1. Politics of Education
1.1. Purposes of Educaiton
1.1.1. Intellectual- teach basic cognitive skills; to transmit specific knowledge; acquire higher-order thinking skills
1.1.2. Political- inculcate allegiance to the existing political order; to prepare citizens who will participate in this order; assimilate diverse cultural groups'; teach children basic laws of society
1.1.3. Social- help solve social problems; work as one of many institutions to ensure social cohesion; socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of society
1.1.4. Economic- prepare students for later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into division of labor
1.2. Conservative Perspective
1.2.1. Role of the school- essential to economic productivity and social stability
1.2.2. Explanation of unequal performance- groups of students rise and fall on their own intelligence, hard work, and initiative, and that achievement is based on hard work and sacrifice.
1.2.3. Definition of educational problems- decline of standards; decline of cultural literacy; decline of values or of civilization; decline of authority
2. Philosophy of Educaiton
2.1. Existentialism
2.1.1. Generic Notions- existentialists pose questions as to how their concerns impact on the lives of individuals and that individuals are placed on this earth alone and must make some sense out of the chaos they encounter.
2.1.2. Key Researchers- European philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, contemporary philosopher Maxine Green,
2.1.3. Goal of Education- believe that education should focus on the needs of individuals, both cognitively and effectively. They also believe that education should stress individuality and include discussion of the non-rational and rational world. Tensions of living in the world should also be addressed.
2.1.4. Role of Teacher- teachers should understand their own "lived worlds" as well as that of their students in order to help their students achieve the best "lived worlds" they can. Teachers must also take risks, expose themselves to resistant students and work constantly to enable their students to be become "wide awake."
2.1.5. Methods of Instruction- existentialists believe that each child has a different learning style and it is up to the teacher to discover what works for each child. The role of the teacher is to help students understand the world through posing questions, generating activities, and working together.
2.1.6. Curriculum- existentialists choose curriculum heavily biased toward the humanities. Literature is able to evoke responses in readers that might move them to new levels of awareness. Art, drama, and music also encourage personal interaction.
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Major Stakeholders in My District
3.1.1. State Senators- Richard Shelby and Jefferson Sesstions
3.1.2. House of Representatives- Mo Brooks
3.1.3. State Superintendent- Michael Sentance
3.1.4. Representative on State School Board- Michael Sentance
3.1.5. Local Superintendent- Matt Massey
3.1.6. Local School Board- Nathan Curry, Angie Bates, Mary Louise Stowe, Dave Weis, and
3.2. The Elements of Change within School Processes and School Cultures
3.2.1. Political compromises that result from social reality
3.2.2. Creating schools that are more centered on learner's needs for active, experiential, cooperative, and culturally-connected learning
3.2.3. Establishing bureaucracies that focus on creating efficient behavior and processes to achieve new goals.
4. History of U.S. Educaiton
4.1. The Movement for Education for Women and African-American
4.1.1. In 1821, Emma Hart Willard opened the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York which sought to deliver education to females that was similar to that of their male counterparts.
4.1.2. In 1833, Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Ohio opened its doors to women as well as African-Americans.
4.1.3. In 1856, the University of Iowa became the first state university to admit women.
4.1.4. In 1868, the Freedman's Bureau hapled to establish historically Black Colleges.
4.2. The Conservative Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education
4.2.1. Diane Ravitch argued that with using education to solve social problems has led to the erosion of educational excellence.
4.2.2. Conservative critics all pointed to the failure of so-called progressive education to fulfill its lofty social goals without sacrificing academic quality.
4.2.3. Diane Ravitch also points to the decline of educational standards withing the context of political movements to move us closer to a fair and just society.
5. Sociology of Education
5.1. Theoretical Perspective
5.1.1. Functionalism- functional sociologists stresses the interdependence of the social system and these researchers often examine how ell the parts are integrated with each other.
5.1.2. Conflict Theory- social order is the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force, cooptation, and manipulation through economic, political, cultural, and military power.
5.1.3. Interactional Theories- the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives.
5.2. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
5.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes- taking into account the importance of individual social class background when evaluating the impact of education, more years of schooling leads to greater knowledge and social participation.
5.2.2. Employment- getting a college and professional degree is important for earning more money, but education alone does not fully explain differences in levels of income.
5.2.3. Teacher Behavior- teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior. Teachers are models for students and, as instructional leaders, teachers set standards for students and influence self-esteem and sense of efficacy.
5.2.4. Student Peer Groups and Alienation- the separation of students into groups which can cause students to be more violent among other students and teachers.
5.2.5. Inadequate Schools- Urban education has failed to educate minority and poor children. Students who attend suburban schools and private schools get a better educational experience than other children.
6. Curriculum & Pedagogy
6.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
6.1.1. Related to the needs and interests of the students, rather than the needs of the society.
6.1.2. Stresses flexibility in what is taught and how it is taught.
6.1.3. Relates school to life experiences in a way that makes education come alive in a meaningful manner.
6.2. Dominant Traditions of Teaching
6.2.1. Mimetic- The mimetic method is a teacher-centered approach to teaching in which the purpose of education focuses on transmitting specific knowledge to students. There is a heavy emphasis on a strict agenda. Goals and objectives are set to ensure a science of teaching can be created. The lessons are presented primarily through lectures.
6.2.2. Transformative- This method believes strongly in using education to change the students in some intellectual, creative, spiritual, or emotional manner. This view rejects the mimetic's view of the teacher being an authoritarian figure, and rather view the relationship as one that is inextricably linked. The promotion of growth is the main focus.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Impact on Education Outcomes
7.1.1. Class- Students in different social classes have different kinds of educational experiences. Education is extremely expensive. Families from upper and middle class are more likely to expect their children to finish school, whereas working-class and underclass families often have lower levels of expectation for their children. Studies show that the number of books in a family's home is related to the academic achievement of its children.
7.1.2. Race- An individuals race has direct impact on how much education he or she is likely to achieve. Studies have shown that African-American and Hispanic students are at a greater risk of dropping out of school than white students. White students read at grade level or higher, whereas African-American and Hispanic students have a lower rate of reading.
7.1.3. Gender- Historically, an individual's gender was directly related to his or her educational attainment. Even though women are often related as being better students than men, in the past they were less likely to attain the same level of education. Today, females are less likely to have a higher level of reading proficiency than males. The same is true for writing. Males tend to outperform females in mathematics.
7.2. Coleman Study from 1982
7.2.1. The Coleman Study is where an individual goes to school and has little or no effect on his or her cognitive growth or educational mobility.
7.2.2. Schools make a difference is terms of student outcomes. Schools are organizations that are suppose to be filled with highly qualified teachers that can promote an engaged learning environment for all students, regardless of class, race, or learning ability.
7.2.3. The relationship between social class, race, and achievement is complex. Although higher social class is correlated with a higher achievement, the degree to which this is due to factors inside or outside the schools is the subject of significant research.
8. Educational Reform
8.1. School-Based Reforms
8.1.1. Teacher quality is vital component to a flourishing classroom and school environment. Therefore, the NCLB requires that schools recruit only the best and most qualified teachers to lead and instruct American's future.
8.1.2. School-to-work programs were incorporated into school systems during the 1990's in order to give non-college-bound students and outlet in which to nurture their skills before entering the workplace. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 provided schools with the funding needed to establish school-tow-work systems. These programs provided students with school-based learning, work-based learning, and a connection between the two.
8.2. Community Reforms-
8.2.1. Research conducted over a 20 year period by the Consortium for Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago demostrates that the combination of school, commmunity, and society level reforms are necessary to reduce the achievement gap.
8.2.2. Full service and community schools focus on students and their families educational, physical, psychological, and social needs in a coordinated and collaborative fashion between school and community services. Specifically designed to target and improve at-risk communities.
9. Educational Inequality
9.1. Cultural Deprivation Theories
9.1.1. Intellectual development- Cultural deprivation theorists claim that students from work-class and underclass families do not provide books and other tools that will allow for student success upon beginning school. Therefore, they are at a disadvantage. These students lack key intellectual skills needed to perform in a classroom setting.
9.1.2. Values- Cultural deprivation theorists claim that working-class and underclass parents do not put a strong emphasis on education. This lack of initiative and interest, in turn, puts students at a disadvantage for success.
9.2. School-Centered Explanations for Educational Inequality
9.2.1. School Financing- Public schools receive the majority of their funding through taxes than from revenues from local, state, and federal sources. Property tax is a significant source for the school financing. Since property values are significantly higher in more affluent communities, these communities are able to raise more money for schools this form of taxation than poorer communities.
9.2.2. Effective School Research- Research on student differences are more important than school differences, then teachers can not be blamed for the lower academic performance of non-white and working-class students. On the other hand if schools effects are not significant, then schools and teacher can do little to make a positive difference. This makes the teacher feel less directly responsible for problems out of their control and left them with a sense of hopelessness.
9.2.3. Gender and Schooling- Men and women are viewed differently when in school. Women believe that they do not have equal rights in school,, so they now have feminist scholarships. The differences are cultural. The Feminist Movement was started to test unequal treatment of women in multiple parts of society. This movement also wanted to change the attitude of how people perceive women in the world.
9.2.4. Curriculum- Curriculum differentiates from school to school and class to class. Larger proportion of students who attend school in higher socioeconomic communities achieve well in school. At some elementary schools, students are split in different groups and taught the same material but at a different pace.