1. Schools as Organizations
1.1. Senators-
1.1.1. House of Representative-
1.1.1.1. Local School Board Members-
1.1.2. State Superintendent-
1.2. Elements of change in school processes and cultures-
1.2.1. 1. School processes- A school is a political organization that requires compromises to be a successful establishment. Because schools are so political it makes change difficult. The principle represents authority.
1.2.1.1. 2.. School cultures- It requires patience and good will to change the culture in schools. The organization of schools now are conflictual and stagnant. The reconstruction of schools is complex and the purpose was create a more active and experiential learning environment.
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Pragmatism is a world view of education. Pragmatism is action oriented, experientially grounded, and will pose questions. Pragmatism uses action to achieve the desired end results. This philosophy is credited to George Sanders Peirce and Williams James. John Locke, a political philosopher followed the traditions of Pragmatism, The and more paved the way for John Dewey.
2.1.1. Generic Notions- The philosophy of education is viewed as progressive, It was founded on new psychology and behaviorism. School became a community where skills could be acquired from books and traditional information to work productively in society, Thus theory adheres to the notion that children are actively changing and a specific course of study is required.
2.1.2. Goal of Education- Dewey passionately believed that philosophy had responsibilities in society and this required research, School is an ideal place for ideas to be implemented, challenged, and reconstructed with the intention of teaching students how to improve social order. Growth was the primary role of education for Dewey, and his vision was to integrate children into a democratic society.
2.1.3. Role of a Teacher- the teacher assumes the role of questioner, encourager, and support system for learning, rather than the figure that all knowledge flows from.
2.1.4. Methods of Instruction- Children learn both in groups and individually. The method of problem-solving and inquiry begin with students posing questions about what they want to know.
2.1.5. Curriculum- Progressive schools follow Dewey's notion of core curriculum also referred to as integrated curriculum. A single problem will be solved using math, science, history, reading, writing, music, art , and all other academic and vocational disciplines, This progressive action gives the students to think outside the box.
3. Curriculum & Pedagogy
3.1. 1. Social efficiency is a curriculum theory that was a pragmatist approach developed to combat the mass of public secondary education. The social efficiency believes that different students that have different needs, require and should be given different types of schooling.
3.2. 2. Dominant Teaching Traditions-
3.2.1. Mimetic- The mimetic traditions in teaching moves from something the student is familiar with to a topic that they are less familiar with. It is the transmission of knowledge from one person to the other. The heart of the tradition is the teacher transmitting new knowledge to the student.
3.2.2. Transformative- The transformative tradition is described as a transformation of one kind or another in the person being taught. The change is often drastic. Teachers with the transformative tradition focused on the transformation of character.
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. Class-
4.1.1. 2. Race-
4.1.1.1. Gender-
4.2. Resonses to the Coleman Study-
4.2.1. 1. The response to round two was that the claim made by the Coleman study was not completely accurate, Coleman claimed that catholic schools were significantly better for students. While private schools have their benefits, educationally there is not proof that they are superior to public schools. Catholic schools do provide a better opportunity for lower income students.
4.2.1.1. 2. Round three of the Coleman studies focuses on the effects that race and socioeconomic status effects the school that they attend. The effect of the socioeconomic and racial status that school attains is more crucial for the student's education.
5. Educational Inequality
5.1. Cultural Difference Theory
5.1.1. Working-class and nonwhite students resist the dominant culture of schools and pursue an antischool culture. These students reject middle-class values and academics wihich leads to these students falling into the world of factory work. These students believe this is the place they should be.
5.1.2. Reaearchers like John Ogbu argue that African-American children perform more poorly in school because of their adaption to their class position.. Studies show that African-American families and school do not encourage them to embrace their values and skills. Ogbu found that in order for African-American students to find success they needed to deny their own cultural identities. This is another reason schools need to reflect the cultures of all students.
5.2. School Centered Educational Inequalities-
5.3. 1. School Financing- Jonathan Kozol demanded equalization in funding between affluent and poor districts. The majority of funding comes from state and local taxes and property taxes being an important source. Funding for affluent schools is higher because affluent communities have higher property values. They are able to spend more per student.
5.3.1. 2.. Curriculum and Pedagogic Practices- Research points to differences in school climates and how they affect academic performance. Generally research shows that schools do affect the student's educational outcome. Higher socioeconomic communities have a higher success rate because of a more positive environment., .
5.3.1.1. 3.. Curriculum and Ability Grouping- Due to the fact that research shows students within schools perform very differently, it can be assumed that school characteristics are affecting educational outcomes. Ability grouping and curriculum grouping are an important aspect of school.. Tracking plays a role and the affects of tracking can be negative. Tracking creates inequalities for students by dividing students unfairly based on their cognitive ability.
5.3.1.1.1. 4. Gender and Schooling- Gender inequality is a highly studied and discussed topic in education. Often boys and girls are socialized different within schools. The gender of the teacher in elementary is often female, while the gender of secondary teachers is often male. Some believe that this sets a negative outlook that women can only reach children. However, generally women outperform men in all academic areas. Despite all of this research, gender inequalities have decreased greatly.
6. Educational Reform
6.1. School-Based Reforms-
6.1.1. 1. Charter Schools-
6.1.1.1. 2. Vouchers-
6.2. Societal, Economic, Community or Political reforms that effect education-
6.2.1. 1. Full Service and Community Schools-
6.2.2. 2. School Finance Reforms-
7. Politics of Education
7.1. Purposes
7.1.1. The Four Purposes of Schooling: intellectual, political, social, economic.
7.1.2. Intellectual:
7.1.3. Political:
7.1.4. Social
7.1.5. Economics: .
7.2. Perspectives
7.2.1. 1.) the Role of School:
7.2.2. 2.) Explanations of Unequal Performance: The conservative perspective is that a group of students or individually it is up to the student whether they will succeed or not based on their initiative, work, and achievements. The liberal perspective disagrees stating that it depends on the students background. Their perspective suggest that some students are more likely to succeed than others.
7.2.3. 3.) Definition of educational Problems: The conservative argues four different perspectives.
7.2.3.1. 1.) Decline of standards- Schools lowering academic standards.
7.2.3.2. 2.) Decline of Educational Literacy- weakened ability to pass on American and western civilization history. Text became watered down.
7.2.3.3. 3.) Decline of Values or of Civilization- the traditional standard of values and morals for teachers was lost.
7.2.3.4. 4.) Decline of Authority- loss of traditional discipline which resulted in chaos.
7.2.3.4.1. The liberal perspective differs in many ways.
7.2.3.4.2. The liberal Perspective is that too much emphasis is put on discipline, the difference between urban and suburban schools, curriculum that excludes the culture of the society. Education has not helped the poor, minorities, and women be successful.
8. History of U.S. Education
8.1. 1. The Equal opportunity reform impacted the education system by challenging biases and prejudices. This reform involving the GI Bill of Rights fought for equality for students regardless of race, gender and social circumstance.
8.2. 2. The Democratic-Liberal interpretation- expand equal educational opportunities as well as reject the conservative view. Two major terms related to this interpretation of education is popularization and multitudinous. This interpretations reaches toward equity as well as excellence and both have to be achieved to succeed in either.
9. The Sociology of Education
9.1. Functionalism-
9.1.1. Research and prepare experiment
9.2. Conflict of Theory-
9.3. Interactionalidm-
9.4. 2. Five effects of schooling on individuals-
9.4.1. 1. Education and Mobility- occupational and mobility start at school. Education is referred to as the great "equalizer" in America. It is assumed by many that more education leads to a better understanding of economic and social situations, however this is not proven to be true. Education can not always change an individuals socio-economic status.
9.4.2. 2. Teacher Behavior- as instructional leaders, teachers play a significant role in children's educational success. Teachers have constant interactions with students and often struggle with role strain because of the many "hats" they must wear. A teacher that demands more from their students typically gets a higher level of performance from the students.
9.4.3. 3. Education and Inequality- if society was looked at as a shape it would be considered a triangle and the majority of society is at the bottom. Wealth and property are often considered not evenly dispersed and the speculation is that this creates lesser opportunities for lower income students.
9.4.4. 4. Inadequate Schools- a huge source of the inequality of schools comes from inadequate schools. Education has failed in education minorities and has been not been preparing students for productive and full lives.
9.4.5. 5. Gender- gender discrimination is unfortunately another inequality produced by schools. Equality between men and women is a constant struggle in the United State's society. Despite females usually being ahead socially and cognitively, more occupational opportunities are available for the males. The role of teachers is often played by women, while administrators are typically men, This picture could send the wrong social message to students.