Education%20in%20a%20Changing%20Society

1
Education in a Changing Society
Chapter One
2
The Reality of Social Change

• Two major social changes affecting education are
  taking place
• Changes in demographics
• Changes in social institutions

3
Demographics in Transition

• Three factors resulting in changing demographics
• High immigration rates
• High birthrates among some segments of the
  population
• An aging population

4
Institutions in Transition

• ?A social institution is a formal, recognized,
  established and stabilized way of pursuing some
  important activity in society.
• ?Social institutions provide rules, or social
  norms, that become internalized in individuals.
• ?When institutions change, so do the norms they
  provide.

5
Changes in Institutions

• ?In todays world, all social institutions are
  experiencing fundamental change
• Economics globalization
• Politics new alignments of nations
• Family new forms of family life
• Religion rise of fundamentalism in all world
  religions

6
Changes in Economics and Politics

• Economically there has been a shift from
• Loyalty to a single company to loyalty to ones
  own self interest
• A national focus to a global focus
• Politically there has been a shift from
• Political interest within our own borders to
  interest in political events around the world

7
Changes in the Family

• More women are in the work force.
• The divorce rate is high.
• More families are in poverty.
• New family forms are becoming common (e.g.,
  single parent families, blended families).
• More ethnic and religious groups are
  intermarrying.

8
Changes in Religious Organizations

• Immigrants are bringing unfamiliar religions and
  religious ideas to the society.
• Various new age religious affiliations are
  emerging.
• There is a rise in fundamentalist religious
  groups in all major religions.

9
Schools as a Reflection of Social Change

• Changing demographics among students
• Increasing numbers of children whose first
  language is not English
• Increasing inclusion of children with
  disabilities in classrooms
• Increasing attention to differential treatment of
  boys and girls in classrooms

10
Limited English Proficiency

• Most Limited English Proficient (LEP) students
  speak Spanish.
• The United States is the fifth largest
  Spanish-speaking country in the world.
• More than half of LEP students are in grades K-4
  and more than three-quarters are poor.

11
Inclusion

• Legal support for inclusion
• Public Law 94-142, The Education of All
  Handicapped Children Act (1975)
• Amendments to P.L. 94-142, The Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act IDEA (1990, 1992,
  1997)
• More children with disabilities are being
  educated side-by-side with children without
  disabilities.

12
Gender and Schooling

• While girls have not been thought to be
  educationally different from boys, their
  experiences in school are often very different.
• Research demonstrates that what is good for boys
  in school is not necessarily good for girls.
• Title IX sought to eliminate discrimination on
  the basis of sex.

13
Students and Teachers A Clash of Cultures?
The student population in schools is an
increasingly multicultural one, while the
population of teachers remains much as it has
always been white, middle class, and
predominantly femalein short, monocultural.
This can create something of a clash of cultures
between students and teachers.

14
Rethinking Schools and Learning

• As society changes, schools must also change to
  accommodate new needs thus, there is a national
  movement for school reform.
• Reform efforts are aimed at leaving no child
  behind through testing and accountability.

15
Schools in Transition

• In education, we are experiencing a shift from
• Schools that educate the elite to schools that
  educate everyone to the same standard
• Schools that emphasize rote learning to schools
  that emphasize critical thinking
• Schools that emphasize teaching to schools that
  emphasize learning

16
The Root Causes of Change

• New circumstances in the society in which schools
  are embedded
• 19th-20th Centuries schools reflected the needs
  of an emerging industrial society
• 20th-21st Centuries schools are changing to
  reflect the needs of an emerging information
  society

17
Classrooms for an Industrial Age

• Futurist Alvin Toffler calls the industrial age a
  Second Wave civilization characteristics of
  classrooms for this era include
• Standardization
• Synchronization
• Specialization
• Centralization
• Large scale

18
Standardization in a Classroom Might Be
Demonstrated By

• All teachers being certified by standard criteria
• Teachers and students dressing according to a
  district-wide standard dress code
• Textbooks and/or a course of study being the same
  for all students in a grade level or subject
• Student performance being judged by standardized
  tests
• For the most part, students working individually
• Students competing for grades, awards, etc.

19
Synchronization in a Classroom Might Be
Demonstrated By

• Class periods being of equal length and times
  between class periods being of equal length
• Each subject being taught on a regular basis,
  usuallybut not always--daily
• The school day being planned and coordinated
  according to a regular schedule
• The school year being planned in advance

20
Specialization in a Classroom Means That

• Subjects are divided by disciplines there is
  little interdisciplinary study.
• Teachers, administrators, clerical and support
  staff have differentiated roles.
• Ancillary personnel (e.g., nurses, counselors,
  etc.) also have specific and differentiated roles.

21
Centralization Means That Many Policy Decisions
Are Made at the District Level

• Centralized decisions are often made about
• Curriculum
• Budgets
• Purchasing
• Attendance
• Discipline
• Scheduling

22
Large Scale Means That, in General, Bigger Is
Better

• This tendency toward large scale can be seen in
• Large districts
• Large buildings
• Large auditoriums
• Large bands
• Large football stadiums

23
Classrooms for an Information Age

• Toffler names the present information age a
  Third Wave civilization. Characteristics of
  classrooms in this era include
• Individualization and Choice
• Collaboration
• Diversity
• Decentralization
• Small scale

24
Individual Choice May Mean That

• Within a broad range of standards, teachers and
  students may make decisions about curriculum and
  pedagogy.
• Students and teachers may make decisions about
  learning activities.
• Students and teachers may set classroom rules to
  produce an effective learning environment.

25
Collaboration in Such a Classroom Might Look Like
This

• Teachers across subject areas and disciplines
  might plan lessons and units together.
• Parents and community members might be actively
  involved in classroom activities.
• Groups of students might often be found working
  together on projects and lessons.

26
Diversity in the Classroom Might Look Like This

• Students of different ages may be working
  together.
• Students of differing abilities may be working
  together.
• Students and teachers may be acting in multiple
  roles.
• Students and teachers may be incorporating
  multiple disciplines into their work.
• Students may be of differing cultural backgrounds.

27
Decentralization Often Means School-based
Decision-making

• Called site-based management, school-based
  decision-making may involve
• Setting learning goals
• Planning the school budget
• Setting attendance policies
• Developing dress codes
• Hiring new teachers and other personnel

28
Small Scale Means More Face-to-face Interaction

• Classes are smaller.
• Everyone knows everyone else.
• Students work with a variety of adults.
• Adults work with a variety of students.
• It is easier to develop really meaningful
  learning communities and a sense of belonging for
  everyone.

29
As Schools Move Through This Transitional Period,
Remember

• Change is difficult.
• Human beings often resist change and react to it
  with hostility.
• New circumstances often mean new opportunities
  its up to you. . .

30
Ideological Perspectives on Multicultural
Education

• Attention to differences among students is not
  new.
• The nature of the differences to which we must
  attend is broadening.
• Multicultural education is becoming less a matter
  of differences within the U.S. and more a global
  phenomenon.

31
A New Role for Teachers

• To recognize social and cultural change
• To understand culture, learning, and the
  culture-learning process
• To improve intergroup and intragroup interactions
• To transmit intercultural understanding and
  skills to students

32
The Importance of Stories

• Stories help a person visualize and talk about
  new ideas and experiences.
• Stores often speak to complex human
  experiences.
• Stories help us to see the universality of common
  experiences.

33
Something to Think About

• The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
  those who cannot read and write, but those who
  cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
• --Alvin Toffler