1. The Sociology of Education
1.1. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
1.1.1. FUNCTIONAL THEORY: Emile Durkheim says education is a critical importance in creating the moral unity neccessary for social cohesion and harmony.
1.1.1.1. CONFLICT THEORY: conflict sociologist do not see the relation between school and society as unproblematic or strightforward
1.1.1.1.1. INTERACTIONAL THEORY: emphasize structure and process at a very general level of analysis. helps in understanding education in the "big picture"
1.2. EFFECTS OF SCHOOLING
1.2.1. TEACHER BEHAVIOR: teachers have a huge impact on student learning and behavior. Teachers set standards for students and influence self esteem and sense of efficacy.
1.2.1.1. STUDENT PEER GROUPS: student cultures play an important role in shaping students educational experiences. Violence is the number one problem between peers at school.
1.2.1.1.1. INADEQUATE SCHOOLS: schools reproduce inequalities through inadequate schools.
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. PRAGMATISM
2.1.1. GENERIC NOTIONS: a particular philosophical movement that has important implications for education
2.1.1.1. GOAL OF EDUCATION: education should focus on the needs of individuals, both cognitively and affectively.
2.1.1.1.1. ROLE OF THE TEACHER: teachers must take risks, expose themselves to resistant students, and work constantly to enable students to become "wide awake"
3. Schools as Orginizations
3.1. MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS IN MY DISTRICT
3.1.1. STATE SENATOR: Eric Richardson, Federal Al senators: Richard Shelby & Luther Strange, State Superintendent: Michael Sentance, Representative on State School Board: Kay Ivey, Local Superintendent: Cindy Wigley
3.2. ELEMENTS OF CHANGE WITHIN SCHOOL PROCESS AND SCHOOL CULTURE
3.2.1. 1. Conflict is a necessary part of change. 2. New behaviors must be learned 3. Team building must extend to the entire school 4. Process and content are interrelated
4. Equality of Opportunity
4.1. HOW CLASS, RACE, AND GENDER IMPACT EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
4.1.1. CLASS is directly related to to achievement and to educational attainment: there is a direct correlation between parental income and children's performance on achievement tests
4.1.1.1. RACE has a direct impact on how much education he or she is likely to achieve. Minority students recieve fewer and inferior educational oppurtunities than white students.
4.1.1.1.1. GENDER: Today females are less likely to drop out of school than males and are more likely to have a higher level of reading proficiency than males.
4.2. TWO RESPONSES TO COLEMAN STUDY FROM 1982
4.2.1. Coleman said Private schools are educationally superior to Public schools and Alexander and Pallas responded with " if trivial advantage is what they mean by such a claim, then we suppose we would have to agree".
4.2.1.1. In response to Coleman's Equality of Educational Opportunity, Borman and Dowling said " both the racial/ethnic and social class composition of a student's school are 1 3/4 times more important than a student's individual race/ethnicity or social class for understanding educational outcomes.
5. Education Reform
5.1. TWO SCHOOL BASED REFORMS
5.1.1. SCHOOL-BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS: There is little convincing evidence that they have significantly improved schools or that school-business partnerships will address the fundamental problems facing U.S. education.
5.1.1.1. SCHOOL-TO-WORK PROGRAMS: Incorporated 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.
5.2. TWO ECONOMIC REFORMS THAT IMPACT EDUCATION
5.2.1. MAYORAL CONTROL: Centralizing governance into the mayor's office is more effective and efficient than traditional elected school boards
5.2.1.1. CAMPAIGN FOR FISCAL EQUITY: challenged the state to provide a sound basic education for all students that prepares them to participate in society.
6. Politics of Education
6.1. 1. purposes of education
6.1.1. POLITICAL: -basic laws of society -prepare citizens to participate in democracies -help assimilate diverse groups
6.1.1.1. ECONOMIC: -prepare for jobs-train students in the division of labor
6.1.1.1.1. INTELLECTUAL: -reading -writing-mathematics
6.2. 2. Liberal Perspective
6.2.1. THE ROLES OF SCHOOL : all students have equal oppurtuinity
6.2.1.1. EXPLANATIONS OF UNEQUAL ED. PROBLEMS: suggest certain groups have more advantages
6.2.1.1.1. DEFINITIONS OF EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS: -critical issue; underachievment -too much emphasis on authority
7. History of U.S Education
7.1. REFORM MOVEMENT
7.1.1. Horace Mann: established the "common school", free publicly funded schools. He spoke of school as a preparation for citizenship.
7.2. HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
7.2.1. Education for women: Education for women was viewed as biologically harmful or too stressful in the 18th century. By 1820 the movement for education for women was making progress. in 1856 the University of Iowa became the first university to admit women. In 1846 African Americans were allowed education.
8. Curriculum & Pedagogy
8.1. CURRICULUM THEORY
8.1.1. DEVELOPMENTALIST CURRICULUM: related to the needs and interest of the student rather than the needs of society
8.2. TWO DOMINANT TRADITIONS OF TEACHING
8.2.1. MIMETIC: The easiest tradition Gives a central place to the transmission of factual and procedural knowledge from one person to another
8.2.1.1. TRANSFORMATIVE: a transformation of one kind or another in the person being taught- a qualitative change often of dramatic dramatic proportion
9. Educational Inequality
9.1. TWO TYPES OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES THEORY
9.1.1. John Ogbu says that African-American children do less well in school because they adapt to their oppressed position in the class and caste structure
9.1.1.1. Ogbu's later work suggest that school success requires that African-American students deny their own cultural identities and accept the dominant culture of the schools.
9.2. FOUR SCHOOL CENTERED EXPLANATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES
9.2.1. SCHOOL FINANCING: There are vast differences in funding between affluent and poor districts that calls for equalization in school financing
9.2.1.1. EFFECTIVE SCHOOL RESEARCH: If student differences are more important than school differences then teachers cannot be blamed
9.2.1.1.1. CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGIC PRACTICES: There are significant differences between the culture and climate of schools in lower socioeconomic and higher socioeconomic communities.