PFB1004: FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

TOPIC 1: THE PROMISES AND LIMITS OF EDUCATION: TOWARDS REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONERS

1.1 The Promises of Education.

Education can be defined as “the growth process of the individuals and society”. “The promises of education” means what education can do to individuals of all ages, from children to adults to senior citizens, in a particular country. The growth of individuals can be divided into four basic domains: (1) cognitive domain (knowledge), (2) psychomotor domain (skills), (3) affective domain (attitudes), and (4) social domain (social interactions).

Other domains of growth include: (5) productive domain (knowledge and skills for job, home, citizen and member of society), (6) physical domain (development & maintenance of strong & healthy body), (7) aesthetic domain (values and appreciation of the arts), (8) moral domain (values & behaviours), and (9) spiritual domain (recognition & belief in the divine & the view of transcendence).

Education helps young citizens so that they can function more effectively in their current and future times. These functions are determined by the aims of education. The aims of education are the general statements of the functions to be transferred to the learners through education, or simply the general purpose of education.

Ralph Tyler summarized the aims of American education as: (1) developing self-realization, (2) making individuals literate, (3) encouraging social mobility, (4) providing the skills and understanding necessary for productive employment, (5) furnishing tools requisite for making effective choices regarding material and nonmaterial things and services, and (6) furnishing the tools necessary for continued/life-long learning.

1.2 The Limits of Education

“The limits of education” means the factors that become hindrance/obstacle to education. As we are all aware, education needs infrastructures such as buildings, classrooms, laboratories, libraries; others than the human capital such as administrators, teachers and supporting staff. The provisions of these facilities require financial support, which may become the limitation to education.

School location can be another limitation to education, with some schools are nicely located in towns and cities, while others are located in the villages or far in the mountains. The access to schools could be a problem to some children, other than lack of teaching and learning materials available at such schools. Hence, school location can be a limit of education.

Mental and physical abilities of students differ in many ways. Some of them are mentally retarded, or physically handicapped, blind, or deaf and dumb. These students cannot learn as much as the normal students. They need special learning aids, for example, the Braille materials for blind students, and sign language for deaf and dumb students. All these become limits of education.

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There is a large amount of knowledge and skills that students need to learn. With the limited time and resources available to students and teachers; teachers face the problem of selecting what subjects the students should take to equip them for their future life. There are at least nine domains of growth that are important to students. Can they learn all of them? Hence, time can be another limit of education.

1.3 Towards Reflective Practitioners

Reflective practitioners mean those who look back at what they are doing, making evaluation as to the quality of the processes and think of how to improve those processes. With the above promises and limits of education, teachers as practitioners in education, should be more reflective in their profession. That is, for example, they should look back at how they teach, evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching process, and think of how to improve this process.

As an example teaching process, assume that you are a teacher in a secondary school, and you are given a class with mixed abilities students to teach, i.e. some of them are very bright, some are moderate, and the rest are weak students. What would you do to make sure each one of your students in your class understand what is taught to them, though they have different academic abilities, background, interest, and motivation?

Would you have all of them in the same class, and give more attention to the weak students? Or, would you divide them into three groups according to their abilities and teach them differently? Or, would you use the cooperative-learning strategy such that the good students will teach the moderate students in groups of five, while you teach the weak students?

Or, would you separate your students into three classes, i.e. Class A for good students, Class B for moderate students, and Class C for weak students, and teach them different syllabus using different approach? Can you reflect back, as a student, by recalling what your teacher did to you when you were a student in school? Let us share these experiences and do some reflection on them, and suggest the better teaching approach for these students.

1.4 Tutorial Activity

There are five steps for teachers to follow in reflective teaching process (p 25): (1) PERCEIVE (Identify issues, problems, dilemmas, and opportunities); (2) VALUE (Consider different relevant perspectives or take into account the values underlying individuals’ actions); (3) KNOW (Call up professional from academic preparation, educational theory and research, and practical experience); (4) ACT (Applying knowledge and skills to make decisions); and (5) EVALUATE (Assess the consequences of decisions and outcomes of actions).

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Reflect teaching and learning when you were a student in school. Identify one issue, problem, dilemma, or opportunity in the teaching and learning process. Explain what you would do in the remaining four steps of the model in order to improve the teaching and learning process. Form groups of five students. A representative from each group should present the answers during tutorial session next week.

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TOPIC 2: UNDERSTANDING EDUCATION: THE FOUNDATIONS PERSPECTIVE; A MULTIDISCIPLINARY AND INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

2.1 Introduction

This topic will discuss the understanding of education through foundations of education perspective. The topics covered in the foundations of educations course (see Study Guide) are the purpose of schooling, philosophy of education, sociology of education, history of education, politics of education, curriculum and pedagogy, transmission of knowledge, schools as organization, teacher professionalism, equality of opportunity, educational outcomes, educational inequalities, educational reforms, school improvements, current issues and trends in education, and the future of education. Which of these topics do you think are multidisciplinary, and which of them are interdisciplinary?

2.2 The Multidisciplinary Approach

“Multidisciplinary approach in understanding of education” means “understanding of education through many separate disciplines of knowledge”. For example, the sociological foundations of education, and teacher professionalism. These two disciplines of knowledge are different, with little or no overlapping contents. The theories and/or principles that made up the two disciplines come from two different disciplines of knowledge (sociological foundations of education & teacher professionalism).

(a) The Social Foundations of Education

“Sociology” is defined as “the branch of knowledge that deals with the origin, development, organization and functioning of human society”. Education develops within, not a part from, social contexts. Schools influence the cultures of the people that the schools serve. Likewise, the surrounding cultures shape the schools and their curricula.

Other than the dynamic nature of our local cultures, we have the technology (such as internet and other electronic technologies) that exposes global cultures to our community. Can we provide relevant education to cater for these dynamic cultures? This is actually part of the social foundations of education. We have to study the present and perhaps future cultures to determine the direction of our present education.

In trying to understand education, we need to understand the sociology of a particular country. We than try to relate the life and cultures of this country to its education system, particularly to the philosophy, aims, goals and objectives of education. Since we can study sociology of a country as a separate discipline, we can study social foundations of education through a multidisciplinary approach.

(b) Teacher Professionalism

“Professionalism” is defined as “professional character, spirit, or methods of professionals, as distinguished from an amateur”. Hence, “teacher professionalism” means “professional character, spirit, or methods of a teacher, as distinguished from non-teachers”. Good teachers are not just born with the professional character, spirit, or methods; but they acquire them through trainings and experiences. They gain their knowledge from successful and unsuccessful experiences.

Teachers differ from others at least in five aspects of teaching and learning: (1) they have the content knowledge of the subject-matter they teach; (2) they have the knowledge and skills of how best to deliver/teach a particular content; (3) they can understand learners’ needs in teaching and learning; (4) they know how to handle students with discipline problems; and (5) they know various methods/techniques to evaluate students’ academic achievement, skill performance, attitudes and social interaction.

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In trying to understand education of a particular country, we need to understand, partly, the teaching and learning process and teacher professionalism that are being practiced in the country. We can also look at the character, spirit, or methods of other professionals; and compare them with those for the teachers. Since we can study teacher professionalism as a separate discipline, therefore it can be studied through a multidisciplinary approach.

2.3 The Interdisciplinary Approach

“Interdisciplinary approach in understanding of education through foundations perspective” means “understanding of education through related disciplines of knowledge”. For example, the philosophical foundations of education and the historical foundations of education are interdisciplinary knowledge. We use the theories and principles from other disciplines (philosophy & history) and create theories and principles for the “Philosophical Foundations of Education” and the “Historical Foundations of Education”.

(a) The Philosophical Foundations of Education

“Philosophy” is a combination of two Greek words, the “phil’s” which means “love”, and “sophia” which means “wisdom”. Hence, the word “philosophy” means “love of wisdom”, i.e. we need to “search for wisdom”. It involves searching for defensible values, clarifying our perceptions, beliefs and attitudes; formulating principles for making decisions; and finally implementing these decisions.

Philosophy of education focuses on the values, beliefs and attitudes related to education, i.e. the process of growth of individuals and society. These values, beliefs and attitudes determine the direction of our education, particularly the aims, goals, objectives, contents, delivery and assessment of education. We look at our life and problems in full perspective in deciding on our philosophy of education.

For example, the philosophy of “perennialism”, the oldest and most conservative philosophy, is based on “realism”. Realist views the world in terms of objects and matter. People come to know about the world through senses and reason. Everything is derived from nature and is subjected to its laws. American education, up to the late nineteenth century, was dominated by perennialist thinking.

Hence, in order for us to understand the philosophy of education, we need to know the general philosophies first, and then relate them to the aims of education of a country. That is, we have to combine the knowledge about “philosophy” and the knowledge about the “education” to form the knowledge about the “Philosophical Foundations of Education” of a particular country, which can be regarded as an interdisciplinary approach.

(b) The Historical Foundations of Education

“History” is defined as “the branch of knowledge that deals with past events”. History involves searching for what had occurred within a particular time frame and context. All human activities, including those in the field of education, occur within time and context. The events that took place during a particular period of time in a country had influenced the education of that country. In Malaysia, can you recall an event that had changed our education?

In the USA, the historical foundations of education started with the colonial Massachusetts, which settled by Puritans (members of a sect of Protestant from England) who hold strictly to religious discipline. The earlier schools were closely related to Puritan church. The major purpose of school was to teach children to read the Scriptures (passages from Bible) and notices of civil affairs. The purpose of schooling at that time was to make sure children can read and understand the principles of religion and the laws of the Commonwealth.

Hence, in order for us to understand the history of education of a country, we need to know the events that had taken place at a particular time, and relate them to what had happened in education of a country. That is, we have to combine the knowledge about “history” and the knowledge about the

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“education” to form the knowledge about the “Historical Foundations of Education” of a particular country, which can be regarded as an interdisciplinary approach.

2.4 Tutorial Activity

Read the subtopic of: “How Can Schools Reduce Risks That Threaten Children’s Health and Safety?” on pages 43-53 of the textbook. Relate the social phenomena in the USA (the social foundations of education) to the roles of schools (what schools can do to educate young children to reduce the risks that threaten their health and safety).

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TOPIC 3: THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOLING 3.1 Introduction

Why did we go to school? Why do children go to school? The answer to these questions will probably help us to understand the purpose of schooling. What would have happen to us if we did not go to school? What was the purpose of schooling 300 years ago? What is the purpose of schooling now? This lecture will relate the philosophy, aims, goals and objectives of education to the purpose of schooling.

3.2 The Philosophy, Aims, Goals and Objectives of Education

To understand the process of education, we need to understand curriculum development, content development, content delivery, and assessment of content learning. The curriculum (syllabus) development includes determining the philosophy, the aims, the goals and the objectives of education, as shown the figure below. The content development, delivery, and assessment will not be discussed here.

Philosophy of education, as we know, focuses on the values, beliefs and attitudes in relation to the growth process of individuals and society. These values, beliefs and attitudes determine the direction of our education, particularly the aims, goals, objectives, contents, delivery and assessment of education. Some of the educational philosophies will be discussed in Topic 4. As an example, we will discuss pragmatism as a philosophy of education.

Pragmatism defines the truth and meaning of ideas (knowledge) according to their physical consequences and practical values (p. 154). It views the world as not fixed, but constantly changing; and views knowledge as process. It suggests education should focus on experiencing the process, for example, learning occurs as pupil engages in problem solving. Knowing is considered an interaction between the learner and environment, of which both are undergoing constant changes.

Aim of education (What education expects students will achieve) can be defined as “general statement of the functions to be transferred to learners through education, or simply the purpose of education”. The earlier aims of American education were to “ascertain the continuation and enforcement of democratic ideals, and to save the souls” (p. 94). These aims had been associated with the philosophy of pragmatism, which many people claimed to be the unofficial American philosophy (p. 154).

Goal of education (What students can do after completing education) can be defined as “statement of specific purpose with some outcomes in mind”. The aim gives the purpose of education, such as “Making individual literate”; while the goal gives more specific outcomes of education, such as “All Year-1 pupils should be able to read and write simple sentences in English”. Hence, the goal of education is the statement about what pupils should be able to do to achieve the aim/purpose of education.

Objective of education can be defined as “statement of specific learning outcomes at various levels of learning”; e.g. at program level, course level, topic level, or lesson level. An example of course level educational objective is: “At the end of this course, students should be able to write short stories in English”. The objectives are usually written in behavioural terms, such as “write, read, explain, compare, compute, or draw” and so on. The curriculum is then developed based on the various objectives of a particular school subject.

3.2 The Purpose of Schooling

There are many classifications of the purposes/aims of schooling, for example those given by The Educational Policies Commission (USA) and those given by the Cardinal Principles of Secondary School

Philosophy Aims Goals

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Objectives

Education. The Educational Policies Commission listed four purposes of American schooling: (1) self-realization, (2) human relationships, (3) economic efficiency, and (4) civic responsibility.

The purpose of self-realization is to encourage inquiry, mental capabilities, speech, reading, writing, numbers, sight and hearing, health knowledge, health habits, public health, recreation, intellectual interests, and character formation.

The purpose of human relationships includes humanity, friendship, cooperation with others, courtesy, appreciation of the home, conservation of the home, homemaking, and democracy in the home.

The purpose of economic efficiency includes work, occupational appreciation, personal economic, consumer judgment, efficiency in buying, and consumer protection.

The purpose of civic responsibility includes social justice, social activity, social understanding, critical judgement, tolerance, observance, conserving of resources, social application of science, world citizenship, economic literacy, political citizenship, and devotion to democracy.

The Cardinal Principles of Secondary School Education listed seven major areas of purposes of secondary schooling: (1) health, (2) command of fundamental processes (living skills), (3) worthy home membership, (4) vocational education, (5) civic education, (6) worthy used of leisure, and (7) ethical character.

3.3 Tutorial Activity

Read Chapter 10 of the textbook about the Backward Design of Curriculum (p. 284). Explain “backward curriculum design”. Give one example of the design based on an educational objective. Ralph Tyler (1949) described the design as follows:

“Educational objectives become the criteria by which materials are selected, content is outlined, instructional procedures are developed, and test and examination are prepared… The purpose of a statement of objectives is to indicate the kinds of changes in the student to be brought about so that the instructional activities can be planned and developed in a way likely to attain these objectives”.

Sample Answer

Backward curriculum design starts with the learning objectives (backward) to derive/develop a curriculum (i.e. prepare lesson content, select materials, develop teaching procedures, prepare exercises, and prepare test/examination). A simple example is given below:

Learning objective: At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to find the area of a right-angle triangle.

Lesson content: Find the area of a rectangle and the area of the right-angle triangle by dividing the rectangle into two right-angle triangles. Derive the formula for the area of a right-angle triangle.

Materials: Use a manila card to make rectangles and use a ruler to measure the sides.

Teaching procedures: (a) Review on how to find the area of a rectangle. (b) Ask students to cut the manila card to make rectangles of various sizes. (c) Ask students to measure the sides of the rectangles and compute the areas. (d) Ask students to cut the rectangles into right-angle triangles and then compute the areas of each

rectangle (e) Deduce the formula for the area of rectangle and triangle.

Exercises: Students are asked to draw right-angle triangles of various sizes and are asked to compute the areas.

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Assessment: Students are given a few figures of right-angle triangles and are asked to compute the areas.

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TOPIC 4: THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

FOR TEACHERS 4.1 Introduction

The philosophy of education will be discussed first, since we need to understand the philosophy of education, before we can discuss about its significance for teachers. The lecture will cover seven philosophies of education (idealism, realism, pragmatism, existentialism, essentialism, progressivism, and social reconstructionism); followed by the significance of four of these philosophies (pragmatism, existentialism, essentialism, and social reconstructionism) for teachers.

4.2 The Philosophy of Education

Philosophy of education, as we know, focuses on the values, beliefs and attitudes in relation to the process of growth of individuals and society. These values, beliefs and attitudes determine the direction of our education, particularly the aims, goals, objectives, contents, delivery and assessment of education. Now, we will look some educational philosophies which will help us to understand better the goals of education.

Idealism: “Ideal” means “a conception of objects as something that are perfect, having noble character, visionary, and existing only in imagination”. Idealism views that education should focus on moral, spiritual and mental aspects of human being; and that the truth and values are absolute, timeless, and universal. Education should concern with ideas and concepts and their relationship, with the final outcomes of education are the most general and abstract subjects. Mathematics is important to develop abstract thinking; while history and literature are important to develop moral and culture.

Realism: “Real” means “a conception of objects as something that are actual, existence, and authentic, rather than imaginary”. Realism views the world in terms of objects and matter; and everything is derived from nature and is subjected to its laws. Realism suggests that education should focus on objects and matter; and views that people can learn about the world through their senses and reasons. However, just like idealist, realist views that the ultimate goals of education are the most general and abstract subjects. Realist stresses that the subjects such as ethical, political and economics are important in life; while reading, writing and arithmetic are necessary as basic education.

Pragmatism: “Pragmatic” means “a conception of objects as something that are real, and having cause-effect relationship and practical values”. Pragmatism views the world as not fixed, but constantly changing; and views knowledge as process and not as product. Education, therefore, should focus on experiencing the process, for example, learning occurs as pupil engages in problem solving. Knowing is an interaction between the learner and environment (both are undergoing constant changes). Teaching is not focused on “what to think”, but on “how to think critically”; and hence, it should be more exploratory than explanatory. The ultimate goal of education is for the learner to acquire the process of solving problems in an intelligent manner.

Existentialism: “Existential” means “a conception of objects as actual being, existing, occurring, appearing, or emerging”. Existentialism views the world as subjective, depending upon one’s perception; and that knowledge is a personal choice. Education should focus on emotional, aesthetic and philosophical subjects; such as literature, drama and arts. Learners are allowed to choose the subject(s) for their self-fulfillment. Curriculum should stress on self-expressive and experimentation activities that will create emotions, feelings and insights. The ultimate goal of education is to develop consciousness about freedom to choose, and the meaning one’s choices and responsibility in relation to these choices.

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Essentialism: “Essential” means “a conception of objects as something that are absolutely necessary, indispensable, or vital”. Essentialism views that education should focus on the fundamental and essential subjects, such as the 3 R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) as the fundamental subjects at primary school level; and five academic subjects at secondary school level (English, mathematics, science, history & foreign language). Essentialism rejects the subjects such as arts, music, physical education, homemaking and vocational education. The ultimate goal of education is the acquisition of culture and mastery of essential skills, facts, concepts, and thinking skills.

Progressivism: “Progressive” means “a conception of objects as something that are moving forward toward specific goal, further stage, or cumulative improvement”. Progressivism views that education should promote democratic society in which students could learn and practice the skills and tools necessary for democratic living; which include problem-solving methods and scientific inquiry; and learning experiences that include cooperative behaviors and self-discipline; which are important for democratic living. Since reality constantly keeps changing (similar to pragmatism), progressivism believes that there is little need to focus on fixed body of knowledge.

Social Reconstructionism: “Social reconstruction” means “a conception that the social problems; such as poverty and lack of educational and employment opportunities; can be solved through education”. Social reconstructionism believes that “people are responsible for creating social conditions, whether they are good or bad”. It views that education should prepare people to create new good and just society and to bring the have-nots into a better society. Other than those who are fortunate helping out those who are unfortunate, education can play its role by preparing students to meet their intellectual, emotional, personal, and social needs, to solve their social problems.

4.3 Significance of Philosophy of Education for Teachers

The significance of the philosophy of education for teachers can be discussed by looking at the goals of education, role of students, role of teachers and teaching methods for various philosophies of education (Figure 6.3, p 151). We are going to look at four philosophies of education as examples, i.e. the Existentialism, Pragmatism, Essentialism, and Social Reconstructionism.

Pragmatism: The goal of education under this philosophy is “developing and applying practical knowledge and skills for life in a progressive democratic society”. The role of students is to show “active learning and participation”. Hence, teachers need to plan teaching and learning activities that encourage students to actively participate in learning. The role of teachers is to “teach inductive and deductive reasoning, scientific method, and the power of observation and practice”, which can be achieved through the teaching methods of “hands-on curricula, group work, and experimentation”.

Existentialism: The goal of education under this philosophy is “developing authentic individuals who exercise freedom of choice and take responsibility for their actions”. The role of students is to “develop independence, self-discipline, set challenges, and solve problems”. Teachers should know this goal to decide what to teach, how to teach, how students learn and how to assess learning outcomes. The role of teachers is to “encourage students to philosophize about life and to recognize and fulfill personal freedom”, which can be done through the teaching methods of “discussion and analysis, examination of choice-making in own and other’s live”.

Essentialism: The goal of education under this philosophy is “acquisition of culture and cultural literacy for personal benefit”. The role of students is to “receive knowledge and demonstrate minimum competencies”. The role of teachers under this philosophy is to “deliver a standard curriculum”, which can be done through teaching methods of “subject-centered direct instruction”. Teachers need to know this role in order to plan teaching and learning activities that are subject-centered and can deliver the standard content through direct instruction. An example of a subject with standard curriculum is history. A teacher can prepare the content of a lesson and delivers the content through direct instruction.

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Social Reconstructionism: The goal of education under this philosophy is “solving social problems and create a better world”. The role of students is to “inquire, apply critical thinking skills, and take action”. The role of teachers under this philosophy is to “ask questions, present social issues and problem solving challenges, and serve as organizer and information resource”, which can be done through the teaching methods of “stimulating divergent thinking and group discussion”. Teachers should give emphasis on social studies, social problems, global education, and environmental issues.

4.4 Tutorial Activity

Read Chapter 6 of the textbook from page 152 to 156. Explain in your own words of your understanding about the philosophies of Marxism, Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Perennialism and Essentialism.

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TOPIC 5: THE SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

5.1 Introduction

In Topic 1, we defined “education” as “the growth process of the individuals and society”; and in Topic 2, we defined “sociology” as “the branch of knowledge that deals with the origin, development, organization and functioning of human society”. Since, sociology of education is a branch of sociology that focuses on education, it can be defined as “the origin, development, organization and functioning of human society that are associated with the growth process of the individuals and society”.

Some argued that education is a valued-based activity in which individuals experiencing and accepting what is valued by our society. Few argued that education is the transmission of culture. As we all know, a society is made up of people with different customs, beliefs, values, languages, religions and social institutions. Beside all these “local” cultures, our society is exposed to “global” cultures brought to us by foreign visitors and various technologies, such as internet, CD’s, magazines, films, etc. Ask ourselves, “Which of these cultures should we transfer to children/youths?”

5.2 Social Foundations of Education

Transmitting and Improving Society: John Dewey (an American educator) believed that aims of education were of both transmitting and improving society. To do this, educators must be very selective in determining and organizing the experiences for the children and society. Hence, educators, together with others in the society, are responsible in determining the content and activities (experiences) that can help individuals to grow and finally to improve their society. The aims of transmitting and improving society were carried out by the schools which educate and socialize the younger members of the society.

Modal Personality comprises of a set of characteristics that differentiate citizens of one country to those of other countries (“mod” means “distinguished attributes”). For example, there are certain behaviours, attitudes and feelings that distinguish the Americans from Europeans, which are believed to be the outcomes of schooling. American schools, among other things, focus on the national civic culture to inculcate modal personality. How do Malaysians differ from citizens of other countries? Is it due to their schooling (formal education) or other institutions, such as homes or religious institutions (informal education)?

Though each country has cultural pluralism, there still exist a modal personality for all citizens of that country. They gain this modal personality through schooling, which offers standard curriculum that develops the modal personality. Do Malaysians have modal characteristics? Can we list some of them? We in Malaysia have a large number of foreign workers that came from many countries. Do you think they have the Malaysian modal personality? If we have a modal personality, regardless of religion, national origin, race, class or gender; we will still have common points of likeness.

The Americans, for example, despite of having different economic level, education, manners, taste, ethnic group, origin and tradition; they have many points of likeness, such as language, diet, hygiene, dress, basic skills, land use, community settlement and recreation. They are closer together in their moral

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outlook, political beliefs and social attitudes; compared to other nationals. Do we have any points of likeness in Malaysia? What are they? Most of these points of likeness are society behaviours, which are actually the sociology of a community. This is in fact an example of the social foundations of education.

Belief in the possible is perhaps another point of likeness that the Americans have, i.e. belief that “anything is possible”. Slogans such as “Work hard and you will succeed”, “Just do it”, “Anyone can grow up to be president” and “What counts is not where you came from but what you do” are just some examples of this belief. US schools are promoting this message throughout the country. What can these slogans promote for the American people? Perhaps right attitudes and the belief that “The measure of a person is his or her achievements”.

Belief in moral bases for right action is another point of likeness for the Americans. When American educators discuss about the rights of individuals to an education, they belief that people have a moral right to further their humanness (to be good people). The belief also will guide the Americans in their individual and collective (group) conduct (behaviour). The slogan such as “Just say no” to either sex or drugs indicates the influence of this belief. This is another social phenomenon that influences education.

5.3 A Dynamic, Changing Society

The social foundations become very important in education because of the rapid change in our society. The appropriate education for various groups cannot be determined accurately, since the groups are changing, ethnic demands are emerging, information is exploding, behaviours are being modified, and values are being altered. What are the changes that we see in Malaysia? May be food preferences, entertainments, etc. How do these affect education? Thus, we have difficulty to set education for the present, and even more complex for the future.

As the society changes rapidly, the education should also change accordingly. For example, as most mothers are now working, they have problems taking care of their young children. In response to this change, the schools now have the provisions of taking children as young as four years old. Parents can send their younger children to nurseries either at private place or at place of work. The idea of literacy is no longer confined to reading and writing, but must be expanded to cultural, scientific, computer, technological, electronic and research literacy.

The number of Asian immigrants in US increases from 13% to 38% in 1981-1990. In California, people of colour are already majority. In Seattle schools, over 34 languages are spoken. English as second language is a must for the students. Education must be responsive to the needs of the diversity of students, while at the same time, transferring the civic culture that serves as the binding for the American nation. Schools need different learning outcomes, pedagogical approaches, flexible curricula, and different teaching environments.

5.4 Tutorial Activity

National Philosophy of Malaysian Education (NPME): “Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner so as to produce individuals who are

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intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, society and nation at large” (CDC, MOE, 1988).

Discuss the Malaysian philosophy of education from the perspectives of the philosophy of education and the sociology of education. Which philosophy(s) matches the NPME? What are the social aspects of human relations that are covered by NPME?

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TOPIC 6: HISTORY OF EDUCATION

6.1 History of Education: Introduction

History, in Topic 2 is defined as: “the branch of knowledge that deals with past events”. Therefore, history of education can be defined as: “the branch of knowledge that deals with past events that were related to education”. The events that took place during a particular period of time in a country had influenced the education of that country, that is, the history of particular country becomes the foundations of education of that country. Think of Malaysia, can you recall an event that had changed our goals of education?

Curricula are prepared or created within political, social, economic and cultural contexts. The people who created the curricula have firm belief in appropriate social action, views of knowledge, acceptance of political ideologies, allegiances to class value systems, incorporation of economic motives, and even adherence to religious convictions. These values are sometimes being challenged by various sectors of community. Can you think of one curriculum that was not yet accepted in Malaysia? We are going to look at American history of education as an example.

6.2 The Colonial Period: 1642-1776

In the northern (New England) colonies, the history of American education started with the education in the earliest colony of Massachusetts, a settlement of the Puritans (members of a sect of Protestant from England) who hold strictly to religious discipline. The earlier schools in Massachusetts were concerned with the doctrines of Puritan church. The major purpose of schooling was to teach children to read scriptures (passages) from the Bible and the notices of civil affairs department. The major goal of education then was to enable children to read and understand the principles of religion and the laws of the Commonwealth. The basic education in Massachusetts at that time was reading and writing; and Latin in addition was taught mainly to prepare students to go to Harvard College.

In the middle colonies, unlike in Massachusetts (everyone used English language), there were no common language or religion existed. Due to the differences in the language used and religious believes, no single school system could be established in the middle colonies. These differences motivated the settlers of different ethnic and religious groups to established parochial (provincial/ local) and independent schools, rather than the central or district-wide school system as in New England. The present concept of cultural pluralism in fact already existed 200 years ago in the middle colonies. Think of Malaysia, are there similarities to what had happened in the North America with respect to school system or cultural pluralism?

In the southern colonies, the education decisions were left to the family. There was no formal education here and the focus of education was only on vocational skills. Why vocational skills? The legislative provision was instituted only to the guardians of poor children, orphans, and illegitimate children, that is for them to provide private education or vocational skills to the children. The privileged class of white children (children of plantation owners) received their education through private tutors. The poor white children (children of the farm workers) did not have any formal education, with most of them could not read or write. They continued to become farmers just like their parents. The children of Black slaves were forbidden to learn to read or write.

The curriculum of colonial schools in the northern, middle and southern colonies; despite the differences in language, religion, and economic system; was influenced by the English political ideas. The religious commitment had high priority in all schools and society, and the family played a major role in socialization and education of all children. The curriculum of colonial schools consisted of reading, writing, arithmetic, and some religious faith, and lessons to develop manners and morals. The curriculum stressed on basic skills, social and religious conformity, faith in authority, knowledge for the sake of knowledge, rote learning and memorization. There were

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various types of schools existed during this period, such as the town schools (one-room primary schools), private schools (established by missionary, ethnic and religious groups), Latin grammar schools (for sons of upper class), academy (secondary school) and college (Harvard or Yale).

6.3 The National Period: 1776-1850

School curricula during Colonial Period were mostly based on religious needs. However, during the National Period, secular forces had changed American education from religious based primary and secondary education to more function based education. The secular forces argued that the time spent on studying the two dead languages (Latin & Greek), for example, should be better used to study science, to help the new America to explore and develop its natural resources. The secular forces also had influenced the development of democracy, strong federal government, an emerging cultural nationalism, the idea of religious freedom, and new discoveries in natural sciences. As a result of this movement, the federal government became more committed to education and had allocated 154 million acres of land for schools. The government even decided to give free primary, secondary, college and university education,

The school curriculum during the National Period (Rush’s curriculum) stressed on reading, writing, arithmetic and history in elementary school; English, German, the arts and especially sciences at secondary school and college level; and good manners and moral principles for all levels. Education was seen more for the development of natural resources, and to promote democracy. During this period also, grammar schools were built for gifted students and scholarships were given to gifted students who could not pay tuition fees. Half of the scholarship students were later assigned positions as primary school teachers. Educational policy makers (e.g. Rush, Jefferson, Franklin) were all concerned with equality of educational opportunity; and had proposed nationwide education for all children and youth. Students of superior ability were identified and given free secondary and college education.

During this period also, the Americans were thinking of having their own national cultures, for example having a national language and literature, which should be different from the English language and literature used in Britain. This language (spelling, pronunciation & reading) should be taught deliberately and systematically to the children and youth in the nation’s schools. The selection of literature was focused on portraying patriotism, heroism, hard work, diligence, and virtuous living; with the tone of moral, religion, capitalistic, and pro-American. Other than the cultures, the Americans also aspired to expand the moral and political ideas as their contributions to humankind. For example, they had shown to Europe the proof that institutions founded on equality and representation principles (democracy) were capable of maintaining good governments.

6.4 Tutorial Activity

Read Chapter 4 of the textbook from page 90 to 102. Explain in your own words, your understanding about the influence of religion, politics, industry or others in each of the education described (Education in Southern Colonies, Middle Atlantic Colonies, New England Colonies, Education for the Slaves, Education for Native Americans, Education in Spain’s Colonies, Education for Women).

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TOPIC 7: POLITICS OF EDUCATION

7.1 POLITICS OF EDUCATION

Politics can be defined as: “the use of strategy to gain any position of power or control”. Hence, politics of education can be defined as: “the use of strategy to gain any position of power or control through education”. We once taught that education was value neutral and apolitical (not political), however, curricular theorists argued that education is political, since curriculum has been used as an instrument for advancing particular political ideologies and agendas. The curricular critics are usually using opposition politics to voice their dissatisfactions about education.

The Americans are exposed to three political ideas, that is, the democracy of the collective, the democracy of free-market capitalism, and the neo-Marxist socialism. The politics of education are not going to focus on these ideas, but rather on the ideas and values of various groups within American society. Multicultural education indeed is very political, i.e. the pressure from various groups on the ruling political-party of the government. As there are more individuals and groups/ organizations influencing the government in shaping public education, more of their views will influence school curricula.

The formal sources of power in shaping public education are school governance leaders. The informal sources are the elected lawmakers who have to listen to public opinions on school education. Other than these, citizen groups are also working together with schools to create changes in schools based on their political beliefs. Since 1960s, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic (Spanish-speaking peoples) Americans and Americans with disabilities (pp. 206-07) had demanded that schools to respond to their needs. Since they are voters, their demand/ pressure on education can be considered political.

Other pressure groups on education are special-interest groups such as National Parent-Teacher Association (NPTA) and The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). NPTA, the largest volunteer educational group in USA, was very successful in shaping education policy pertaining to curricula, instruction and governance in public schools at local, state and national levels. ACLU is a legal organization that defends US citizens against the attacks on their civil liberties (freedom). For example, Tennessee Law during 1925 (p. 207) forbade public school teachers from teaching any theory that denied the theory of creation described in the Bible. ACLU helped teachers to fight against this law and won the case.

Though there are critics that support the opposition political parties, the Americans have people who share the common voice of the mainstream culture. They are not going to be silenced and will be heard. The different views among political parties will be increasingly relevant in future. For example, the issues of censorship are very political, that is, will people resist it totally, or to have it applied to educational materials only. Hence, all discussions about moral and character education can be considered very political, since they relate to the concern, respect and empathy for others (Who are they? The voters?).

7.2 TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES

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Read about the groups that influence education in USA (pp. 205 – 211). Describe how each of these groups influences education in USA: (a) political influences, (b) special-interest groups, (c) mass media, (d) federal government, (e) national goals, and (f) state government.

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TOPICS 8: CURRICULUM, PEDAGOGY AND THE TRANSMISSION OF KNOWLEDGE

8.1 INTRODUCTION

Generally, we think of curriculum as what to be taught in schools, pedagogy as the method of delivering them, and the transmission of knowledge as transfer of knowledge, skills and attitudes to learners. This topic will give you the definition of curriculum and explain the foundations of curriculum, curriculum development, pedagogy, and the transformation of knowledge; and the relationships between them. We will also look back at the aims, goals, and objectives of education.

8.2 CURRICULUM

Curriculum definition. There are many definitions of curriculum. For this course, we can simply define curriculum as “the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be transferred to learners and the strategies to achieve them”. Generally, the strategies would include the plan for the learners to go through some specific experiences that can help them to achieve these goals of education. For example, if the goal is for students to master science-experiment skills, they should experience doing science experiments.

Foundations of curriculum. The major foundations of education are the philosophy, history, psychology, sociology and politics. As we translate education into curriculum, the foundations of education become the foundations of curriculum. The philosophy of education explains the aims of education of a particular country. For example, the education in Malaysia is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, and possess high moral standards”.

Curriculum development. As we learned earlier, a curriculum is developed based on political, social, economic and cultural contexts of a country. The curriculum developers should decide what kind of knowledge, skills and attitudes to be transferred. They need to consider personal needs, community values, social issues, economic motives, future needs, and knowledge continuity, before a curriculum can be developed, whether it is a general curriculum, or a specific subject-matter curriculum.

The flow from the philosophy, aims, goals, and objectives of education is shown in the following diagram. The philosophy will determine the aims, the aims will determine the goals, the goals will determine the objectives, and finally the objectives will determine the curricula at the subject-matter (content, pedagogy & assessment) and school levels (primary, secondary & tertiary). All these elements have direct relationship to curriculum development.

As we learned earlier, the aims of education are the statements of the functions to be transferred to the learners, for example, “making individual literate”. Educational goals are statements of specific purpose of education at subject-matter/school levels (knowledge, skills & attitudes); such as “all Year 1 pupils should be able to read and write simple sentences in English”. Educational objectives are statements of learning outcomes, for example, “at the end of this course, students should be able to write short stories in English”.

Philosophy Aims Goals Objectives Curricula

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8.3 THE MALAYSIAN CURRICULA

Malaysian school curricula are developed centrally by the Centre for Curriculum Development (CDC), Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia, based on the following National Philosophy of Malaysian Education (NPME) (CDC, 1988).

“Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, society and nation at large”.

The philosophical foundations of Malaysian curricula. Some keywords in the NPME will help us match our philosophy of education to the type of general philosophy of education. Some of these keywords are: “holistic”, “intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced”, “knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards”, and “responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, society and nation at large”.

Based on these keywords, we probably can match NPME to the general educational philosophy of Progressivism, which stresses that “school should be a miniature of democratic society in which students could learn and practice the skills and tools necessary for democratic living; which include problem-solving methods and scientific inquiry; and learning experiences that include cooperative behaviors and self-discipline; which are important for democratic living”.

The aims and political foundations of Malaysian curricula. The aims of Malaysian education are “to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God; so that they become Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, possess high moral standards and are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, society and nation”.

Are these aims similar to four (4) aims proposed by The Educational Policies Commission (USA)?, that is, (1) self-realization (inquiry, mental capabilities, speech, reading, writing, numbers, sight and hearing, health knowledge, health habits, public health, recreation, intellectual interests, and character formation); (2) human relationships (humanity, friendship, cooperation with others, courtesy, appreciation of the home, conservation of the home, homemaking, and democracy in the home); (3) economic efficiency (work, occupational appreciation, personal economic, consumer judgment, efficiency in buying, and consumer protection); and (4) civic responsibility (social justice, social activity, social understanding, critical judgement, tolerance, conservation of resources, social application of science, world citizenship, law of observance, economic literacy, political citizenship, and devotion to democracy). These aims have political elements in them, which can be regarded as the political foundations of education.

The social foundations of Malaysian curricula deal with “the origin, development, organization and functioning of human society that are related to the growth process of the individuals and society”. These foundations become very important in Malaysia

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because of the rapid change in our society. The aims “to produce Malaysian citizens who possess high moral standards and being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family and society” have certain sociological elements in them, such as ethnic integration.

The psychological foundations of Malaysian curricula deal with the psychological elements of human being that are used to determine the aims of education and pedagogy. Some keywords in the NPME are related to psychology, for example, “an effort towards further developing the potential of individuals” and “to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally”, which indicated that people have different abilities (mental & physical) and multiple intelligences; and education should develop these potentials to the maximum.

The historical foundations of Malaysian curricula deal with the past events of a particular country that had influenced the education of that country. These historical elements are used to determine the aims of education. The keywords like: “on-going effort”, “in a holistic and integrated manner”, and “intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonic” may suggest that our past education did not address these issues, i.e. the importance of life-long learning, and well-rounded-person education.

8.4 PEDAGOGY

Pedagogy can be defined as “method of teaching”. Shulman (1986) had introduced the concept of “pedagogical content knowledge”, which combines the knowledge about content, learner, and pedagogy to come up with a suitable teaching method for a particular content and learner(s). Therefore, a teacher needs to master the content knowledge, the general pedagogy, and also the characteristics of the learners to be able to design an effective teaching and learning activities so that the delivery of content to a specific group of learners is effective.

Examples of content and pedagogy are given in Figure 10.5 (p 283). The process starts from the aim of education to curriculum orientation, roles of students and teachers, curriculum content and instructional/ pedagogical approach (we have teaching methods for a particular teaching approach, and teaching techniques for a particular teaching method). For example, in direct instruction approach, we can have “lecture” as teaching method, and “explaining lecture notes and ask students to apply the concept taught” as techniques.

Take for example, the aim of education to “teach students how to learn” with curriculum orientation/goal of “development of cognitive processes” (p 283); role of students to “relate new content to prior knowledge”; role of a teacher to “facilitate students’ learning”; and curriculum content of “problem-solving skills”; the instructional/pedagogical approach suitable to this content is “scaffolding: inquiry learning”. Scaffolding here means to support/help students going through the stages of the problem-solving processes.

Four teaching/pedagogical models are given in Figure 10.6 (p 286), namely the Behavioral-Systems-Family Model, Social-Family Model, Information-Processing-Family Model, and Personal-Family Model. Different learners and different objectives usually require different pedagogical models. Successful teachers usually have a variety of pedagogical models (approaches, methods & techniques) that they can use for teaching different subjects, contents or objectives to different types of learners (such as low, moderate or high abilities).

8.4.1 Behavioral-Systems-Family Model

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Three approaches in this model are: (1) Mastery Learning, (2) Direct Instruction, and (3) Computer-Assisted-Instruction. Mastery learning is based on the idea that the quantity learned depends on student’s aptitude, motivation, and quantity and quality of teaching. The aptitude is defined as the amount of time (not natural ability) a student requires to master an objective. Mastery is defined as the performance at 80% of the objective.

Mastery learning believes that any student can master any objective provided that he/she is given enough time, is motivated to learn, and the teaching is appropriate for their needs. Think about blind students. What are their needs? How to best teach them? How long do they need? Teacher’s role in mastery learning is to break the content into small manageable objectives, determine students’ needs with respect to learning materials, teach in the ways that meet their needs, and evaluate their progress regularly (p 286).

Direct instruction: Like mastery learning, direct instruction is very structured (with a list of objectives to achieve) and teacher-centered (content-centered). The methods and techniques of teaching heavily based on behavioral principles, such as modeling (students watch actors), feedback (rewards & punishments), reinforcement (drill & practice, revision, memorization) to teach basic skills (reading, writing, mathematics). This approach seemed effective (minimum efforts, maximum outcomes) and becomes quite popular.

Computer-aided instruction: CAI uses the capabilities of computers to facilitate teaching and learning. Specials software can give tutorials to students on new contents, just like a teacher facilitates direct instruction or mastery learning. Some software can be used for drill and practice or to review previous contents, or to give tests, test marks, and feedbacks to students. Computer-managed instruction (CMI) is another form of CAI that has the ability to record student progress, in addition to tutorial features.

8.4.2 Social-Family Model

Four approaches in this model are: (1) Cooperative Learning, (2) Peer Tutoring, (3) Project-Based Learning, and (4) Reciprocal Learning. Pedagogical approaches in social-family model facilitate students to work together in a group (teamwork) to achieve both the academic and social objectives of education. Teachers just help students by giving guides/directions, answer questions from students, check their progress, and solve issues that arise from discussions or problems in carrying out group/teamwork.

Cooperative learning: This approach promotes group/team efforts to carry out tasks given to the group. Instead of each student works on his/her own to understand new concepts (such as what is a graph) or to master new skills (such as how to draw graph). One cooperative learning technique is the Students Team-Achievement Division (STAD), whereby a teacher uses direct instruction to teach certain concepts or skills, followed by students working in small heterogeneous groups to understand the concepts and master the skills taught.

Peer tutoring: This approach involves teaching/tutoring of other students by a particular student. The tutoring tasks are rotated among students, which indirectly promotes academic leadership among students. Each student is responsible to make sure he/she understands the contents and masters the related skills properly before he/she is able to teach/tutor other students. The teaching/tutoring is done in small groups, which requires the group tutors to cooperate with each other in preparing tutorial contents, skills, and materials.

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Project-based learning: This is another form of group learning, whereby students are given a project(s) to do and report back to the groups/class. The project problem(s) can come from students, teachers, or schools. Students will carry out the project by “asking and refining questions, debating ideas, making predictions (hypotheses), designing plans and/or experiments, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, communicating ideas and findings to others, asking new questions, and creating artifacts” (p 289).

Reciprocal teaching: This approach teaches students four strategies in reading comprehension, namely, (1) summarizing the content of a passage, (2) asking the question about the central point, (3) clarifying the difficult parts of the material, and (4) predicting what will come next. Research has shown that the reciprocal teaching some successful results for students with far below average in reading comprehension. After 20 hours of practice, the students in the bottom quarter had move up to second and some to third quarter in the class.

In reciprocal teaching, first the teacher and groups of students read a short passage silently. Then the teacher provides a model by summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting based on the reading. Next, every student reads another passage in small groups, and they take the role of the teacher. Each group then presents the four elements to the class, while the teacher provides the feedbacks. In the process of preparing the report, the teacher also provides clues, guidance, and encouragement (what Vygotsky called scaffolding).

8.4.3 Information-Processing-Family Model

Three approaches in this model are: (1) Concept Formation, (2) Inquiry Learning, and (3) Synectics. These approaches stimulate the development of thinking skills such as observing, comparing, finding patterns, and generalization. The approaches are based on information-processing and constructivist theories that explain how information are gathered through our senses, stored and retrieved from our memory, and explain how we process the information and take action.

Concept formation method is used to help students analyze and synthesize data/information to construct knowledge about a specific idea, such as “plant classification”. In this case, a teacher would ask students to observe a variety of plant specimens, group the plants according to some characteristics, and give a name for each group of the plants. Students, later, are asked to classify other plants into existing groups or students can create new group(s) of plants.

Inquiry learning helps students to do research to solve problems given to them, based on facts and observation, just like the scientists doing experiments. Students construct their own knowledge based on their research or inquiries. In inquiry learning, the teacher’s role is just to guide students to: (1) define the problem; (2) formulate hypotheses; (3) gather data; (4) organize data and modify hypotheses accordingly; and (5) generalize from findings to form new theories.

Synectics is a teaching method that helps students to increase problem-solving abilities, creative expression, empathy, and insight into social relations. The method begins with the understanding of certain basic concept, followed by deeper understanding of the concept. For example, a teacher may introduce the concept of pollution, and asks students about the effect of pollution. Later, the teacher may ask students to compare the effects of chemical pollution compared to construction-waste pollution, for deeper understanding about pollution.

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8.4.4 Personal-Family Model

Two approaches in this model are: (1) Individualized Instruction, and (2) Nondirective Teaching. The personal-family model encourages students to decide what they want to learn and how they want to learn. This will help students to develop/discover effective learning styles and positive self-concepts. The individualized instruction is a teaching method that is tailor-made to a particular student, depending on his/her ability, interest, motivation, learning style, or achievement.

In nondirective teaching, a teacher helps a student to learn based on student’s own interest and goals. The teacher may ask a student to identify a problem, be responsible to solve it, to explore own feeling when solving personal problem, to explore his/her feeling about others when dealing with social problem, and to determine his/her own interest and competence when solving academic problems. Teacher would meet a student one-to-one as to give time for the teacher and student to have a proper discussion.

8.5 TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES

Read on “What Is Effective Instruction?” (p 292). Describe in your own words: (a) Effective instruction, (b) understanding students, (c) communicating, (d) creating learning environments, (e) adapting instruction for students with special needs, and (f) evaluating student learning.

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TOPICS 9: SCHOOL AS ORGANIZATION AND TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM

9.1 Introduction

This topic will focus on school organization and teacher professionalism in USA. This topic will provide an overview of the different types of schools in USA, from Kindergarten (K), Elementary School (K/1-6 or K/1-8), Middle School (5-8), Secondary School (7-12), Post-Secondary School (Community Colleges, State Colleges, State Universities).

9.2 School as Organization

School Districts. “A school district is a state-defined geographical area responsible for providing public instruction to students living within that area” (p 172). School district provides effective administration and financial services, and standard curriculum for all schools. There were 16,850 districts in USA in 2000, with 94,090 schools, and 47.7 millions students (pre-kindergarten to grade 12). The smallest district (Nebraska) has 2 schools & 394 students, and the biggest district (New York City) has 1,207 schools and over 1 million students.

Types of Schools. The 3 types of schools are public schools, public alternative schools, and private schools. (Figure 7.1 p 173). The public school levels are: (1) Kindergarten (K), (2) Elementary School [Primary School (K Grade 2), Intermediate School (Grades 3–6)], (3) Middle School (Grades 5-8), (4) Secondary School [Junior High School (Grades 7-8, or 7-9), High School (Grades 7-12, 9-12, or 10-12], and (5) Post-Secondary School (Community Colleges, State Colleges, State Universities).

Public Alternative Schools include Head Start, Pre-kindergarten Programs, Laboratory Schools, Non-graded Schools, Magnet Schools, Charter Schools, Accelerated School, Cluster Schools, Vocational-Technical Schools, Professional Development Schools, Government-Run Schools, and Home Schooling. The Vocational-Technical Schools provide programs in the areas of cosmetology, food preparation, law enforcement, horticulture, automotive repair, building construction, data processing, etc.

Private Schools include Nursery Schools & Preschools, “Concept School” Alternatives (Montessori Schools, Waldorf Schools), “Ethnic School” Alternatives (Afrocentric Schools, Reservation Schools), Parochial/Religious Schools (Catholic Schools, Christian Academies, Hebrew Schools, Islamic Schools), College Preparatory Schools, Trade Schools, Military Academies, Junior Colleges, Colleges and Universities, and Adult Education Centers.

Teachers can choose to teach at any of the school levels, for example, teaching in preschools or teaching in graduate schools. Enrolment in preschools is not very high since the cost of sending children to preschools is high. But, by the age of 5 (required by law), most parents send their children to public schools (less expensive), and some send to private schools (more expensive). The grades in schools depend on the student population in the districts. If the population is small, a school will provide education from Kindergarten to Grade 8.

Secondary Schools or High Schools usually provide education for Grades 9 to 12 (Form 3 to Lower 6). High schools usually prepare students for higher education, such as technical or vocational institutions, two-year colleges (taking Certificate or Diplomas), or four-year colleges and universities (taking Bachelor degrees). The choice of the institution depends on student’s interest and also the cost of pursuing education at the particular institution.

9.3 Administration of Schools

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Board of Education. Figure 7.2 (p 187) shows the management structure of schools in the United State. The public (people in a district) will appoint members of the District Board of Education (DBE), and DBE will appoint the School District Superintendent. Board of Education is the legislative policy-making body responsible for making sure schools are run by competent individuals. The board sets policies and hires employees to carry the policies.

School District Superintendent is the chief executive officer (CEO) of a school district. Three Assistant Superintendents, namely, Assistant Superintendent (Administration), Assistant Superintendent (Personnel), and Assistant Superintendent (Curriculum), are appointed to assist School District Superintendent. The school principals are appointed to manage schools together with the instructional and support staff to deliver the curricula and manage the students.

Assistant Superintendent (Personnel) will supervise the school principals, while the Assistant

Superintendent (Curriculum) will coordinate the curricula, including special education, for all schools in the district. Assistant Superintendent (Administration) will coordinate the business and finance, including maintenance of grounds, buildings, and buses; for all schools in the district. People in the district will meet the School District Superintendent if they are not happy with the education system in the district.

Principal. Schools are administered by School Principals who are responsible the everyday operations of the schools. Large schools have one or more Assistant Principal(s). Principals are responsible for administering discipline, deal with teachers and other staff, locate substitute teachers, balance school budget, and maintain building and equipment. Due to a lot of work to be done, nearly half of the principals have to work 60 hours per week, that is about 12 hours per day.

Issues that schools face include retention, that is, to retain students in a particular grade until they have mastered the curricula for that grade. Holding students back in a particular grade does not solve the problems, because students are not motivated to learn because of the stigma attached to it. Class schedule and class size also become issues to school. Longer class period and small class size are supposed to make instruction more effective. Research indicated that small class (20 students) is more effective than bigger class.

Tracking is another issue, that is, to group students homogeneously based on their ability. The critics of tracking argued that students are grouped based on unclear criteria. For example, the low-track classes usually comprised of students with behaviour problems, rather than those with low academic achievement. Once they are placed in low-track classes, usually it is very difficult for them to improve academically. Those who support tracking argued that if high-ability students are placed in the same class, they can be taught faster.

9.4 Teacher Professionalism

The five steps of professional practice (REFLECTIVE TEACHING PROCESS) for teachers (pp. 25, 389) are: (1) they perceive problems and opportunity (PERCEIVE - alert to what is going on around them); (2) they can articulate their values in relation to values (VALUE) of others they work with (other teachers) and serve (students); (3) they possess some specialized knowledge (KNOW), for example, they know lesson content, how to communicate, and appropriate pedagogy to use; (4) they act based on their perceptions, values, and knowledge (ACT); and (5) they evaluate their actions and improve in future (EVALUATE).

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Good teachers are not just born with the five steps of the professional practice, but they acquire them through trainings and experiences. This is a life-long learning for the teachers, since knowledge and skills cannot be mastered in a short time. Teachers gain their knowledge from successful and unsuccessful experiences. Teachers also can anticipate all the problems students will face, and they will discuss the problems and solutions with fellow teachers, students and parents.

Teachers as professionals differ from non-teachers at least in five aspects of teaching and learning: (1) they have the content knowledge of the subject-matter they teach; (2) they have the knowledge and skills of how best to deliver/teach a particular content; (3) they can understand learners’ needs in teaching and learning; (4) they know how to handle students with discipline problems; and (5) they know various methods/techniques to evaluate students’ academic achievement, skill performance, attitudes and social interaction.

9.5 Tutorial Activities

Read about “What makes some schools more effective than others?” (pp 192-6). Describe the elements that contribute to school effectiveness.

The five steps of reflective teaching: (1) they perceive problems and opportunity (alert to

what is going on around them); (2) they can articulate their values in relation to values of others they work with (other teachers) and serve (students); (3) they possess some specialized knowledge, for example, they know lesson content, how to communicate, and appropriate pedagogy to use; (4) they act based on their perceptions, values, and knowledge; and (5) they evaluate their actions and improve in future.

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TOPICS 10 & 11: EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY, EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES AND EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES

10.1 Equality of Educational Opportunity “Opportunity” means “a situation or condition favourable for attainment of a goal”.

“Educational opportunity” means “a situation or condition favourable for attainment of educational goals”. “Equality of educational opportunity” means that everyone is given equal situation or condition favourable for attainment of educational goals. Do you think everyone is given equal situation or condition favourable for attainment of educational goals? Discuss this with respect to factors that can hinder/hold back the equality of educational opportunity for Malaysian children, for examples: type of school; location of school, quality of teachers, or family background. Other than these factors, children themselves differ from each other in terms of general ability/intelligence, language ability, interest and attitude.

In USA, there is a legislation to ensure equal educational opportunity for all Americans. In USA, equal educational opportunity is simply defined as “equal access to schooling” (p. 202). At federal level, the focus of the legislation is to provide equal educational opportunities for female students, students of different races (White, Black, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Korean, and other races), students with limited English proficiency, students from low-income families, and students with disabilities (vision problems/blind or semi-blind, hearing problems/deaf & dumb, learning difficulties, mentally retarded, physical handicapped). In the early history of education in USA, only boys can go to grammar schools. To provide equal educational opportunity for girls, they were later allowed to study in these schools. Equal educational opportunity should also be given to children of different races, students with learning difficulties, students from low income families, students with disabilities, and students who live in different locations, for example, those who live in cities, towns or farms; so that they are not deprived of education.

In USA, the main idea of providing equal educational opportunity so that every child can be developed to his/her maximum potential. It means that public school administrators and teachers must provide education according to the needs and strengths of students, while making sure that all students acquiring minimum basic skills (reading, writing, speaking, arithmetic, thinking skills, ICT literacy). Court case: In USA, 15 African-American preschool and elementary school students living in a low-income housing project (p. 259) sued Michigan Board of Education in 1978 for denying them of equal educational opportunities. Their African American English differed from the English used by teachers and written materials in school, which violated Title 20 of US Code.

The Code says that no state can deny individuals educational opportunities due to their race, gender, or national origin, by failing to overcome language barriers that might inhibit learning. In this case, the Court acknowledged that Michigan schools had provided special assistance to these and other students through learning consultants, a speech therapist, a psychologist, a language consultant, tutors and parent helpers. The Court however ordered the School Board to develop plan whereby teachers would learn to understand home language of students and use it to teach reading skills and Standard English effectively (pp. 259-260).

US Supreme Court (Lau v. Nichols, 1974, p. 259) held that a school district receiving federal aid must provide special instruction for non-English-speaking students whose opportunities to learn are restricted because of language barriers/problems. This case was brought to the Court to solve language problem of 1,800 Chinese American students in San Francisco public schools, who spoke little or no English, yet they were not offered remedial English. The schools violated the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which specifies that no one, regardless of race, colour, or origin, can be discriminated against or denied participation in

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programs receiving federal assistance. The Court ordered the establishment of bilingual programs.

Children normally have about the same ability/intelligence to help them understand lesson contents. However, some have deficiencies, such as born with mental retardation, having problems with eyesight or hearing, or physically handicapped. How can we provide equal educational opportunity for them? Probably we cannot provide equal education for each one of them, but we can provide education to the maximum of their potential. For example, we may use modified curricula for those who are mentally retarded or having hearing problems.

10.2 Equality of Educational Outcomes

As for the equality of educational outcomes, schools are to make sure that all students to achieve equal intended/desired educational outcomes for each school subject taken by students. The effective teaching and learning will help students to achieve the intended/desired educational outcomes. As we learn earlier, the educational outcomes can be divided into four major domains (cognitive, affective, psychomotor & social domains), and other domains (productive, physical, aesthetic, moral & spiritual domains). The educational outcomes depend on the subjects taken by students. Do all students take the same subjects? Definitely not. Hence, we can talk about equality of educational outcomes only for students who take the same subjects.

The effectiveness of teaching and learning, however, does not depend only on the quality of teaching/teachers, but also on the availability of teaching materials/resources, the ability of students to learn, and the quality of learning. The ability of students to learn depends on the general intelligence of students and learning materials/resources provided, while the quality of learning depends on the interest, motivation and extra learning materials available to students. Hence, quality of teaching and learning is very important to make sure similar educational outcomes can be achieved by all students, particularly for students with special needs. Therefore, what happen in the classroom and at home are of paramount important in achieving equality of educational outcomes for all students. The cases of English language deficiency mentioned earlier could be the major cause for inequality of educational outcomes for African and Chinese Americans.

11.1: EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES

In the earlier history of education in USA, there were independent schools established by different ethnic and religious groups, that is, children from different ethnic groups or different religious groups studied in different types of schools. Since they learned different curricula/contents in different types of schools, therefore, they were not given equal education, and this is what we call “educational inequality”. One way to provide equal education to all students is to use common curricula for all students. Another example of educational inequality is when students are tracked into arts or science stream. When they are in arts track, they will study only arts subjects, while those in the science track will study science-related subjects. This causes educational inequalities.

In terms of delivery/pedagogy, we can choose teaching approach/method/technique suitable for students with different needs. For example, the pedagogy to deliver contents to blind students is different from normal students or deaf-and-dumb students. A proper pedagogy can be used as a way to provide educational equality to children with special needs, that is, using suitable pedagogy so that all students can learn all subjects and receive equal educational outcomes. In relation to this, schools need to provide appropriate teaching and learning materials and equipments, together with specialist teachers to implement proper teaching and learning to all students. Other than proper pedagogy, we can also allocate longer learning time for slow learners or students with special needs. As for examination,

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exam time should be longer for them, so that they have enough time to answer exam questions.

Three other approaches can be used in teaching students with special needs: (1) remediate

students’ learning problems (for example, if a student could not write an essay, the teacher can remediate him/her by using concept-mapping technique); (2) compensate for student deficiencies (for example, if a student has eyesight problem, the teacher can ask him/her to sit in the front row or provide vision aids); and (3) capitalize on what the student prefers to do and do it well (for example, if the student likes music, the teacher can encourage him/her to play piano; or if a student likes drawing, the teacher can encourage him/her to do drawings).

11.2 Tutorial Activities

Read Table 10.2 (p 299) on “How teachers may treat high and low achievers differently”. The table gives you 18 different treatments when dealing with low achievers/slow learners. Try to understand these treatments. Which of these 18 treatments do you think are effective or not effective for teaching low achievers? Give reasons for your answers. You may also suggest other treatments for low achievers/slow learners.

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TOPIC 12: EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS

12.1 Educational Reforms and School Improvements

Reform means “the amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, or unsatisfactory to a better state”. Improve means “to bring to a more desirable or excellent condition”. Educational reforms and school improvements mean “the amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, or unsatisfactory in educational practices to a better state; and to bring to a more desirable or excellent condition of the schools”. Hence, educational reforms and school improvements deal with how we can change our education system and schools to a better education system and better schools.

During the twentieth century, education in USA was criticized by public, for example, teachers were using mechanical teaching and learning methods, administrators were incompetence, and parents were not interested in their children’s welfare (p. 116). As for the condition of classrooms, particularly in city schools, it was criticized that classrooms were not fit for human beings to breathe and teachers were badly treated. Schools were only interested to educate bright children and ignoring the slow or average students. School children were exploited as source of cheap labour during the rapid industrial growth in USA.

These require educational reforms and school improvements. For example, the introduction of laws on mandatory attendance of school protected the children by educating them and keeping them away from being employed as cheap labour force, while at the same time giving/securing more jobs for adults. At the same time also, there was a demand from the industry to use scientific methods to make education more effective. They suggested that education should produce specialists rather than generalists, so that after completing the school, students can work in specific industries.

As a result, many psychological testing were developed to measure students’ ability and intelligence. The results of these tests were used to stream students to academic programs or vocational and technical programs. The behavioural theories (reward & punishment) were used in teaching and learning so as to make them more effective. Public libraries were built to house thousands of books for teachers, students and public to use. Radio and television were also used to supplement the education provided by the schools. However, other than for teaching and learning, there were negative effects of television on students, that is, they became more violent.

Federal government had also influenced the educational reforms in USA, after Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Schools become the agencies for eradicating poverty and racial equality, that is, through education students will get better jobs and income, regardless of the race or social class. Federal government had provided financial assistance to school that served students from low-income families, legislation that guaranteed racial and sexual equality, provisions for students with disabilities, bilingual-bicultural programs, and career education.

Another example of educational reform and improvement was the Elementary and Secondary School Act (ESEA) 1965 which gave the power to federal government to set certain policies for elementary and secondary schools. The Act had provided funds and support for poverty programs, school libraries, textbooks, other instructional materials, counselling and health services, remedial instruction, research centres and laboratories for advance educational practice (p. 120). Later on, at local level, educational reforms and improvements were discussed to cater for district or local needs.

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12.2 Multicultural Education

Multicultural education can be defined as “an approach of educating students to understand and accept the cultural diversity of a country, and still can participate in the mainstream culture of the country”. Multicultural education is another example of educational reforms and school improvements. The multicultural education emphasizes on values and cultures of different groups of people in a particular country. The main aim of multicultural education is for students to appreciate values and cultures of groups of people based on, for example, gender, class, ethnic or religion. This aim can be achieved through multicultural teaching. There are five approaches to multicultural teaching.

(1) Teaching the exceptional and culturally different approach is teaching students with different backgrounds, such as students of a particular race, low-income students or special education students, for the purpose of assimilating them into mainstream values and cultures. Children are taught mainstream/common knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are needed for successful life in USA, which may be different from their own values and cultures. This will create conflicting values for the students in relation to their own values.

(2) Human relations approach is teaching students with different backgrounds to understand and accept each other on personal level. They are taught conflict mediation, which will help students to solve daily conflicts that arise, due to the differences in their backgrounds. One example of mediation program is “Teaching to Be Peacemakers”, which prepare students to apply negotiation and mediation procedures whenever a conflict arises. When students are trained to be their own peacemakers, student discipline problems decrease by 60%.

(3) Single-group studies approach is teaching students with different backgrounds to understand values and cultures of a particular group of people. The main purpose is for the students to appreciate group values and cultures by studying the group values and cultures. For example, students can participate in activities that feature the food, dress, and custom of foreign countries. The major drawback of single-group studies is that students tend to accept diversity of values and cultures more than unity.

(4) Multicultural approach is teaching students with different backgrounds to understand diversity of values and cultures. The major purpose of multicultural approach is for students to appreciate other values and cultures, and mostly use the contents of the single-group studies. One example of using multicultural approach in teaching is teaching algebra to African American students while listening to African drum-beats.

(5) Social reconstruction approach is teaching students with different backgrounds to understand social inequality and equality. Teachers will use students’ life experiences in discussing social inequalities, such as classism, racism; either from students’ own experiences or materials from textbooks or newspapers. Students are asked to think of ways that might solve problems related to social inequalities, to achieve social justice for all.

12.3 Tutorial Activities

Read Figure 3.3 (p 70) on “Bank’s Approaches to Multicultural Curricular Reform”. Briefly explain these approaches in your own words.

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TOPIC 13: CURRENT ISSUES AND TRENDS IN EDUCATION

13.1 THE CURRENT ISSUES IN EDUCATION

Public education system. Issues in education can be defined as “certain aspects of education that are worrying people”. For example, people are worried about public education system. Critics are worried that students are not getting the knowledge and skills that they needed, that teachers are not fully trained before entering the classroom, and that a big gap is forming between rich and poor schools (p 363). It means that students are not getting the knowledge and skills that they need for their daily life, teachers are not well trained, and there are differences in teaching and learning activities in the poor and rich schools. Do we have similar scenarios in Malaysia?

Control of curriculum in public schools. Educators and other citizens find difficulties in controlling curriculum in public schools. Government policy makers, parents, educators, and citizens want to decide on what is to be taught and learned in schools. Public demands changes in the curriculum, methods of teaching and learning, and process of assessment. The demand for changes called for teachers to change their practices. Department of Education demanded that by 2002-2003 all new teachers must be highly qualified, that means they must be licensed/certified and teaching only in the subject-matter (content) areas for which they are certified.

The use of technology in teaching and learning. The use of technologies, particularly the ICT, in teaching and learning, varies from school to school. For example, poor schools have less ICT facilities compared to rich schools. Another issue related to the use of ICT in teaching and learning is teacher knowledge and skills in using ICT. Teachers need to be trained on how to use the latest ICT hardware and software for teaching and learning, since the development in ICT is very rapid. Schools also need a lot of financial support to maintain the hardware and to purchase new PCs and software.

Teaching of Mathematics and Science. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 1995 and 1999 had indicated that the mathematics and science achievement of US students were lower compared to Asian or European students. It was argued that the low achievement was due to the focus of mathematics and science teaching was on drill-and-practice, rather than understanding the concepts, principles and applications, as being practice by other countries, which also using project-based and solving-real-problem approach in teaching mathematics and science. In term of curricula, it was found that the contents the US students studied in grade eight were given to students in grade five of other countries.

Testing and Standard Achievement. American students were also found not often given tests and examinations while they were in schools. This could contribute to their low achievement in mathematics and science compared to Asian or European students. As a result, a ruling was introduced such that schools in all states must give annual tests to all students in grades three to eight in reading and mathematics. Schools also must document student achievement in report cards and also the School District must produce report cards for every school. Other than that, schools also must make sure students attain certain level of proficiency. Weaker students should be given personal tutorial to make sure they achieve at the highest potential.

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Understanding Global Interdependence. The September 11, 2001 events had changed the American thinking about relationships to other people in the world. Other than this, the effects of national activities, such as economics, communications, and politics, had made the American thought that they were also just a part of the global community, with the term such as global village becoming a model. The process of understanding these relationships now becomes the major issue and focus in American education. American education, through Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, had tried to make comparison of educational achievement within USA and with other countries in the world, and at the same time tried to understand education system of these countries.

13.2 TRENDS IN EDUCATION

Trends towards common educational expectations. Implementing common educational expectations for all schools, teachers and students is one way to solve the issue of students are not getting the knowledge and skills that they need, teachers are not fully trained, and differences between rich and poor schools. Teachers need common curricula as guide for their teaching, and schools should have common mechanism to measure school effectiveness. States must make sure all students reach certain level of achievement in the examinations.

Trends towards comprehensive curriculum and assessment. The pressure from public on educational standards had motivated the curriculum and assessment reforms. The trend is to integrate the contents with characteristics of students, teaching methods, and relevant thinking skills to the contents, so that schools can have comprehensive curricula. As for assessment, the trend is to have more comprehensive assessment, not just depending on examination results, but more on project-based assessment.

Trends towards the application of technologies in teaching and learning. The application of technologies, particularly those related to ICT, needs substantial investment in the hardware, software and teacher training. Allocations of fund must be made to schools, to enable them to purchase the equipments and software. Teachers are now being trained and retrained on how to apply technologies in teaching and learning. All these trends can be regarded as educational reforms, and teacher professionalism will change accordingly.

Trends towards education for diversity. Schools were asked to make sure all students get similar educational outcomes. However, students are different for example some are motivated to learn, while others are not. If they are to have similar outcomes, they need different types of support. These include developing different curricula and instruction for students with different cultures and subcultures, and for students with special learning needs. A new trend to cater education to students with different needs is teaching them in inclusive classrooms. One example is to teach special-needs students in the same class as normal students, rather them in putting them together in special classes. However some argue on the problems of suitability of curricular and instruction for special-needs students (p. 368).

Trends towards character education. Character education is teaching students about values with the hope to shape students’ character. Schools were pressured to add character education in addition to the normal knowledge and skill curricula. Three approaches were suggested for character education: views, virtues, and

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values. The views approach will encourage students to state their views on certain controversial issues related to, for example, politics or religion. The virtues approach will help students to develop good habits and virtues to become responsible adults. The values approach (most popular in schools) will help students to know the values that are desirable to people. The six core values are trustworthiness, respects, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

13.3 TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES

Read on “How are links to technology changing the foundations of education” (pp 371-75). Briefly explain how technology had changed the foundations of education.

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