1. Identify and describe the elements of change within school processes and school cultures:
2. Ch. 2: Politics of Education
2.1. 1.The specific purposes of education are intellectual, political, social, and economic. Intellectual purpose of schooling is to teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and math; to help students acquire higher thinking skills. Political purpose of education is inculcate allegiance to the existing political order. To prepare these citizens to assimilate diverse cultural groups into common political order. Social purpose of schooling is to help solve social problems. To socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of society. Economic purpose of education is to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor.
2.1.1. 2. The role of schooling. The conservative perspective 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 economic and social productivity. It believes schools socialize children into the adult roles necessary to the maintenance of the social order.
3. Ch. 3: History of Education
3.1. 1. The Educational Reaction and Reform and the Standards Era: 1980s-2012 argues that the arena of educational opportunity had resulted in the decline of authority and standards. There needed to be an overhaul of the educational system. They found that the problem was not really with the school itself but more with society as a whole. Terrell Bell issued it's now famous report, A Nation at Risk. The committee stated that "the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people." (p.5) The commission offered five recommendations as solutions which were: all students in high school complete the "new basics," schools expect more achievement from the students, more time be made for teaching the new basics, teachers be more prepared and teaching become more respected and rewarded, and citizens require their elected representatives to support and fund these reforms. A coalition of U.S. governors took on a leading role in setting a reform agenda. Conservatives wanted to restore both standards and the traditional curriculum; liberals demanded that the new drive for excellence not ignore the goals foe equity; radicals believed it was another pendulum swing doomed for failure.
3.1.1. 2. Conservative Perspective believed it did have an implicit historical critique of the schools. It argued that U.S. students knew very little and that U.S. schools were mediocre. Critics supported the democratic-liberal goal of equality of opportunity and mobility through education, they believed social and political objectives resulted in significant harm to the traditional academic goals of schooling. Ravitch argued that the preoccupation with using education to solve social problems has not solved these problems and has led to the erosion of educational excellence. It argued that these reforms have resulted in a corporate takeover of public schooling and threaten the democratic nature of public schooling. The vision that the evolution of U.S. education has resulted in the dilution of academic excellence.
4. Ch. 4: The Sociology of Education
4.1. 1. Functional sociologists start with a picture of society that stress the interdependence of the social system; it examines how well the parts are integrated with each other. Functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work. Conflict theory: not all sociologists of education believe that society is held together by shared values alone. Some 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 trough force, cooptation, and manipulation. In this view, the glue of society is economic, political, cultural, and military power. Interactional theories about the relation of school and society are primarily critiques and extensions of the functional and conflict perspectives. Critique arises from the observation that the functional and conflict theories are very abstract, and emphasize structure and process at a very general level of analysis.
4.1.1. 2. Employment: Research has shown that large organizations, such as corporations, require high levels of education for white-collar, managerial, or administrative jobs. The level of education was essentially unrelated to job performance. From this evidence, it seems clear that school act as gatekeepers in determining who will get employed in high-status occupations. Academic credentials help individuals to obtain higher-status jobs early in the careers and it is related to higher income. Teacher Behavior: has a huge impact on student learning behavior. Teachers are models for students, teachers set standards for students and influence students self-esteem and sense of efficacy. Labels that teachers apply to children influence their actual performance. Teacher's expectations play a major role in encouraging or discouraging students to work to their fullest potential. Inadequate Schools: The way in which children are educated today will not prepare them for productive and fulfilling lives in the future. Students who attend suburban schools and private schools get a better educational experience than other children. Students who attend the most elite private schools obtain substantial educational benefits, both in terms of their actual educational experience and the social value of their diplomas. Tracking: refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on students' abilities and inclinations. it has been found in many thorough studies that tracking decisions are often based on other criteria, such as race and student's class. It directly affects cognitive development. Students in lower tracks experience more alienation and authoritarian teachers than high-track students. Gender: Schools reproduce inequalities is through gender discrimination. This form of social stratification is rooted in the values and organization of society; schools in some ways only reflect these social problems, but the consequences of certain school policies and processes may reproduce these inequalities.