1. Curriculum & Pedagogy
1.1. The Mimetic Tradition
1.1.1. It gives a central place to the transmission of factual and procedural knowledge from one person to another, through an essentially imitative process.
1.1.1.1. Step 1-Test
1.1.1.2. Step 2-Present
1.1.1.3. Step 3-Perform/Evaluate
1.1.1.4. Step 4 A-Reward/Fix
1.1.1.5. Step 4 B-Enter Remedial Loop
1.1.1.6. Step 5-Advance
1.2. The Transformative Tradition
1.2.1. This tradition deems successful teaching to be capable of accomplishing: a transformation of one kind or another in the person being taught--a qualitative change often of dramatic proportion, a metamorphosis, so to speak.
1.3. Curriculum Theory
1.3.1. Developmentalist Curriculum
1.3.1.1. This curriculum emanated from the aspects of Dewey's writings related to the relationship between the child and the curriculum.
1.3.1.2. It emphasized the process of teaching as well as its content.
1.3.1.3. The developmental curriculum stressed the importance of relating schooling to the life experiences of each child in a way that would make education come alive in a meaningful manner.
1.3.1.4. The teacher, from this perspective, was not a transmitter of knowledge but rather a facilitator of student growth.
2. Politics of Education
2.1. Four Purposes of Education
2.1.1. 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.
2.1.2. 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 society.
2.1.3. The social purposes of schooling are to help solve social problems; to 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.
2.1.4. 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.
2.2. Role of the School
2.2.1. The conservative perspective sees the roles of the school as providing the necessary educational training to ensure that the most talented and hard-working individuals receive the tools necessary to maximize economic and social productivity. In addition, conservatives believe that schools that schools socialize children into the adult roles necessary to the maintenance of the social order. Finally, they see the school’s function as one of transmitting the cultural traditions through what is taught. The conservative perspective views the role of the school as essential to both economic productivity and social stability.
2.3. Explanations of Unequal Performance
2.3.1. Conservatives argue that individuals or groups of students rise and fall on their own intelligence, hard work, and initiative, and that achievement is based on hard work and sacrifice. The school system, from this vantage point, is designed to allow individuals the opportunity to succeed. If they do not, it may be because they are, as individuals, deficient in some manner or because they are members of a group that is deficient.
2.4. Definition of Educational Problems The liberal perspective argues the following points:
2.4.1. 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.
2.4.2. Schools place too much emphasis on discipline and authority, thus limiting their role in helping students develop as individuals.
2.4.3. The differences in quality and climate between urban and suburban schools and, most specifically, between schools with students of low socioeconomic backgrounds and high socioeconomic backgrounds is a central problem related to inequalities of results.
2.4.4. Traditional visions tend to view the school as necessary to the transmission of the traditional values of U.S. society, such schools as central to solving social problems, as a vehicle for upward mobility, as essential to the development of individual potential, and as an integral part of a democratic society.
3. History of U.S. Education
3.1. Reform Movement
3.1.1. The Morrill Act-Authorized the use of public money to establish public land grant universities. It resulted in the establishment of state universities.
3.2. Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education
3.2.1. The radical interpretation of U.S. educational history is a more pessimistic one. While acknowledging educational expansion, they suggest that this process has benefited the elites more than the masses, and has not produced either equality of opportunity or results. Further, they view the debates about equity and excellence as a chimera, with those who bemoan the decline of standards seeking to reimpose excellence with little regard for equality.
4. Sociological Perspectives
4.1. Sociology of education is a contentious field and that the questions sociologists ask about the relation between school and society are fundamental and complex. A good definition of theory is “an integration of all known principles, laws, and information pertaining to a specific area of study.
4.1.1. Functionalism-Stresses the interdependence of the social system; these researchers often examine how well the parts are integrated with each other. Functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work.
4.1.2. Conflict Theory-Not all sociologists of education believe that society is held together by shared values alone. Some sociologists argue 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, cooperation, and manipulation.
4.1.3. Interactionalism-About the relationship of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives. The critique arises from the observation that functional and conflict theories are very abstract, and emphasize structure and process at a very general level of analysis.
4.2. 5 Greatest Effects on Students
4.2.1. Gender: A student’s gender effects their schooling. Although girls usually start school cognitively and socially ahead of boys, by the end of high school, girls have lower self-esteem and lower aspirations than do boys. Somewhere during the high school years, girls begin to show signs of not living up to their potential.
4.2.2. Education and Mobility-Americans believe that the more education leads to economic and social mobility; individuals rise and fall based their merit. The number of years of education is one measure of educational attainment, but where people go to school also affects their mobility. A diploma from a private school may act as a “mobility escalator” because it represents a more prestigious educational route.
4.2.3. Teacher Behavior-Teachers are models for students and, as instructional leaders, teachers set standard. A study showed teachers’ expectations of students were found to directly influence student achievement.
4.2.4. Student Peer Groups and Alienation-Schools are far more than mere collections of individuals; they develop cultures, traditions, and restraints that profoundly influence those who work and study within them. They socialize and sort and select students and, in doing so, reproduce society.
4.2.5. Inadequate Schools-Urban education, in particular, has failed to educate minority and poor children. Moreover, differences between schools and school systems reinforce existing inequalities. Students who attend the most elite private schools obtain substantial educational benefits, both in terms of their actual educational experience and the social value of their diplomas.
5. Philosophy of Education
5.1. Dewey’s Pragmatism: Generic Notions: Dewey’s form of pragmatism—instrumentalism and experimentalism—was founded on the new psychology, behaviorism, and the philosophy of pragmatism. His ideas were influenced by the theory of evolution and by an eighteenth-century optimistic belief in progress. For Dewey, this meant the attainment of better society through education. Thus, the school became an “embryonic community” where children could learn skills both experientially as well as from books, in addition to traditional information, which enable them to work cooperatively in a democratic society.
5.1.1. Goal of Education: He fervently believed that philosophy had a responsibility to society and that ideas required laboratory testing; hence, he stressed the importance of the school as a place where ideas can be implemented, challenged, and restructured, with the goal of providing students with the knowledge of how to improve the social order.
5.1.2. Role of Teacher: The teacher is no longer the authoritarian figure from which all knowledge flows; rather, the teacher assumes the peripheral position of facilitator. The teacher encourages, offers suggestions, questions, and helps plan and implement courses of study.
5.1.3. Key researchers: Lawrence Cremin noted: John Dewey liked to define the aim of education as growth, and when he asked growth toward what, he like to reply, growth leading to more growth. Historian of education Diane Ravitch noted that Dewey’s philosophies of education were often misunderstood and misapplied.
5.1.4. Curriculum: A particular subject matter under investigation by students, such as whales, 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.
6. Schools as Organizations
6.1. Major Stakeholders in Morgan County Schools
6.1.1. State Senators
6.1.1.1. Richard Shelby
6.1.1.2. Luther Strange
6.1.2. House of Representatives
6.1.2.1. Robert Aderholt
6.1.3. State Superintendent
6.1.3.1. Michael Sentance
6.1.4. Representative on State School Board
6.1.4.1. Cynthia Sanders, Ph.D.
6.1.5. Local Superintendent
6.1.5.1. Bill W. Hopkins, Jr.
6.1.6. Local School Board
6.1.6.1. John Holley
6.1.6.2. Jimmy Dobbs
6.1.6.3. Paul Holmes
6.1.6.4. Adam Glenn
6.1.6.5. Billy Rhodes
6.1.6.6. Tom Earwood
6.1.6.7. Mike Tarpley
6.2. Elements of Change Within School Processes and School Cultures
6.2.1. Conflict is a necessary part of change. Efforts to democratize schools do not create conflicts, but they allow previously hidden problems, issues, and disagreements to surface. Staff involvement in school restructuring must be prepared to elicit, manage, and resolve conflicts.
6.2.2. New behaviors must be learned. Because of change requires new relationships and behaviors, the change process must include building communication and trust, enabling leadership and initiative to emerge, and learning techniques of communication , collaboration, and conflict resolution.
6.2.3. Team building must extend to the entire school. Shared decision making must consciously work out and give on-going attention to relationship within the rest of the school's staff.
6.2.4. Process and content are interrelated. The process a team uses in going about its work is as important as the content of educational changes it attempts.
7. Educational Inequality
7.1. African-American children do less well in school because they adapt to their oppressed position in the class and caste structure.
7.1.1. African-American students studied less, watched more television, and had lower aspirations than their white classmates.
7.1.2. There is a "job ceiling" for African-Americans in the U.S.
7.1.3. The results are lower educational attainment and performance.
7.2. Working-class and nonwhite students as resisting the dominant culture of the schools.
7.2.1. Consciously reject schooling and resist academic success.
7.3. 4 School-Centered Explanations for Educational Inequality
7.3.1. School Financing
7.3.1.1. Public schools are financed through a combination of revenues from local, state, and federal sources. The majority of funds come from state and local taxes. Property taxes are based on the value are significantly higher in more affluent communities, these communities are able to raise significantly more money for schools through this form of taxation than poorer communities with lower property values.
7.3.2. Effective-School Research
7.3.2.1. This research took the responsibility away from schools and teachers, and placed it on communities and families.
7.3.2.2. The findings of Coleman and Jencks that differences in school resources and quality do not adequately explain between-school differences in academic achievement was viewed by teachers as a mixed blessings.
7.3.3. Gender
7.3.3.1. The hidden curriculum reinforces traditional general roles and expectations through classroom organizations, instructional practices, and classroom interactions.
7.3.3.2. The organizations reinforces gender roles and gender inequality.
7.3.3.2.1. The fact that different groups of students in the same schools perform very differently suggests that there may be school characteristics affecting these outcomes.
8. Educational Reform
8.1. Two School-Based Reforms
8.1.1. School-Business Partnerships
8.1.1.1. During the 80s, business leaders became increasingly concerned that the nation's schools were not producing the kinds of graduates necessary for a vitalization of the U.S. economy.
8.1.1.2. The Committee to Support Philadelphia Schools pledged management assistance and training to the Philadelphia Public Schools. In return, the city promised that by 1995 it would raise the test scores of its graduates and improve graduation promotion rates.
8.1.1.3. School-business partnerships have attracted considerable media attention, but there is little convincing evidence that they have significantly improved schools or that, as a means of reform, school-based business partnerships will address the fundamental problems facing U.S. education.
8.1.2. School-to-Work Programs
8.1.2.1. The intent was to extend what had been a vocational emphasis to non-college bound students regarding skills necessary for successful employment and to stress the importance of work-based learning.
8.1.2.2. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 provided seed money to states and local partnerships of business, labor, government, a new program, but allowed states and their partners to bring together efforts at education reform, worker preparation, and economic development to create a system--a system to provide youth for the high-wage, high-skill careers of today's and tomorrow's global economy.
8.1.2.3. Although the school-to-work programs were well intentioned, researchers have suggested that these programs often failed to fulfill their promises.
8.2. School Finance Reform
8.2.1. Following the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Rodriguez vs San Antonio, which declared there is no constitutional right to an equal education, school finance equity and adequacy advocates litigated at the state level. The court ruled in 1990, stating that more funding was needed to serve the children in the poorer school districts. Although these educational reforms have demonstrated the potential to improve schools for low-income and minority children, especially in urban areas, by themselves they are limited in reducing the achievement gaps.
8.3. Connecting School, Community, and Societal Reforms
8.3.1. Research conducted over a 20-year period by the Consortium for Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago demonstrates that a combination of school, community, and societal level reforms are necessary to reduce the achievement gap. Their research argues that successful school reforms must be based on a number of essential supports, including the following:
8.3.1.1. leadership as the driver for change
8.3.1.2. parent-community ties
8.3.1.3. professional capacity
8.3.1.4. student-centered learning climate
8.3.1.5. instructional guidance