Teaching Today: An Introduction to Education 7 th edition Part 4: Shapers of Today’s Educational World Chapter 11: Social and Philosophical Perspectives Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-1

Sociological Questions to Consider: What is the function of education in a pluralistic society? Whose interests are schools serving? Should schools focus primarily on helping learners adapt to the needs of society, or should they focus on helping them to improve and remake society? How do the schools interact with other social institutions? What roles do schools play in society? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-3

Two Perspectives Functionalist Perspective Is this change consistent with broadly held values? Is it designed to benefit all? Conflict Perspective Who are the potential “winners” and “losers” ? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-4

Roles of Schools in Society Transmission of the General Culture Dissemination of Academic Knowledge Preparation for the World of Work Promotion of School and Group Relationships Encouragement of Social Change Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-5

The Power of the Neighborhood School This segment illustrates a difficult choice between eliminating segregation in schools and facilitating academic achievement. How could both of these ends be achieved? What do you see as the advantages of neighborhood schools? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-6

The Power of the Neighborhood School (cont.) What is the proper role of the state and of outside philanthropy in funding schools and bringing about change? LINK: Should schools be a primary force in bringing about social change, or should schools be basically concerned with academic achievement? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-7

Philosophical Questions to Consider: What is the nature of human beings? Are individuals inherently good or evil? Does truth consist of a set of constant and unchanging principles? What is the nature of knowledge? What is worth knowing? What is right and wrong? What is the highest good? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-8

Categories of Philosophic Consideration: Ontology/Metaphysics deals with the nature of reality. Epistemology considers the nature of knowledge. Axiology focuses on “what ought to be.” Logic is the science of exact thought. Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved. 11-9

Philosophic Perspectives Progressivism Essentialism Perennialism Existentialism Reconstructionism Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved

Employers “want to know how your beliefs correspond with the goals and purposes of the school district and the community.” (p. 306) Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved

Creating a Philosophy of Education Ask yourself these questions: How did you answer the beginning of the chapter questions? How sound are your arguments for the positions with which you agree? What merit can you find in those positions with which you disagree? What points do they make that you consider valid? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved

Creating A Philosophy (cont.) Also, be able to answer these: What does your philosophy mean in terms of the content that you think is important? How will it affect how you interact and treat learners? How does it relate to the methods that you will select for use with the learners you will teach? Armstrong, Henson, & Savage Teaching Today, 7 th Edition Copyright ©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey All rights reserved