My Foundations of Education
Plan your projects and define important tasks and actions
1. Politics of Education
1.1. The 4 purposes of Education:
1.1.1. 1.The Political purpose of education is to teach loyalty to the existing political order, prepare citizens who will contribute to this order and to help adapt diverse cultural groups, and to teach the basic laws of society.
1.1.2. 2. The Social purpose of education is to help sove social problems and to socialize children into the various roles, behaviors, and values of the society. Socialization= key to stability.
1.1.3. 3. The Economic purpose of education is to prepare students for their later occupational roles and to select, train, and allocate individuals into the division of labor.
1.1.4. 4. The Intellectual purpose of education is to teach basic cognitive skills; to transmit that knowledge; and to help students acquire higher-order thinking skills.
1.2. Conservative:
1.2.1. Traditional approach
1.2.2. Sees the role of the school as providing the necessary educational training to ensure that the most talented and hard-working individuals will succeed.
1.2.3. Argue that individuals rise and fall based on their own intelligence. Believe that achievement is based on hard work and sacrifice.
1.2.4. Believe that educational problems come from decline of standards, decline of cultural literacy, decline of civilization, and decline of authority.
1.3. Liberal:
1.3.1. Progressive approach
1.3.2. Sees the role of the school as providing necessary education to ensure that ALL students have an equal opportunity, teaching children to respect cultural diversity, and enabling individuals to find sense of self.
1.3.3. Argue that individual students or group of students begin school with different backgrounds, therefore some have more advantages than others.
1.3.4. Believes that educational problems limited the life chances of poor and minority children, schools place too much emphasis and discipline on authority, the differences in quality and climate between urban and suburban schools, and the traditional curriculum leaves out diverse cultures.
1.4. Radical:
1.4.1. Neo-Liberal approach
1.4.2. Believes the role of the school perpetuate the society and to serve the interests of those with economic wealth and political power. Believes the school prepares children from different social backgrounds for different roles within the economic division of labor.
1.4.3. Like liberals, they believe that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds began school with unequal opportunities. Unlike liberals, they believe that educational failure is caused by the economic system, not the educational system.
1.4.4. Believes the educational system has failed the poor, minorities, and women. Argue that curriculum and teaching practices promote conformity. Traditional curriculum leaves out the cultures, histories and voices of the oppressed. Promotes inequality of both opportunity and results.
2. Philosophy of Education
2.1. Pragmatism
2.1.1. American philosophy that encourages people to find methods that work to achieve desired results
2.1.2. Comes from the Greek word "pragma", meaning work
2.1.3. Pragmatists prefer finding issues in present-day terms
2.1.4. Problem -> Speculative thought -> Action -> Results
2.1.4.1. Generic Notations
2.1.4.1.1. Progressive
2.1.4.1.2. Experimental Learning
2.1.4.1.3. Required a course of study that would reflect all stages of development
2.1.4.2. Goal of Education
2.1.4.2.1. Believed that the school should balance the needs of the individual on one hand and the needs of the society and community on the other
2.1.4.2.2. Role of the school was to integrate children into an democratic society
2.1.4.2.3. Growth
2.1.4.3. Role of the Teacher
2.1.4.3.1. "The teacher is no longer the authoritarian figure from which all knowledge flows; rather, the teacher assumes the peripheral position of facilitator"
2.1.4.4. Methods of Instruction
2.1.4.4.1. Problem-solving method
2.1.4.4.2. No formal instruction. Learning in non-traditional ways
2.1.4.5. Curriculum
2.1.4.5.1. Core or Integrated Curriculum
3. Schools as Organizations
3.1. Alabama State Senators:
3.1.1. Richard Shelby (Senior)
3.1.2. Luther Strange (Junior)
3.1.3. House of Representatives:
3.1.3.1. Bradley Byrne (1st District)
3.1.3.2. Martha Roby (2nd District)
3.1.3.3. Mike Rogers (3rd District)
3.1.3.4. Robert Aderholt (4th District)
3.1.3.5. Mo Brookes (5th District)
3.1.3.6. Gary Palmer (6th District)
3.1.3.7. Terri Sewell (7th District)
3.1.4. Alabama State Superintendent:
3.1.4.1. Michael Sentence
3.1.5. State School Board Representative:
3.1.5.1. Mary Scott Hunter
3.1.6. Madison County School Superintendent:
3.1.6.1. Matt Massey
3.1.7. Madison County School Board:
3.1.7.1. Nathan Curry (District 1)
3.1.7.1.1. Angie Bates (District 2)
3.1.7.1.2. Mary Louise Stowe (District 3)
3.1.7.1.3. Dave Weis (District 4)
3.1.7.1.4. Shere Rucker (District 5)
4. Curriculum & Pedagogy
4.1. Social Efficiency Curriculum
4.1.1. Uses the ideas of idealism/perennialism philosophies
4.2. Traditions of Teaching:
4.2.1. Mimetic Tradition- Teaching by mimicking
4.2.2. Transformative Tradition- Teaching by changing a students characteristics from one kind to another
5. Equality of Opportunity
5.1. Educational Inequality
5.1.1. Class:
5.1.1.1. Our education system traditionally uses values from the middle and upper class. The wealthier have more access to education outside the classroom.
5.1.2. Race:
5.1.2.1. Historically race was a major issue when it comes to inequality and education in the U.S. There was a time when African American students were not able to get an education or on the same level as education as non- African Americans. Now, race doesn't play as much as a severe role in equality. However, many inequalities still exist because of race today.
5.1.3. Gender:
5.1.3.1. Gender inequalities in the classroom used to be much more then they are today. However, some inequalities still exist in the STEM fields. Research has shown that this could be due to the fact of how teachers view and treat females in the classroom.
5.1.4. Coleman Study:
5.1.4.1. Private schools do appear to have certain characteristics that are related to students outcomes but are these relationships as important as some researchers claim?
5.1.4.2. Where a students goes to school is most of the time related to what their race and socioeconomic background are. However, the socioeconomic composition has a greater effect on the student achievement
6. Sociology of Education
6.1. Functional Theories
6.1.1. A society that is viewed as a type of machine. One part of the machine articulates with another to produce the dynamic energy required to make a society work
6.2. Conflict Theories
6.2.1. Does not believe that a society is held together by shared values alone. Believes that a society is based on the ability of dominate groups to impose their will on subordinate groups
6.2.1.1. The glue of society is economic, political, cultural and military power
6.3. Interactional Theories
6.3.1. Explanation of the role of social interaction between children and adults
6.4. 5 effects of schooling
6.4.1. Education: Having a sense of well-being and knowing that more years of schooling leads to greater job opportunities
6.4.2. Employment: Most students believe that graduates from college will lead to greater job opportunities
6.4.3. Teacher Behavior: Teachers are models for their students and have a huge impact on students learning and behavior
6.4.4. Tracking: Placement of students in curricular programs based on their abilities
6.4.5. Knowledge: More years of schooling leads to greater knowledge and social participation
6.5. Four elements of change:
6.5.1. 1. Conflict
6.5.2. 2. New behaviors
6.5.3. 3. Team Building
6.5.4. 4. Process and content
7. Educational Inequality
7.1. John Ogbu thinks that African American students basically accept their oppressed position. He thinks that there is a certain standard for African Americans and they just assume that this is their bar that they set for themselves.
7.2. Another cultural difference theory sees working class and nonwhite students as opposing the current school culture. They say that students are "antischool" and will not embrace the current system that they are in.
7.3. School Centered Explanations for Educational Inequality:
7.3.1. School Financing is not equal for poorer districts
7.3.2. Effective School Research- There is not enough research going on inside the schools to understand the real problems that are going on
7.3.3. Gender and Schooling- Schools often limit educational opportunities and life chances of women
7.3.4. Curriculum and Ability Grouping- Things such as standardized tests and student/teacher/parent expectations are not always aligned and therefore the given curriculum does not necessarily work out the way it was planned
8. History of U.S Education
8.1. Education for Women & African Americans
8.1.1. 19th & some of 20th century: education for women was viewed as biologically harmful or too stressful
8.1.2. First 1/2 of 19th century, education opportunities were very limited. But by the middle, a decent amount of girls attended Elem. schools & then admitted to private secondary schools
8.1.3. 1821: Emma Hart Willard opened the Troy female seminary in Troy, New York
8.1.4. 1833: Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Ohio welcomed women & African- Americans
8.1.5. 1865: University of Iowa was first state university to admit women
8.1.6. Southerners believed they should forbid teaching of reading and writing to slave population
8.1.7. 1846: African-American Benjamin Roberts filed a legal suit in Boston over the requirement that his daughter attend segregated school. He lost
8.1.8. African-Americans encouraged to establish their own schools
8.1.9. 1863: President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
8.1.10. 1865: Congress passed 13th amendment
8.1.11. 1868: 14th amendment was ratified= full citizenship to the ex-slaves
8.1.12. 1868: Freedman's Bureau helped establish Black colleges.
8.1.13. Problems of equality of opportunity & school segregation continued to be an issue
9. Educational Reform
9.1. School-based reforms:
9.1.1. Privatization- In the early 1990's private education companies became more involved. For-profit companies took over management of failing schools and districts. This started to become more common and is starting to become a big business
9.1.2. Teacher Quality- Previously in more urban districts teachers were rotated constantly and it was hard to keep a teacher in the school. Therefore, schools were hiring more and more unqualified teachers. However, recently reformers have been saying that the existence of teacher tenure and seniority based transfers have been preventing improvement.
9.2. Curriculum is made to prepare students for adult world tasks.
9.3. Impact on Education:
9.3.1. School Finance Reform- Demonstrating the potential to improve schools for low-income and minority children. However, they are limited in reducing the achievement gaps unless they also address factors outside of schools.