My Foundations of Education

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My Foundations of Education by Mind Map: My Foundations of Education

1. Philosophy of Education

1.1. Pragmatism

1.1.1. Generic Notations: Through Dewey's form of pragmatism the school became an "embryonic community" where children could learn skills both experimentally as well as from books, in addition to traditional information, which would enable them to work cooperatively in a democratic society.

1.1.2. Key Researchers: John Dewey

1.1.3. Goal of Education: growth- Dewey stated that education had no other goals than growth- growth leading to more growth.

1.1.4. Role of Teacher: The teacher is no longer the authoritarian figure.  The teacher encourages, offers suggestions, questions, and helps plan and implement courses of study.

1.1.5. Methods of Instruction: Used the problem-solving and inquiry methods.  Formal instruction was abandoned. Traditional blocks of time for instruction were eliminated .  Group work was allowed.

1.1.6. Curriculum: Dewey's notion of a core curriculum, or integrated curriculum:  a particular subject matter under investigation by students would yield problems to be solved using math, science, history, reading, writing, music, art, wood or metal working, cooking, and sewing- all the academic and vocational disciplines in an integrated, interconnected way.

2. History of U.S. Education

2.1. Reform Movement

2.1.1. Horace Mann was a very influential reformer.  He argued for the establishment of free public schools, or common schools  I believe this had the most influence on education because it allowed the opportunity of education to opened up to so many people.

2.2. Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education

2.2.1. Conservative Interpretation: the evolution of U.S. education has resulted in the dilution of academic excellences.

3. Sociological Perspectives

3.1. Theological Perspective Between School and Society

3.1.1. Functionalism: Functionalist view society as a kind of machine; where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work.  From the point of view of functionalism in schools, schools should create structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage unity.

3.1.2. Conflict Theory:  In this view, the glue of society is economic, political, cultural, and military power. From the conflict point of view, schools are similar to social battlefields, where the students struggle against the teachers, teachers against administrators, and so on.

3.1.3. Interactionalism: From this point of view the theories about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives.

3.2. 5 Effects of Schooling

3.2.1. Knowledge and Attitude: The more educated an individual is the more likely they will read newspapers, books and magazines, and to take part in politics and public affairs.  Also, more years of schooling lead to greater knowledge and social participation.

3.2.2. Employment:  Even the most thorough research cannot demonstrate more than one-third of income is directly attributed to level of education.  So, getting a college and professional degree is important for earning more money, but education alone does not fully explain differences in levels on income.

3.2.3. Teacher Behavior: Teachers should not be scapegoated for society's problems, but the findings on teacher expectations (teachers that demanded and praised students more had students that learned more and felt better about themselves) indicate that the attitudes of teachers towards their students may have a significant influence on student achievement and perceptions of self.

3.2.4. Inadequate Schools: Students who attend suburban schools and private schools get a better educational experience than other children.

3.2.5. Tracking:  Refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on their abilities and inclinations.

4. Politics of Education

4.1. 4 Purposes of Education

4.1.1. 1. Intellectual: to teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics; to transmit specific knowledge; and to help students acquire higher- order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.

4.1.2. 2. Political: to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order; to prepare citizens who will participate in the political order; to help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order; and to teach children the basic laws of the society.

4.1.3. 3. Social: to help solve social problems; to work as one of many institutions, such as family and the church to ensure social cohesion; and to socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of the society.

4.1.4. 4. Economic: to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor.

4.2. Conservative Perspective

4.2.1. 1. Role of the School: essential to both economic productivity and social stability.

4.2.2. 2. Explanations of Unequal Performances: individuals or groups of students rise and fall on their own intelligence, hard work, and initiative, and their achievement is based on hard work and sacrifice.

4.2.3. 3. Definition of Educational Problems: decline of standards, decline of cultural literacy, decline of values or of civilization, and decline of authority.

5. Schools as Organizations

5.1. Major stakeholders in Madison City Schools: District 5

5.1.1. Senators: Richard Shelby & Jefferson Sessions

5.1.2. House of Representatives:

5.1.2.1. District 1: Bradley Byrne

5.1.2.2. District 2: Martha Roby

5.1.2.3. District 3: Mike Rogers

5.1.2.4. District 4: Robert Aderholt

5.1.2.5. District 5: Mo Brooks

5.1.2.6. District 6: Gary Palmer

5.1.2.7. District 7: Terri Sewell

5.1.3. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance

5.1.4. Representatives on State School Board:

5.1.4.1. President: Governor Robert J. Bentley

5.1.4.2. Secretary and Executive Officer: Michael Sentance

5.1.4.3. Jeffery Newman, District 7

5.1.4.4. Yvette Richardson, Ed. D, Vice President, District 4

5.1.4.5. Matthew S. Brown, J.D., District 1

5.1.4.6. Betty Peters, District 2

5.1.4.7. Stephanie Bell, District 3

5.1.4.8. Elle B. Bell, District 5

5.1.4.9. Cynthia Sanders McCarty, Ph. D., District 6

5.1.4.10. Mary Scott Hunter, President Pro Tem, District 08

5.1.5. Local Superintendent: Dr. Dee Fowler

5.1.6. Local School Board:

5.1.6.1. President: Dr. Terri Johnson

5.1.6.2. Vice President: Ms. Ranae Bartlett

5.1.6.3. Mrs. Connie Cox Spears

5.1.6.4. Mr. David Hergenroeder

5.1.6.5. Mr. Tim Holtcamp

5.2. Elements of Change within the School Processes and School Cultures

5.2.1. Conflict: Problems arise and the staff and school have to resolve the conflict.

5.2.2. New Behaviors: Change requires new relationships and behaviors.  One must build communication and trust, enable leadership and initiative to emerge, and learn techniques of communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution.

5.2.3. Team Building: Shared decision making must consciously work out and give on-going attention to relationships within the rest of the school's staff.

5.2.4. Process and Content: At the same time, the usefulness and the visibility of the project will influence future commitments from and the relationship among the staff and others involved.

6. Curriculum and Pedagogy

6.1. Developmental Curriculum: relates to the need of the students instead of the needs of society. This theory is based on the writings of Dewey. This is a philosophical progressive approach that is student centered and is very flexible along with relating the curriculum to life allowing the students to see the importance in learning.

6.2. Two dominant traditions of teaching:

6.2.1. 1. The curriculum is viewed as the knowledge that needs to be learned and how it needs to be assessed.

6.2.2. 2. Curriculum is set up to have learning goals

7. Equality of Opportunity

7.1. How class, race, and gender impact educational outcomes:

7.1.1. Class: School can be expensive, so the more wealthy are able to stay in school longer. The number of books in a families home also relate to the student's academic achievement. Unfortunately, lower income students have lower test scores.

7.1.2. Race: Minorities tend to underachieve. The reasoning for this is that Whites have more educational opportunities and the minorities rewards for educational attainment are significantly less.

7.1.3. Gender: Today, woman are less likely to drop out of school and tend to do better in reading. Males tend to better in Mathematics, but they also score higher on the SATs. More woman attend post-secondary institutions than men, but the institutions that men attend are more academically and socially prestigious.

7.2. Coleman Study 1982

7.2.1. Response 1 states that Catholic schools are educationally superior to public schools and tend to help low income minorities perform better in school.

7.2.1.1. Response 2 states that reform must focus on desegregating the schools in the United States. It states that where an individual goes to school is often based on race and socioeconomic background. The school has a greater effect on a student's achievement than the individual's race and background.

8. Educational Inequality

8.1. Two types of cultural deprivation theory:

8.1.1. 1. The working- class and nonwhite families often lack the cultural resources, such as books and other educational stimuli, and thus arrive at school at a significant disadvantage.

8.1.2. 2. Poverty stricken students are not raised in a culture where they have been able to acquire the skills and dispositions required for a satisfactory education.

8.2. School- Centered explanations for Educational Inequality:

8.2.1. School Financing: The funding that each school receives.

8.2.2. Effective School Researching: Schools resources and quality do not adequately explain the differences in education.

8.2.3. Between- School Difference: Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices: Different school climates affect the academic performance. Upper- class students tend to do better.

8.2.4. Gender and Schooling: Men and woman see the world differently, however the gender gap has almost gone away now.

9. Educational Reform

9.1. School- based reform: School choice became an option, charter schools came into play, and tuition vouchers became an option. This led to more opportunity for students.

9.2. Privatization: the traditional distinction of public and private schools became blurred because private education companies became more involved in the public schools system, especially in helping failing schools.

9.3. Societal, Community, Economic, and Political Reforms

9.3.1. Full Service and Community Schools: Examine and plan to educate the whole community. Schools serve to help the families and are community service centers within neighborhoods and are open extended hours. Designed to improve at- risk neighborhoods.

9.3.2. Harlem Children's Zone: A program provided to infuse all knowledge of middle- class parents hoping to encourage parents and students in Harlem that school is important.