1. Sociological Perspectives, Ch 4
1.1. Theoretical Perspectives
1.1.1. Functional Theory: looks at the interdependence of the social system.
1.1.2. Conflict Theory: believes the the glue of society is economic, cultural and military.
1.1.3. Interactional Theory: critiques and extensions of the functional theories.
1.2. 5 Effects of Schooling Having the Greatest Effect on Students
1.2.1. 1. Socioeconomic Inequality: Class inequality forces people and institutions to develop explanations for the inequality. These explanations create practices by schools and students that further class division.
1.2.2. 2. De Facto Segregation: Schools are segregated, not by written law, but because neighborhoods are segregated. Because this segregation is not through legal mandate, it is more difficult to overcome. Students who attend poor, minority-heavy schools perform more poorly than poor minority students who attend "better" schools.
1.2.3. 3. Teacher Behavior: Teachers who expect more from their students and praise them more often produce more successful students.
1.2.4. 4. Tracking (as it is currently practiced): Students are assigned, or have the perception of assignment, to certain tracks by the institution of school. Diverse educational options is important to meet student's needs and goals, but the current placement system is broken.
1.2.5. 5. Employment: Individuals go to college because they believe that they will get better jobs when they graduate. Students living in areas where they do not see the availability of better jobs are less likely to go to college.
2. Philosophy of Education, Ch 5
2.1. Pragmatism is the philosophy that encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve their desired ends.generic notions, key researchers, goal of education, role of teacher, method of instruction, and curriculum.
2.1.1. Generic Notions: There is an overall belief in progress, a better more cooperatively democratic society.
2.1.2. Key Researchers: Francis Bacon, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Dewey.
2.1.3. Goal of Education: To prepare students for life in a democratic society, to balance the needs of society with that of the individual
2.1.4. Role of the Teacher: To encourage, suggest, help plan, and implement courses of study. The teacher must me well-rounded to be an effective teacher.
2.1.5. Method of Instruction: To allow students to learn in a way that is natural and effective for the individual student. To choose group or individual study, hands-on or book research, implementing problem solving and experience.
2.1.6. Curriculum: In the practice of pragmatism, curriculum is fluid, ever-changing according to the interests and needs of students. As our culture changes, so shall curriculum.
3. Educational Inequality, Ch 9
3.1. 2 Types of Cultural Depravation Theory
3.1.1. One theory states that cultural deprivation comes from the lack of value on hard work by lower class families
3.1.2. A second theory states that cultural devrivation comes from not being raised with the skills and dispositions required for academic success.
3.2. 4 School-Centered Explanations for Educational Inequality
3.2.1. School Financing: based on property tax, poor areas are not able to offer the funding that affluent areas can.
3.2.2. Effective School Research: research has not yet offered effective solutions to inequality,
3.2.3. Gender Bias: girls are still not favored as much as boys and are not expected to attain the same level of success as boys in school.
3.2.4. In-School Differences: Specific groups within the same school do not perform as well as other groups.
4. Educational Reform, Ch 10
4.1. 2 School-Based Reforms
4.1.1. School Choice: the idea that if parents could choose the school that is best for their child, they would be able to be more involved and their children would be more likely to be successful.
4.1.2. School-Business Partnership: the practice of corporations investing in public education in the hopes of producing a stronger work force.
4.2. 2 Other Education Reforms
4.2.1. School Finance Reform: a series of rulings in the late 20th century that declared that more funding is necessary to provide equal education to all students.
4.2.2. Full Service and Community Schools: schools that focus on the whole family offering social, amotional, and physical services in order to support the education of the student and the success of the community.
5. Politics of Education, Ch 2
5.1. The Four Purposes of Education
5.1.1. 1. The Intellectual Purpose
5.1.2. 2. The Political Purpose
5.1.3. 3. The Social Purpose
5.1.4. The Economic Purpose
5.2. The Four Main Political Perspectives
5.2.1. 1. The Conservative Perspective
5.2.2. 2. The Liberal Perspective
5.2.3. 3. The Radical Perspective
5.2.3.1. The school's role is to reproduce inequality that is found in the culture outside the school.
5.2.3.2. Radicals believe that students begin their education unequally. The believe the cause of this is economic.
5.2.3.3. According to the radical perspective, educational problems are racist, classist, sexist, and homophobic attitudes and curriculum the teach conformity.
5.2.4. 4. The Neo-liberal Perspective
6. History and U.S. Education, Ch 3
6.1. One of the most influential reforms in the history of U.S. education was the efforts of Horace Mann. He was able to put into effect the first state TEP, normal schools. He also established the first domino that has led to the complex string of publicly funded public schools that spans the U.S. today.
6.2. The democratic-liberal historical view of U.S. education sees this history as a sequence of efforts by liberal reformers to make available equal education to greater segments of the underprivileged population.
7. Schools as Organizations, Ch 6
7.1. Major Stakeholders in My District, Madison County
7.1.1. State Senator: Senator Tim Melson (R)
7.1.2. House Representative: Congressman Bradley Byrne (R)
7.1.3. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
7.1.4. Madison County Superintendent: Matt Massey
7.1.5. Madison County School Board
7.1.5.1. District 1: Nathan Curry
7.1.5.2. District 2: Angie Bates
7.1.5.3. District 3: Mary Louise Stowe
7.1.5.4. District 4: Dave Weis
7.1.5.5. District 5: Shere Rucker
7.2. 4 Elements of Change within School Processes and School Culture
7.2.1. Conflict: Conflict is required to facilitate positive OR negative change.
7.2.2. Communication: Healthy communication among administration, teachers, and students is necessary for positive change.
7.2.3. Team Building: In order to for individuals to work for the common welfare and betterment, they must feel like they are part of the whole.
7.2.4. Connection between process and content: The reason things are done is as important as how they are done. The connection between the two must be understood by the entire school community in order to motivate change.
8. Curriculum and Pedagogy, Ch 7
8.1. Humanistic Approach to Education focuses on creativity and critical thinking, rather than expecting no more than the repetition of facts.
8.2. 2 Dominant Traditions of Teaching
8.2.1. Mimetic: The belief that the purpose of teaching is to transmit knowledge about specific curriculum and it should be repeated back by the student to prove learning.
8.2.2. Transformative: The belief that the purpose of education is to change, or transform the student in a significant way.
9. Equality of Opportunity, Ch 8
9.1. 3 Demographic-Specific Educational Outcomes
9.1.1. Class: Because there is a cost to education, even free, public education, class is a heavy factor in a student's education. Parents with more money can afford to live in "better" school districts and send their children to higher education institutions. Better educated parents place more emphasis in education, therefore, have higher expectations for their children's performance.
9.1.2. Race: According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education Statistics 2003, minorities are less likey to attain education as high as white students. They also score lower on tests. Because of the poor educational outcome of minorities, income levels are lower, causing problems with the educational outcomes of their children.
9.1.3. Gender: Although women are more likely to graduate high school AND more likely to attend college, they are less likely to go to a prestigious school or achieve the highest academic achievement.
9.2. 2 Responses to the Coleman Study from 1982
9.2.1. There is little difference between public and Catholic school in terms of student learning.
9.2.2. The race and socioeconomic composition of a school have more to do with student success than does his own race or class.