Foundations of Education

1. Politics of Education

1.1. Purposes of education

1.1.1. 1. The intellectual purposes of schooling are 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.

1.1.2. 2. The political purposes of schooling are to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order (patriotism); to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order; to help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order; and to teach children the basic laws of the society.

1.1.3. 3. The social purposes of schooling are to help solve social problems; who work as one of many institutions, such as the family and the church to ensure social cohesion; and to socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of the society. This process, referred to by sociologists as socialization, is a key ingredient to the stability of any society.

1.1.4. 4. The economic purposes of schooling are to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor. The degree to which schools directly prepare students for work varies from society to society, but most schools have at least an indirect role in this process.

1.2. The role of the school

1.2.1. The liberal perspective of the role of the school stresses the training and socializing function of the school, believes in equality and opportunity, and also, stresses the school's role in providing the necessary education to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed in society. The liberal perspective stresses individual as well as societal needs and thus sees the school's role as enabling the individual to develop her or her talents, creativity, and sense of self.

1.3. Explanations of unequal performance

1.3.1. The liberal perspective argues that individual students or groups of students begin school with different life  chances and therefore some groups have significantly more advantages than others. Therefore, society must attempt through policies and programs to equalize the playing field so that students from disadvantaged backgrounds have a better chance.

1.4. Definition of educational problems

1.4.1. The liberal perspective argues the following points: 1. Schools have too often  limited the life chances of poor and minority children and therefore the problem of underachievement by these groups is a critical issue. 2. Schools place too much emphases on discipline and authority, thus limiting their role in helping students develop as individuals. 3. The differences in quality and climate between urban and suburban schools and, most specifically, between schools of students with low socioeconomic backgrounds and high socioeconomic backgrounds is a central problem related to inequalities of results. 4. The traditional curriculum leaves out the diverse cultures of the groups that comprise the pluralistic society.

2. History of U.S. Education

2.1. Education for women and African-Americans

2.1.1. Throughout the first half of the 19th century, education opportunities were severely limited and women were thought to be a helpmate or homemaker to the male.  It was thought that education was biologically harmful or too stressful for women. By 1820, the movement for education for women in the United States was making important inroads. The movement for female education spread quickly through the Midwest. In 1833, Oberlin Collegiate Institution in Ohio opened its doors to women as well as African-Americans. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which announced the end of slavery in all states in rebellion against the Union.

2.2. The Democratic-Liberal School

2.2.1. Democratic-liberals believe that the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution  of a school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all. Liberals portray the evolution of U.S. education in terms of popularization and multitudinousness. Democratic-liberals believe that the U.S. educational system must continue to move closer to each, without sacrificing one or the other too dramatically.

3. Philosophy of Education

3.1. Existentialism

3.1.1. Generic Notations: individualistic philosophy; has important implications for education. Existentialists pose questions as to how their concerns impact the lives of individuals. They believe that people are placed on this earth alone and must make some sense out of the chaos they encounter.

3.1.2. Key Researchers: Sarte, Soren Kierkergaard

3.1.3. Goal of Education: existentialists believe that education should focus on the needs of individuals, both cognitively and affectively.

3.1.4. Role of the Teacher: teachers should understand their own "lived words" as well as that of their students' in order to help their students achieve the best "lived words" they can.

3.1.5. Methods of Instruction: learning is viewed as intensely personal; each child has a different learning style and it is up to the teacher to discover what works for each child.

3.1.6. Curriculum: biased toward the humanities; literature; art, drama and music also encourage personal interaction. Existentialist believe in exposing students at early ages to problems as well as possibilities, and to the horrors as well as accomplishments humankind is capable of producing.

4. Schools as Organizations

4.1. Definition

4.2. Items to be Delivered

4.3. Extent

4.3.1. Included

4.3.2. Included

4.3.3. Excluded

5. Sociology of Education

5.1. Functionalism

5.1.1. A society that stresses interdependence; functionalist view society as a kind of machine, where one part  articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work. It is important that education creates a moral unity which is necessary for harmony. Educational reform is supposed to create structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage society unity.

5.2. Conflict Theory

5.2.1. Some sociologists argue that the social order is not based on some collective agreement, but on the ability of dominant groups to impose their will on subordinate groups through force, cooptation, and manipulation. In this view, the glue of society is economic, political, cultural, and military power. Conflict sociologists do not see the relation between school and society as unproblematic or straightforward. They emphasize struggle. They see schools as social battlefields, where students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators, and so on.

5.3. Interactionalism

5.3.1. Interactional theories about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives; provides insight on what schools are like on an everyday level. Interactional theories attempt to make the common place strange by turning on their heads everyday  taken-for-granted behaviors and  interactions between students and students, and between students and teachers.

5.4. Effects of Schooling on Individuals

5.4.1. 1. Knowledge and Attitudes- it is found that the higher the social class background of the student, the higher his or her achievement level. Differences between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies do make differences in student learning. Research indicates that the more education an individual receives, the more likely they are to read newspapers, books, and magazines, and to take part in politics and public affairs. 2. Employment- most students believe that graduating from college will lead to greater employment opportunities, which is correct. Over 50% of college graduates in the U.S. get professional or technical jobs. Schools act as gatekeepers in determining who will get employed in high-status occupations, but schools do not provide significant job skills for their graduates. 3. Teacher Behavior- teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior; teachers are models for students and influence their self-esteem and sense of efficiency. 4. Tracking- tracking refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on students' abilities and inclinations. It has been found that tracking decisions are often based on students' class or race. Track placement directly effects cognitive development. Students in lower tracks experience more alienation and authoritarian teachers than high-track students. 5. Gender- another way that schools reproduce inequalities is through gender discrimination. Men are often paid more than women for the exact same job; textbooks are traditionally biased to men, not showing accomplishments of women.

6. Curriculum & Pedagogy

6.1. Budget

6.1.1. Materials

6.1.2. Personel

6.1.3. Services

6.1.4. Duration

6.2. Delivery Timeline

6.3. Requirements

7. Equality of Opportunity

7.1. Define Project Schedule

7.1.1. Dependencies

7.1.2. Milestones

7.2. Limitations

7.2.1. Schedule

7.2.2. Budget

7.3. Define Project Development Measurement

7.3.1. KPI's

8. Educational Inequality

9. Educational Reform