1. Ch. 6: Schools as Organizaztions
1.1. Madison County: District 4
1.1.1. State Senate: Paul Sanford
1.1.2. House of Representatives: Phil Vandiver
1.1.3. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
1.1.4. State School Board Representatives:
1.1.5. Local Superintendent: Matthew Massey
1.1.6. Local School Board: Nathan Curry, Angie Bates, Mary Louise Stowe, Dave Weis, Shere Rucker,
1.2. elements of change in school process
1.2.1. teachers, teaching, and professionalism: teaching qualifications became higher, expansion on social responsibilities for teachers, teaching is a professional position
1.2.2. proficiency-based curricula: quality of teaching was to be assessed through the testing of students
1.2.3. resource inequality: analyzed by distribution of basic educational resources across schools nationally
2. Ch. 7: Curriculum & Pedagogy
2.1. social meliorist curriculum:
2.1.1. developed in 1930
2.1.2. precursor to what is called contemporary critical curriculum theory
2.1.3. teaches students to think about and help solve societal problems
2.1.4. stresses that the role of curriculum to move children to become aware of societal problems and active in changing them
2.2. two dominant traditions of teaching
2.2.1. mimetic: the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students
2.2.1.1. didactic method: relies on lecture or presentation as main form of communication
2.2.1.2. educational process involves the relationship between the knower and the learner, stresses the importance of rational sequencing in the teaching process and assessment of the learning process
2.2.2. transformative: the purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way, including intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally
2.2.2.1. dialectical method: process of teaching involves conversation between teacher and student
2.2.2.2. focus on individual growth that leads to social change
3. Ch. 8: Equality of Opportunity
3.1. impact on educational outcomes of class, race, and gender
3.1.1. Class
3.1.1.1. education expenses tend to favor middle to upper class families
3.1.1.2. middle to upper class children speak better "standard" English and have access to higher quantities of books in their household
3.1.2. Race
3.1.2.1. lower levels of proficiency in minority races
3.1.2.2. minorities do not receive the same educational opportunities as whites, and their rewards are significantly less
3.1.3. Gender
3.1.3.1. females are less likely to drop out of school than males and have higher reading proficiencies
3.1.3.2. males have higher mathematics proficiencies
3.1.3.3. gender difference in educational achievement has been reduced greatly, but society still discriminates against women occupationally and socially, questioning the correlation of the two
3.2. two responses to the Coleman Study of 1982
3.2.1. the differences between public and private/Catholic schools are statistically significant, but in terms of differences in learning, the results are negligible
3.2.2. where an individual goes to school is often related to his or 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
4. Ch. 9: Educational Inequality
4.1. two types of cultural deprivation theory
4.1.1. working-class and nonwhite families often lack the cultural resources and educational stimuli, thus arriving at school at a significant disadvantage
4.1.2. the culture of poverty eschews delayed gratification for immediate reward, rejects hard work and initiative as a means to success, and does not view schooling as the means to social mobility
4.2. describe four school-centered explanations for educational inequality
4.2.1. school financing: children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do not receive equality of opportunity in terms of funding
4.2.2. effective school research: using between-school differences and within-school differences to ensure proper research is done in findings on equality
4.2.3. gender and schooling: organization of schools reinforces gender roles and inequalities, curriculums "silence women",
5. Ch. 10: Educational Reform
5.1. describe two school-based reforms
5.1.1. School Choice: Students and families will have the option to choose if they want to attend a different school than in their zoned district
5.1.1.1. Intersectional: includes private schools, Intrasectional: students can move between public school districts Intradistrict: options to students within their public school district
5.1.2. Charter Schools: Essentially public schools without some of the regulations applied to traditional public schools, students have the option to attend when public schools are deemed failing, funding comes out of public school system budget
5.2. describe two societal, economic, community, or political reforms
5.2.1. No Child Left Behind: mandates uniform standards for all students in order to reduce and eventually eliminate social class and race achievement gap
5.2.2. Harlem Children's Zone: Geoffrey Canada's program to provide "baby colleges" and all necessities for parents even before having children to keep them staying in the Harlem area and improve Harlem's children instead of moving them
6. Ch. 2: Politics of Education
6.1. four purposes of education
6.1.1. intellectual: to teach basic cognitive skills, transmit specific knowledge, and help students acquire higher-order thinking skills
6.1.2. political: inculcate allegiance to the existing political order, prepare citizens who will participate in this political order, help assimilate diverse, cultural groups into a common political order, and teach children basic laws of the society
6.1.3. social: help solve social problems, work as one of many institutions to ensure cohesion, and socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of society
6.1.3.1. socialization: key ingredient to the stability of any society
6.1.4. economic: prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor
6.2. the role of school: directly concerned with the aims, purposes, and functions of education in a society
6.2.1. conservative perspective: providing necessary educational training to ensure that the most talented and hard-working individuals receive the tools necessary to maximize economic and social productivity.
6.2.2. liberal perspective: stresses training and socializing functions, but believe in equality of opportunity for all students to succeed
6.2.2.1. education balances the needs of society and the individual
6.2.3. radical perspective: believe schools ought to eliminate inequalities
6.3. explanations of unequal performance
6.3.1. conservatives argue individuals and groups rise and fall on their own intelligence, hard work, and initiative
6.3.1.1. the school system is designed to allow individuals the opportunity to succeed, if they do not it is a deficiency on their part
6.3.2. liberals argue that individuals begin with disadvantages and it is society's job to equalize those chances
6.3.3. radicals argue that educational failure is the fault of the economic system and can only be changed by political-economic structure
6.4. definition of educational problems
6.4.1. conservatives argue:
6.4.1.1. decline of standards
6.4.1.2. decline of cultural literacy
6.4.1.3. decline of values or of civilization
6.4.1.4. decline of authority
6.4.2. liberals argue:
6.4.2.1. limited life chances and underachivement
6.4.2.2. over emphasis on discipline and authority/limit development of individuals
6.4.2.3. differences in quality and climate of urban/suburban schools
6.4.2.4. traditional curriculum excludes diverse cultures
6.4.3. radicals argue:
6.4.3.1. educational system failed minorities through negligent policies
6.4.3.2. traditional curriculum is classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic
7. Ch. 3: History of U.S. Education
7.1. influencial reform movement on education
7.1.1. child centered reform: belief that schools should tailor their curriculums to the stages of child development. Individualized instruction helped cater to the needs of all children and their interests, which would better increase learning and success in schools.
7.2. historical interpretation of U.S. education
7.2.1. Democratic-Liberal School: each period of educational expansion involved the attempts of reformers to expand opportunities to larger segments of the population. Schools should not be elite institutions for the privileged only.
7.2.1.1. interpret educational history optimistically
7.2.1.2. find differing views as tensions with necessary compromises to move closer to both
8. Ch. 4: Sociological Perspectives
8.1. school and society
8.1.1. functionalism
8.1.1.1. stresses the interdependence of the social system, examine how well parts are integrated
8.1.1.2. encourage social unity
8.1.2. conflict theory
8.1.2.1. argue that social order is not based on some collective agreement, but on ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force
8.1.2.2. emphasize struggle; schools are social battlefields
8.1.3. interactionalism
8.1.3.1. attempt to make the commonplace strange
8.1.3.2. examine the microsociological or the interactional aspects of school life to create theories with meaningful content
8.2. five effects of schooling with impact on students
8.2.1. Knowledge and attitudes: the actual amount of of time students spend in school is directly related to how much they learn
8.2.1.1. higher social class generally equals higher achievement level
8.2.2. Employment: higher education completion generally leads to greater employment opportunities
8.2.3. Teacher Behavior: teachers set standards for students and influence self-esteem and sense of efficacy
8.2.3.1. attitudes of teachers toward their students may have significant influence on student achievement and perceptions of self
8.2.4. De Facto Segregation: racial integration at a school level can benefit minority students as well as majority students
8.2.5. Gender: males and females are generally lumped into more "successful" subject matter courses, which is not entirely true
8.2.5.1. male students are called upon or receive more attention, negative or positive, from teachers
9. Ch. 5: Philosophy of Education
9.1. student-centered philosophy of education: Existentialism
9.1.1. generic notions
9.1.1.1. believe that individuals are placed on this earth alone and must make some sense out of the chaos they encounter.
9.1.1.2. how do their concerns impact the lives of individuals
9.1.2. key researchers
9.1.2.1. Soren Kierkegaard (1913-1855)
9.1.2.2. Martin Buber (1878-1965)
9.1.2.3. Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
9.1.2.4. Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1986)
9.1.2.5. Maxine Greene
9.1.3. goal of education
9.1.3.1. education should focus on the needs of individuals; cognitively and affectively
9.1.3.2. stress individuality, discuss non-rational with rational and possibility concerning conflict
9.1.4. role of teacher
9.1.4.1. teachers should understand their own and their students' "lived worlds"
9.1.4.2. intensely personal role; promotes introspection to achieve "wide awakeness"
9.1.5. method of instruction
9.1.5.1. every child has different learning styles, and the teacher must discover how to tap into each one
9.1.5.2. teachers and students learn cooperatively, rediscovering and discovering knowledge
9.1.5.3. pose questions, generate activities, and work together
9.1.6. curriculum
9.1.6.1. biased towards the humanities (literature, art, drama, and music)
9.1.6.2. expose children early on to problems as well as possibilites
9.1.6.3. work towards "wide awakeness" (Greene 1978)