1. Philosophy of Education
1.1. Existentialism
1.1.1. Generic Notion
1.1.1.1. Individuals are placed on this earth alone and must make some sense of the chaos and people must create themselves and their own meaning. It is up to individuals to make good choices because those choices affect us throughout life.
1.1.2. Key Researchers
1.1.2.1. Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, Maxine Greene, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty
1.1.3. Goal of Education
1.1.3.1. Education should focus on the needs of individuals and stress individuality. It should also focus on the tensions and anxiety of living in this world.
1.1.4. Role of the teacher
1.1.4.1. Teachers need to understand their world and the world of students in order to help the students be the best possible version of themselves. Also to empower students to choose and act on their choices.
1.1.5. Method of instruction
1.1.5.1. Be able to figure out the best learning styles for students. Students and teachers learn from each other so with them working together it will benefit the students.
1.1.6. Curriculum
1.1.6.1. Heavily biased towards humanities and exposing students to problems at an early age.
2. Schools as Organizations
2.1. Elements of change
2.1.1. Conflict- Staff involvement in schools must be prepared to resolve conflict
2.1.2. New behaviors must be learned- Change requires new behaviors and relationships and this needs to include trust, leadership, and communication
2.1.3. Team building must extend to the entire school- Everybody must be involved or this can cause exclusiveness
2.1.4. Process and content are interrelated- The process a team uses is as important as the content of educational changes.
2.2. Major Stakeholders
2.2.1. State senator- Richard Shelby
2.2.2. House of representatives- Martha Roby, Mo Brooks, Bradley Byrne, Gary Palmer, Terri Sewell, Mike Rodgers, Robert, Aderholt
2.2.3. State superintendent- Michael Sentance
2.2.3.1. Local superintendent- Brian Lindsey
2.2.4. Representative on state school board- Robert Bently, Michael Sentance, Mary Hunter, Yvette Richardson, Jackie Zeigler, Betty Peters, Stephanie Bell, Ella bell, Cynthia McCarthy, Jeffery Newman
2.2.4.1. Local school board representatives- Clayton Wood, Celia Rudolph, Terri Snipes, farrell Southern, Willis thompson
3. Equality of Opportunity
3.1. Impact on educational outcomes
3.1.1. Class- Students in different social classes gain different educational experiences. Upper class families have the money and means to provide their kids with the best education where lower class families struggle and the kids might not be able to finish school.
3.1.2. Race- Laws have been passed to get rid of racism but it is still around and affects the education a student receives. Minority students receive fewer educational opportunities than other students
3.1.3. Gender- The impact gender has on education is gradually changing for the better. In history females were not given the same opportunity to have an education like males did, but in today's generation females are surpassing males when it comes to education. However in the work force males are still given an advantage above women.
3.2. Response to Coleman study
3.2.1. Coleman and his associates found that private school students scored higher on every test than public school students. This finding proves that the differences in schools make a difference. They found that private schools seem to accommodate themselves to the needs of low-income students.
3.2.2. In another study, Borman and Dowling argued that race and socioeconomic status a responsible for gaps in students achievement. They concluded that education reform must focus on removing high segregation from US school systems and bring an end to tracking systems that favor white and middle-class students.
4. Educational Inequality
4.1. Cultural deprivation theories
4.1.1. Cultural deprivation- This was popularized in the 1960s and suggest that working-class and non white families lack the cultural resources resources which put them at a disadvantage. To help the students be more prepared when they enter school, policy makers developed programs for the families to help parents get involved with their children's schooling. This theory was attacked because some people felt that it was taking away the responsibility from the school and placing it on the parents.
4.1.2. Cultural differences- This theory agrees that there's a difference between working-class and non white students, and white middle class students. Even though non white students may go to school without previous skills, this is not due to a lack of it at home. They attribute cultural differences to social forces.
4.2. School centered explanations for educational inequality
4.2.1. School Financing- Public schools in suburbs get better financing than public schools in poor inner cities. The funding comes from property taxes and since the property values are higher in the suburb communities, they are able to provide more money for their schools.
4.2.2. Effective school research- This suggests that there are processes to explain unequal educational achievement by different groups of students. This supports Coleman's research that schools with more rigorous curriculum produce better academic achievements.
4.2.3. Gender and schooling- Vivian Gornick wrote an essay and argued that differences between men and women are cultural and not biological and women deserved quality in the workplace. Research done in both Great Britain and the US shows that the gender gap in achievement had greatly diminished.
4.2.4. Within-school differences: curriculum and ability grouping- All students learn differently and there's a lot of research and debate done about tracking. Tracking is when students are separated based on their ability and it makes teaching easier. Albert Shanker stated that with this happening in schools, the students on the lower level are not being challenged and therefore will not excel as fast as other students.
5. Educational Reform
5.1. School based reforms
5.1.1. School-to-work programs- This program is great because it gives students something to look forward to. This program gave students the opportunity to gain working skills, explore different career options, and make sure the education is well received
5.1.2. Teacher quality- Since the teacher is a major part in the kind of education students receive, it is important that the school look at the quality of the teachers before hiring them.
5.2. Community based reforms
5.2.1. Full service schools- Dryfoo's model of full service schools was put in place to not only meet the student's educational needs but also their families physical, psychological, and social needs. The schools serve as community centers in the neighborhood and supply different needs.
5.2.2. Harlem children's zone- Geoffrey Canada grew up in the Bronx and was not prepared for the academic and social challenges he would face when he went off to college so he wanted to make that wouldn't happen to other children in a position like him. He developed a program where parents can go to gain information that their children would need and how to help them through their academic life.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. Purpose of Education
6.1.1. 1. Intellectual- To teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and math
6.1.2. 2. Political- To inculcate allegiance to the existing political order
6.1.3. 3. Social- To help solve social problems by working together to ensure cohesion
6.1.4. 4. Economic- To prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor
6.2. Liberal Perspective
6.2.1. The role of the school- provides the necessary educational training for individuals to go out into the world and do great things
6.2.2. Explanations of unequal performance- Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds have a disadvantage when starting school compared to students from a higher social standard
6.2.3. Educational problems- The difference in quality and climate between urban and suburban schools is a big problem when talking about the inequalities for schools
7. History of U.S Education
7.1. Education for Women and African American- In my opinion this reform movement had the most influence on education. Today we have some of the most intelligent women living around us that are doing great things and without this reform women would not have had the opportunity to get an education.
7.2. The Democratic-Liberal School- The democratic liberals believed in a school system that provided equal educational opportunity for all. The historians suggested to reject the conservative views of schools as elite institutions and to expand it to involve less fortunate people.
8. Sociological Perspectives
8.1. Theoretical perspectives
8.1.1. Functional theory- Education is important to create the moral unity necessary for social cohesion and harmony
8.1.2. Conflict theory- Schools are compared to social battlefields where students struggle against teachers
8.1.3. Interactional theory- This is a deeper theory that questions what students do in school.
8.2. Effects of schooling on individuals
8.2.1. Employment- Going to school and getting an education improves the kind of job you can get in the future
8.2.2. Teacher behavior- The way teachers act can transfer over the the way students act
8.2.3. Student peer groups and alienation- This can be great because everybody has their own small group but the negative side of it is when some students are left out and this can lead to alienation and violoence
8.2.4. Education and equality- As much as we might want it to go away, social class will always be around and sadly it is incorporated in schools and this can affect a student's ability to learn
8.2.5. Inadequate schools- The better the school, the better chance the students have of learning properly
9. Curriculum & Pedagogy
9.1. Curriculum theory
9.1.1. Developmentalist curriculum-focuses on the needs and interest of the students
9.2. Dominant traditions of teachings
9.2.1. Mimetic tradition- to transmit specific knowledge to students
9.2.2. Transformative tradition- to change the students in a meaningful way.