1. Politics of Education
1.1. Conservation
1.1.1. 1. This perspective was developed by William Graham Sumner.
1.1.2. 2. This process enables the strongest individuals and/or groups to survive, and looks at social evolution as adaptation to changes in the environment.
1.1.3. 3. From this point of view individuals and groups must compete in the social environment in order to survive, and human progress is dependent on individual initiative and drive.
1.1.4. 4. 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.
1.2. Traditional
1.2.1. 1. Traditional visions encompass the right of liberal to the conservative spectrum.
1.2.2. 2. The role of school should provide the necessary educational training to ensure that the most talented and hard-working individuals receive the tools necessary to maximize economic and social productivity.
1.2.3. 3. They argue that individuals or groups of students rise and fall in their own intelligence, hard work, and intuitive, and that groups have other advantages over others.
1.2.4. 4 - Return to the basics - Traditional academic curriculum - Accountability - Free market mechanism - Quality with equality -Balance should be maintained.
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. Education for Women
2.1.1. 1. Through the 19th century educational opportunities for women, for only a few achieved literacy and numeracy.
2.1.2. 2. The movement for women's educational rights started in 1820.
2.1.3. 3. Ther were ,many female reformers that dedicated themselves towards educational rights for women
2.2. The Democratic-Liberal School
2.2.1. 1. Democratic-Liberals believe that U.S. education involves the progressive evolution of a school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all.
2.2.2. 2. They suggest that each period of educational expansion involved the attempts of liberal reformers to expand educational opportunities to a larger segment of the population.
2.2.3. 3. In the United States the focus from Democratic-Liberals was on the expansion of opportunity and purpose.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Functional Theories
3.1.1. 1. The functionalist view society as a machine
3.1.2. 2. Functionalist assume that consensus is the normal state of society and conflict represents breakdowns of shared values.
3.1.3. 3. Schools socialize students into the appropriate values , and sort and select students according to their abilities.
3.1.4. 4. Educational reform for a functional point of view creates structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced , rational, and support unity.
3.2. Knowledge and Attitude
3.2.1. 1. Academically oriented schools do produce higher rates of learning.
3.2.2. 2. Student achievement levels increase in schools that indicate for students to take academic subjects and are consistent on discipline.
3.2.3. 3. It has been found that the actual amount of time that students spend in school is directly related to how much they learn.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Pragmatism
4.1.1. 1. Generic Notation-The purpose of Pragmatism is children can learn skills both experientially and from books. This would enable them to work cooperatively in society. This rested on the notion that children were active, organic beings, growing and changing, and that required a course of study that would reflect their particular stages of development.
4.1.2. 2. Key Researchers- George Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), William James (1842-1910), John Dewey (1859-1952), Frances Bacon(1561-1626), John Locke(1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712-1778)
4.1.3. 3. Goal of Education- The importance of the school was were ideas were implemented, challenged, and restructured, with the goal of providing students with the knowledge of how to improve social order
4.1.4. 4. Role of Teacher- The teachers role is to encourage, offer suggestions, questions, and helps plan and implement the courses of study. The teacher becomes the facilitator rather than the authorization figure.
4.1.5. 5. Method of Instruction- Students inquire knowledge both individually and in groups. This method of instruction is referred to as problem-solving, and allows for students to appose questions about what they want to know and learn about.
4.1.6. 6. Curriculum- Progressive educators support starting with contemporary problems and working from the known to the unknown. This is considered as expanding environments. An emphasis is stressed for the need of the curriculum to be related to the needs and interest of the student based on imagination and intuition. It is a balance between traditional disciplines, and the needs and interest of the student. Pragmatism curriculum is an integrated curriculum that provides the most effective means to its balance.
5. Schools of Oraganization
5.1. Lauderdale County School Sysytem
5.1.1. State Senators- Tim Melson and Larry Stutts
5.1.2. House of Representatives- Phillip Pettus, Lynn Greer, Marcel Black, and Johnny Mack Morrow
5.1.3. State Superintendent- Tommy Bice
5.1.4. Representative on State School Board- Jeffery Newman
5.1.5. Local Superintendent- Jennifer Gray
5.1.6. Local School Board- Jennifer Gray, Chad Holden, Daniel Patterson, Jerry Fulmer, Ronnie Owens, and Barbra Cornelius
5.2. France
5.2.1. 1. Frances educational system is centralized.
5.2.2. 2. The central government in France controls the educational systems rights.
5.2.3. 3. France has two school systems- one for the ordinary and one for the elite.
5.2.4. 4. Their educational system is excessively verbal.
5.2.5. 5. Elementary, secondary, and postsecondary school systems for the talented.
5.2.6. 6. Frances school system is very competitive.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
6.1.1. 1. The approach to teaching is student centered and its concerns are relating the curriculum to the needs and interest of each student at their developmental stages.
6.1.2. 2. The curriculum stresses the importance of relating schooling to life experiences of each child in a way that would make education come alive in a meaningful manner.
6.1.3. 3. The teacher serves as a facilitator for student growth.
6.2. Modern Functionalist
6.2.1. 1.Stresses the role of schools in preparing students for complex roles in society.
6.2.2. 2. The general task is to teach students how to learn.
6.2.3. 3. Teach students th values that are engaged to a modern society
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Students with special needs
7.1.1. 1 Students with special needs were focused towards .equality of educational opportunities and appropriate placement of students within the educational systems.
7.1.2. 2. In 1975, congress passed the Education of all Handicapped Children Law (EHA) which later became known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
7.1.3. 3. The right of access to public education programs
7.1.4. 4. The individualization of services
7.1.5. 5. Participating in a least restrictive environment
7.1.6. 6. Serves that are provided to the school and a et of procedures that determine them.
7.1.7. 7. General guidelines for identifying disabilities and primary state with local responsibilities.
7.1.8. 8. The purpose of the law was to guarantee that children with special needs were properly identified and placed in appropriate classes.
7.2. Coleman Study: Round One
7.2.1. 1. Where an individual goes to school and has little effect on his or her cognitive growth or educational mobility.
7.2.2. 2. Data and Common sense seperate
7.2.3. 3. Characteristics of academically elite schools are relatively significant in terms of students outcome.
7.2.4. 4. Researchers examined the effects of magnet schools on student learning, arguing that schools were innovative, learner centered, and mission driven could make a difference in what students learned and how they learned it.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Unequal Educational Achievement
8.1.1. 1. Functionalist believe that unequal educational outcomes are the result, in part, of unequal educational opportunities.
8.1.2. 2. The role of schooling is to reproduce rather then eliminate inequality
8.1.3. 3. The fact that educational outcomes are to a large degree based on family background and it is a difficult task to understand.
8.1.4. 4. One must understand how people within institutions interact on a daily basis in order to comprehend the factors explaining academic success and failure.
8.1.5. 5. There are contributing factors in race, class, and gender based applications.
8.2. Student-centered Educational Achievement
8.2.1. 1. The argument among this topic is that school differences and financing were responsible for this problem.
8.2.2. 2. The Coleman Report argued that school differences were not the most significant explanation for student achievement.
8.2.3. 3. Differences among students themselves, their families, their neighborhood and community, their culture, and perhaps even their genetic makeup contributes to the student-centered explanation of achievement.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Teacher Quality
9.1.1. 1. The most important problem in America is to recruit and retain high quality teachers.
9.1.2. 2. A problem that is faced is the result of out-of-field teaching which means that teachers are being assigned to teach subjects which do not match their training or education.
9.1.3. 3, The answer to this problem is that schools are unorganized making it easier for teachers to be in the absence of professionalism among their working conditions.
9.1.4. 4. School improvements have stressed the existence of teacher tenure and seniority based transfers in improving teacher quality.
9.2. Connecting School, Community, and Societal Reform
9.2.1. 1. School reforms must be based on a number of essential support , including: Leadership for change, parent-community ties, professional capacity, student-centered learning, and instructional guidance.
9.2.2. 2. Educational reforms must include polices aimed at the amelioration of the effects of poverty.
9.2.3. 3. The real problem in U.S. education has been that it works well for children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, and poorly from those in lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
9.2.4. 4. As the nation moves forward into new millennium, educational equity needs to be on the front burner of educational reform.
9.2.5. 5. Meaningful learning goals, intelligent, reciprocal accountability systems, equitable and adequate resources, strong professional standards and support, and schools organized for student and teacher learning will be built into the U.S. educational reform to provide for the basic needs of all children.