1. Politics of Education
1.1. Four purposes of Education
1.1.1. Intellectual purposes of schooling are to teach basic cognitive skills, to transmit knowledge, and help students acquire higher order thinking skills.
1.1.2. Political purposes of schooling are to inculcate allegiance to the existing political ode, to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order, and to help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order--to teach children the laws of society.
1.1.3. Social purposes help solve social problems, to work as one of many institutions (such as family, church), to ensure social cohesion, and to socialize children into the various roles and behaviors and values of the society.
1.1.4. Economic purposes of schooling are to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train and allocate them into the division of labor.
1.2. The role of school is a central focus of each of the perspectives-liberal, radical, conservative-The school's role is directly concerned with the aims, purposes, and functions of education in a society.
1.2.1. CONSERVATIVE perspective sees the role of the school as providing the necessary training to ensure that the most talented and hard-working individuals receive the tools necessary to maximize economic and social productivity. It views the role of the school to be essential to both economic productivity and social stability. The believe that all students to have equal opportunity to compete individually in the marketplace and reward individual effort.
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Progressivisim is a student centered philosophy that stems from pragmatism
2.1.1. Generic notions-To attain a better society through education, children could learn skills both experientially as well as from books
2.1.2. Key researchers were John Dewey, Francis Bacon, William James, Rousseau, William James, George Sanders Pierce
2.1.3. The goal of education-To provide students with real world knowledge that could help them succeed in improving social order Balance the social role of the school with its effects on social, intellectual and personal development of individuals.
2.1.4. Role of the teacher is a facilitator. They are no longer an authoritative figure. The teacher encourages and offers suggestions.
2.1.5. Method of instruction-Progressivism moves away from formal instruction. Down to the environment of the classroom, including furniture, progressivism promoted change towards more flexible teaching styles. Students are free to talk and discuss, stand or sit, and decide whether they would work as a group or independently. Normal time constraints were dismissed. They use the problem solving method. Students pose questions based on what they would like to learn. The teacher uses problem solving, inquiry, cooperation and self discipline
2.1.6. Curriculum-Curriculum should be student centered. There needs to be a balance between traditional disciplines and the needs and interests of the child. Students learn best from what they consider most relevant to their lives. Progressive educators are not locked into a single curriculum. As social order or the interest of the students’ changes, teachers can adapt the curriculum. A teacher can incorporate multiple subjects to teach one idea to the student
3. Equality of Opportunity
3.1. Students in different social classes have different educational experiences. From a cultural point of view, schools represent values of the middle and upper class. There is a correlation between and parents income and students performance.
3.1.1. Race minorities do not receive the same educational opportunities--it is difficult to separate race and class. Minoirities also have lower test scores.
3.1.1.1. Gender differences between men and women in terms of educational attainment have been reduced in the last twenty years.
3.2. One response showed private schools were better for lower income students. However, the debate is not resolved. Another response states where an individual goes to school is related to her race and class, but the composition of the school has a greater effect on the achievment than the individuals race or class.
4. History of U.S. Education
4.1. The Age of Reform: The Rise of the Common School
4.1.1. During this time the majority of Americans were illiterate. There were not opportunities for free public schooling. It was during this time that Mann's efforts established the first state teacher training school. He fought for free public schooling due to the concern of stability, order and social stability. Mann believed school could change the social order and education could foster social mobility. His beliefs are responsible for the faith and support many people give to the U.S public schools.
4.2. Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education
4.2.1. The Democratic-Liberal School-democratic-liberals believe that the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution of a school system committed to providing an equal opportunity for all. The ideals of equality and excellence are only ideals. D-Ls believe we should move closer to each, while other historians do not see equity and excellence as inevitably irreconcilable but more so resulting in compromises.
5. Sociological Perspectives
5.1. Sociologists believe that educators cannot really understand how, or why, schools operate without a working idea of how schools and society interact. Sociologists take an interest in how schools act as agents of cultural and social transmission. Schools shape children's perceptions of the world by processes of socialization. Schools socially and culturally reproduce the existing society through the systematic socialization of its youngest members. The sociology of education is a conscientious field and the questions asked by sociologists are complex and fundamental when it comes to the relation between school and society
5.1.1. Functional Theory-these sociologists view society as a machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work. It stresses the interdependence of the social system. Durkheim was one of the first sociologists to embrace a functional point of view about the relation of school and society. He believed that education in most societies was of critical importance in creating the moral unity necessary for social cohesion and harmony. In the functional point of view, educational reform is supposed to create structures, programs, and curriculum that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity.
5.1.2. Conflict Theory-Conflict sociologists do not see the relation between schools and society as unproblematic or straightforward. They emphasize struggle instead of cohesion in explaining social order. School are similar to battlefields in their point of view. Students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators, etc. Karl Marx is the intellectual founder of the conflict school in the sociology of education. He and others like him believed that power relations between dominate and subordinate groups structured society. The conflict perspective offers important insights about the relation between schools and society.
5.1.3. Interactional Theory-these are primarily critiques of the conflict and functional theories. They wanted to provide a look at what schools are like on an everyday level. Interactional theories attempt to make the commonplace strange by turning on their heads every day behaviors and interactions between students and teachers, and students and students.
5.2. 5 effects of schooling on individuals--schools have a significant impact on learning and on social and economic mobility.
5.2.1. Knowledge and Attitude-schools have a significant impact on developing students knowledge and attitudes. Generally the higher the social class, the higher the achievement level. Some researchers say differences in schools account for very little of the difference in academic achievement. Other research shows difference between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies do make differences in student learning. Education is also related to individuals' sense of well being and self esteem. More education leads to greater knowledge and social participation.
5.2.2. Employment-Graduating from college increases your chance for employment-its true! However most learn to do their job best by doing. Research indicates the level of education does not prove a high level of job performance. The economic and social worth of academic credentials cannot fully be measured by examining its effects on job performance. Academic credentials can also effect your income.
5.2.3. Teacher Behavior-Teachers have a HUGE impact on students and their behaviors. They are models for students and set the standards, they influence self esteem and students sense of self-efficacy. Attitudes and behaviors of teachers towards students can have an impact on student achievement and perceptions of self.
5.2.4. Gender-Schools can reproduce inequalities based on gender discrimination. Men and women simply do not share equally in US society. Luckily over the past few decades the gender gap has started to disappear. Schools are active organizational agents in recreating gender inequalities. They may not intend to, but due to some school policies and processes, it does happen.
5.2.5. Inadequate schools are another way that reproduces inequalities. Urban education has failed at educating minorities and poor children. Many feel US education is not preparing students to be production and fulfilled members of society due to contemporary schooling.
6. Curriculum and Pedagogy
6.1. The two dominant traditions of teaching are the Mimetic and transformative
6.1.1. Mimetic is easily decribed and is viewed today as what education is all about. It gives a central place to the transmission of factual and procedural knowledge from one person to another, through an essentially imitative process. It is knowledge presented to a learner rather than discovered by them.
6.1.2. Transformative tradition involves change of one kind or another to the person being taught-traits of personality and character.
6.2. Social Efficiency Curriculum is closley related to progressivism /pragmatist. I relate most with this style of student centered learning.
7. Schools as Organizations
7.1. Alabama State Senator-Richard Shelby Alabama House of Representatives-Mike Ball-District 10, Mac McCutcheon-District 25 State Superintendent-Michael Sentance Alabama school board Representative-Cynthia Sanders McCarty, Ph.D. District 06 Madison County Superintendent-Dr. Ronnie McGehee Madison County School Board-District I Mr. Nathan Curry, District 2 Mrs. Angie Bates, District 3 Mrs. Mary Louise Stowe, District 4 Dave Weis, District 5 Shere Rucker
7.2. According to Waller, school is a unity of interacting personalities. School cultures are also very vulnerable to disruption. Schools, as they are now organized, are shaped by a series of inherent contradictions that can develop cultures that are conflictual and even stagnant. Changing the schools requires patience, skill, and good will.
7.3. Conflict is a necessary part of change. New behaviors must be learned. Entire school must participate in team building. the process and content are interrelated. Changing the culture of a school requires time, effort, intellegence, and good will. Planned change requires new ways of thinking. Teachers must be at the forefront of educational change.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Cultural deprivation theory suggests that working-class and nonwhite families often lack the cultural resources, such as books, and have a significant disadvantage at school. According to cultural deprivation theorists, this deprivation results in educationally disadvantaged students who achieve poorly because they have not been raised to aquire the skills and dispositions required for satisfactory academic achievement.
8.2. School Centered explainations include: effective school research-if schools' effects are not significant, then schools and teachers can do little to make a positive difference. This redearch took responibility away from schools and teachers and placed it on families and communities. Researchers needed to compare schools within lower socioeconomic communities as well. Effective school research suggests that there are school-centered processes that help to explain unequal educational achievement by different groups of students. Between-school Differences: Curriculum and pedagoic practices-school climates effect academic performance. A large proportion of students who attend schools in higher socioeconomic communities do well in school. Within-school differences: Curriculum and ability grouping. Education in the U.S. assumes that the studens in the lower tracks are not capable of doing academic work and schools do not offer them an academically challenging curriculum. Tracking does produce inequalities based on curriculum differences. Gender and schooling-Schooling often limits the education opportunities and life chances of women in a number of ways. The organization of schools reinforces gender roles and gender inequality. Given the role that schools play in reproducing gender inequalities, feminists argue that school organization, curriculum, and pedagogic practices need to be changed to address more adequately the needs of females.
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Two school-based reforms: School-Business Partnerships & Teacher Quality
9.1.1. School-Business Partnerships were formed when business leaders became concerned that schools weren't producing graduates necessary for qa revitalization of the U.S. economy. A group of foundations and entrepeneurs have contributed significantly to education reform efforts, but there is little convincing evidence that this has improved schools.
9.1.2. Teacher quality-Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers is among the most important pronlems in American education. Problems in staffing urban schools have less to do with teacher shortages and more with organizational issues inside schools. Programs aimed at solving urban school staffing problems at the supply level through alternative teacher education programs fail to address the organizational problems within schools that are responsible for high turnover rates. School improvement reformers have stressed the existence of teacher tenure and seniority based transfers and layoff provisions in union contracts as a primary factor in preventing an improvement of teacher quality.