Transcript HD 4: Lecture Notes Ecology of the School

HD 4: Lecture Notes
Ecology of the School
Chapter 6 (Berns)
Chapter 3 (Elkind)
Reflection Moment
What were your school experiences like?
Ecology of the School
 The school is society’s formal institution
where learning takes place.(215)
 The primary purpose of education, from
society’s perspective, is the transmission of
the cultural heritage (knowledge, values,
beliefs, and customs of society).
 The school’s function in the U.S. can be best
described as universal, formal, and
prescriptive.
School and Government
 The first amendment to the Constitution guarantees
freedom of religion and requires separation of church
and state.
 Title IX was passed in 1972 which focused on gender
inequalities.
 IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) provides
federal money to state and local agencies to educate
children with disabilities. (3-21)
 Expenditures per pupil vary widely across the U.S.
No Child Left Behind Act (218)
 Congress passed in 2001.
 The purpose of the act was to hold schools
accountable for student achievement by tying
federal funding to standardized test scores.
School Choice
 Public school in a local district
 Magnet school
 Charter school
 Home School—Requirements vary by state
 Private school
Education and the Disabled
(228)
 Long ago, people with disabilities tended to
be banished, neglected, and/or mistreated.
 As Christianity spread, they were protected
and pitied.
 During the 18th-19th centuries, institutions
were established to provide separate
education.
 In the later part of the 20th century, there was
a focus on mainstreaming.
IDEA (231)
 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed
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in 1990
Provides federal money to states and local agencies
to educate children with disabilities ages 3-21
The main purpose of the act is to guarantee that all
children with disabilities have available to them a free
and appropriate public education.
IEP: Individualized Education Program
Inclusion: The philosophy of being part of the whole.
IDEA requires that students be placed in the least
restrictive environment.
Reflection Moment
 Do you think peers can be socializing agents
in an integrated classroom?
 Do you think full inclusion is the best model
for all children?
Education and the
English Language Learner (222)
 Cultural pluralism: Involves a mutual
appreciation and understanding of various
cultures and the coexistence in society of
different languages, religions, and lifestyles.
 Bilingual/multicultural education: Education
in the student’s native language as well as
English, respect for the student’s culture and
ethnicity, and enhancements of the student’s
self concept.
Lau vs. Nichols
 Schools receiving
federal funds could not
discriminate against
children with limited or
no English speaking
ability by denyin gthem
language training.
 This was a Supreme
Court ruling.
The Coleman Report (223)
 1966-James Coleman surveyed nearly 1 million
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students in 6,000 schools across the U.S.
The purpose of the report was to determine if
students were successful in accordance with their
ability. If not, why not?
It studied the attributes that children bring to school
that affect learning.
He found that the school’s social composition had the
most influence on individual achievement.
Children were influenced by their classmates social
class backgrounds and aspirations.
It found a strong connection between achievement
and attitudes.
Children from low-SES and ethnically diverse
families fare comparably to middle-class children
when families:
 Create a home environment that encourages
learning.
 Express high expectations for their children’s
achievement.
 Become involved in their children’s lives.
“Students from ethnically diverse
backgrounds who perform poorly in school
do so for a number of reasons some linked to
ethnicity and others to social class.”
The school has been less effective in
educating children from lowsocioeconomic status families.
Potential reasons include
the following:
 Inappropriate curricula
 Teaching difficulties
and materials
 Difference between
parental and school
norms
 Lack of previous
success in school
 Teacher perceptions
and standards
 Segregation
 Differences in
teacher/student
backgrounds
Parent Involvement
The degree of involvement is related to
the level of education attained by the
parents.
Which parents are most
involved?
Parents of young children with some college
education and in the middle to upper
socioeconomic statuses have the most
involvement in school.
Benefits of
Parent Involvement
 Students have a more positive attitude toward
learning
 Students have better attendance
 Students have fewer placements in special
education
 Students have better grades
 Students have an increased likelihood of
graduating from high school.
Additional Benefits of
Parent Involvement
 Student and parent perceptions of classroom
and school climate.
 Positive student attitudes and behaviors.
 Higher educational aspirations among
students and parents.
 Increased student lifetime earnings potential.
 Increased student time spent with parents.
 Student readiness to do homework.
How Can Schools Encourage
Parent Involvement?
(Patte, Justice & Noble)
 Offer transportation for parents.
 Offer child care services so parents can
attend school events.
 Conduct home visits.
 Develop support networks.
 Offer before and after school child care.
 Offer meaningful involvement opportunities.
 Use technology to link home and school.
Schools and Socialization
 Successful schools really work on human
connectedness.
 Families can become involved in the school
and education when they vote.
 The three major ways families become
involved is through decision making,
participation, and partnership.
Computers in the Schools
The effectiveness of computers as a
tool for learning depends on how
they are used by teachers and
students, as well as the software
selected.
Substance Abuse
in the Schools
Substance use and abuse remains a major
problem among high schoolers and an increasing
one among middle schoolers.
Violence in
the Schools
In order to create an optimal learning
environment, schools MUST be safe.
Violence (236)
 “Children who grow up in a violent community
are at risk for emotional and psychological
problems, because growing up in a constant
state of fear makes it difficult to establish
trust, autonomy, and social competence.”
Notes from
The Hurried Child
Chapter 3
More basics
More homework
More testing
In 1983, the Office of
Education warned of a rising
tide of mediocrity in our
schools.
Education often hurries children
because it ignores individual
differences in mental abilities, learning
rates, and learning styles.
Schools also hurry children through the
progressive downward thrust of the
curriculum.
The return of the outmoded
practice of rotation also
hurries children.
This practice makes inappropriate
demands for adaptation on children.
Elkind’s Opinions
About Schools
 Schools are becoming
 He believes that social
too product oriented.
 Dishonesty and
cheating has taken
place with the overemphasis on testing.
 If we take some of the
pressure off schools
and administrators, we
will take some of the
pressure off of the
children.
skills are more
important than
academic skills.
 Readiness is not in the
child’s head.
 Many students are
pushed into accelerated
programs and do not
belong. They can’t
keep up.
“The creativity and innovation of teachers is
deadened by overly close ties to the
uniformity of educational publishing and
testing.”
Gardner developed the theory of multiple
intelligences. Most schools and tests focus on
only a few of the different forms of intelligences.
Schools in Japan
Compared to the U.S.
 The self esteem of
 “Japanese children are
hurried yet they don’t
seem to show the
stress symptoms that
American children do,
and they actually thrive
on the pressures of
their intense
educational program.”
Japanese children is
lower than other
children in other
countries.
 U.S. children may not
have moved as fast but
they go further.
Who modifies the hurrying
on the Japanese child in
Japanese schools?
The Japanese Mother
What works well in schools according
to David Elkind?
 Multi age grouping works well in schools.
 A certain amount of stress and pressure are
important and healthy for children to realize
their full powers.