1. Sociological Perspectives
1.1. Theoretical Perspectives
1.1.1. Functional Theories
1.1.1.1. Functionalists view consensus as the norm and conflict as a breakdown. According to them, it is the school's responsibility to promote unity and harmony in society. The school should accomplish this goal by socializing students into productive citizens and classifying them based on their abilities. Functionalists believe educational reform should seek to address concerns of advancing technology as well as societal harmony.
1.1.2. Conflict Theories
1.1.2.1. Struggle or conflict is the basis of this perspective. Conflict sociologists believe social order is based on the dominance of the ruling class. School is seen as a "social battlefield" that pits students against teachers and teachers against administrators. Ultimately, schools are just another avenue for the elite to retain their dominance in society and to ensure the separation of classes and therefore, conflict in society.
1.1.3. Interactional Theories
1.1.3.1. This theory is derived from both the functional and conflict perspective. While functionalists and conflict sociologists look at the big picture of the school's role in society, interactionalists examine a micro-sociological view of the school's role. They take into account the direct interactions of students with other students and teachers.
1.2. Effects of Schooling
1.2.1. Employment: High levels of education are required to obtain white-collar jobs. Employers are expecting their employees to have and to continue on to higher levels of education. This requirement remains intact despite research that has proven job skills are not taught in school, but obtained on the job.
1.2.2. Teacher Behavior: In the classroom, teachers have great influence over students. A teacher's behavior can have a direct effect on a student's self-esteem and level of achievement.
1.2.3. Tracking: Tracking is grouping students based on their abilities. Honor class students are generally found to have access to better teachers, equipment, and teaching methods than regular or lower track students.
1.2.4. Education and Mobility: One's level of education will determine their economic and social mobility. Not only will the number of years a person attends school affect their mobility, but the school one obtains their education from has an affect as well.
1.2.5. Student Peer Groups and Alienation: To avoid feeling alienated, students desire to be a part of some peer group. The peer group that they find themselves apart of or the student culture that they allow themselves to be exposed to has a substantial affect on the student's educational experience.
2. Philosophy of Education
3. Schools as Organizations
4. Equality of Opportunity
5. Educational Reform
6. Politics of Education
6.1. The Types of Purposes of Education
6.1.1. Intellectual Purposes
6.1.1.1. schools are meant to teach the basic skills or reading, writing, and arithmetic
6.1.1.2. schools pass down knowledge and facts through literature, history, and science
6.1.1.3. schools promote and develop analytical thinking skills in students
6.1.2. Political Purposes
6.1.2.1. to instill in students the respect for and knowledge of the existing political order
6.1.2.2. to prepare students to become a future productive member of this political order
6.1.2.3. to teach children the basic laws of society
6.1.3. Social Purposes
6.1.3.1. to assist in solving social problems
6.1.3.2. to be a supporting institution in the community that promotes social cohesion
6.1.3.3. to prolong societal stability by teaching students how to behave appropriately in society
6.1.4. Economic Purpose
6.1.4.1. to equip and prepare students for their future professions and/or occupations
6.1.4.2. to classify and channel individuals into a particular division of labor
6.2. Liberal Perspective
6.2.1. The Role of the School
6.2.1.1. to train and to socialize children into their roles in society
6.2.1.2. to provide all students with the level of education required to have an equal opportunity to flourish in society
6.2.1.3. to promote awareness and respect for individuals of other cultures
6.2.1.4. to develop students as members of society and as individuals
6.2.2. Explanations of Unequal Performance
6.2.2.1. Life circumstances and backgrounds may put some students at a disadvantage from the onset.
6.2.2.2. It is society's responsibility to offset these disadvantages through policies and programs.
6.2.3. Definition of Educational Problems
6.2.3.1. The underachievement of poor and/or minority children is a critical issue due to schools limiting their life chances.
6.2.3.2. Schools restrict their effectiveness in developing individuals by focusing too much on discipline and authority.
6.2.3.3. The contrast in the overall quality and atmosphere of schools in poor neighborhoods and schools in affluent neighborhoods is a primary concern.
6.2.3.4. The curriculum provided to our students does not reflect or take into consideration the cultural diversity of our society.
7. History of U. S. Education
7.1. Influential Reform Movement: Education for Women and African-Americans
7.1.1. Historically, men were the providers of the household and women were the nurturers and homemakers of the family. Because of this paradigm, not many females obtained academic skills past basic reading and counting and educational opportunities were scarce for women.
7.1.2. In the early 1800s, the United States began to see more educational opportunities emerging for women. Emma Hart Willard established the Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, in 1820, which set out to provide females with an education comparable to that of males. This reform began in the East and expanded westward throughout the country
7.1.3. Before the Civil War, educational opportunities for African-Americans was almost nonexistent. Nat Turner's Revolt in 1831 caused Southerns to forbid slaves to learn to read or write. African-Americans of the North were offered an education that was both separate and substandard if it was offered at all.
7.1.4. In 1846, Benjamin Roberts, an African-American male, filed suit against the city of Boston opposing the segregation requirements imposed upon his daughter causing her to have to attend the the inferior schools for African-Americans. The ruling in Roberts v. City of Boston gave the local school committee the right to maintain separate schools for blacks and whites so African-Americans were prompted to open their own schools.
7.2. The Radical-Revisionist School Perspective
7.2.1. Historians of this perspective agree that our educational system has expanded over time; however, they believe the expansion has occurred with ulterior motives. Radical historians do not believe education has expanded to offer a level playing field and equal opportunity to all. Instead, they see the educational system as a tool the government and the elite use to control the masses.