1. Educational Inequality
1.1. Sociological Explanations of Unequal Achievement
1.1.1. 1. Culture Deprivation Theory- the theory suggests that working class and nonwhite families lack cultural resources. This results in educationally disadvantaged students. They often have poor test scores
1.1.2. 2. Culture Difference Theory- also believes that working class and nonwhite families lack cultural resources but not because of the home life. The deficiencies are due to being part of an oppressed minority.
1.2. School Centered Explanation
1.2.1. 1. School Financing- Public schools are financed through local property taxes. Property values in wealthier communities bring in more property taxes for the school. Poorer communities have less property taxes for the school.
1.2.2. 2. Pedagogic Practices- Schools in working-class communities are more likely to have authoritatian and teacher directed pedagogic practices. Schools in middle class communities are likely to have less authoritarian and more student centered pedagogy. Schools in located in the upper class are likely to have authoritarian pedagogic practices.
1.2.3. 3. Ability Grouping- Students are divided based on teacher recommendations, standardized test scores, and sometimes on race and gender in the elementary level. Students at the secondary level are divided based on ability and curriculum.
1.2.4. 4. Gender and Schooling- Educational opportunities are often limited for women. Curriculum often portrays men and women's roles stereotypically and traditional. The organization of school often reinforces gender roles and gender inequality.
2. Schools as Organizations
2.1. Governance
2.1.1. Senators: District 9 Clay Scofield
2.1.2. House of Representatives: District 9 Ed Henry
2.1.3. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
2.1.4. State School Board Representative: District 9 Cynthia Sanders McCarty Ph. D
2.1.5. Local Superintendent: Boaz City Schools Dr. Shannon Stanley
2.1.6. Local School Board: Boaz City Schools Rhonda Smith, Tim Whitt, Rick Thompson, Jeff Roberts, and Chad Cofield
2.2. Comparison to One Country
2.2.1. Conflict: allows hidden problems and issues within the school to surface and be resolved.
2.2.2. Behavior: new behaviors must be learned in order for the schools to change. This includes learning to communicate and collaborate as well as leadership and initiative to rise.
2.2.3. Team Building: this must pertain to the entire school. Decision making must be shared.
2.2.4. Process and Content: the process a team uses for making change is as important as the educational content it changes.
3. Equality of Opportunity
3.1. Educational Outcomes
3.1.1. Class: Parental income is directly correlated to children's performance on achievement tests. Children from working class and lower class families are more likely to underachieve, drop out, and resist the curriculum.
3.1.2. Race: An individual's race has a direct impact on how much education the individual will achieve. Minorities have lower SAT scores than white students. Minority students receive fewer educational opportunities.
3.1.3. Gender: Females are less likely to drop out of school and have a higher reading proficiency than males. More females are also attending post secondary institutes than males.
3.2. Coleman Study
3.2.1. Response round one: Differences among schools are not predictors of differences in student outcomes. There is little effect on cognitive growth in where an individual goes to school
3.2.2. Response round two: Differences among schools do make a difference. Private schools were found to challenge and demand more from their students compared to public schools.
4. Curriculum and Pedagogy
4.1. Historical Curriculum Theory: The Humanistic Theory
4.1.1. 1. Focused on Western heritage for intellectual development
4.1.2. 2. The curriculum dominated the nineteenth and early twentieth century.
4.1.3. 3. Knowledge of the traditional liberal arts is the foundation of an educated citizen.
4.2. Sociological Curriculum Theory: Modern Functionalist Theory
4.2.1. 1. The theory was developed through the works of Talcott Parsons and Robert Dreeben. It stressed the role of schools preparing students for the complex roles of society.
4.2.2. 2. The curriculum turned toward teaching students how to learn.
4.2.3. 3. Modern Functionalists believe that schools teach the modern values and norms essential to society.
5. Educational Reform
5.1. School Based Reforms
5.1.1. 1. School-to-work Programs- School programs created to prepare youth for high-skill careers. Each program has 3 core elements: school based learning, work based learning, connecting activities.
5.1.2. 2. Teacher Quality- High quality teachers were a requirement of the NCLB. This required teachers to be highly qualified in the area that they taught.
5.2. Community Reforms
5.2.1. 1. Full Service and Community Schools- A plan to educate not only the child but the whole community. Full Service Schools focus on students' and families needs. Schools service as a community center. This is designed to target at risk neighborhoods.
5.2.2. 2. Harlem Children's Zone- Geoffrey Canada provides programs for parents in Harlem before their children are born in an attempt to give knowledge on what they should do for their fetuses and infants. He also teaches the parents how to have academic conversations with their children.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. Perpective
6.1.1. 1. The role of the school according to the Liberal Perspective: The liberal perspective stresses that the role of school's is to provide an equal education for all students so they can have an equal opportunity succeed in society. They also see the school's role to enable students to develop his or her talents, creativity, and sense of self.
6.1.2. 2. Explanations of Unequal Educational Performance according to the Liberal Perspective: The liberal perspective argues that students begin school with different life chances and some groups of students have more advantages than others to succeed.
6.1.3. 3. Definition of Educational Problems according to the Liberal Perspective: Schools have limited the chances of poor and minority children. Underachievement by these groups is a critical issue. There is a big emphasis on discipline and authority, which in turn limiting their roles to encourage students to develop as individuals.
6.2. Purposes
6.2.1. 1. Intellectual purposes of schooling:Teach basic cognitive skills, impart specific knowledge, and help students gather higher-order thinking skills
6.2.2. 2. Political purposes of schooling are to instill allegiance to the country; prepare citizens to participate in political democracy; integrate other cultural groups into the common political order; and teach children the basic laws of society.
6.2.3. 3. Social purposes of schooling are to help solve social problems;work as one institution for social cohesion; and socialize children into various roles of the society.
6.2.4. 4. Economic purposes of schooling are to prepare and train children for occupational roles later in life.
7. History of U.S Education
7.1. Reform Movement
7.1.1. The Rise of the Common School: The educational reform was led by Horace Mann. Most of the country was illiterate even in New England. Due to Mann's efforts, a teacher training school was open in Massachusetts. Mann wanted to establish free public elementary schools.
7.2. Historical Interpetation
7.2.1. The Democratic-Liberal Historical Interpretations: This historians believe that the Common School Era as a victory for democratic movements and the first step in opening U.S education to all. Education also involved the expansion of opportunity and purpose.
8. Sociology of Education
8.1. Relationship between School and Society
8.1.1. 1. Functionalism: School socialize students with the shared values and sort them based on their abilities.
8.1.2. 2. Conflict Theory: View schools as oppressive and demeaning. They portray student disobedience with school rules as a form of resistance.
8.1.3. 3. Interactionalism: Attempt to make the everyday school level strange by turning on their heads the taken-for-granted behaviors and interactions between students and teachers.
8.2. Five Effects of Schooling on Individuals
8.2.1. 1. Teacher Behavior: Teacher's expectations for their students can play a major role in encouraging or discouraging students to reach their full potential.
8.2.2. 2. Student Peer Groups and Alienation: The culture a student experiences shapes the education experience the student has. Social groups in school also have an affect on students.
8.2.3. 3. Education and Inequality: Social classes shape the way students think. Students learning is often blocked by social class inequalities.
8.2.4. 4. De Facto Segregation: Studies have proven that racially mixed schools benefit the minorities without suppressing the white achievements. Racially mixed schools also reflect high graduation rates in African Americans.
8.2.5. 5. Tracking: Students are put into curricular programs based off their abilities. Vocational tracks and academic tracks are the options students are put into.
9. Philosophy of Education
9.1. Pragmatism: Is the philosophy that encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve the desired results. Pragmatics are action orientated. Pragmatics think as problem->speculative->action->results.
9.1.1. Generic Notions: Teachers should start with the needs and interests of the child in the class. They should allow children to plan their own course of study , use group learning, and use experiential learning.
9.1.2. Goal of Education: Schools should function as preparation for life in a democratic society. Dewey thought the primary goal of education was growth.
9.1.3. Role of the Teacher: Instead of an authoritarian, the teacher should be a facilitator. The teacher should encourage, offer suggestions, plan and implement course of study.
9.1.4. Methods of Instruction: Dewey thought children should learn both in groups and and individually. Another method of instruction he believed should be taught was problem-solving or inquiry method.
9.1.5. Curriculum: All the academic and vocational disciplines integrated into a core curriculum.