1. Sociological Perspectives Chapter 4
1.1. Define the theoretical perspective concerning the relationship between school and society: functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionalism.
1.1.1. Functionalism~ Functionalists view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work. Educational reform, from a functional point of view, is suppose to create structures, programs, and curricula that are technically advanced, rational, and encourage social unity.
1.1.2. Conflict Theory~ From a conflict point of view, Schools are similar to social battlefields, where students struggle against teachers, teachers against administrators, and so on.
1.1.3. Interactional~ Interactional theories attempt to make the commonplace strange by turning on their heads everyday taken-for-granted behaviors and interactions between students and students, and between students and teachers.
1.2. Identify and describe 5 effects of schooling on individuals that you think have the greatest impact on students as explained in the book.
1.2.1. Employment~ Most students believe that graduating from college will lead to greater employment opportunities, and they are right.
1.2.2. Education and Mobility~ More education leads to economic and social mobilty
1.2.3. Teacher Behavior~ Teachers are models for students and, as instructional leaders, teachers set standards for students and influence student self-esteem and sense of efficacy.
1.2.4. Student Peer Groups and Alienation~ Student violence continues to be a problem. Students are not only attacking each other in increasing numbers but they are also assaulting teachers. Some argue that school violence is increasing because teachers are underpaid and classes are to large. This may explain some of the violence, but it clearly does not explain all of it.
2. Philosophy of Education Chapter 5
2.1. *Existentialism* ~Generic Notions-They believe that individuals are placed on this earth alone and must make some sense out of the chaos they encounter. Sartre believed that people must create themselves, and they must create their own meaning. This is done through the choices people make in their lives. ~Key Researchers- Soren Kierkegaard, Martin Buber, Karl Jaspers, Jean Paul Sartre, Maxine Greene ~Goal of Education- Education should focus on the needs of individuals, both cognitively and affectively. They also believe that it should stress individuality, and that the tensions of living in the world should be addressed. They see education as an activity liberating the individual from chaotic, absurd world. ~Role of a Teacher- Teachers should understand their own lived world and their students world so they can help the student achieve the best lived world. Teachers must take risk, expose themselves to resistant students, and work constantly to enable students to become in touch with their worlds and to empower them to choose and to act on their choices. The role of a teacher is an intensely personal one that carries with it a responsibility. ~Method of Instructions- They view learning as intensely personal. They believe that each child has a different learning style and it is up to the teacher to discover what works for each child. The role of a teacher is to help students understand the world through posing questions, generating activities, and working together. ~Curriculum- They choose curriculum heavily biased toward the humanities. Literature especially has meaning for them since literature is able to evoke responses in readers that might move them to new levels of awareness. They believe in exposing students at early ages to problems as well as responsibilities, and to the horrors as well as accomplishments humankind is capable of producing.
3. Schools as Organizations Chapter 6
3.1. Identify and describe the elements of change within 1. school processes and 2. school cultures.
3.1.1. 1. The elements that may change in the school process are the curriculum and learning styles. This will lead to also change in the grading process. As people change and results change then these things will change.
3.1.2. 2. The elements that may change in the culture are the way they normally do things. Like their teaching style.
4. Equality of Opportunity Chapter 8
4.1. Describe how class, race, and gender each impact educational outcomes.
4.1.1. Class impacts educational outcomes because the higher and middle class people have higher expectations for their children. They expect their children to do well in school and graduate. They also expect their children to go to college. Whereas low income class expects their children to get a job as soon as they can. Most of them do not have high expectations for their children. Race impacts educational outcomes because more African American students and Hispanic-American students drop out of school. These students also score lower on SAT test which is a direct link to colleges. Gender impacts educational outcomes because males are known for being better in mathematics. Females are known for doing better then males in other areas though.
4.2. What were the two responses to the Coleman Study from 1982?
4.2.1. The first was a debate over the High School Achievement findings had centered on the interpretations attached to the magnitude of the findings. The debate was about if the private schools were actually better than the public schools and why they were. The second response was about what type of students were in these schools. Where were they from, what race were they, what class were they.
5. Educational Reform Chapter 10
5.1. Describe two school-based reforms (school-based, school-business partnerships, privatization, school-to-work programs, teacher education or teacher quality)
5.1.1. School-to-Work Programs intent was to extend what had been a vocational emphasis to non-college-bound students regarding skills necessary for successful employment and to stress the importance of work-based learning. This is where classroom instruction based on high academic and business-defined occupational skill standards. Teacher Quality- NCLB requirement that all schools have highly qualified teachers in every classroom highlighted the problem of unqualified teachers in urban schools
5.2. Describe at least two societal, economic, community, or political reforms.
5.2.1. School Finance Reform- stated that more funding was needed to serve the children in the poorer school districts. Funding was equalized between urban and suburban school districts. It was also determined that extra funding was to be distributed to provide additional programs in order to eliminate disadvantages within poorer school districts. Connecting School, Community, and Societal Reforms- Our society must provide for the basic needs of all children so that they are able to focus their attention on their academic work instead of on survival.
6. Politics of Education Chapter 2
6.1. Identify and describe the four purposes of education.
6.1.1. 1. Intellectual purposes, which teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics. I t is to transmit specific knowledge and to help students acquire higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
6.1.2. 2. Political purposes, which is to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order. It is to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order, and to help assimilate diverse cultural groups into a common political order. It is also to teach children the basic laws of the society.
6.1.3. 3. Social purposes, which is to help solve social problems, and to work as one of many institutions, such as the family and the church to ensure social cohesion. It is also to socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of the society. This process, referred to by sociologists as socialization, is a key ingredient tot he stability of any society.
6.1.4. 4. Economic purposes, which is to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor. The degree to which schools directly prepare students for work varies from society to society, but most schools have at least an indirect role in this process.
6.1.5. Scholor for the purposes of schooling is Bennett and LeCompte, 1990, pp.5-21.
6.2. Choose and describe a perspective for each of the following: 1) the role of the school; 2) explanations of unequal performance; and 3) definition of educational problems.
6.2.1. 1. Conservation perspective, This 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.
6.2.2. 2. This may be because the individuals are deficient in some manner or because they are members of a group that is deficient. The liberal perspectives argue that some students begin school with different life chances and therefore some groups have significantly more advantages than others.
6.2.3. 3. The radical perspective argues that the educational system has failed the poor, minorities, and women through classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic policies. The schools have stifled critical understanding of the problems of American society through a curriculum and teaching practices that promote conformity. The traditional curriculum is classist, racist, sexist, and homophobic and leaves out the cultural, histories, and voices of the oppressed. The educational system promotes inequality of both opportunity and results.
7. History of U.S. Education Chapter 3
7.1. Choose and describe a reform movement that you think has had the most influence on education.
7.1.1. The reform movement that I think has made the most influence on education is the Education for Women and African-Americans. Women use to just stay at home and do things around the house but this gave them the privilege to go to school. It was still hard for African-Americans to attend school but they could attend their own schools funded by their churches. This has the most influence because although it was a small step it ended up being a huge one. Now women and African Americans go to any and every school.
7.2. Choose and describe one historical interpretation of U.S. Education.
7.2.1. The Radical-Revisionist School. There interpretation was that the expansion of the school system was done for social control and not to be equal for everyone. They believed that it was solely expanding so that they had more control over the working class and immigrants.
8. Curriculum and Pedagogy Chapter 7
8.1. 1.) Explain a curriculum theory which you advocate (humanist, social efficiency, developmentalist, or social meliorist).
8.1.1. I like the social efficiency curriculum because it was rooted in the belief that different groups of students, with different sets of needs and aspirations, should receive different types of schooling.
8.2. 2.) Identify and describe the two dominant traditions of teaching.
8.2.1. The Mimetic Tradition- this tradition is a way of teaching where the teacher can show or tell the students what they are learning. The students take the information straight from the teacher. The Transformative Tradition- is when the teacher is actually deeply integrating and ingraining the information within the psychological makeup of the student.
9. Educational Inequality Chapter 9
9.1. Explain at least two types of cultural differences theory.
9.1.1. One type of cultural differences theories is researchers argue that African-American children do not do as well in school because they adapt to their oppressed position in the class and caste structure. They believe that there is a job ceiling where they are only learning what they know they are allowed to do and they do not try to better their learning. Another type of cultural difference theory sees working-class and nonwhite students as resisting the dominant culture of the schools. These students reject the whit middle class culture of academic success and embrace a different one. This results in dropping out of school and going into work.
9.2. Describe at least four school-centered (not student-centered) explanations for educational inequality
9.2.1. School financing- Public schools are financed through a combination of revenues from local, state, and federal sources. Effective school research- research suggest that there are school-centered processes that help to explain unequal educational achievement by different groups of students. Between- School Differences: Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices- This points to how differences in what is often termed school climates affect academic performance. Within-School Differences: Curriculum and Ability Grouping- Not only are there significant differences in educational achievement between schools but within schools as well. The fact that different groups of students in the same schools perform very differently suggest that there may be school characteristics affecting these outcomes.