1. Sociological Perspectives Chapter 4
1.1. Functionalism on the relation between school and society: Parts of society work together to create a functioning societal system. Emily Durkheim believed that education was important in creating a socially cohesive and moral society. Functionalists believe that agreement is a normal state in society and that conflict results from the break in shared values. In order for society to be normal and functioning, students need to learn appropriate values and know their abilities.
1.1.1. Conflict theory on the relation between school and society: Social order is based on dominant groups being able to manipulate and force their will on subordinate groups. Society functions based on economic, political, cultural, and military power. Conflict theorists see school and society functioning based on struggle and power. Political economists Bowles and Gintis said that there is a correlation between organization of school and society. For education to be reformed, society must be changed. Randall Collins said that in order for education to expand, society must struggle as a group. Diplomas are nothing more than status symbols. Overall, these theories focus on power and status.
1.1.1.1. Interactionalism on the relation between school and society: Interactional theories extend upon conflict and functional theories. They focus on the interaction between students and teachers. They say that the process of analyzing students and categorizing them based on ability is important in the learning process. Basil Bernstein said that the structural and interactional aspects of education should be viewed together as they reflect on each other.
1.1.1.1.1. EFFECTS OF SCHOOLING ON INDIVIDUALS- 1. Employment: Higher levels of education are necessary for white-collar jobs. Research has shown though that level of education is not highly related to job performance. Schools determine which students will be employed at high status occupations. 2. Knowledge and attitudes: When people are more highly educated, they achieve more. Researcher Ron Edmonds said that differences between academic programs and policies in schools make a difference in what students learn. When students have to take academic subjects and when discipline is serious and consistent, achievement levels go up. When individuals are more educated, they are more socially involved and have greater knowledge. 3. Inadequate schools: Inadequate schooling produces inequalities. Urban education has done a poor job in educating the poor and the minority children. Suburban and private schools get a better education than other children. 4. Tracking: This refers to the placement of students in curricular programs based on ability. Working-class students are usually on a vocational track and middle-class students are on an academic track. Students who are placed in a track where more is expected of them spend more time learning, are able to use more interesting materials, and receive better teachers. Students in lower tracks receive more authoritative teachers. 5. Gender: Men are frequently paid more and given more career opportunities than women even though women are generally ahead of men when they start school. However, by the end of high school, women have lower self-esteerm than men which could be why they don't have high standards for themselves anymore. Textbooks have always leaned toward showing off men's accomplishments and ignored women's.
2. Philosophy of Education Chapter 5
2.1. Existentialism: a modern philosophy dating back as far as the nineteenth-century.
2.1.1. Generic notions: Existentialists believe that individuals are placed on earth by themselves and are forced to find themselves and their meaning in life. They are also in charge of becoming something, creating chaos and fixing it, and creating good and bad. Some existentialists believe in the acceptance of God, but some such as Sartre do not.
2.1.1.1. Key researchers: Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Martin Buber (1878-1965), Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1986), Maxine Greene
2.1.1.1.1. Goal of education: should focus on individual needs and individuality, should discuss irrationality and rational world aspects, and should address conflict
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4. Curriculum and Pedagogy Chapter 7
4.1. Humanist curriculum: The center of education is liberal arts. This helps students understand the most important aspects of each subject and combine them together to form more complex thoughts. Any student, even one that is pursuing college, should be educated in all subject areas. Common body of knowledge is highly thought of.
4.1.1. Mimetic Tradition: This focuses on the fact that knowledge is transferred from one intellectual person to a learner through an imitative process.
4.1.1.1. Transformative Tradition: The educator focuses on changing students into intellectuals who are able to collaborate and learn from one another.
5. Educational Inequality Chapter 9
5.1. One type of cultural differences theory is that African-American students perform lower because they adapt to their stereotypes. This is one reason for the "job ceiling" for African Americans.
5.1.1. Another type of cultural difference is that in order for people to be successful in school, African-Americans need to hide their true identities and adopt those of the dominant culture. This gives blacks the "burden of acting white."
5.1.1.1. School financing is a reason for educational inequality: Public schools have several sources of funding, but the funding is unequally distributed between affluent and poorer communities.
5.1.1.1.1. Effective School research on educational inequality: climate of high expectations for students, strong and effective leadership by principal, accountability processes, monitoring of student learning, high degree of time on task, and flexibility to try new things in some districts
6. History of U.S. Education Chapter 3
6.1. Post-World War || Equity Era: There is a huge importance in this era. It's most important in my opinion because it does involve the continuation of other reform eras, but it also expands. Academic and social goals of education were discussed, sameness in education was discussed, and expansion of educational opportunities was discussed. Though the Common School era introduced elementary education and the Progressive era opened access to secondary education, the post-World War || era focused on expanding post-secondary education. Equality of education was also a huge focus during this period. We are still dealing with some equity and excellence issues in today's society, but I believe that the introduction of the sight of these issues was very crucial to the beginning of solving these issues.
6.1.1. Democratic-Liberal School: The history of U.S. education involves equality for all. Believers of this perspective believe that education needs to be equal across all of the population and that more intelligent people should not have greater opportunity. Lawrence A. Cremin says that the evolution of U.S. education needs to focus on popularization and multitudinousness. This means that students with diverse backgrounds go to school for long periods of time and educational goals become more diverse, focusing on both social and academic goals. Democratic-liberals view the history of education in a positive way, but they do not turn an eye to the fact that it is flawed. As a nation, we need to work towards both equality and excellence in the educational system.
7. Politics of Education Chapter 2
7.1. Basic functions of education: Intellectual, political, social, and economic. Intellectual purposes are to teach curriculum and help students think critically, political purposes are to instill patriotism and teach basic laws, social purposes are to help with socialization of people in a group, economic purposes are to prepare students for a career
7.1.1. The conservative perspective on the role of school: the role of school is to provide training for the best students to be able to maximize economic and social productivity, to help students maintain social order, and to blend cultural ideas
7.1.1.1. The radical perspective on explanations of unequal educational performance: students have unequal opportunities when they start school if they are from backgrounds with lower socioeconomic status and educational failure is a result of the economic system
7.1.1.1.1. The radical perspective on the definition of educational problems: education has singled out many groups (poor, minorities, women) with harmful policies, curriculum has instilled conformity instead of problems in American society, traditional curriculum is flawed and promotes inequality
8. Schools as Organizations Chapter 6
8.1. No republican senator. Democratic senator is Ron Crumpton. Federal speaker of the House of Representatives is Mac McCutcheon. State house of representatives is Tommy Hanes. Local senator is Steve Livingston. State superintendent is Michael Sentence. Representative on state board is Kay Ivey. Local superintendent is Kevin Dukes. Members on the local school board are Cecil Gant, Ken Storey, John Lyda, Charles West, and Chad Gorham.
8.1.1. Elements of change- Conflict: hidden conflicts and issues need to be pulled to the service in order to better schooling. New behaviors: change requires building relationships and trust between people. Team building: people in the school system must collectively work as a team to continue to make positive changes. Process and content: processes need to be appropriate and content needs to adhere to positive change in order for commitment to occur.
9. Equality of Opportunity Chapter 8
9.1. Families that are of a higher social class benefit more from higher education. Education is expensive so wealthier families are able to afford it more easily. Schools represent values of middle and upper class families because they are able to pay for education more easily.
9.1.1. Minority students receive fewer educational opportunities than majority students. Therefore, the drop out rate for minority students is much higher than for majority students.
9.1.1.1. Females and males used to be treated unequally with regards to education. Today, females are less likely to drop out of school than males. Males and females score differently in different subjects, balancing out their educational opportunities.
9.1.1.1.1. Coleman and his associates found that students in public schools did not score higher in any test subject than students in private schools. Another response is that they found that private schools were more effective learning environments than public schools.
10. Educational Reform Chapter 10
10.1. Charter schools: States are responding to the large demand of charter schools by amending charter laws. Schools without charter laws are considering implementing. The reason charter schools are in demand is because they do not have the same regulations as most public schools and they are held more accountable for student performance.
10.1.1. School-business partnerships: schools in the past have not been producing individuals who are capable of running businesses and stabilizing the economy. Business-partnerships have been formed in order to improve achievements and give scholarships so that everyone has a chance to go to college and contribute to society.
10.1.1.1. Full service and community schools: focus on meeting the needs of students and their families by having extended hours to provide community services. These schools focus on preventing and improving at risk neighborhoods.
10.1.1.1.1. Harlem Children's zone: a program for parents in Harlem to provide them with knowledge on what they need to be doing for their fetuses and infants. An instructor teaches these parents how to communicate with their children and provide them with necessary skills. This program also gives parents things that they need to care for their child if they cannot afford it.