1. Politics of Education
1.1. Purpose
1.1.1. Intellectual
1.1.1.1. This purpose of education focuses primarily on teaching cognitive skills, remember specific knowledge on a specific topic/subject, and guide students to obtain the ability to organize their thoughts to be higher-thinking to be able to analysis, evaluate, and synthesis.
1.1.2. Political
1.1.2.1. This purpose of education focuses primarily on on preparing students for society, help them assimilate into diverse cultures in their work place, and to inform the students of the rules and laws of the society they will one day enter.
1.1.3. Social
1.1.3.1. This purpose of education focuses primarily on the social side of education. It's main goals are to prepare students to be able to work with many different types of institutes and people and to teach the students the many different roles, opinions, and values of society.
1.1.4. Economic
1.1.4.1. This purpose of education focuses primarily on on preparing students for their roles in society through possible roles, training, and distribute individualizes into the work force.
1.2. Perspective
1.2.1. Role of School
1.2.1.1. I agreed with the radical perspective on the roles of a school. It is believed that schools should reduce inequality in not only student population and opportunity but also in educational results from standardized test. They also believe a school's role should be able to provide an upward social motion for students to be able to progress in their life and not be hindered just based on the school they went too.
1.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Performances
1.2.2.1. I side more with the radicals than I do the others on the explanation of unequal performances in school systems. Radicals believe that unequal educational performances are primarily due to unequal opportunities for students with lower socioeconomic backgrounds compared to those with higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Radicals also believe these unequal opportunities are due to the economical system and not the educational system.
1.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems
1.2.3.1. Once again I side more with the radical side than the other two. Radicals believe that the educational system has failed the poor, women, and minorities through class discrimination, sexist, racist, and homophobic polices. Due to these policies, Radicals also believe that the traditional curriculum leaves out the voices, cultures, and history of the oppressed. This gives the overall impression that the education promotes inequality for not only opportunity for students but also results of schools.
2. Sociological Perspectives
2.1. Theoretical Perspective
2.1.1. Functionalism
2.1.1.1. The philosophy that the mind is very important in nature and that school should focus more on individual rather than groups.
2.1.2. Conflict Theory
2.1.2.1. This theory states that there is a constant struggle in the school system. It states that those who are higher up on the management/administration groups will inflict their will on their subordinates through force, cooperation, and manipulation. Often this goes from teachers over students, to administration over teachers, to school board over administration and so on.
2.1.3. Interactionalism
2.1.3.1. This perspective is actually primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives. This theory actually attempts to make a commonplace for teacher and student and student and student interactions and behaviors to turn on their heads. An example given is of that when labeling children as gifted or special needs. From and international point-of-view it is important to view and analyze the assumptions made when a child is labeled as such. This is due to the fact that these specific two labels are associated with an assumption made about the learning abilities of children who are labeled as such.
2.2. Five Effects of Schooling
2.2.1. Employment
2.2.1.1. Most students are under the belief that with a higher education are will be able to job sooner and a higher paying job easier. While studies have proven that there are several factors that are involved to decide if a student can get a high paying job, it has been stated that typically having a higher education the student is more than likely to get a higher paying job.
2.2.2. Inside of Schools
2.2.2.1. It is important to look at what schools are like on the inside instead of just how they appear on the outside. From a sociological viewpoint it is important to look at curriculum when studying schools, especially the cultural aspect of the curriculum.
2.2.3. Teacher Behavior
2.2.3.1. Depending on how a teacher behaves will have a great effect on how the class and thus the school will be. If a teacher expects great things from their students and give praise then students are more likely to do better. If a teacher is constantly giving low expectations little to no praise then students are more likely to do poorly. A teacher is the main feature of the classroom and if their behavior is discouraging to their class then the class can often fall behind.
2.2.4. Gender
2.2.4.1. Gender inequality is not only a major issue in society but it is also an issue in schools. While often times girls mature and learn faster than their male counterpart, they are often less confident and have lower aspirations. In society and schools girls are encouraged to be quieter, nicer, and feminine while boys are aloud to be loud and expected to be the center of attention. With inequality on gender in schooling - even with being taught the same curriculum - when student go out into society that same gender equality will continue to exist. Every year schools are trying to get a step closer to equality for both males and females but due to society being the main controller over schools inequality still exists. This can greatly effect a student's learning and schooling.
2.2.5. Education and Inequality
2.2.5.1. Often times school inequality is due to what kind of class lives in the area. If a higher class lives near that school then the school is more likely to be prestigious. If a lower class lives near a school then that school is more than likely a lower economic school. Social class differences is not just shown through income for it it also shown through education, family, occupation, where one lives, health, behavior, and religious belief. People and students aren't just classified by their social status, however, they are also classified by their race, ethnicity, age, and gender. With all these different ways people are classified there is bound to be inequality in school systems. Even with these inequalities schools need to take the step forward to try to see if they can create equality, for schools help shape society but society shapes how schools are.
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Major Stakeholders in my District
3.1.1. State Senators
3.1.1.1. Bill Hotlzclaw, Arthur Orr, Paul Sanford, Steve Livingston, and Clay Scofield
3.1.2. House of Representatives:
3.1.2.1. Mike Ball, and McCutcheon
3.1.3. State Superintendent
3.1.3.1. Michael Sentance
3.1.4. Represetative on State School Board
3.1.4.1. Stephanie Bell
3.1.5. Local Superintendent
3.1.5.1. Matt Masey
3.1.6. Local School Board
3.1.6.1. Dave Weis
3.2. Elements of Change within School Process and School Culture
3.2.1. Bureaucracies are an attempt to rationalize and organize human behavior in order to achieve certain goals.
3.2.2. Schools have authority structures that are quite vulnerable and that a great deal of political energy is expected every day, thus keeping the school in a state of equilibrium.
4. History of U.S. Education
4.1. Reform - Education for Women and African-Americans
4.1.1. Women
4.1.1.1. Typically women were seen as house makers and more often than not stayed at home, thus women typically got little to no education.
4.1.1.2. Prespectives and opinions on women getting an education started to sway/change during the nineteenth and twentieth century.
4.1.1.3. Emma Hart Willard opened the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York in 1821. The school modeled that of a male's curriculum and had women learning mathematics, science, history, and geography.
4.1.2. African Americans
4.1.2.1. African Americans were often forbidden from learning how to read or write of slave owners saw learning as a way for insubordination and revolt.
4.1.2.2. Benjamin Roberts filed a law suit in Boston in 1846 over requirements that his daughter attend a segregated school. Case was called Roberts v. City of Boston and was ruled that a school committee could create a segregated school for whites and blacks.
4.1.2.3. Even with the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment and the Freedman's Bureau's attempt to end slavery, discrimination, and create a reform in the South's economy, Blacks were sill discriminated against. The Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow Laws, and Black codes contributed to the continuing discrimination in the south.
4.1.2.4. In 1868 the Freeman's Bureau's helped to establish a Historically Black colleges which included Howard University and Hampton Institutes. Even with attempts like this to lower inequality and discrimination there were still discrimination issues in both education and society.
4.2. Historical Interpretation
4.2.1. Radical-Revisionist School
4.2.1.1. Believed that education expanded not just for progressive evolution but to meet the needs of elites in society so they may have control over the working and intermediate class and immigrants, and for economical efficiency and productivity.
4.2.1.2. It is also believed that with each layer added to the reform of education these layers would create a larger gap for the working class and disadvantaged students. This would cause students from these categories to be less likely succeed in their education.
4.2.1.3. It is acknowledged that the educational system as expanded and grown over the ages, but not in ways it needs to in order to help the lower class. Radicals often see that the educational expansion is more for the upper class instead.
5. Philosophy of Education
5.1. Exstentialism
5.1.1. Generic Notion
5.1.1.1. Existentialist believe everyone is an individuals whom must learn how to interact with others and their environment and make some sense out of any chaos they encounter.
5.1.2. Key Researchers
5.1.2.1. Key researchers to Existentialism are Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Martian Buber (1878-1965), Karl Jaspers (1883-1996), Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1986), and contemporary philosopher Maxine Greene.
5.1.3. Goal of Education
5.1.3.1. Those whom believe this the philosophy of extentialism believe that education should focus on the individual's needs of both mind and emotions/moods
5.1.4. Role of teacher
5.1.4.1. Teachers are individuals themselves, but need to also remember that each student is an individuals as well. Teachers must be tough and be able to take risk to help every individual child to achieve goals in their own individual little world.
5.1.5. Method of Instruction
5.1.5.1. Existentialists believe that children all have their own unique learning style and should be taught through that learning style and it is up to the teacher to discover what learning style works for each child.
5.1.6. Curriculum
5.1.6.1. Existentialists would have school curriculum focused more on children being able to express themselves and evoke responses that would qualify as new levels of awareness from typical awareness children have in today's curriculum. This would mean that children would primarily read literature that provokes thoughts and questions and have the children work more with the arts such as arts, drama, and music.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Developmentalist Curriculum Theory
6.1.1. Focus
6.1.1.1. The focus of Developmentalist Curriculum Theory is on the student's needs and not the needs of society.
6.1.2. Approach to Teaching
6.1.2.1. Teaching is student centered and focus is on teaching the curriculum to the needs and interest of each student at a particular development stage. This allows the students -who may be on a lower stage developmentally compared to others of their age - to learn more at their pace.
6.1.3. Influence
6.1.3.1. The Developmentalist curriculum theory is said to have been deprived from John Dewey's writings that were related to the relationship between the child and the curriculum. It is also said to have been emanated from psychologist such as Piaget - that which emphasis the process of teaching as well as its content.
6.2. Dominant Traditions of Teaching
6.2.1. Mimetic Tradition
6.2.1.1. The purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students. Best method to do this is through didactic method - commonly relies on the lecture or presentation as the primary for of communication of knowledge to the students.
6.2.2. Transformative Tradition
6.2.2.1. Purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way by either intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and/or emotionally. While this way may require the use of the didactic method it'd primary goal is to get active participation from the student and results in some form of growth.
7. Educational Reform
7.1. School-Based Reforms
7.1.1. School-Business Partnerships
7.1.1.1. Many business leaders shows constant concern for the nation's schools not producing graduates that were needed for the U.S. economy. This quickly kick-started the the school-business partnerships. While in the 1980s these partnerships were well known only 1.5 percent was for public and primary schools. These partnerships hit a decline over the next decade but slowly revived once again. There is no convincing evidence that these partnerships improve schools, however.
7.1.2. Teacher Quality
7.1.2.1. Teacher Quality is oh so important in education. While the NCLB require schools to have high quality teachers, many times high quality teachers in one field may be placed in a classroom where they are less qualified. It is shown that urban schools are more likely to have out-of-field teaching than others.
7.2. Two Reforms
7.2.1. Economic
7.2.1.1. The court ruled in 1990 that more funding was needed to serve the children on poorer school districts. This was in order to provide a more efficient education to urban school systems to help even the playing field for educational opportunities for all students. While this reform has the potential to improve schools of low-income or minority students they themselves are limited in reducing the achievement gaps. It is stated for it to work it also needs to address the factors outside of the schools that are responsible for educational inequalities.
7.2.2. Community
7.2.2.1. It is also expressed that in order to address and try to fix the education inequality that are within the school systems, one must also address to educate the whole community that surrounds the school. There is a direct correlation to student's education and their family. Due to this, it is suggested that full-service schools are a good way to target, improve, and support at-risk neighborhoods. Full service schools goals are to reach the educational, physical, psychological, and social needs of the students' and their families.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural Deprivation
8.1.1. Intellectual Development
8.1.1.1. It is stated by Cultural Deprivation theorist that students from lower class and/or the working class are not able to provide books and other materials for their children that which can provide a successful start to their schooling. This causes the student to be at an intellectual disadvantage within the school setting.
8.1.2. Values
8.1.2.1. Lower class parents don't often put a strong emphasis on education. This can be due to the fact they many of these families are looking at the now and what is needed in that moment the most. This lack of interest can put the students at a disadvantage for success.
8.2. Explanations for Educational Inequality
8.2.1. School Financing
8.2.1.1. It is explained that much of a school's funding comes from state and local taxes. These taxes money are generated from primarily generated from property taxes. Property taxes are based off of the value of property in local communities and thus are a proportional tax. Property values are higher in more affluent communities, so the taxes are higher and thus the school gets more funding. While for lower income properties, their taxes are lower for the property value is lower and thus the fund for schools it lower. Not only this but in more affluent communities they are able to donate more money to their schools while lower income communities are usually less fortant in the ability to donate to their schools.
8.2.2. Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices
8.2.2.1. It is stated that a school's climate - or the way it runs - affects the academic performance of its students. It is explained that there is a high possibility that school with a higher socioeconomic community do better academically due to many of these schools having climates that are conducive to positive academic achievement.
8.2.3. Curriculum and Ability Grouping
8.2.3.1. There is much debate in the education world about if students should or shouldn't be grouped off by interest and/or ability. Many teachers and administrators argue that heterogeneous groups are more difficult to teach and often result in the teacher having to teach in the middle - dragging down students who are at a higher level and rushing students who are on a lower level. Critics argue that homogeneous grouping results in uneven/unequal education and academic outcomes.
8.2.4. Gender and Schooling
8.2.4.1. Looking throughout history one can see that men and women see the world differently. Due to this, there is much debate on how the educational system should be. The primary debate for women against the current school system is that schools often show and teach stereotypical gender roles that increases the mind frame for gender inequality. While there are studies to show these inequalities, what happens in schools are left up to higher up officials who are primarily male.
9. Equality of Opportunity
9.1. Impact on Educational Outcomes
9.1.1. Class
9.1.1.1. School steadily gets more expensive as it get higher and higher into education, thus lower class students are at a disadvantage because ti gets harder and harder to afford things for classes. It is also shown that there is a correlation to the number of books in a family's home to a student's academic achievement. With middle and upper class families being able to afford more books students are able to practice their reading and language skills in the home, while - due to money issues - lower class families may not be able to afford many books
9.1.2. Race
9.1.2.1. Studies have shown that African-American and Hispanic students are more likely to drop out of school and/or not able to read at an intermediate level. With the way the U.S. society is, as well, it is hard to seperate race from class.
9.1.3. Gender
9.1.3.1. All through out education history it is well known that men were able to obtain an education easier than a women could. It is said that men tend to do better and mathematics and on the SATs than females. While the gap in female and male education is slowly growing smaller there are still arguments as to why and the reason the gap is growing smaller.
9.2. Coleman Study from 1982 Responces
9.2.1. Response One
9.2.1.1. Much like the previous study, this study sent off a tidal wave of controversy, but Coleman's findings withstood against any criticism thrown at it. While Coleman and his associates saw some things as highly significant to others these significant things were seen as nearly insignificant. While the study focused on how the gap between learning from a public school verses a private school, many critics stated that money wise there is a gap, but learning wise there is no or a little gap. If money is acknowledge as a factor for creating this gap, some even stated that even some private schools even do better particularity for low-income students.
9.2.2. Response Two
9.2.2.1. More than forty years after Coleman's study came out Geoffery Borman and Maritza Dowling did their own study based off of Coleman's that confirmed his original data from not only his 1982 study but also his 1966 study. This study stated that where and individual goes to school is often related to their race and socioeconomic background, but the socioeconomic of the school has a greater effect on a student's achievement than a student's race and/or class.