1. These supports are most needed in the highest poverty school, which is also where they are most difficult to implement.
2. Curriculum and Pedology
2.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
2.1.1. focuses on the needs and interests of the student rather than the needs of society
2.1.2. student-centered, flexible, and relates school to real-life
2.1.3. teacher is a facilitator rather than transmitter
2.2. Modern Functionalist Theory
2.2.1. school curriculum is designed to enable students to function within a democratic, meritocratic, and expert society
2.2.2. moves away from teaching of isolated facts through memorization to the general task of teaching students how to learn
2.2.3. schools teach students the values essential to modern society
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Theoretical Perspectives
3.1.1. Functional Theories
3.1.1.1. view society as a kind of machines, where one part articulates with another to produce dynamic energy required to make society work; emphasizes cohesion
3.1.2. Conflict Theories
3.1.2.1. view society as a result of the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through forces, cooptation, and manipulation; emphasizes struggle
3.1.3. Interactional Theories
3.1.3.1. primarily critiques and extensions of the other perspectives; functional and conflict theories are very abstract- showing the "big picture", whereas interactional theory focuses on the everyday level
3.2. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
3.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
3.2.1.1. differences between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies make a difference in student learning; educated people are more likely to read and take part in politics, and have a higher sense of well-being and self-esteem
3.2.2. Employment
3.2.2.1. graduating college=greater employment opportunities; job performance is weakly related to education though, since most job skills are learned on the job; income is not entirely related to education either- often age, employer, union, and social class are also considered
3.2.3. Mobility
3.2.3.1. highly debated relationship to education, but overall most people agree that education leads to economic and social mobility
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. The Coleman Study (1966)
4.1.1. Response 1: examination and reexamination
4.1.1.1. sociologists more or less substantiated what Coleman had found
4.1.1.2. where an individual goes to school has little effect on his or her cognitive growth or educational mobility
4.1.1.3. extremely controversial study: what does this say about the power of education to overcome inequalities?
4.1.2. Response 2: defining those characteristics of schools that made them effective
4.2. Marginalized Populations
4.2.1. African-Americans
4.2.2. Hispanic-Americans
4.2.3. Women
4.2.3.1. Achievement
4.2.3.1.1. in the past, women were less likely to attain the same level of education as men
4.2.3.1.2. now, females outperform males in most categories, excepting math and science
4.2.3.2. Attainment
4.2.3.2.1. 87.6% graduated high school and 29.8 received a bachelor's degree in 2012
4.2.3.2.2. more women now attend post-secondary institutions than men
4.2.4. Special Needs Students
5. Educational Inequality
5.1. Functionalists
5.1.1. Role of school is to sort out the brightest individuals, regardless of family background.
5.1.2. Unequal results ought to be based on individual differences rather than group differences.
5.1.3. In reality, unequal educational outcomes are the result of unequal educational opportunities.
5.2. Cultural Deprivation Theory
5.2.1. Working-class and nonwhite families often lack cultural resources, and thus arrive at school at a significant disadvantage.
5.2.2. Poor families have a culture that does not view schooling as the means to social mobility, resulting in educationally disadvantaged students.
5.2.3. Based on this theory, programs were developed that aimed at the family environment of working-class and nonwhite students.
6. Educational Reform
6.1. Teacher Quality
6.1.1. Even highly qualified teachers become highly unqualified teachers when they are placed in a classroom out of their field.
6.1.2. Urban schools have more out-of-field teachers than others, as well as more novice teachers.
6.1.3. Problems in staffing at urban schools is suggested to be an organizational problem: the hiring of unqualified teachers, poor working conditions, and high turnover.
6.1.4. Many programs- such as Teach for America- do not address the organizational problems.
6.2. Connecting School, Community, and Societal Reforms
6.2.1. A combination of school, community, and societal level reforms are necessary to reduce the achievement gap.
6.2.1.1. leadership as the driver for change
6.2.1.2. parent-community ties
6.2.1.3. professional capacity
6.2.1.4. student-centered learning climate
6.2.1.5. instructional guidance
6.2.2. Educational reform needs to focus on equity.
6.2.2.1. Linda Darling-Hammond
6.2.2.1.1. Five elements needed to reform education.
6.2.2.1.2. Our society must provide for the basic needs of all children so that they are able to focus their attention on their academic work instead of survival.
7. Politics of Education
7.1. Progressive Vision: schools should be a part of the steady progress to make things better
7.1.1. Radical
7.1.1.1. The Role of the School: schools should reduce inequality of educational results and provide upward social mobility
7.1.1.2. Explanations of Unequal Educational Performance: students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds begin school with unequal opportunities, but educational failure is a result of the economic system, not the educational system
7.1.1.3. Definition of Educational Problems: schools have failed the poor, minorities, and women through classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic policies; schools have promoted conformity, which stifles critical understanding of problems in American society; curriculum is classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic, and leaves out the cultures, histories, and voices of the oppressed
7.1.1.4. Educational Policy and Reform: educational reform alone will not solve educational problems; greater democratization of schools; curriculum and teaching methods should be multicultural, antiracist, antisexist, anticlassist, and antihomophobic
7.1.1.5. The American Dream: the history of U.S. education has been the story of false promises and shattered dreams
7.1.2. Left Liberal
7.2. Traditional Vision: schools should pass on the best of what was and what is
7.2.1. Right Liberal
7.2.2. Conservative
7.2.2.1. The Role of the School: schools are essential to both economic productivity and social stability
7.2.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Educational Performance: individuals or groups of students rise and fall on their own intellegence, hard work, and initiative; achievement is based on hard work
7.2.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems: decline of standards, decline of cultural literacy, decline of values or of civilization, decline of authority, and stifling by bureaucracy and ineffieciency
7.2.2.4. Educational Policy and Reform: return to basics, return to traditional academic curriculum, introduce accoutability measures, intoduce free market mechanisms
7.2.2.5. The American Dream: the U.S. educational system is found wanting, especially in relation to its role in economic development and competitiveness
8. Philosophy of Education
8.1. Idealism
8.1.1. teach through dialogue; focus is on ideas
8.1.1.1. Generic Notions
8.1.1.1.1. engaging individuals in a dialogue that questions that individual's point of view; education is important as a means of moving individuals collectively toward achieving the good
8.1.1.2. Key Researchers
8.1.1.2.1. Plato, St. Augustine, Descartes, Kant, and Hegel
8.1.1.3. Goal of Education
8.1.1.3.1. encourage students to search for truth as individuals; education is transformation
8.1.1.4. Role of the Teacher
8.1.1.4.1. teacher plays an active role in the classroom and brings out that which is already in the student's mind; supports moral education as a means of linking ideas to action; sees themself as a role model to be emulated by student
8.1.1.5. Method of Instruction
8.1.1.5.1. teacher is involved in students' learning and lecture rarely; students are encouraged to discuss, analyze, synthesize, and apply what they have learned; students work in groups or individually on research projects
8.1.1.6. Curriculum
8.1.1.6.1. study of classics; Great Books; great literature for all ages; back-to-basics
8.2. Realism
8.2.1. teach by lecture and question & answer; focus is on reality
8.3. Pragmatism
8.3.1. teach through problem-solving or inquiry method; focus is on working or solving the problem by relying on previous knowledge
8.4. Existentialism and Phenomenology
8.4.1. teach each student in their own personal learning style; focus is on the individual, who creates their own meaning
8.5. Neo-Marxism
8.5.1. teach through a dialectical approach to instruction designed to move the student to new levels of awareness; focus is on education as transformation
8.6. Postmodernist and Critical Theory
9. Schools as Organizations
9.1. Madison County School District Stakeholders
9.1.1. State Senators
9.1.1.1. Bill Hotlzclaw
9.1.1.2. Arthur Orr
9.1.1.3. Paul Sanford
9.1.1.4. Steve Livingston
9.1.1.5. Clay Scofield
9.1.2. House of Representatives
9.1.2.1. Phil Williams
9.1.2.2. Mike Ball
9.1.2.3. Laura Hall
9.1.2.4. Howard Sanderford
9.1.2.5. Jim Patterson
9.1.2.6. Ritchie Whorton
9.1.2.7. Mac McCutcheon
9.1.3. State Superintendent
9.1.3.1. Dr. Phillip Cleveland
9.1.4. Representative for State School Board
9.1.4.1. Mary Scott Hunter
9.1.5. Local Superintendent
9.1.5.1. Matthew Allen Massey
9.1.6. Local School Board
9.1.6.1. Dan Nash
9.1.6.2. Angie Bates
9.1.6.3. Mary Louise Stowe
9.1.6.4. David Vess
9.1.6.5. Jeff Anderson
9.2. International Comparison
9.2.1. United States
9.2.1.1. primary schools are relatively untracked
9.2.1.2. secondary schools are tracked, but provide a relatively high degree of access to higher education
9.2.1.3. higher education is open to a large number of students, but is unequal and stratified
9.2.1.4. about 75% of students enter either college, university, or community college; about 30% complete baccalaureate degree
9.2.2. Germany
9.2.2.1. primary schools sort and select students
9.2.2.2. secondary schools are highly stratified and tracked, marked by a rigorous university preparatory track and two vocational and technical tracks, with a State-supported apprenticeship system
9.2.2.3. higher education is somewhat equal and undifferentiated
9.2.2.4. of those on the university preparatory track, about 25% qualify for university attendance; more than half enroll in technical colleges, the rest in universities; about 15% complete this university education
10. History of U.S. Education
10.1. Reforms
10.1.1. The Rise of the Common School
10.1.2. Urbanization and the Progressive Impetus
10.1.3. Education for All: the Emergence of the Public High School
10.1.4. Cycles of Reform: Progressive and Traditional
10.1.5. Equality of Opportunity
10.1.5.1. The struggle for all Americans, and particularly African-Americans, to receive an equal education has been a long one. In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson, which allowed schools to remain segregated. In the 1930s and 1940s, the NAACP initiated a campaign to overthrow the law, with school segregation a major component. They achieved a huge victory in 1954, when the Supreme Court ruled segregation of schools unconstitutional (Brown v. Topeka BOE). During the 1960s and 1970s, desegregation of schools was happening, despite the protests of many. The educational reformers then shifted their focus to the improvement of education for inner-city school districts. The argument was that though the schools had been forcibly desegregated by law, many schools remained de facto segregated, and all students were not given the same educational opportunities. School finance litigation began attempting to equalize spending high-income suburban and low-income urban and rural districts.
10.1.6. Education Reaction and Reform and the Standards Era
10.2. Historical Interpretations
10.2.1. Th Democratic-Liberal School
10.2.1.1. believe that the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution of providing equality of opportunity for all; popularization and multitudinousness; they interpret the U.S. educational history optimistically
10.2.2. The Radical-Revisionist School
10.2.2.1. revised the history of education in a more critical direction; acknowledge the expansion of the educational system, but believe it was expanded to meet the needs of the elite; pessimistic interpretation
10.2.3. Conservative Perspectives
10.2.3.1. agree with the democratic-liberal belief that schools have expanded opportunities for countless numbers of the disadvantaged and immigrants, but argue that the evolution has resulted in a dilution of academic standards