Chapter 7 Why Can’t Johnny Read?: Education in Crisis

Chapter Overview  Social Problems Faced by Schools  Student Impact at Local and National Levels  Statistical Portrait of Various Educational Social Problems  History of Public Education in U.S.  Evolving Roles and Debates  Case Studies © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Statistical Portrait of Schools and Social Problems  Two major categories of social problems in education: 1. Inequalities and access 2. Kinds of education available © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Dropout Rates  U.S. dropout rate 10%  U.S. ranked 11 th among industrialized nations for students completing high school degrees  Higher among minorities  Link between level of education and unemployment  Those without high school diploma twice as likely to be unemployed as those with high school diploma © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Social Conditions Related to Dropout Rates  Socioeconomic Status of Family  Family Structure  Family Stress  Death  Divorce  Family moves  Mother’s Age © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Inequalities in Education  Funding  Segregation, Race, and Ethnicity  Higher Education © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Funding  Public vs. Private  Inequality Among and Between Public Schools  Salary of teachers  Funding per student  SAT scores © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Segregation, Race, and Ethnicity  Legal Segregation  Brown v. Board of Education  Desegregation and “Re-segregation”  White Flight  De Facto Segregation: segregation which occurs not by law but geographic or economic disparity  Race and Ethnicity Predictors of School Performance © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Percentage of Black and Latino Students in Predominantly Black and Latino Schools

Higher Education  Class Impacts College Entrance  Government Subsidies  Race and Ethnicity  Affirmative Action © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Native-Born Mexican-Origin and Black Workers, 25- to 34- Year-Old Males, by level of education

History of Education in the U.S.  Colonial Education  Public Education  Changes in Laws in U.S.  Progressive Movement  John Dewey  Servicemen’s Readjustment Act  Civil Rights Acts of 1964  Community Colleges  No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Case Study #1: Arizona State University Service Learning and the “Hidden Curriculum” of Poverty © 2011 Pine Forge Press

ASU’s Project  Participants  ASU’s Department of English and Writing Across the Curriculum program students and faculty  Children in Roosevelt School District (RSD)  Action  One-on-one tutoring  Reading development  Educational enrichment workshops  Learning readiness programs © 2011 Pine Forge Press

ASU’s Project Theoretical Significance  Conflict theory’s emphasis on the unwritten and indirect played by inequality in teaching poor students that they have unequal opportunities and face almost insurmountable obstacles  Hidden curriculum © 2011 Pine Forge Press

ASU’s Impact  Intellectual Impact  Witness and engage variety of social problems behind poor academic performance  Recognition of complexity those served and conditions in which they live  Embrace need to challenge larger structural inequalities  Address impact of hidden curriculum on each student © 2011 Pine Forge Press

ASU’s Impact Cont’d  Practical Impact  Health screening  Nutrition skills  Tutoring  Learning-based mentoring  Boost academic performance  Reduce dropout rates © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Case Study #2: Disrupting Education Inequality Through the Futures Project © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Futures Project  Participants  UCLA’s Department of Education  Woodrow Wilson High School  James Madison High School  Action  College and high school faculty mentor high school students to do better in high school and then go on to college © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Futures Project Theoretical Significance  Symbolic Interactionism  Interactions between school officials, faculty, and students important from perspective of reflective self and social expectations  Self-fulfilling prophecy  Tracking  Conflict Theory  Reproduction in classroom of class and cultural inequality © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Futures Project Impact  Intellectual Impact  Students learned to counter negative label as their skills and self- esteem improved  Understanding of system of education  Practical Impact  Participants graduation rates surpassed comparison group  Increased GPAs  Many students took AP classes  Changed expectations © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Case Study #3: Challenging the Gender Gap in Science and Math Education © 2011 Pine Forge Press

Mother Caroline Academy and Lasell College Project  Participants  Mother Caroline Academy (MCA) students  Lasell College students and faculty  Action  A variety of service-related initiatives with MCA which lead to the creation of a feminist-based model of mentoring students © 2011 Pine Forge Press

MCA and Lasell College Project Theoretical Significance  Feminist research paradigm principles important to MCA and Lasell project:

MCA and Lasell College Project Impact  Intellectual Impact  Both Lasell and MAC students showed higher interests in math and science  Lasell students had a better understanding of impact of social conditions on learning  Lasell students gained new insights into impact of economic and gender inequalities © 2011 Pine Forge Press

MCA and Lasell College Project Impact cont’d  Practical Impact  Various science projects for seventh grade girls at MCA  Small lab at MCA  Weekly lab sessions at the college © 2011 Pine Forge Press