Disciplinary Approaches Flashcards
Tyack & Cuban “Tinkering Towards Utopia” (1995)
- Early progressive movement towards “progress” meant standardizing schools This “scientific” approach was meant to provide progress for all people, but left many people out (Blacks, women etc.)
- Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) Demanded educational equity as a right
- Public drop in confidence in schools between 1970 and 1980
- A Nation at Risk (1983) linked economic security with educational reform. Blamed SAT scores, but this is selective sample that was getting more diverse because more students were sitting for the test. A better way to look at changes in achievement are the NAEP tests. These tests from the 1970’s and 1980’s were relatively flat.
- Chapter 2: Two contradictory themes have emerged about schools over the last decades—one is that there is steady “progress” in education and the other is that educational reforms have come in cycles. What may in fact by cycling is the diagnoses of problems and advocacy for solutions.
- In the progressive era (early 20th century), educators worried about the effects of industrialism on democracy but also had faith that schooling could ameliorate social problems. There was a focus on “social efficiency” and the universal “science of education”
- In 1980’s a new attack on the “mediocrity” of education
- Ongoing conflict between capitalistic view of education that stresses competition and democratic politics that promotes equality.
- Reforms were more likely to stick if they were a) structural add-ons and didn’t disturb other aspects of school, b) had influential groups that wanted them to stay (teachers), c) required by law and easily monitored and d) proposed by school administrators and teachers themselves
- Reforms need to be general enough to be adopted by different systems. Reforms should be hybridized.
Francis (2009)
- Sociology is the study of human societies, structure and dynamics
- Asks how educational institutions and patterns of behavior affect educational outcomes
- Quantitative and qualitative methods to look at gender, social class and race inequalities. Critiques current system, but may not provide enough methods for improvement
Mills (2009)
- A research brief on the use of social anthropology in education
- Social anthropology uses long-term ethnographic fieldwork. It can be applied to education
- Traditionally, social anthropology did not look at modern institutions. Also one school seemed to constrain the field work
- More recently social anthropologists are contributing to study of informal learning
- Ethnographic methods are helpful for giving voice to marginalized (Lareau)
Richardson (2009)
- Historical research looks at causality in the social structure and the dynamics of individuals. Pays close attention to chronology and looks at current events through historical lens
- Education is how a culture transmits itself
- Narrative approach is appealing and powerful for communicating
Vignoles (2009)
- Economics is study of how scarce resources are allocated to produce good and services that society wants
- Economic theory can help understand some problems like teacher recruitment and retention
- Helps answer questions like the effect of class size on achievement
- Looks at achievement differentials and inequalities
- Need to bridge gap between economists and other educational researchers
Mehta (2013 a The Case of Accountability)
Demands for accountability are at the center of school reform. Comparison of documents: A Nation at Risk (Department of Education,1983) calls American education a “rising tide of mediocrity.” It may have started the standards and accountability movement. Involvement in Learning (DOE, 1983) makes arguments about the failings of higher education sector. It did not attract as much attention.
Mehta (2013, b The Transformation of American Educational Policy)
- Between 1980 and 2001 there was a shift towards accountability in educational policy that represented a shift in paradigm
- This paradigm was crystallized in the Nation at Risk report. This paradigm, still dominant today, says that educational success is central to national, state and individual economic success and that American school are underperforming and need reform
- This paradigm (Kuhn: dominant views that preclude significant dissent) holds schools (rather than social forces) responsible for academic outcomes.
Coleman et al (1966) “Equality of Educational Opportunity)
• Differences among schools in average resources were not nearly as great as expected and the impact of school resources on student achievement was small compared to the impact of family background.
• Variation between schools in resources did not matter very much for variation among individual students—major finding in sociology of education Report found
o Schools in 1966 were highly segregated, and White students were the most segregated. Given the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision, Coleman concluded that public education was still unequal in many part of the country
o On average Blacks scored a standard deviation below Whites
o School resources had surprisingly little effect on educational outcomes after family background was considered. 5% of variance was student body, 1% teacher quality! Today it is believed that about 20% of variation in student achievement lies between schools and 80% within schools
• Changed how equality was considered. Prior to report, equality meant similar levels of inputs to schooling. This changed to defining opportunity as focusing on results
Downey von Hippel & Broh (2004) “Are Schools the Great Equalizer”
• Suggests that schools are in fact equalizers—gaps grow faster during summer. Exception is black/white gap.• Schools tend to reduce SES inequality but not as much racial/ethnic. Schools may increase reading gap between Whites and Blacks, but not other races
. • Suggests that focus be put on either improving children’s non-school environment or increasing exposure to schooling (like Charter schools)
Gamoran & Long (2006) “Equality of Educational Opportunity”
• Reviews the Coleman report finding 40 years later.
o Segregation: Some improvement, but still 1/3 of Blacks are in mostly Black schools.
o Achievement gap has declined a little, but has recently climbed again. Could be because movement towards desegregation stopped in late 1980s
Lareau (2011) “Unequal Childhoods”
ethnographic exploration of how SES and race affect students’ experiences. Observed 12 families for extended period of time.
Berends et al. (2010)
- Compare achievement at charter school and traditional school and find no difference.
- Instructional conditions—teachers’ focus on academic achievements is related to math achievement gains
- “Innovation” measure is negatively related to gain-therefore conclude that innovation on its own is not worthwhile.
Hanushek & Rivkin (2010)
- No evidence for a robust connection between elements of teachers quality (degree level, experience etc.) and large difference in outcomes for students
- However, more recent research looks at how much students gain in achievement (not overall outcome) and has found some correlation with teacher quality.
Chetty, Friedman & Rockoff (2011)
- Discusses if teachers’ impact on student test scores (value-add) are a good measure of their quality.
- Some people disagree with VA approach because of concerns that it can provide an unbiased assessment of teachers’ impact on student achievement and whether the VA transfers to long-term gains
- Study finds that students who have high VA teachers are more likely to attend college, attend better colleges, earn more money, live in higher SES neighborhoods and save more for retirement.
Donaldson (2012)
• Reports on study conducted in medium sized, urban school district. 92 educators were interviewed during 2011-2012, the second year of teacher evaluation program. • Teach Evaluation Program (TEP) used students’ growth on academic performance measures as well as more conventional observation-based data
