What’S The Purpose Of Education

What’s the Purpose of Education? Does anybody know the answer?

John Holt “Basically that the human animal is a learning animal; we like to learn; we need to learn; we are good at it; we don't need to be shown how or made to do it. What kills the processes are the people interfering with it or trying to regulate it or control it.”

Effective schools research The five factors identified were: (a) strong leadership of the principal (b) emphasis on mastery of basic skills (c) a clean, orderly and secure school environment (d) high teacher expectations of pupil performance (e) frequent monitoring of students to assess their progress Edmonds (1979)

Jefferson’s legacy--education as the foundation of democracy Creative and rational thought is democracy’s cornerstone All citizens need basic literacy, the talented need far more The common good must be balanced with individual liberty Racial differences require social and political distinction

Horace Mann’s legacy--the common school as “great equalizer” Common curriculum in a common place Knowledge and habits of citizenship, as well as the basic literacy The “creator of wealth undreamed of”--eliminate poverty and crime Shape the destiny of a wise, productive country.

Ever increasing 20th-century expectations 1900-- cultural preservation--Americanizing immigrants 1910--workforce preparation--staffing the factories 1950--national security--beating the Russians in space 1960--the “great society”--eliminating poverty and segregation 1980--economic competitiveness--beating the Japanese; first in the world in math and science 2000--“Leave No Child Behind”--creating a more literate domestic workforce in a global economy where unskilled work can be “outsourced”

What’s your Experience? Like this? Or like this?

Marxist Theories of Education In a Capitalist society, there is always a “conflict of interest” between Capital (the owners of the means of production) and Labor (people who sell their labor in exchange for money). Education is a mechanism for socializing children with ideas that legitimize the nature of society “as it is,” i.e., with fundamental inequalities of wealth, income, power, and status.

Marxist Theories of Education Political and ideological institutions in society are dominated by the Capitalist class. This domination is exploited to propagate both a particular ideology (or belief system) and to try to maintain a particular set of political and economic relationships.

Marxist Theories of Education From a Marxist perspective, children not only have to be trained for their future adult roles, they have to be trained to accept ideas like: Different academic capabilities Individual competition Inevitable inequality Differential reward systems

(Bowles & Gintis, 1976) “We shall suggest that major aspects of the structure of schooling can be understood in terms of the systematic needs for producing reserve armies of skilled labor.”

(Bowles & Gintis, 1976) “Through these institutional relationships, the educational system tailors the self-concepts, aspirations, and social class identifications of individuals to the requirements of the social division of labor.”

(Bowles & Gintis, 1976) “The perpetuation of class structure requires that the hierarchical division of labor be reproduced in the consciousness of its participants. The education system is one of several reproduction mechanisms through which dominant elites seek to achieve this objective.”

(Bowles & Gintis, 1976) The “Correspondence Principle” School practices and relations mirror those in capitalist workplaces organization of work and power--managers and workers lack of control by the “worker” extrinsic rewards competition among individuals, specialization of subjects, fragmented nature of work legitmation of inequality

(Bowles & Gintis, 1976) Reproduction occurs both between & within schools Between school differences that reflect different values and expectations of working and middle class communities, as well as by teachers and administrators Tracking differences within schools

Every three years, OECD PISA study assesses how 15-year-old students in 57 countries have acquired some knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society

Mean scores in some countries. 398 463 492 514 522 555 OECD PISA 2006 table 2.2c

Mean scores for boys and girls. 394 402 453 472 484 500 510 517 513 531 542 568 OECD PISA 2006 table 2.2c

Equality between boys and girls? 394 402 453 472 484 500 510 517 513 531 542 568 girls OECD PISA 2006 table 2.2c have equal opportunity at school in all these countries

Difference between students. 249 555 315 607 330 654 337 682 337 682 411 686 OECD PISA 2006 table 2.2c Top 5% Bottom 5%

Equality between students? 249 555 315 607 330 654 337 682 337 682 411 686 OECD PISA 2006 table 2.2c Top 5% Bottom 5% equal opportunity

Gap between schools. 47% 27% 23% 19% 48% 6% OECD PISA 2006 table 4.1a top students at top schools only 100% top students at all schools equally 0%

Equality between schools? equal opportunity at local free public school OECD PISA 2006 table 4.1a 47% 27% 23% 19% 48% 6% top students at top schools only 100% top students at all schools equally 0%

Has the Dream been Fulfilled? Public school is the pot that boils everyone into Americans. But does it produce citizens? Does it support democratic institutions? Does it succeed in achieving basic competence for academic goals such as reading and writing? What other costs are associated with public education?

Mass Production What happens when you scale education up to the size necessary to maintain a modern workforce in an industrial society?

The Message The message that most children receive by going through compulsory education is that their time is worthless.

Peers or Parents? Harris: The Nurture Assumption Peers more important than parents Parental influence overrated Socialization by neighborhood peers Individuality comes from genes

Stereotype Threat The consequences of self-relevant stereotype activation for academic performance “Fear of being reduced to the stereotype” can lead to underperformance Most likely to affect those highly identified Situational threat

“ The present definition stresses that for a negative stereotype to be threatening it must be self-relevant. Then, the situational contingency it establishes – the possibility of conforming to the stereotype or of being treated and judged in terms of it becomes self-threatening” (Steele, 1997) Claude Steele

Steele & Aronson (1995) African-American and European-American Stanford Students Make racial stereotype of intelligence salient Diagnostic of ability Nondiagnostic (control) Examine test performance on a challenging verbal test.

Steele & Aronson (1995, Study 2)

Steele & Aronson (1995) African-American and European-American Stanford Students Make racial stereotype of intelligence salient Indicate Race No race question Examine test performance on a challenging verbal test.

Steele & Aronson (1995, Study 4)

Spencer et al. (1999) Male and Female participants Eliminate stereotype threat about women and math (already in the air…) No mention of gender Tell that there gender differences on the test (reduces the possibility that performance will be attributed to gender) Examine test performance on a challenging math test.

Spencer et al. (1999, Study 3)

Questions How to mitigate negative peer influences? How to expose children to difference during the critical period for forming racial attitudes? Is same-sex education justified? What about home schooling?

How many children are homeschooled? From Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 by Daniel Princiotta and Stacey Bielick http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/

78% of homeschoolers use the library as a primary source of learning materials.

Why Families Homeschool From Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 by Daniel Princiotta and Stacey Bielick http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/

The Homeschooling Year Follow the school calendar Homeschool year-round Create a calendar based on family needs religious considerations medical needs travel or special projects Business Some follow no calendar at all

Daily Homeschooling Schedules Schoolwork in the morning/outings in the afternoon Chores in the morning/schoolwork in the late morning and early afternoon Schoolwork in the evenings or at night Some do no organized “seat work”

What is Unschooling? Term coined by educator John Holt The beginning of the contemporary homeschooling movement Child-led learning “ Real world” activities “ Radical Unschoolers”

A Sample Unschooling Day 8:00am – Wake up. 8:00-8:45am – Eat breakfast/get dressed/etc. 8:45-9:30am – Read 9:30-11:30am – Go to volunteer job at local animal shelter Noon – Lunch 12:30-2:00pm – Play outside 2:00-3:00pm – Work on article for area homeschooling group newsletter 3:00-3:30pm – Play math computer game 3:30-5:00pm – Play with neighborhood children 5:00-6:00pm – Make dinner for the family, eat—dinner discussion centered around current events

Conservative Protestant Homeschoolers Brought to conservative Protestants by educators Raymond and Dorothy Moore Popularized by “Focus on the Family” radio show Highly organized and vocal segment of the homeschooling population

Other Homeschooling Philosophies Other religions (Catholics, Pagans, Jews, Muslims) Children with special needs Classical Military Artist Eclectic

Homeschoolers and the Law Education governed by state Homeschooling currently legal in all 50 states, but the laws vary widely

What’S The Purpose Of Education

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