than females.
7.4. It has been proven that in the last 20 years gender differences in education have decreased.
7.5. The decline of male performance is said to be because of "feminizing" of the classroom.
7.6. This chapter discusses the fact that women are discriminated when it comes to occupations and social status.
7.7. The Coleman Study (1966)
7.8. This study proved that where a person attends school has a small effect on his or her cognitive growth or educational mobility. I agree with sociologist James Coleman's study. I think attending certain schools only effects a person politically and socially.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Student-Centered Explanations
8.2. These explanations were based off of why students in lower socioeconomic backgrounds did worse in school than the students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds.
8.3. A study by the Coleman and colleagues (1966) in Equality of Educational Opportunity (aka the Coleman Report) found that the difference in the students had more of an effect on educational performances by the students.
8.4. The studies show that there are more academic differences between students at the same schools rather then at different schools.
8.5. School Financing
8.6. A man named Jonathan Kozol (1991) found that there was a large difference in the funding of rich and poor school districts.
8.7. Public schools are funded from local, state, and federal sources. Most of the funds come from state and local taxes (local property taxes are a large sourse of school funding).
8.8. In 1971 in the Serrano v. Priest case, the Supreme Court in California ruled that unequal school financing between poor and wealthy school districts unconstitutional. The use of property taxes for school funding is also illegal.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Charter Schools
9.2. Charter schools are schools that are free from any regulations applied to public schools, but are held accountable for the students achievement rates.
9.3. One difference from public schools is a charter school is paid for with tax dollars, and open to every student in the school's district.
9.4. People who are for the charter schools say that they admit the students who often do not do well in public schools.
9.5. Full Service and Community Schools
9.6. This is a plan to educate the entire community rather than just the children in the community.
9.7. There are three different approaches to community-based reforms: Dryfoos, Canada's Harlem Children's Zone, and Newark's Broader Bolder Approach. Each of these services focus on helping the students' and their families educational, physical, psychological, and social needs.
9.8. These programs are set up in neighborhoods (especially high-risk neighborhoods) to help prevent problems from occurring. Researchers say that full service and community schools affect student achievement.
10. Sociology of Education
10.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
10.2. It is found that the higher your social class background is the higher you achievement level will be in education.
10.3. Researchers also discovered that differences in the academics and policies effect student learning. Meaning that school systems in the lower social class are lacking in academics compared to higher class school districts.
10.4. Employment
10.5. Graduating college makes a huge difference when you are trying to get a job.
10.5.1. Large organizations and cooperation's require such degrees.
10.6. Research has shown that the amount of education barely effects job performance.
10.7. Here are some of the jobs that Berg studied that job performance has nothing to do with the amount of education you have received.
10.7.1. Factory workers, maintenance workers, department store clerks, technicians, secretaries, bank tellers, engineers, industrial research scientist, military personnel, and federal civil service employers.
10.8. Schools act as the component who decides who is employed in the high-status occupations.
10.9. Women with professional degrees earned a lot less than men with degrees. This is completely unfair.
10.9.1. Reasons for the pay difference between men and women include: segregation by sex, pay discrimination, and it is said that women take off work more due to family commitments than men do.
10.10. Education and Mobility
10.11. Civil Religion is a belief that most American have meaning that schooling is the equalizer in the "great status race".
10.12. Most Americans believe that the higher the education the more money you will make which will lead to economic and social security.
10.12.1. Turner (1960) called this contest mobility.
10.12.2. He compared contest mobility to the UK's sponsored mobility.
10.12.2.1. Sponsored mobility is when students are chosen at a young age for academic and university education and the social class background made a huge difference on whether you were picked to receive the higher education opportunity.
10.13. Researcher named Hopper (1971) founded a difference between educational amount and educational route.
10.13.1. Meaning how many years of education one has and then where they got their education from.
10.13.1.1. Example of this is attending a private or public school. The private school goer will act as the more prestigious educational route.