1. Schools as Organizations
2. Curriculum and Pedagogy
3. Equality of Opportunity
4. Educational Inequality
5. Educational Reform
6. Key researchers: John Dewey, George Sanders Peirce, William James
6.1. Generic notions: Children are active, organic beings still growing and changing that require a course of that actively reflects their stages of development. Needs and interests of the child should be addressed and the child should partake in the planning of his/her course of study.
7. Progressive Era reforms associated with John Dewey have seemingly had the most impact on education. The era led to compulsory education at a level that equivocates to a modern-day secondary level. Even today, many of Dewey's beliefs persist in education, such as student-centered learning and the belief that the teacher acts as a facilitator of learning.
8. Politics of Education
8.1. 4 Purposes of Education
8.1.1. Intellectual: to teach basic, fundamental skills and subjects and to develop a higher order of thinking
8.1.2. Political: to ingrain patriotism in its citizens, to assimilate diverse groups into the political order, and to teach the laws of society
8.1.3. Social: for purposes of "socialization" and to create a generation capable of solving social problems
8.1.4. Economic: to prepare students for future occupations
8.2. Liberal Perspective
8.2.1. Role of the School
8.2.1.1. To socialize children into adult roles
8.2.1.2. To promote equality of opportunity
8.2.1.3. To teach acceptance of cultural diversity
8.2.1.4. To stress needs of the individual and society
8.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Performance
8.2.2.1. Different life chances create disadvantages among affected groups
8.3. Definition of Educational Problems
8.3.1. Limited life chances of poor/minorities lead to underachievement
8.3.2. Over emphasis of authority and discipline limits individual develpoment
9. History of U.S. Education
9.1. The democratic-liberal historical interpretation suggests that each era of reform was brought forth by liberal reformers striving to expand educational opportunities to more of the general population.
10. Sociological Perspectives
10.1. Student Peer Groups and Alienation: Schools develop cultures, traditions, and restraints that profoundly influence students. Stinchcombe (1964) found that students in vocational programs, on track for lower wage jobs, were more likely to partake in rebellious subculture.
10.2. Theoretical Perspectives and Their Relationship Between School and Society
10.2.1. Functionalism is the school of thought that schools socialize students into the appropriate values. The natural state is said to be harmonious.
10.2.2. Conflict theories describe the arrangement of school hierarchy where each rank struggles with the next; students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators, and so on. The struggle is; however, muted in due to the authority of the school and for the hope of advancement in society.
10.2.3. Interactionalism deals with the effects of the day to day interactions within schools and the impact that in turn has on individuals. Interactions for consideration include students to teachers and students to students.
10.3. 5 Effects of Schooling with the Greatest Impacts
10.3.1. Employment: Higher education levels lead to the attainment of better career positions.
10.3.2. Knowledge and Attitudes: consist of content the student learns and the outlook they walk away with.
10.3.3. Teacher Behavior: Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) found that when teachers expressed high expectations for students, students made significantly greater achievement gains.
10.4. Tracking: placement of students in curricular programs based on abilities and inclinations. Tracking has a critical impact on student mobility.
11. Philosophy of Education
11.1. Method of Instruction: Problem-solving or inquiry methods -students are to pose questions about what they would like to know. Learning may be facilitated either in groups or individually. Books, field trips, and projects are used as educational mediums.
11.2. Pragmatism
11.2.1. Role of the Teacher: To encourage students, pose questions, offer suggestions, aid in the planning and implementation of courses of study, and create and implement curriculum
11.2.2. Goal of education: Dewey viewed growth as the goal of education -growth both within the student and within society, namely, to integrate children into a democratic society.
11.2.3. Curriculum: All academic and vocational disciplines utilized with heavy usage of cross- and multi-curriculum activities. Ex. math, science, history, reading, writing, music, art, wood or metal working, and sewing