1. Philosophy of Education
1.1. Generic Notions
1.1.1. Plato argued for the centrality of ideas. Aristotle believed only that through studying the material world was it possible for an individual to clarify or develop ideas.
1.2. Key Researchers
1.2.1. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
1.2.2. Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
1.2.3. John Locke (1632-1704)
1.2.4. North Whitehead (1861-1974)
1.3. Goal of Education
1.3.1. 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.
1.4. Role of Teacher
1.4.1. Teachers should have a broad genre in the basic academic disciplines , a solid grounding in science, mathematics, and humanities. Additionally teachers must present ideas In a clear consistent manner.
1.5. Curriculum
1.5.1. The curriculum for a realist would consist of science, math, reading, writing, and the humanities.
1.6. Method of Instruction
1.6.1. The main methods of instruction for a realist would be lecture, and question, and answer.
2. Schools as Organization
2.1. Goverance
2.1.1. Richard Shelby & Jefferson Sessions
2.1.2. Martha Roby, Bradley Byne, Terri Sewell, Mo Brooks, Gary Palmer, Robert Aderholt, & Michael D. Rogers.
2.1.3. Philip Cleveland
2.1.4. Robert J. Bentley
2.1.5. Casey Wardynski
2.1.6. Laurie McCaulley
2.2. Comparison to One Country
2.2.1. Germany selects and sorts their students at a young age, and tracks them into tripartite system of secondary education.
2.2.2. Hauptschule is for blue- collar and lower- level service positions.
2.2.3. Realschule is for lower- level white- collar and technical positions.
2.2.4. Gymnasium is for academic prep for university and the intellectual and management profession.
2.2.5. Germany has a State supported apprenticeship system.
2.2.6. The reunification of the German educational system is currently a fruitful avenue of educational research in Germany.
3. Curriculum and Pedagogy
3.1. Historical Curriculum Theory
3.1.1. I agree with this theory because it relates to the needs and interests of the student rather than the needs of society.
3.1.2. The teacher, from this perspective, was not a transmitter of knowledge but rather a facilitator of student growth.
3.1.3. It was in the private, independent sector that this view of curriculum and pedagogy first became dominant, with Dewey's progressive principles implemented in a number of independent progressive schools, such as Bank Street (Antler, 1987), City and Country (Pratt, 1924), Dalton (Semel, 1992), Putney (Llyod, 1987), and Shady Hill (Yeomans, 1979).
3.2. Sociological Curriculum Theory
3.2.1. Sociologists of curriculum have focused on not only what is taught but why it is taught.
3.2.2. Functionalists believe the role of the schools is to integrate children into existing social order-- a social order that is based on consensuses and agreement.
3.2.3. From this perspective, the curriculum transmits to students the cultural heritage required for a cohesive social system. Without a shared common culture social order is not possible.
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. Educational Achievement & Attainment
4.2. Response to The Coleman Study
4.2.1. 1. Where an individual goes to school has little effect on his or her cognitive growth or educational mobility.
4.2.2. 2. Subsequent studies that have compared public and private schools have also found that private schools seem to "do it better," particularly for low- income students (Chubb & Moe, 1990; Byrk, Lee, & Holland, 1993).
4.2.3. 3. Where an individual goes to school is often related to her race and socioeconomic background, but the racial and socioeconomic composition of a school has a greater effect on student achievement than an individual's race and class.
5. Educational Inequality
5.1. Sociological Explanations of Unequal Achievement
5.1.1. 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.
5.1.2. The functionalist vision of a just society is one where individuals talent and hard work based on universal principles of evaluation are more important than ascriptive characteristics based on particularistic methods of evaluation.
5.1.3. Functionalists believe that unequal educational outcomes are the result, in part, of unequal educational opportunities
5.2. School Centered Explanation
5.2.1. School processes are central to understanding unequal educational performance.
5.2.2. It is focused on both between and within- school process.
5.2.3. Student differences were more important than school differences, a conclusion that his subsequent work on public and private school rejects.
6. Educational Reform
6.1. School Based Reforms
6.1.1. School to work Programs: Relevant education, allowing students to explore different careers and see what skills are required in their working environment.
6.1.2. Their intent was to extend what had been a vocational emphasis to non- college- bound students regarding skills necessary for successful employment and to stress the importance of work-based learning.
6.1.3. Every state and locally created school-to-work system had to contain three core elements: 1. school-based learning; 2. work-based learning; and 3. connecting activities.
6.2. Societal, Community, Economic, and Political Reforms
6.2.1. A Combination of these three reforms are necessary to reduce the achievement gap (Bryk et al., 2010).
6.2.2. The real problem in U.S education has been, and continues to be, that it works exceptionally well for children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and exceptionally poorly for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
6.2.3. Like many others, Darling- Hammond concludes that the U.S education system will continue to fail many of its students at great cost to society as a whole if it does not equalize access to educational opportunity and support meaningful learning (Darling-Hammond, 2010).
7. Politics of Education
7.1. Liberal
7.1.1. The liberal views was originated in the twentieth century by a philosopher named John Dewey during the time period of the 80's and 90's.
7.1.2. The liberal perspective insists that government involvement in the economic, political, and social arenas is necessary to ensure fair treatment of all citizens and to ensure a healthy economy.
7.1.3. When dealing with social problems the liberals stress that groups rather than individuals are affected by the structure of society, so solutions to social problems must address group dynamics rather than individuals alone.
7.2. Traditional
7.2.1. Traditionalist tend to view the schools as necessary to the transmission of the traditional values of U.S society.
7.2.2. Traditionalists believe schools should pass on the best of what was and what is.
7.2.3. Traditional visions encompass the right liberal to the conservative spectrums.
8. History of U.S Education
8.1. Reform Movement
8.1.1. Generally, education for women was viewed as biologically harmful or too stressful.
8.1.2. Although educational opportunities for women were expanding during the period of the Civil War, education for AA was severely limited.
8.1.3. During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
8.2. Historical Interpretation
8.2.1. Conservative Perspectives argue that U.S students knew very little and that U.S schools were mediocre.
8.2.2. Ravitch a passionate critique argued that preoccupation with using education to solve social problems has not solved these problems and, simultaneously, has led to the erosion of educational excellence.
8.2.3. Most of these reforms have resulted in a corporate takeover of public schooling and threaten the democratic nature of public schooling.
9. Sociology Perspectives
9.1. Relationships between School and Society
9.1.1. Sociologists of education often ask big questions about the relation between school and society because they believe that educators cannot really understand how schools and society interact.
9.1.2. Schools socially and culturally reproduce the existing society through the systematic socialization of its youngest members.
9.1.3. Not only do schools help shape students perceptions and consciousness but they also act as important, perhaps the most important, sorters and selectors of students.
9.2. Three Effects of Schooling on Individuals
9.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
9.2.2. Teacher Behavior
9.2.3. Gender