1. Politics of Education
1.1. The Four Purposes of Education
1.1.1. The intellectual purpose: To teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics; to transmit specific knowledge, and to help students acquire higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. The political purpose: To inculcate allegiance to the existing political order; to prepare citizens who will participate in this political order, to help assimilate diverse culture groups into a common political order, and to teach children the basic laws of society. The social purpose: to help solve social problems, to work as one of many institutions , such as the family and the church, to ensure social cohesion,and to socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of society. The economic purpose: to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor.
1.2. Explanations of Unequal Performance
1.2.1. The conservative view is that individuals or groups of students rise and fall on their own intelligence, hard work, and initiative, and that achievement is based on hard work and sacrifice.
1.3. The Role of the School
1.3.1. The role of the school from the conservative perspective sees that the school's responsibility lies in 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.
1.4. Definition of Educational Problems
1.4.1. The conservative view is that educational problems have been brought on by a decline of standards, decline of cultural literacy, decline of values or of civilization, decline of authority, schools being free of a competitive free market.
2. History of U.S. Education
2.1. Reform Movement That Had The Most Influence on Education
2.1.1. In my opinion the Progressive Movement was the most influential, because it was concerned with expanding opportunities to the post-secondary level. They were also directed at finding ways to translate these expanded opportunities into more equal educational outcomes at all levels of education.
2.2. One Historical Interpretation of U.S. Education.
2.2.1. One interpretation is the Democratic-liberal. This point of view states that the education system should be committed to providing equality of opportunity for all.
3. Sociological Perspectives
3.1. Functionalism Theory
3.1.1. According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole.
3.2. Conflict Theory
3.2.1. Education promotes social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing and the impact of its " hidden curriculum. " Schools differ widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social inequality.
3.3. Interactional Theory
3.3.1. focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues. Specific research finds that social interaction in schools affects the development of gender roles and that teachers ' expectations of pupils ' intellectual abilities affect how much pupils learn.
3.4. 5 Effects of Schooling on Individuals That Have the Greatest Impact on Students
3.4.1. Employment: Having a higher level of education tends to help individuals attain higher level jobs.
3.4.2. Teacher Behavior: The behavior that a teacher has can cause a student to fail or succeed.
3.4.3. Mobility: Education has the ability to open doors of opportunity to students.
3.4.4. Knowledge: The more education a person receives, the more like they are to read articles and take part in politics.
3.4.5. Attitude: The atmosphere a school has can affect the attitude a student has, good or bad.
4. Philosophy of Education
4.1. Pragmatism
4.1.1. General Notions: Encourages people to find processes that work in order to achieve their desired ends.
4.1.2. Key Researchers: George Sanders Peirce William James John Dewey
4.1.3. Role of Education: Growth, growth leading to more growth
4.1.4. Role of the Teacher: Not an authoritarian figure; encourages, questions, offers suggestions
4.1.5. Methods of instruction: Teach individually and in groups, problem solving, inquiry method
4.1.6. Curriculum: Core curriculum/ integrated curriculum
5. Schools as Organizations
5.1. Major Stakeholders
5.1.1. Federal State Senator: Richard Shelby and Luther Strange
5.1.2. Federal HOR: Bradley Byrne, Martha Roby, Mike D. Rogers, Mo Brooks , Gary Palmer, Terri Sewell
5.1.3. District 21 Senator: Allen, Gerald H.
5.1.4. House District 61: Harper, Alan
5.1.5. State Superintendent: Michael Sentance
5.1.6. District 4 school board: Yvette Richardson
5.1.7. Pickens county
5.1.8. Pickens County School Board: Nick Tolstick, Michael Hinton, Debbie Holley, Annie Jackson, Lasonja Richardson
5.2. Elements of Change
5.2.1. School Process
5.2.1.1. Conflict, new behaviors learned, Team building, Process and content are interrelated.
5.2.2. School Culture
5.2.2.1. time ,effort, intelligence, good will
6. Curriculum & Pedagogy
6.1. Social Meliorist
6.1.1. It is the belief that education is a tool to reform society and create change of the better.
6.2. Mimetic Tradition
6.2.1. Teaching method that concentrates the furthering and imparting of knowledge by way of information being passed from a knowledgeable person to the learner.
6.3. Transformative Tradition
6.3.1. Teaching method aimed toward the shaping and molding of character based on positive traits from a society.
7. Equality of Opportunity
7.1. Describe how class, race, and gender each impact educational outcomes.
7.1.1. Class
7.1.1.1. Education is Expensive. Favors wealthy families. Represents values of middle and upper-class. Class is directly related to achievement.
7.1.2. Race
7.1.2.1. Has direct impact on how much education he or she is likely to achieve. Minorities do not receive the same educational opportunities as whites.
7.1.3. Gender
7.1.3.1. In the last 20 years, gender differences between men and women, in terms of educational achievement, have been reduced. Different genders perform better in certain academics.
7.2. What were the two responses to the Coleman Study from 1982?
7.2.1. 1) results were negligible. 2) Catholic schools seem to advantage low-income minority students.
8. Educational Inequality
8.1. Explain at least two types of cultural differences theory
8.1.1. John Ogbu: African American children do less well in school because they adapt to their oppressed position in the class and caste structure. Bourdieu's: More affluent families give their children access to cultural capital and social capital.
8.2. Describe at least four school-centered explanations for educational inequality.
8.2.1. Financing
8.2.1.1. How much funding a school receives affects education.
8.2.2. Between-School Differences
8.2.2.1. Different school environments allow students to dream different dreams, different life expectations
8.2.3. Effective School Research
8.2.3.1. A climate of high expectations Strong and effective leadership Accountability processes Monitoring of student learning A high degree of time on task Flexibility to experiment and try new things
8.2.4. In-School Differences
8.2.4.1. Curriculum and Ability Grouping
9. Educational Reform
9.1. Describe two school-based reforms (school-based, school-business partnerships, privatization, school-to-work programs, teacher education or teacher quality)
9.1.1. School-Based
9.1.1.1. Gave choices of going to a different standard public school, going to charter schools, and giving tuition vouchers to private schools.
9.1.2. Privatization
9.1.2.1. Having schools become privatized in order to promote competition which would improve quality of education.
9.2. Describe at least two societal, economic, community, or political reforms that impact education.
9.2.1. Full service and community schools.
9.2.1.1. Educate not only the whole child, but also the whole community.
9.2.2. Harlem Children's Zone
9.2.2.1. Wanted to leave children where they are, simultaneously changing them and their neighborhood, instead of removing them from it.