My Foundations of Education
by Brittany Bright
1. Politics of Education
1.1. 1) FOUR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION- 1) Intellectual- 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) Political - to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order; 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. 3) Social- 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. 4) Economic- to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train. and allocate individuals into the division of labor
1.2. 2) CONSERVATIVE PERSPECTIVE- 1) The role of the school is 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. Schools socialize children into the adult roles necessary to the maintenance of the social order. Lastly, one of transmitting the cultural traditions through curriculum. Essential to both economic productivity and social stability. 2) Conservatives explanations of unequal educational performance 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. 3) the definition of educational problems is argued by the following points in responses to liberal and radical demands for greater equality in the 1960s and 1970s, schools systematically lowered academic standards and reduced educational quality. (decline of standards) In their response to liberal and radical demands for multicultural education, schools watered down the traditional curriculum and thus weakened the schools ability to pass on the heritage of American and western civilizations to their children. (decline of cultural literacy) In response to liberal and radical demands for cultural relativism, schools lost their traditional role of reaching moral standards and values. (decline of values or of civilization) In response to liberal and radical demands for individuality and freedom, schools lost their traditional disciplinary function and often became chaotic. (decline of authority)
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. 1) The Age of Reform: The Rise of the Common School, was the reform I sought to be most influential. There are so many milestones that were crossed in this reform it is hard to ignore. Public Education is still a major role in schools today. There's also the education opportunities that became available for women, and the small accomplishment of establishing Black Colleges, even though equality and discrimination did not improve for years to come. The public high schools grew in large numbers and paved the way for students’ roles in society, whether they be college bound or not.
2.2. 2) Historical Interpretation: Conservatives Perspectives- conservative critics all pointed to the failure of so-called progressive education to fulfill its lofty social goals without sacrificing academic quality. Ravitch argued that the preoccupation with using education to solve social problems has not solved these problems and, simultaneously, has led to the erosion of educational excellence. According to Ravitch, the progressive reforms of the twentieth century denigrated the traditional role of schools passing on a common culture and produced a generation of students who know little, if anything about their Western heritage.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. 1) The theoretical perspective concerning the relationship between school and society are fundamental and complex. Functional sociologist begins with a picture of society that stresses the interdependence of the social system; Functionalist view society as a kind of machine. Some sociologist argue 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, cooperation, and manipulation. From conflict point of view, schools are similar to social battlefields, where students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators and so on. Interactional theories about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives.
3.2. 2) 5 Effects of Schooling that have the greatest impact on students. - (1&2) Knowledge & Attitudes - It is shown that in schools where students are compelled to take academic subjects and where there is consistent discipline, student achievement levels go up. Another study has shown that students who went to summer school, used the library and read a great deal in the summer made greater gains in knowledge than pupils who did not study in the summer. Over all, I believe that an individuals attitude about learning and education in general has a greater impact on society and that individuals growth. (3) Teacher Behavior - teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior. The labels that teachers apply to children can influence actual performance; this form of self-fulfilling prophecy indicates that teachers; expectations play a major role in encouraging or discouraging students to work their full potential. (4) Inadequate Schools - Perhaps the most obvious way that schools reproduce inequalities is through inadequate schools. Urban education, in particular, has failed to educate minority and poor children. Differences between schools and school systems reinforce existing inequalities.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Pragmatism - is a philosophy that encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve their desired ends. Pragmatists may study the past but their usually more interested in contemporary issues and in discovering solutions to problems in present- day terms. They're action oriented, experientially grounded & pose goal oriented questions. - Generic Notions -John Dewey's form of pragmatism--instrumental-ism and experimental-ism-- was found on the new psychology, behaviorism, and the philosophy of pragmatism. For Dewey, this meant the attainment of a 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 would enable them to work cooperatively in a democratic society. - Key Researchers - John Dewey (1859-1952) - Goal of Education - Dewey 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. He believed school should function as preparation for life in a democratic society. - Role of the 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. The teacher also writes curriculum and must have a command of several disciplines in order to create and implement curriculum. - Method of Instruction - problem-solving or inquiry method (children learn both individually and in groups, where children start their mode of inquiry by posing questions about what they want to know. - Curriculum - core curriculum, or an integrated curriculum. (all the academic and vocational disciplines in an integrated, interconnected way. Dewey placed emphasis on the need for the curriculum to be related to the needs and interest of the child.
5. Curriculum and Pedagogy
5.1. 1) The developmentalist curriculum is related to the needs and interest of the student rather than the needs of society. This curriculum emanated form the aspects of Dewey's writings related to the relationship between the child and the curriculum as well as developmental psychologists such as Piaget, and it emphasized the process of teaching as well as its content. It stresses flexibility in what is taught and how it is taught with emphasis on the development of each students's individual capacities.
5.2. 2) There are two dominant traditions of teaching. Mimetic tradition of teaching is based on the viewpoint that the purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to sudents. The best method of doing this is through what is termed the didatic method, a method that commonly relies on the lecture of presentaion as the main form of communication. The educational process involves the realtionship between the knower and the learner and that education is a process of transferring information from one to the other. The other dominant form of teaching is the transformative tradition. The proponents of this tradition believe that the purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way, including intellectually, creatively, spiritually, amd emotionally. Transformative educators do not see the transmisson of knowledge as the only component of education and thus they provide a more multi-dimensional theory of teaching. In addition they reject the authoritain relationship between teacher and student and argue that teaching and learning are inextricably linked.
6. Equality of Opportunity
6.1. 1) Class is directly related to achievement and to educational attainment; there is a direct correlation between parental income and children's performance on achievement tests, as well as placement in ability groups and curriculum track in high school. Study after study shows that class is related to achievement on reading tests and basic skills tests. Children from working-class and underclass families are more likely to underachieve, drop out, and resist the curriculum of the school. While it is difficult to separate race from class it is proven that minority students receive fewer and inferior educational opportunities than white students. Explanations as to why whites more successful vary. Minorities do not receive the same educational opportunities as whites, and their rewards for educational attainment are significantly less.
6.2. Responses to Coleman 1982: 1) Jencks- used to findings to compute the estimated yearly average achievement gain by public and Catholic school students. He stated the annual increment attributable to Catholic schooling was tiny, He argued that the differences in learning were negligible. 2)Alexander and Pallas agreed with Jencks stating the findings had little basis.
7. Educational Inequality
7.1. 1) The two types of cultural deprivation theory are: The poor have deprived culture- one that lacks the value system of middle-class culture, which according to this perspective middle class culture values hard work and initiative the delay of immediate gratification for future reward, and the importance of schooling as a means to future success. The other type is The culture of poverty eschews delayed gratification for immediate reward, rejects hard work and initiate as a means to success, and does not view schooling as the means to social mobility.
7.2. 2) 4 School-Centered Explanations for Educational Inequality
7.2.1. 1. School Financing- Public schools are financed though a combination of revenues from local, state, and federal sources, However, the majority of funds come from state and local taxes, with local property taxes a significant source. Since property values are significantly higher in more affluent communities, these communities are able to raise significantly more money for schools though this form of taxation than poorer communities with lower property values, Additionally, since families in more affluent communities have higher incomes, they pay proportionately less of their incomes for their higher school taxes.
7.2.2. 2. Effective School Research- If students from the racial and socioeconomic backgrounds attending different schools withing the same community perform at significantly different rates, then something within the schools themselves must be affecting student performance. The "effective school literature" suggest that there are characteristics of unusually effective schools that help to explain why their students achieve academically. The effective school research suggest that there are school-centered processes that help to explain unequal educational achievement by different groups of students.
7.2.3. 3. Curriculum and Ability Grouping- Albert Shanker stated that education in the United States assumes that students in the lower tracks are not capable of doing academic work and thus schools do not offer them an academically challenging curriculum. (I WILL FOREVER BE AGAINST THIS) To myself, this act or decision on the education of the students from the "lower tracks" is just like stating, "Since you don't have the means to be successful, you should just give up."
7.2.4. 4. Gender and Schooling-Given the role that schools play in reproducing gender inequalities, feminist argue that school organization, curriculum, and pedagogic practices need to be changed to address more adequately the needs of females.
8. Educational Reform
8.1. School-Based Reforms
8.1.1. School-Business Partnerships- This reform was during the 198's when business leaders became concerned with the nations schools and their success of producing graduates necessary for a revitalization of the US economy. Because of this concern partnerships were formed to fund a number of efforts to increase success along with companies creating scholarships. School-to-Work Programs- In the 90's school business partnerships became incorportated into school-to work programs. Their intent was to extend what had been a vocation emphasis to non-college-bound students regarding skills necessary for successful employment and to stress the importance of work-based learning.
8.2. Societal and Community Reforms
8.2.1. A popular reform implemented over the past decade is mayoral control of urban districts. Urban mayors and business leaders argue that centralizing governance into the mayor's office is more effective and efficient than traditional elected school board while others argue mayoral control eliminates corruption and leads to effective and efficient management and budgets, increases achievement and reduce the political battles endemic to elected school boards. In the reforms where the state takes over, they have yielded more gains in central office activities than in classroom instructional practices.