1. History of Education
1.1. One reform movement that I think had an impact on education was women and african americans getting the opportunity to receive an education. For hundreds of years women and African Americans were not allowed and with help of many people advocating now these people are getting an education
1.2. The Democratic- Liberal school believes that the history of U.S. education involves the progressive evolution of a school system committed to providing equality of opportunty for all. It attempted to expand educational opportunities to larger segments of the population and to reject the conservative view of schools as elite institutions for the meritorious
2. Sociology of Education
2.1. Functionalism- stresses the interdependence of the social system; they examine how well the parts are integrated with each other; view society as a kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make society work
2.2. conflict theory- is not based on collective agreement, but on the ability of dominant groups to improve their will on subordinate groups through force,cooperation, and manipulation. Schools are similar to social battle fields, where students struggle agains teachers, teachers against administrators.
2.3. 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 students and teachers
2.4. effects of schooling
2.4.1. 1. knowledge and attitudes: differences between schools in terms of their academic programs and policies do make differences in student learning. Also the more education an individual receives the more likely they are to read newspapers, books, and magazines, and to take part in politics and public affairs.
2.4.2. 2. Employment: most students believe that graduating from college will lead to greater employment opportunities
2.4.3. 3. Inside the Schools: Larger schools can offer students more in the way of facilities and small schools may allow more student and teacher freedom, but small schools often lack resources.
2.4.4. 4. Teacher Behavior- teachers are models for students, and as instructional leaders, they set standards for students and influence student self-esteem and sense of efficacy
2.4.5. 5. Student Peer Groups and Alienation- student subcultures are always important. They help shape students and their educational experiences.
3. Philosophy of Education
3.1. Pragmatism
3.1.1. generic notions- needs of the children, allow the child to participate in planning their own course of study; group learning
3.1.2. key researchers- George Pierce; William James and John Dewey
3.1.3. goal of education- improving what was already in place; prepare for life in society; living in ideal world
3.1.4. role of the teacher- very curriculum based and no longer authority based
3.1.5. methods of instruction- problem solving and inquiry method
3.1.6. curriculum- student based and not a fixed curriculum
4. Schools as Organizations
4.1. State Senator
4.1.1. Richard Shelby and Luther Strange
4.2. House of Representatives
4.2.1. Mo Brooks
4.3. Local Superintendent
4.3.1. Dr. Matt Akin
4.4. State superintendent
4.4.1. Michael Sentence
4.5. Local Board
4.5.1. President- Elisa Ferrell
4.5.2. Vice President- Walker McGinnis
4.5.3. 3rd Presiding Officers- Beth Wilder, Michelle Watkins and Pam Hill
4.6. teachers have pedagogic goals that are difficult to reconcile with the social goals of the students
4.7. students generally have little power but together as students they do
5. Curriculum/Pedagogy
5.1. Developmentalist curriculum- related to the needs of the children rather than society. Its stresses the importance of relating school to experiences of each student that would make education come alive for them. The teacher is seen as the facility of growth
5.2. Mimetic
5.2.1. purpose of education is to transmit specific knowledge to students
5.2.2. use dialectic method- relies on the lecture or presentation as the main form of communication
5.2.3. stresses the importance of rational sequencing in the teaching process and assessment of the learning process
5.3. transformative
5.3.1. purpose of education is to change the student in some meaningful way
5.3.2. more of a multidimensional theory of teaching
6. Equality of Opportunity
6.1. Class
6.1.1. Education is expensive
6.1.2. families from the upper class and the middle class expect children to finish school; lower levels have lower expectations for their children
6.1.3. working class are more likely to underachieve, drop-out and resist the curriculum of the school
6.1.4. the more elite the college, the more likely the college is to enroll upper class and the upper-middle class
6.2. Race
6.2.1. direct impact on how much education he or she is like to receive
6.2.2. 89% of white students will be able to read at the intermediate level
6.2.3. 66% of African American students have reached that level of proficiency and 70% of Hispanic-American students are reading at an intermediate level
6.3. Gender
6.3.1. Females are less likely to drop out of school than males
6.3.2. Females have a higher level of reading proficiency
6.3.3. males tend to score better on SATS than females
6.3.4. In the last 20 years gender differences have decreased
6.4. Coleman Study from 1982
6.4.1. used findings to compute the estimated yearly average achievement gain by public and catholic schools
6.4.2. estimated that the annual increment attributable to catholic schooling was tiny
6.4.3. differences that do exist are statistically significant
6.4.4. studies show that private schools seem to 'do it better"
6.4.5. catholic schools seem to advantage low-income minority students, especially in urban areas
6.4.6. they are becoming more elite and like suburban public schools
6.4.7. interesting if they continue to serve the poor
7. Educational Inequalities
7.1. Cultural deprivation- suggests that working-class and non-white families often lack the cultural resources, such as books and other educational stimuli and arrive at school at a significant disadvantage
7.2. cultural differences theories- agree that there are cultural and family differences between working-class and non-white students, and white middle-class students. They do not blame working-class and non-white families for educational problems. They refer to poverty, resist, and discrimination and unequal life choices
7.3. school financing- public schools are financed through a combination of revenues from local, state and federal sources.More affluent communities are able to provide more for their students
7.4. Effective school research- the concern with unequal education performance of nonwhite and working- class students is at the heart. researchers need to compare schools within lower socioeconomic communities as well
7.5. gender and schooling- unequal treatment of women in all aspects of society and worked actively to change both attitudes and laws that limited.
7.6. curriculum and pedagogic practices- differences in school climates affect academic performances; why big population of students who attend schools in higher socioeconomic communities achieve well in school
8. Educational Reform
8.1. school-to-work programs- intent was to extend the emphasis to non-college-bound students regarding skills necessary for successful employment and to stress the importance of work-based learning
8.2. Teacher Education- response to failing schools; raising the debate as the opportunity to recognize and improve conditions of schools
8.3. Full service/community schools- aim to prevent problems; Focus on meeting students and their families education, physical, and psychological needs
8.4. harlem-children zone- leave children where they are just change the neighborhood; parents are provided with program before children are even born to know how to have academic conversations with their children
9. Politics of Education
9.1. 1. intellectual purpose is to teach basic cognitive skills such as reading, writing and math.
9.2. 2. political purpose is to inculcate allegiance to the existing political order
9.3. 3. social purpose is to help solve social problems,to work as one of many institutions
9.4. 4. economic purpose is to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train and allocate individuals into the division of labor.
9.5. the conservative perspective
9.5.1. the role of the school is to provide the necessary educational training to ensure the most talented and hard-working individuals receive the tools necessary to maximize economic and social productivity
9.5.2. explanations of unequal performances 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.
9.5.3. educational problems conservatives ay that liberal and radical demands for greater equality in the 60s and 70s lowered academic standards and reduced educational quality