1. Introduction: Understanding School and Society
Chapter One
Introduction: Understanding School and Society
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Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

2. Social foundations helps teachers to:
Make sense of classroom situations by understanding the larger social context of culture, social and economic class, gender, race, etc.
Make the best decisions for all students
Continually evaluate teaching goals and methods
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

3. -Social theory -Schooling -Training -Political economy
Tools of Inquiry
-Social theory -Schooling
-Training -Political economy
-Education -Ideology
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

4. Social Theory An attempt to make sense of and explain social phenomena
An attempt to explain reality and practice
Should be internally consistent, account for the data, and agree with other relevant theory
Neither “the absolute truth” nor “just another interpretation”
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

5. Schooling
The totality of experiences occurring within the institution of “school”
Formal curriculum, extracurricular activities, “hidden curriculum”
Reflects the influence of government
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

6. Training Preparation for specific roles or to improve one’s skills
Goals generated by the trainer
Potential for indoctrination?
Necessary in some situations (driving)
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

7. Political Economy
Social, cultural, economic, political, and demographic dimensions of a society
How a society is organized in order to function
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

8. Education Promotes the skills and understandings to:
Develop a wide range of human capacities
Prepare for a wide range of roles
Nourish reason, intellect, intuition, and creativity
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

9. Ideology
Society’s justification for its political, social, and economic arrangements
The beliefs, value systems, and understandings of social groups
Almost always created and articulated by the dominant group (the “dominant ideology”)
Embedded in ALL societies
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

10. Schooling & Culture in Classical Greece
Political economy
Citizens—owned property, opportunity to participate in government
Non-citizens
Women—proper place was in the household
Slaves—private property (“chattel”)
Metics—neither slaves nor citizens; worked in variety of occupations
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

11. Schooling & Culture in Classical Greece
Ideology
Reason revealed workings of natural world
Virtue facilitated harmony with the universe
Citizens participated in the political democracy, and therefore “lived freely,” because of their superior rational capacity
Schooling
Available to young boys and men
Gymnastics, music, and literature
Avoidance of vocations; preparation for leisure
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Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

12. Concluding Remarks
Good theory is useful in identifying and explaining phenomena—including practice.
The interaction of political economy, ideology, and schooling (analytic framework) are important focus of the social foundations of education.
Meaning depends on context, and understanding meaning requires inquiry. Teachers must be active participants in this inquiry.
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

13. Developing Your Professional Vocabulary
-Athenian citizenship
-Athenian slavery
-democracy
-education through
participation
-ideology
-training versus education
-political economy
-schooling versus education
-social foundations of education
-social theory
(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e