Making Sense of Public Education January 11, 2012 pp
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 2 Limitations of the Status Quo (pp. 3 – 5) Traditional structures and processes Knowledge of status quo insufficient Changes in Canadian society Globalization Neo-liberalism Complexity of the classroom Incorporate current reality into discussions
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 3 The Purposes of Education (pp.5-7) What are the meanings of ‘educating,’ ‘schooling,’ and ‘public schooling’ Economic outcomes of education Self-knowledge Education happens beyond schooling Expectations of public schools in Canada
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 4 The Goals of Schools (pp. 7 – 9) Formal statements vs. functions schools actually perform Compatibility – which goals and how much emphasis? Achievability – can schools deliver everything they say?
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 5 The Goals of Schools (pp. 7 – 9) Purposes by Holmes, 1986 Allocative Custodial Intellectual/vocational Socializing Aesthetic Physical Purposes by Barrow, 1981 Critical thinking Socialization Child care Vocational Physical Social-role selection Emotional education Creativity
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 6 The Goals of Schools (pp. 9 – 12) Shared meaning – disagreement often hidden by language Impact on practice – gap between espousing a goal and practising it Nonetheless, setting goals is an important activity – Why?
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 7 Tensions and Dilemmas in Canadian Education (pp. 12 – 18) Characterizing elements Public accessibility Equal opportunity Public funding Public control Public accountability
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 8 Uniformity and Diversity (pp. 13 – 14) Different educational needs Remarkable similarity across Canada Variety of communities Linguistic rights Denominational rights Aboriginal rights Ethnic variety
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 9 Stability and Change (pp. 14 – 15) Mass public education School as part of societal progress Free, universal education What were the reasons? Shift from local control Consolidation Amount of schooling More years of formal training
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 10 Power and Equality (pp. 15 – 17) Struggles over power and control Lay people School boards Governments Professionals Schooling produces unequal results Unequal staffing and resources Who succeeds? Who fails?
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 11 The Moral Nature of Schools and Teaching (pp. 17 – 18) Development of self-knowledge Moral and ethical considerations Teaching with moral purpose School organization Division into classes, grades, ability levels Homework Awarding of marks and credits
Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 12 Conclusion (p. 19) Important questions About goals – uncertainty, conflicting Moral purpose of teaching Contradictions in the system Connection to a good society and a good life
For next class Monday, January 16 (Desmond Hall) How we got here: The History and Organization of Education in Canada Text reading: Chapter 2 And remember, Response #1 is due! Copyright © 2007 by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited 13