1. Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Define the theoretical perspective concerning the relationship between school and society:
1.1.1. functionalism
1.1.1.1. stresses the interdependence of the social system
1.1.1.2. "Functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work."
1.1.1.3. embraced by Emile Durkheim
1.1.1.4. educational reform should "create structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity"
1.1.2. conflict theory
1.1.2.1. Sociologists who support conflict theory believe 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."
1.1.2.2. Intellectual founder - Karl Marx
1.1.2.3. embraced by Max Weber, Willard Waller, Randall Collins, Bourdieu, Passeron, Lareau, and Basil Bernstein
1.1.3. interactionalism
1.1.3.1. "Interactional theories about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives."
1.1.3.2. examined on macro- and microsociological approaches by theorist Basil Bernstein
1.2. Effects of Schooling on Individuals
1.2.1. Knowledge and Attitudes
1.2.2. Employment
1.2.2.1. Does school prepare students for jobs?
1.2.2.1.1. "Most research has shown that the amount of education is only weakly related to job performance."
1.2.2.1.2. "People learn how to do their jobs by doing them."
1.2.2.2. Occupational segregation
1.2.3. Education and Mobility
1.2.3.1. "Most Americans believe that more education leads to economic and social mobility; individuals rise and fall based on their merit."
1.2.3.2. "In general, the data do not support the belief that education alone provides individuals with great amounts of economic and social mobility."
1.2.4. Teacher Behavior
1.2.5. Student Peer Groups and Alienation
1.2.6. Inadequate Schools
1.2.6.1. Urban education - failed to educate minority and poor children
1.2.6.2. Suburban and private schools - better educational experience
1.2.7. Tracking
1.2.7.1. "In principle, tracking refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on students' abilities and inclinations. In reality, it has been found in many thorough studies that tracking decisions are often based on other criteria, such as students' class or race."
1.2.7.2. working-class students - vocational track / lower track
1.2.7.2.1. experience more alienation and authoritarian teachers
1.2.7.3. middle-class students - academic track / higher track
1.2.7.3.1. spend more time on teaching and learning activities
1.2.7.3.2. use more interesting materials
1.2.7.3.3. receive better teachers, better laboratory facilities, and more extracurricular activities
1.2.7.4. directly affects cognitive development
1.2.8. De Facto Segregation
1.2.8.1. Certain neighborhoods produce neighborhood schools that are segregated
1.2.8.2. Racially mixed schools benefit minorities
1.2.8.2.1. Ex: African-Americans from low-income communities who attend integrated schools are:
1.2.9. Gender
2. Curriculum & Pedagogy
2.1. Curriculum Theories
2.1.1. Developmentalist
2.1.1.1. Related to the needs and interests of the student
2.1.1.2. Emanated from Dewey and Piaget
2.1.1.3. Emphasizes process of teaching in addition to content
2.1.1.4. Student centered
2.1.1.5. Teacher is a facilitator of student growth.
2.1.1.6. Very influential in teacher education programs.
2.1.2. Humanist
2.1.3. Social Efficiency
2.1.4. Social Meliorist
2.2. Dominant Traditions of Teaching
2.2.1. Mimetic
2.2.1.1. Purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students
2.2.1.2. Uses didactic method
2.2.1.3. Educational process involves relationship between the knower (teacher) and the learner (student)
2.2.1.4. Believes student does not possess what the teacher has
2.2.1.5. Stresses rational sequencing in the teaching process as well as assessment
2.2.2. Transformative
2.2.2.1. Purpose of education is to change the student in a meaningful way
2.2.2.2. Provides multidimensional theory of teaching
2.2.2.3. Reject authoritarian relationship between teacher and student
2.2.2.4. Teaching and learning are inextricably linked
2.2.2.5. Student is integral part of learning process
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Major Stakeholders in my district:
3.1.1. House of Representatives
3.1.1.1. Bradley Byrne
3.1.1.2. Martha Roby
3.1.1.3. Mike Rogers - Representative for my district
3.1.1.4. Robert Aderholt
3.1.1.5. Mo Brooks
3.1.1.6. Gary Palmer
3.1.2. State Superintendent
3.1.2.1. Michael Sentance
3.1.3. State School Board
3.1.3.1. President - Kay Ivey
3.1.3.2. Secretary and Executive Officer - Michael Sentance
3.1.3.3. President Pro Tem / District 8 - Mary Scott Hunter
3.1.3.4. Vice President / District 4 - Yvette M. Richardson
3.1.3.5. District 1 - Jackie Zeigler
3.1.3.6. District 2 - Betty Peters
3.1.3.7. District 3 - Stephanie Bell
3.1.3.8. District 5 - Ella B. Bell
3.1.3.9. District 6 - Cynthia Sanders - Representative for my district
3.1.3.10. District 7 - Jeffrey Newman
3.1.4. Calhoun County Schools
3.1.4.1. Superintendent - Joe Dyar
3.1.4.2. School Board
3.1.4.2.1. Superintendent - Joe Dyar
3.1.4.2.2. Dep. Superintendent - Ed Roe
3.1.4.2.3. Board President - David Gilmore
3.1.4.2.4. Board Vice-President - Dale Harbin
3.1.4.2.5. Board Members - Mike Almaroad, Tobi Burt, Debbie Hess, Phil Murphy, and Jeff Winn
3.2. Elements of Change (within school processes and school cultures)
3.2.1. Conflict - necessary for change
3.2.1.1. Staff must be prepared to elicit, manage, and resolve conflicts
3.2.2. New Behaviors - must be learned
3.2.2.1. build communication and trust, enable leadership and initiative to emerge, and learn techniques of communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution
3.2.3. Team Building - extend to the entire school
3.2.3.1. Need shared decision making
3.2.3.2. Build relationships with all school staff members
3.2.4. Process and Content - interrelated
3.2.4.1. The process to make changes is just as important as the content of the changes.
3.2.4.2. Need trust and openness within the team and between the team and the school
4. History of U.S. Education
4.1. Reform Movement
4.1.1. Progressive Movement
4.1.1.1. Progressive Education
4.1.1.1.1. John Dewey
4.1.1.1.2. restructure schools along the lines of "embryonic communities"
4.1.1.1.3. result of education? growth
4.1.1.1.4. integrated curriculum
4.1.1.1.5. active learning
4.1.1.1.6. teacher as facilitator of learning
4.2. Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education
4.2.1. Conservative
4.2.1.1. Critics - William Bennett, Chester Finn, Jr., Diane Ravitch, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., and Allan Bloom
4.2.1.2. U.S. students know very little
4.2.1.3. U.S. schools are mediocre
4.2.1.4. failed to fulfill social goals without sacrificing academic quality
4.2.2. Liberal
4.2.2.1. Democratic-Liberal historians - Ellwood Cubberly, Merle Curti, and Lawrence A. Cremin
4.2.2.2. "Democratic-liberals believe that the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution, albeit flawed, of a school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all."
4.2.3. Radical
4.2.3.1. Radical historians - Michael Katz, Joel Spring, Clarence Karier, David Hogan, and Julia Wrigley
4.2.3.2. Radical historians believe the educational system "expanded to meet the needs of the elites in society for the control of the working class and immigrants, and for economic efficiency and productivity."
5. Equality of Opportunity
5.1. Impact Educational Outcomes
5.1.1. Class
5.1.1.1. Upper class and middle class
5.1.1.1.1. Expect children to finish school
5.1.1.1.2. More books in home - speak "standard" English
5.1.1.1.3. Emphasis placed on high academic achievement
5.1.1.2. Working-class and underclass
5.1.1.2.1. Lower expectations for children to finish school
5.1.1.2.2. Less books in home - do not speak middle-class English
5.1.1.2.3. More likely to underachieve, drop out, and resist the school curriculum
5.1.2. State Senators
5.1.2.1. Richard Shelby
5.1.2.2. Luther Strange
5.1.3. Race
5.1.3.1. 16-24 Year Olds
5.1.3.1.1. 5.2% white students drop out
5.1.3.1.2. 9.3% African-American students drop out
5.1.3.1.3. 17.6 Hispanic-American students drop out
5.1.3.2. SAT Scores
5.1.3.2.1. Minorities (on average) score lower than white students
5.1.3.2.2. Direct link between SAT scores and college admission
5.1.3.2.3. Link between SAT scores and college scholarships
5.1.3.3. Difficult to separate race from class in the U.S.
5.1.3.4. Minority students receive fewer and inferior educational opportunities than white students
5.2. Gender
5.2.1. Historically
5.2.1.1. women were better students than men but less likely to attain same level of education
5.2.2. Today
5.2.2.1. females are less likely to drop out of school than males
5.2.2.2. females more likely to have a higher level of reading and writing proficiency than males
5.2.2.3. males outperform females in mathematics
5.2.2.4. males more likely to score higher on SATs than females
5.2.2.5. more women than men attend post-secondary institutions
5.2.3. Gender differences (in terms of educational attainment) have been reduced over the last 20 years
5.3. What were the two responses to the Coleman Study from 1982?
6. Philosophy of Education
6.1. firmly rooted in practice
6.2. Teacher-Centered Philosophies
6.2.1. Essentialism / Realism
6.2.2. Perennialism / Idealism
6.3. Student-Centered Philosophies
6.3.1. Progressivism / Pragmatism
6.3.1.1. generally viewed as an American philosophy
6.3.1.1.1. Founders - George Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey
6.3.1.2. European philosophers from earlier periods
6.3.1.2.1. Frances Bacon, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
6.3.1.3. "Pragmatism is a philosophy that encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve their desired ends."
6.3.1.4. Generic Notions
6.3.1.4.1. "Dewey's form of pragmatism--instrumentalism and experimentalism--was founded on the new psychology, behaviorism, and the philosophy of pragmatism"
6.3.1.5. Goal of Education
6.3.1.5.1. rooted in the social order
6.3.1.5.2. school should "function as preparation for life in a democratic society"
6.3.1.5.3. "Dewey believed that the schools should balance the needs of society and community on one hand and the needs of the individual on the other."
6.3.1.5.4. primary role of education? growth
6.3.1.6. Role of the Teacher
6.3.1.6.1. not an authoritarian figure
6.3.1.6.2. teacher assumes the position of facilitator
6.3.1.6.3. "encourages, offers suggestions, questions, and helps plan and implement courses of study"
6.3.1.6.4. writes curriculum
6.3.1.7. Methods of Instruction
6.3.1.7.1. children learn both individually and in groups
6.3.1.7.2. problem-solving or inquiry method
6.3.1.7.3. formal instruction is abandoned
6.3.1.8. Curriculum
6.3.1.8.1. generally follow Dewey's notion of a core curriculum, or an integrated curriculum
6.3.1.8.2. the curriculum of expanding environments
6.3.1.8.3. "Curriculum changes as the social order changes and as children's interests and needs change."
6.3.2. Social Reconstructionism
6.3.3. Existentialism