Sociology | Wiley | Education Research, D___ Name:

Sociologists are extremely interested in education: how it serves as an agent of socialization; how it transmits culture; how it does (or does not) perpetuate inequality; how it is funded; how countries educational systems and outcomes compare; etc. This document will help us to start exploring the issue of education through the sociological lens.

Type your responses into this document. Be sure to save your work. Print when you are finished and place in your Sociology folder.

Procedure:

  1. Analyze the most recent PISA findings:

There are many different ranking systems used to rank schools, districts, and countries with regards to their educational merits. One international system that is frequently cited in the education literature is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Read a brief summary of the most recent data from 2012 here. (American Schools vs. the World: Expensive, Unequal, Bad at Math, from The Atlantic).

  1. Take bulleted notes below that highlight the key findings. They should be substantial and demonstrate that you read the entire article.

  1. What is your reaction to the 2012 PISA summary from The Atlantic? What questions do you have about the findings?

  1. Analyze two credible and recent news articles that deal with “problems” within the American education system today. Your notes should be substantial and demonstrate that you read both of the articles in their entirety.
  2. Ideas for articles:
  3. Why failing schools/school districts like the Philadelphia School Districtare failing
  4. Why America is far behind other modern, democratized countries in education rankings
  5. How does ____ negatively impact learning in the classroom?
  6. poverty; unequal funding; a lack of diversity; racial segregation; student apathy; classroom size; (etc.)
  7. Articles should be of substantial length (at least one page per article).
  8. Take notes in the charts below.

  1. Article title and source:

Bulleted notes on key ideas, arguments and/or findings: / Reactions: Is the article valid? What questions do you have? And/or, What could be done to fix this problem?
  1. Article title and source:

Bulleted notes on key ideas, arguments and/or findings: / Reactions: Is the article valid? What questions do you have? And/or, What could be done to fix this problem?
  1. Watch the education-related videos on my teacher site by clicking on “Education Videos.” Take notes in the chart and include your reactions. Some videos are longer than others; your notes should be more substantial for the more content-driven videos.

  1. Video Title
/ Video Summary and Reactions
Disparity in Public Education Funding, by Michigan State University (2015)
Finnish Education—Equal Opportunity for All, by Study Finland (2013)
2 Million Minutes: A Global Examination, by author and filmmaker Robert Compton (2008)
Changing Education Paradigms, by author and educational scholar, Sir Ken Robinson (2010)
  1. Conduct informal interviews with at least 5 students/teachers/administrators about what they would like to see changed about America’s public school system. If they could completely redesign how we “do” education in America or here at East, how would they? You’ll be given time in class to go to some classrooms and complete this portion of the activity.Take your notes on lined paper and attach to this document once it is printed. You’ll be using these ideas in a future document so try to get some good ones!

Feel free to ask specific questions that tie to the research you’ve done in this document. Here are some ideas for questions if you’re unsure of what to ask:

  • Curriculum—What should be taught? Who should decide?
  • Timing of school/schedule—When should it start/end? How many days a week? How many weeks per year?
  • Teacher training/strategies—What kind of people should be teachers? What qualifications should they have? How can we ensure our teachers across the country are better equip for the job?
  • Grading—What should a grade represent?
  • Multicultural learning opportunities—Since studies show multicultural learning environments helps tremendously in student growth, what can be done to promote this, particularly in a place like East, whose demographics are majority-white?
  • Gender—Should people be separated by gender in public school?
  • (etc.)