Education Foundations Perspective-16-1900

Understanding Education: The Foundations Perspective

• The Foundations Perspective provides a framework for understanding education and its relationship to society.
• It is comprised of four parts: Historical, Philosophical, Political, and Sociological.
• These four perspectives are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, and are used to answer questions and address issues in education.

Historical Perspective

• The history of teaching in America is a history of highs and lows.
• Throughout American history, criticism and judgment have been intertwined with the profession of teaching.
• There have been two fundamental educational transitions in American history, each occurring at the beginning of a new century.
• The first transition occurred in the Colonial Era, where education was primarily for the rich and was seen as a way to maintain the ruling class.
• The Puritans in New England attempted to formalize instruction, and in 1642, they passed the Old Deluder Laws, which fined parents for not teaching their children to read and understand religious and capital laws.

Philosophical Perspective

• The philosophical perspective argues that education is shaped by practice rather than theory.
• However, it also acknowledges that teachers' decisions and actions are shaped by their own cultural experiences and values.
• The dialectic method is used to resolve issues in philosophy, which involves posing questions and offering answers that lead to more questions.
• Reflecting on one's own practice and values can help teachers to understand what they believe should be the purpose of education.

Political Perspective

• The political perspective examines the power relations and interest groups within schools and their impact on educational decisions.
• Decisions regarding education are often the result of battles between various interest groups.
• Key questions in the political perspective of education include:
  • How democratic are our schools?
  • How do educational interest groups arrive at policy?
  • Which groups have the power to shape educational decisions for their own benefit?

Sociological Perspective

• The sociological perspective emerged in response to industrialization and urbanization, and examines the relationship between school and society.
• It studies how students are socialized for adult status and analyzes the effects of education on students' life chances.
• Sociologists of education focus on the "what is" rather than the "what ought to be."

The Rise of the Common School

• The common school movement emerged in the early 1800s as a response to the diverse colonial educational systems.
• The movement was driven by the desire for universal primary education and the need to create a national identity.
• Key figures in the movement included Benjamin Rush, who believed that education could control the innate selfishness of the individual, and Horace Mann, who advocated for a child-centered approach to education.

Common School Curriculum

• At the heart of the common school curriculum was moral education.
• Horace Mann believed that moral improvement was essential to heal the social and economic divisions caused by the industrial revolution.
• The curriculum emphasized middle-class morality, respect for order, and the importance of punctuality, sobriety, and frugality.
• Mann was against corporal punishment and advocated for a child-centered approach to education.

Feminization of Teaching

• The feminization of teaching occurred in the 1830s, as women began to enter the field in increasing numbers.

• Factors contributing to this trend included the fact that women teachers cost less than their male counterparts and the increasing number of young women looking for jobs in cities.

• By the mid-1800s, women had become the dominant force in the teaching profession.### Teaching as a Respectable Employment for Women

• During the early 1800s, teaching was considered a respectable employment opportunity for women, aligning with the common belief that women were innately nurturing.

• Women usually worked in their late teens and considered it temporary work until they married.

• Many women who became teachers were trained at new "normal schools" that exclusively accepted female students.

Normal Schools and Teacher Training

• Normal schools trained individuals to become teachers, and states from Massachusetts to Kentucky began to open these schools.
• The curriculum featured theories of learning, child development, pedagogy, and a common school subject matter.

The Common School Movement

• The common school movement revolutionized public education, with 70% of children in northern states attending school regularly by 1860.
• In the South, the numbers were lower due to the dominance of the rich planter class and the lack of a middle class and working class to push for reforms.

Horace Mann's Contribution to Education

• Horace Mann contributed to the field of education by trying to enforce pedagogy statewide and promoting the involvement of the state in educational affairs.

The Modernization of America's Education (1865-1890)

• The period saw a nationalizing trend, with the creation of a more powerful national government and increasing urbanization.
• The Morrill Act provided financial support for agricultural and mechanical education, and the Federal Education Agency was established to gather educational data.
• Compulsory school attendance laws were passed, and the "One Best System" was developed to handle the growing enrollment.

The "One Best System"

• The system was organized on the principle of age grading, with students grouped into classes according to age and presumed abilities.
• Uniformed courses of study were introduced, with each grade specified in what subjects would be taught.
• Examinations were essential to the new urban school course, providing immediate evidence of student achievement or failure.

Gender in the New System

• The debate on coeducation was ongoing, with some arguing that it was healthier psychologically and better for school discipline.
• Coeducation was advanced by the developing dominance of women as classroom teachers during this time.

Educational Reform in the Progressive Era (1890-1915)

• The progressive era saw changes in American social, political, and economic life, producing enormous enrollment increases in public schools.
• The goal of education shifted from moral virtue to economic betterment, with the focus on developing students to the fullest of their abilities.
• Compulsory educational laws were passed, and coeducation was debated.

Pedagogical Progressives

• Social justice was a goal of many pedagogical progressives, who felt that school reform should be used to achieve that justice.
• John Dewey and Ella Flagg Young were two prominent pedagogical progressives.
• Dewey believed in child-oriented curriculum, focusing on real-life occupational and democratic experiences.
• Young believed in the importance of teachers, object teaching, and manual training.

The Progressive Approach to Moral Education

• Progressives questioned the nature of moral education, arguing that traditional moral codes were obsolete.
• Dewey emphasized the importance of developing social intelligence in the service of social interest and aims.
• Progressive moral education emphasized solving social problems based on scientific reasoning in a democratic context.
• The approach had benefits, such as promoting flexibility and independence, but also had drawbacks, such as leaving students vulnerable to peer influence and contemporary fads.