1. The History of Education
1.1. Education for Women and African-Americans
1.1.1. In the 19th century women and African Americans were admitted into school and academies. Higher education for woman spread across the U.S. Higher education for African Americans was still rare, they were encourage to open their own schools which were usually help in churches.
1.2. Democratic- Liberal Schools
1.2.1. Believed that the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution of a school system committed to providing equality of opportunity for all.
2. The Sociology of Education
2.1. Theoretical Perspectives
2.1.1. Functionalism
2.1.1.1. Functionalist view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work.
2.1.2. Conflict Theory
2.1.2.1. Conflict sociologists do not see the relation between school and society as unproblematical or straightforward.
2.1.3. Interactioalism
2.1.3.1. Interactional theories attempt to make the commonplace strange by turning on their heads everyday take for granted behaviors and interactions between students and students and teachers and teachers.
2.2. 5 Effects of Schooling on Individuals
2.2.1. Knowledge & Attitudes
2.2.1.1. Differences between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies do make a difference in the student's learning.
2.2.2. Employment
2.2.2.1. Graduating from college will lead to greater employment opportunities in the future.
2.2.3. Education & Mobility
2.2.3.1. The number of years of education is one measure of educational attainment but where people go to school also affects their mobility.
2.2.4. Inside the Schools
2.2.4.1. Depending on the size of the school, the title of the school, and the curricula at the school all has an effect on the students,
2.2.5. Teacher Behavior
2.2.5.1. The way teachers behave influences the way their students behave. Teachers have to be instructors, friends, and educators.
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Alabama state senator- Richard Shelby
3.2. District Congressman- Mo Brooks
3.3. State Superintendent- Michael Sentance
3.4. Representative on State School Board- Robert Bentley
3.5. Madison County Superintendent- Matt Massey
3.6. Local School Board- Madison County
3.7. Elements of school change within processes and cultures.
3.7.1. Teachers are allowed to be spontaneous within their teaching to better engage the students.
3.7.2. Teachers form personable relationships with students.
3.7.3. Research is always being conducted on how to better teach students.
4. Curriculum and Pedagogy
4.1. Developmentalist curriculum
4.1.1. About the needs and the interest of the child rather than the need and interests of society.
4.1.2. Flexible in what is taught and how it was taught.
4.1.3. Relates schooling to the life experiences of each child in a way that would make education com alive in a meaningful manner.
4.2. Dominant traditions of teaching.
4.2.1. Mimetic tradition
4.2.1.1. The purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students.
4.2.1.2. Lecture and presentations are the main forms of teaching.
4.2.2. Transformative tradition
4.2.2.1. The purpose of education is to change the student is some meaningful way including intellectually, creatively, spiritually, and emotionally.
4.2.2.2. Educators do not see the transmission of knowledge as the only component of education.
5. Equality of Opportunity
5.1. Class, race, and gender each impact educational outcomes.
5.1.1. Social class
5.1.1.1. Education is expensive, so children with wealthy parents are able to complete a high education.
5.1.1.2. Lower-class families expect less out of their children while many upper class families expect their child to complete school.
5.1.2. Race
5.1.2.1. Blacks and hispanics have a higher drop-out rate than whites.
5.1.2.2. Minority students receive less educational opportunities than whites.
5.1.3. Gender
5.1.3.1. Females are less likely to drop out of school than males.
5.1.3.2. Females are likely to have a higher level of reading proficiency than males.
5.1.3.3. Males tend to have a higher math proficiency.
5.2. Coleman study (1982)
5.2.1. Responses to the Colman study
5.2.1.1. School segregation based on race and socioeconomic status and within school interactions dominated by middle-class values are largely responsible for gaps in student achievement.
5.2.1.2. Catholic schools were just as good as public schools and private schools.
6. Educational Inequality
6.1. Two types of cultural deprivation
6.1.1. Cultural deprivation theory, popularized in the 1960s, suggests that working-class and non white families often lack the cultural resources, such as books and other educational stimuli, and thus arrive at school at a significant disadvantage.
6.1.2. Now their are places such as Head Start that will help the child prepare for schooling.
6.2. School centered explanations for educational inequality.
6.2.1. School financing.
6.2.1.1. Schools that receive more money are able to provide their students with better education.
6.2.2. Effective school research
6.2.2.1. If schools' effects are not significant, then schools and teachers can do little to make a positive difference.
6.2.3. Between school differences.
6.2.3.1. Different school environments allow students to experience different things.
6.2.4. Within school differences.
6.2.4.1. Tracking.Tracking has a significant effect on educational attainment.
7. Educational Reform
7.1. School based reforms
7.1.1. School to work programs
7.1.1.1. Focus on non-college bound students to get them ready for the work world by work-based learning.
7.1.2. School-business partnerships
7.1.2.1. Businesses invest money in schools so that the graduation rate of students would go up.
7.2. Reforms
7.2.1. Political
7.2.1.1. School finance reforms
7.2.1.1.1. Over the years schools have contently needed more money to better the students education.
7.2.2. Community
7.2.2.1. Full service and community schools
7.2.2.1.1. Schools have extended hours to educate families and citizens in the community who need it.
8. Politics & Education
8.1. Purposes of Schooling
8.1.1. Intellectual
8.1.1.1. Help students acquire higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
8.1.1.2. To teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and math.
8.1.2. Economical
8.1.2.1. To prepare students for their later occupational roles.
8.1.2.2. To train and allocate individuals into the division of labor.
8.1.3. Social
8.1.3.1. To help solve social problems.
8.1.3.2. To socialize children into various roles, behaviors, and values of society.
8.1.4. Political
8.1.4.1. To prepare citizens who will participate in this political order.
8.1.4.2. To teach children the basic law of society.
8.1.4.3. To help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order.
8.2. Political Perspective
8.2.1. Explanation of Unequal Performance
8.2.1.1. Radicals, like liberals, believe that students from lower level socioeconomic backgrounds begin school with unequal opportunities.
8.2.2. The Role of The School
8.2.2.1. The conservative perspectives sees the role of the school as providing the necessary educational training to ensure that the most talented and hard-working individuals receive the tools necessary to maximize social and economical productivity.
8.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems
8.2.3.1. The liberal perspectives argue that schools place too much emphasis on discipline and authority, thus limiting their role in helping students develop as individuals.
9. Philosophy of Education
9.1. Pragmatism
9.1.1. Generic Notions
9.1.1.1. Often referred to as progressive. Educators start with the needs and interest of the child. The child participates in planning their course of study, project methods, group learning, and experiential learning.
9.1.2. Key Researchers
9.1.2.1. George Sanders Pierce, William James, and John Dewey.
9.1.3. Goal of Education
9.1.3.1. Dewey believed that school should provide "conjoint, communicated experience"- that it should function as preparation for a life ina democratic society.
9.1.4. Role of Teacher
9.1.4.1. The teacher is not the authoritative figure from which all knowledge flows. The teacher encourages, offers suggestions,and helps plan the course of study.
9.1.5. Method of Instruction
9.1.5.1. Children work individually and in groups. Children should start learning by asking questions of what they want to know.
9.1.6. Curriculum
9.1.6.1. Progressive educators are not wedded to a fixed curriculum, rather curriculum changes as the social order changes and as children's interests and needs change