Education in a Changing Society Created by Greta Brantley EDUC How Adults Learn: Theory and Research
The Changing Society in Education Since its inception in the late 1700s, public schools in America have undergone many changes. Thomas Jefferson's goal of state-supported educational systems is now a reality which extends beyond a basic elementary school in each community to offer secondary schooling to all Americans.
Education reform movements trace back as early as the 1820s when changes in the economy spurred by westward expansion, immigration, and urbanization called upon schools to create a nationalist spirit and help socialize new Americans into the culture (Tozer, Violas, & Senese, 2002). Change continues to be a part of American education.
The Reality of Social Change Two major social changes affecting education are taking place: Changes in demographics Changes in social institutions
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.
Changes in Institutions In today’s 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
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
Theorist of Education in the Changing Society –Matthias Finger –Mezirow's –Knowles
M. Finger Even if individual development was once a meaningful goal for adult education, the physical limits to growth and the fragmentation of contemporary society make an adult development approach counterproductive today, according to Finger (1995). He sees several factors underlying the need for a new collective orientation: (1) individual self- fulfillment may be an unreachable goal for most of the world's population; (2) self- directed learning and critical thinking may have initially been agents for social change, but their context has changed; and (3) empowerment, a "liberating adult education practice" according to Freire and Horton, may have lost the political context that made it meaningful. Finger calls for collective, collaborative, and social learning as the basis for adult education.
Mezirow transformative theory suggests that individual perspective transformation must precede social transformation
Knowles
Students and Teachers: A Clash of Cultures? Increasingly, the student population in schools is a multicultural one, while the population of teachers remains much as it has always been: white, middle class, and predominantly female—in short, monocultural. This can create something of a clash of cultures between students and teachers.
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 aimed at “leaving no child behind” through testing and accountability
As schools move through this transitional period Change is difficult Human beings often react to change with hostility Human beings often react to change by resisting it
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 United States and more a global phenomenon
A New Role for Teachers To recognize social and cultural change To understand culture, learning, and the culture-learning process To be able to improve intergroup and intragroup interactions To transmit intercultural understanding and skills to students
Conclusion