1. Pragmatism- Developed in the 19th century. Founders were John Dewey, George Sanders Pierce, William James, and John Locke. Generic notions- influenced by the theory of evolution and the optimistic belief in progress. School became a "embryonic community".
1.1. Pragmatism- Goal of Education- rooted in social order. Dewey stressed for the school to be a place where the student's ideas could be implemented. This philosophy of teaching focuses on the whole child and encourages the child to problem solve and think critically.
1.1.1. Role of the teacher- Much different from other perspectives. The teacher is a facilitator and not an authoritarian figure. Teacher is an encourager and a guide in the classroom. Methods of Instruction- Children learn through working in groups and collaborative projects.
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. The Post-World War II Equity Era
2.1.1. 1945-1980
2.1.2. I believe that this reform had the most effect on Education.
2.1.2.1. The debate of the goals of education which include: academic and social.
2.1.3. Progressivism also came into play during this era. Progressivism concentrates more on child centered learning. Also the GI Bill of Rights implemented educational opportunity. (pg 76)
2.2. Historical Interpretations in U.S. Education
2.3. The Democratic Liberal School-
2.3.1. They believed in equal opportunity for all.
2.3.2. Historians of this school include : Ellwood Cubberly, Merle Curti, and Lawrence A. Cremin they are all represenatives of the Democratic Liberal School.
2.3.2.1. Lawrence A. Cremin believed that education had two related processes: popularization and multitudinousness.
2.3.2.2. The goals of education became more diverse and social goals became more important.
2.3.2.2.1. Democratic liberals are optimistic towards US educational history.
2.3.2.3. Cremin summarized the whole view as " that kind of organization that provides a place for everyone who wishes for one...." ( pg 83).
3. Equality of Opportunity
3.1. Educational Outcomes
3.2. Class- Children who different social class have different kinds of educational experiences. Several factors- education is expensive, some can afford it and some cannot. There is a direct correlation between parental income and children's performance on achievement tests. Working class/underclass-more likely to underachieve
3.3. Race- Society is still highly identified race. An individuals race has a direct impact on how much education he or she is likely to acheive---- We live in a racial society.
3.4. Gender- Individuals gender was directly related to his or her education. Femals/males in the past were less likely to attain the same level of education. In the last 20 years, it has changed. Girls have caught up with boys in academic acheivement.
3.5. Two Responses to the Coleman Study of 1982- This study was conducted in response to provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and serves as an example of the use of a social survey, and as an instrument of national policy making. Another response is as a equality of educational opportunity. Source: www.icpsr.umich.edu
4. Philosophy of Education
5. Politics of Education
5.1. The Four Purposes of Education
5.1.1. 1. Intellectual- Teaches basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing and mathematics and it also can transmit specific knowledge in literature, history, sciences. This purpose also helps students to develop higher order thinking skills.
5.1.2. 2. Political- This purpose teaches patriotism and prepares citizens who will participate in the political order. It also is described as being able to help assimilate diverse cultural groups, and inform children about the basic laws of the society.
5.1.3. 3. Social- This purpose helps students to be able to solve social problems. Children are able to socialize in various roles, behaviors, and values of society. This process is also called "socialization"= the key ingredient to society.
5.1.4. 4. Economic- This purpose prepares students for the "real world". Most schools directly prepare students for work, and they select, train, and allocate individuals in to the division of labor.
5.2. Role of School- Liberal Perspective
5.2.1. - Aims a little differently than most perspectives
5.2.2. - This perspective focuses on the school role to make sure that every student is provided with the opportunity to succeed in society. This perspective also points to the school's role in socializing children.
5.2.3. - They stress in teaching children to respect cultural diversity and understand how to fit in society. Diane Ravitch (historian of education) States her view as well. She quotes" To believe in education is to believe in the future"( pg.27)
5.3. Explanations of unequal performance-Radical perspectives
5.3.1. Radicals believe that students from lower socieconomic backgrounds begin school with a disadvantage.
5.3.2. Radicals believe that poor educational performance is the result of the economic system and the schools are not to blame.
5.4. Created educational opportunity. They were more concerned with creating opportunities to the post secondary level.
5.5. Definition of Educational Problems- Liberal Perspectives
5.5.1. They believe that unequal performance can only be fixed by changing the political- economic structure.
5.5.2. Liberals argue many points. They include: Believing that schools have limited the life chances for students from different backgrounds. They also believe that schools have focused too much on discipline and authority. They believe that they have failed to help the students develop as individuals.
5.5.3. Liberals also argue that their is a difference in the quality of poor backgrounds and high backgrounds.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. Two Dominant traditions of teaching
6.1.1. Mimetic- based on the viewpoint that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students. -Stresses rational sequencing in the teaching process and having a clear statement of learning goals.
6.1.2. Transformative- It is much different than mimetic. It affects the student intellectually, creatively, spritually, and emotionally. It defines the function of the education more broadly, and more ambigiously. Its purpose is to change the student in some meaningful way
6.2. Social Melorist- This curriculum was the radical wing of progressive education, founded by John Dewey. The most influential were two college professors: George Counts and Harold Rugg. This theory radicalized Dewey's work and believed that schools should change society or at least solve its fundamental problems. It has continued to influence curriculum theories in the U.S. (pg.285)
6.2.1. Define actions as necessary
7. Schools as Organizations
7.1. Major Stakeholders in My District
7.2. The elements of change within school processes and school cultures: 1. Conflict is a necessary part of change efforts to democratize schools do not create conflicts, but allow the problems to surface. 2. The change process- includes building communication and trust, enabling leadership and initiative to emerge and learning techniques of communication, collaboration and conflict resolution. 3. Team Building- includes entire school. It is a shared decision and includes making positive relationships with staff. 4. Process and content are interrelated both process of the work is just as important as the content of educational changes that it attempts. **** Planned change requires new ways of thinking***
7.3. State Represenative- Larry Stutts and Paul Bussman- District 3 and 6 House of Represenative- Marcel Black State Superintendent- Jon Bret Smith Represenative on state school board- Jeffrey Newman Lawrence County Board of Education- Christine Garner- Chairman Gary Bradford- Vice Chairman Shannon Terry- Board Member Dr. Beth Vinson- Board Member Reta Waldrep- Board Member Sources: www.alsde.edu www.lawrenceal,org
8. Sociological Perspectives
8.1. Theoretical Perspectives. They include functional, conflict, and interactional theories.
8.1.1. Dependencies
8.1.2. Milestones
8.2. Defintintion of Theory- "an intergration of all known principles, laws, information pertaining to a specific area of study.
8.2.1. Schedule
8.2.2. Budget
8.3. Functional Theory- Emile Durkheim- a sociologist that embraced this theory. He believed that moral values are the foundation of our society. Functionalists believe that conflict is a sign of a breakdown of values. In school. a high functional society will sort, socialize and select students according to their abilities. Funcionalist emphasize cohesion in explaining social order (See page 118).
8.3.1. Conflict Theory- Opposite of functional theory. They emphasize in struggle. Under this perspective schools are considered as social battlefields. Struggle between power of dominant and non dominant groups.
8.3.1.1. "Weberian Approach" and Randall Collins- he believed that a diploma is just a status symbol.
8.3.1.2. Interactional Theory- A extension of the functional and conflict theories. Very abstract and emphasizes structure and analysis. "Big Picture" understanding what schools are like on an everyday level.
8.3.2. Founder of Conflict Theory was Karl Marx. Believed that their is a link between the organization of schools and society. Max Weiber had a different view of conflict theory.
8.4. Five effects of Schooling- 1. Peer Groups and Alienation. Students can be bullied and students also affect the teacher. Student cultures affect a student's education experiences. (peer pressure. gangs. cliques, etc)
8.4.1. 2. Teacher's Behavior- This affects every student. Teachers have a huge impact on the students learning. Persell suggest that teachers who praised their students more had the most positive effect.
8.4.1.1. 3. Inadequate Schools- This can affect because the student the resources that they need in the classroom may not be available. Urban Education versus Surburban schools.
8.4.1.1.1. 4. Gender- There has always been a gap between men and women in society. Girls have lower self esteem and lower aspirations than boys.
9. Educational Inequality
9.1. Two types of cultural deprivation: 1.Cultural- this theory suggest that working class and non white families lack the resources that they need such as books, computers, and this causes a disadvantage. 2. Familial- this means that the students are disadvantaged because they have not been raised to want academic achievement. They value hard work rather than academic progress.
9.2. 4 School Centered Explanations:
9.2.1. 1. School Financing- This means that some schools have the revenue to buy the things needed in school. Some schools are poor and lack the resources to provide an effective education. 2. Effective school research- there are school centered processes that help to explain unequal educational achievement by different groups of students. Supports the work of Coleman 3. Effective school literature- This is cited as the key to school improvement. Having the proper textbooks to learn is essential. 4. Between School Differences- School climate- This is simply explained as where the school is located. A poor school in a bad community will suffer from educational inequality.( lower socioeconomic neighborhoods). 5, Tracking by ability ( curriculum tracking)
10. Educational Reform
10.1. Two types of school based reforms
10.1.1. 1. School choice- congressional support for greater school choice was expressed in the bill that House of Rep. passed in 1990. It is very controversial because it is political and rest on a set of assumptions that educational marketplaces and private schools are questionable. Two types of school choice are intersectional and intrasectional.
10.1.2. 2.Voucher programs- adopted in 2004 . It provides low income parents with the same choices as middle class parents and they lead to increased parental satisfaction with their children's schools.