1. Politics of Education
1.1. The Conservative Perspective
1.1.1. This perspective originated from 19th century social Darwinist thought.
1.1.2. It developed originally from William Graham Sumner.
1.1.3. This perspective looks at social evolution as a process that enables the strongest individuals to survive.
1.1.4. Primary emphasis is based on the individual and suggests that individuals earn their place within a market economy. Solutions to problems should be addressed at the individual level.
1.1.5. The president, Ronald Reagan, represented this viewpoint.
1.2. The Liberal Perspective
1.2.1. This perspective originated in the 20th century, and originated from the philosopher John Dewey.
1.2.1.1. John Dewey
1.2.2. It came into the political world with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
1.2.3. This perspective believes that if the free market is left unregulated it's prone to abuses. Especially to the groups that are disadvantaged economically and politically.
1.2.4. It insists that the government needs to be involved in the economic, social, and political affairs to ensure all citizens are treated fairly.
1.2.5. It stresses that groups are affected by the structure of society, so solutions to social problems should address group dynamics.
1.3. The Radical Perspective
1.3.1. This perspective believes that democratic socialism is a fairer political-economic system.
1.3.2. It's based off of the writings of Karl Marx.
1.3.3. Radicals believe that the U.S. society can ensure a minimal standard of living for all of its citizens. This includes food, shelter, and healthcare.
1.4. The Neo-Liberal Perspecitve
1.4.1. Reformers of the neo-liberal perspective believe that failing public schools is the result of teacher unions and their support of tenure, layoffs based on seniority, and the absence of student, teacher, and school accountability.
1.4.2. Stresses 5 areas of educational policy
1.4.2.1. Austerity: cutting public spending on education
1.4.2.2. The Market Model: believes that the free market solves social problems better than the government
1.4.2.3. Individualism: educational success or failure is the result of the individual effort
1.4.2.4. State Intervention: Believes that it's at times necessary to ensure equality of opportunity
1.4.2.5. Believes that race and social class are important factors in the achievement gap
1.5. Traditional Vision of Eduation
1.5.1. View that schools are necessary for the transmission of traditional U.S. values of society. These include hard work, family unity, and individual initiave.
1.6. Progressive Vision of Education
1.6.1. Progressives believe that schools should be part of the process to make things better. View that schools are central to solving social problems.
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. The Colonial Era
2.1.1. There were many different beliefs regarding the purpose of education.
2.1.2. Benjamin Franklin believed the students should pursue and education that would allow them mastery of process. Reading, writing, public speaking, and art were key components of study.
2.1.3. Education in the South was mainly for upper class people and took place at home.
2.2. Horace Mann was the leader in the struggle for free public education. He spoke of school as a preparation for citizenship.
2.3. During the first half of the 19th century, very few women received an education.
2.3.1. Emma Hart Willard opened the Troy Female Seminary in 1821, in New York.
2.4. John Dewey (1859-1952) was an advocate of active learning, beginning with the interests and needs of the child. He introduced the notion that the teacher is the facilitator of learning.
2.5. G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) believed that schools should tailor their curriculum to the stages of child development, became know as child- centered reform.
2.6. The Standards Era: 1980s-2012
2.6.1. President G. W. Bush: No Child Left Behind-2001
2.6.2. President Obama: Race to the Top-2009
2.6.2.1. RTT supports Value Added Models that link teacher quality to standardized test scores of student achievement.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Functional Theories
3.1.1. These sociologist stress the interdependence of the social system.
3.1.2. Emile Durkheim was one of the first sociologist to embrace the functionalist point of view.
3.2. Conflict Theories
3.2.1. These sociologist believe that social order is based on the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force, cooptation, and manipulation.
3.2.2. Karl Marx is the founder of the conflict school in the sociology of education.
3.3. Interactional Theories
3.3.1. These sociologist take a closer look at the interactions between students and teachers as well as students and teachers in schools.
3.4. sociological perspectives
3.5. Three Effects of Schooling on Individuals
3.5.1. More years of schooling leads to greater knowledge and social participation.
3.5.2. Employment: Getting an education will lead to greater employment opportunities.
3.5.3. Social Mobility: Most American believe that more education leads to economic and social mobility.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Philosophy acts as the building block for the reflective practitioner.
4.1.1. Engaging in Philosophy helps teachers to clarify what they do and intend to do in a logical manner.
4.2. Idealism
4.2.1. Educators who subscribe to idealism are interested in the search for truth through ideas rather than through the examination of the world of matter.
4.2.2. The teacher's responsibility is to analyze and discuss ideas with students in order for them to move to new levels of awareness.
4.3. Realism
4.3.1. The goal of education is to help individuals understand and then apply the principles of science to help solve the problems plaguing the modern world.
4.4. Pragmatism
4.4.1. Founders of this philosophy are George Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.
4.4.2. The goal is to educate students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers.
4.4.2.1. The primary goal is for the students to have personal improvement and become socially aware members of society.
4.4.3. John Dewey
4.4.4. Integrated Curriculum
4.4.4.1. The curriculum changes as the social order changes and as children's needs and interests change.
4.5. Existentialism
4.5.1. Existentialists believe that education should focus on the needs of individuals, cognitively and affectively.
4.5.2. The role of the teacher is to help students understand the world through posing questions, generating activities, and working together.
4.5.3. Curriculum is biased toward the humanities.
4.6. Neo-Marxism
4.6.1. This philosophy concentrates on the teacher and student as part of a critical pedagogical process.
4.6.1.1. There is a dialectical approach to instruction, with the question and answer method designed to move the student to new levels of awareness.
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. The schools an individual attends shapes his or her perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.
5.2. Governance
5.2.1. Since the federal government made no claims concerning its authority relative to education, the states retained their authority and responsibility for education.
5.2.2. Role of the Superintendent
5.2.2.1. The chief executive officer of the school. They have general management responsibilities, including hiring of senior staff.
5.3. Public schools in the U.S. are organized as elementary, junior high or middle school, and high school.
5.4. Private schools attract students from families that are more affluent and have a commitment to education. Most are located on the East and West Coasts.
5.5. Great Britain
5.5.1. Before the 19th Century, education of children was a responsibility of the parents.
5.5.2. The 1870 Education Act led to the beginning of a national system.
5.5.2.1. State-run schools are controlled by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) while Church schools that continue to operate are funded by the state through LEAs.
5.5.3. 1988 Educational Reform Act
5.5.3.1. England and Wales implemented a highly centralized national curriculum and system of national assessment.
5.6. The Nature of Teaching
5.6.1. Roles include colleague, friend, nurturer of the learner, facilitator of learning, researcher, decision maker, professional leader, and program developer.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Traditional approaches to the curriculum have been concerned with the science of the curriculum.
6.1.1. These approaches view the curriculum as objective bodies of knowledge and examine the ways in which this knowledge may be designed, taught, and evaluated.
6.2. The History of the Curriculum
6.2.1. The history helps explain why the curriculum looks as it does today.
6.2.2. The humanist curriculum reflects the idealist philosophy that knowledge of the traditional liberal arts is the cornerstone of an educated citizenry and the purpose of education is to present students the best of what has been thought and written.
6.2.3. Social-efficiency curriculum
6.2.4. The developmentalist curriculum is related to the needs and interest of the students rather than the needs of society.
6.2.5. Social Meilorist Curriculum is the precursor to what is called contemporary critical curriculum theory.
6.2.5.1. It stresses the role of the curriculum in moving students to become aware of societal problems and active in changing the world.
6.3. The politics of curriculum analyzes the struggles over different conceptions of what should be taught.
6.4. Sociologists of curriculum focus on not only what is taught but why it is taught.
6.4.1. Subject matter to be learned is the formal curriculum.
6.4.2. Hidden curriculum includes what is taught to students through implicit rules and messages.
6.4.3. Functionalists believe the role of the school is to integrate children into the existing social order-a social order that is based on consensus and agreement.
6.4.4. Conflict theorists believe the role of the school is to reproduce the existing social order - a social order that represents the dominant groups in society.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Caste stratification: occurs in agrarian societies where social level is defined in terms of race or religion
7.2. Class stratification: occurs in industrial societies that define social level in terms of a hierarchy of differential achievement by individuals, especially economic pursuits
7.3. Estate Stratification: occurs in agrarian societies where social level is defined in terms of the hierarchy of family worth
7.4. Studies show that the number of books in a family's home is related to the academic achievement of its children.
7.4.1. Social class and level of educational attainment are highly correlated.
7.5. Regular Education Initiative
7.5.1. The Regular Education Initiative (REI) called for mainstreaming children with disabilities into regular classes.
7.6. Hypotheses regarding the relationship between school characteristics and student outcomes
7.6.1. 1: There is a strong, positive relationship between school quality and student achievement.
7.6.2. 2: There is a weak relationship between school characteristics and student outcomes.
7.7. James Coleman http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-ColemanReport.html
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Functionalists believe that the role of schools is to provide a fair and meritocratic selection process for sorting out the best and brightest individuals, regardless of family background.
8.1.1. They believe that unequal educational outcomes are partly the result of unequal educational opportunities.
8.2. Conflict theorists believe that the role of the school is to reproduce rather than eliminate inequality.
8.3. Interactionism suggests that one must understand how people within institutions such as families and schools interact on a daily basis in order to comprehend the factors explaining success and failure.
8.4. Student-centered or extra-school explanations: focus is on factors outside of school, such as the family, community, culture, peer group, and the individual student
8.4.1. Genetic differences
8.4.2. Culture Deprivation Theory: suggests that working-class and nonwhite families often lack the resources, such as books, and arrive at school with a disadvantage
8.4.3. Cultural Difference Theorists attribute cultural differences to social forces such as poverty, racism, discrimination, and unequal life changes.
8.5. School-centered or within-school explanations: focus is on factors within the school, such as teachers and teaching methods, curriculum, ability grouping and curriculum tracking, school climate, and teacher expectations
8.6. Effective school characteristics:
8.6.1. High expectations for students by teachers and administrators
8.6.2. Strong and effective leadership by a principal
8.6.3. Monitoring of student learning
8.6.4. High degree of instructional time on taks
8.6.5. Flexibility for teachers and administrators to experiment and adapt to new situations and problems.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. The first wave of reform stressed the need for increased educational excellence though increased educational standards.
9.2. The second wave targeted at the structure and processes of the schools themselves, more control was placed in the hands of local schools, teachers, and communities.
9.3. In 1990, President G.H.W. Bush announced six goals for U.S. education:
9.3.1. By the year 200 all children start school ready to learn.
9.3.2. High school graduation rates increase to at least 90%.
9.3.3. American students leave grades 4, 8, and 12, having demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter, including English, Math, Science, History, and Geography.
9.3.4. U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
9.3.5. Every adult American will be literate and possess skills needed to compete in a global economy.
9.3.6. Every school in American will be drug and violence free and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.