Are teachers more effective if they study the social context of education?

TOZER BELIEVES THAT:

• Teachers are more likely to be effective if they understand their students well.

• Studying social context helps teachers understand how culture (dominant and subcultures) influences student learning, teachers’ beliefs in capacity of students to learn, what is rewarded or punished in school, how language, beliefs, and values differ.

Concerns: Gender, Race, Class, Religion, Ethnicity, difference

• Teachers who understand themselves and their students find ways to bridge cultural gaps to support learning.

Supports the idea that successful teachers are continually learning about students and seeking to assess their effectiveness in teaching.

What is the study of social foundations of education?SOCIAL CONTEXT of the ANALYTIC FRAMEWORK TODAY PE & Ideology explains why, what, how.

SCHOOLS

IDEOLOGY IDEAS(See Tozer, Chapter 1) Explain and Justify how things work, the social arrangements.

Shared beliefs Shared values Groups differ- dominant

Conservative IdeasHigh Stakes AccountabilityHigher standardsCompetitionChoiceMerit pay UnionsMeritocracy

Equality

POLITICAL ECONOMY

Institutions and practices in daily life

Social (family, religion, organizations, ethnicity/race, customs, etc.)

EconomicPolitical (Laws, Local, State, Federal)SchoolsDemographics

NCLB LAWSSTATE TESTSPOOR ECONOMYMORE DIVERSITYDISCRIMINATIONWAR

Policies AdministrationSchool Design CommunityFacilities Safety Curriculum ResourcesExtra-curricular School cultureFundingTeacher Training

What kind of a teacher do you want to be?

Why have you chosen teaching?

Why teach?

Summers off!I like history.

I enjoy students.

Saint-like, to save the world.

Tozer Chapter 14 School and SocietyTeaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century

Why teach?

Usually, teachers hold a combination of these three reasons.

• It is about me.

• It is about the kids.

• It is about improving society.

Why Teach?

– Personal reasons—your individual skills, dispositions, and job opportunities.

– Student learning—enjoy kids and want to make a difference in their lives through academic achievement (little attention to social structures or political and economic inequalities).

– A political act—views high quality education as necessity for all students and views education as a means to improving society (teacher participates in improving equal opportunity in the school and whenever possible in the larger community). Prepares kids to be active citizens and successful adults.

Why teach?

• Of the three goals, one goal for teaching tends to be more dominant.

• The dominant goal may change over time.

• Main point: Your main goal for teaching will impact how you view your students, what you teach and how, how you relate to your students, how you view the school organization, and how you view the community.

What do teachers need to succeed?How do we achieve these conditions?

• Understand the context of schooling--classroom, students, community, society at large.

And basic to success as a teacher is:

• Knowledge of subject matter

• Appropriate techniques for instruction

• Dispositions to communicate care

• Commitment that all students can learn (Tozer, Chapter 14, 453)

TOZER, Chapter 14 Teaching for change….Evidence shows that schools can change…..low

performing schools can become high performing schools.

Tozer cautions—

Teachers alone cannot end racism, sexism, bullying, poverty, unemployment, lack of health care, poor housing, gang activity…

…..but students can become less racist, less sexist, less aggressive, and more skilled in relationships and more involved in their community.

Outside forces impact the daily life in schools.

There is no doubt that teachers can make a difference in the lives of their students. How?

– Teachers need to consider social context of students’ lives, the school community (school climate, school structures), and the society at large.

– Understand the lingering impact of the history of schooling—for example, today we take equality more seriously (assess for all, quality programs for all).

– Understand the influence of current ideology on school policies that is top-down (testing, privatization, accountability) vs. bottom up school based reform--participatory democracy approaches (Dewey or Freire).

Another example of a successful model of a bottom-up approach in Chapter 14–

Profession Learning Community

– To improve schools, teachers need to develop collaborative relationships with other teachers, the community and the administration.

– Professional learning community—– a community that holds a common vision– shared values– sets goals and priorities– creates a collaborative culture– involves parents– assesses progress (Tozer, 457)

TOZER CONCLUDES THAT TEACHERS WILL BE MORE EFFECTIVE IF

THEY VIEW THEMSELVES AS PART OF A LEARNING COMMUNITY

Tozer, Chapter 13 “The Essential Supports for School Improvement” pp. 439-442 improving urban schools.

And Tozer’s discussion of:– Creating a professional learning community—

– a community that holds a common vision– shared values– sets goals and priorities– creates a collaborative culture– involves parents– assesses progress (Chapter 14, Tozer, 457)

How should we assess schools?Why are multiple data points viewed as a sound way to achieve a successful school? • Attendance Rates• Graduation Rates• College Attendance Rates • AP participation • Special Education Rates• Grades• Test scores• Teacher Mobility• Parent satisfaction • Student satisfaction • Quality of the learning community -climate • Discipline Rates

Rewards of TeachingSpring Chapter 8

• Illinois 4th in nation in teachers average salary, but starting salaries vary (smaller districts have a lower starting pay scale).

• Interacting with students

• Having a satisfying job-creative decision making

• Have autonomy in the classroom

Concerns about working conditions (Spring Chapter 8)

• Teachers average 45 hours of work per week

• Class size changes student/teacher interactions.

• State testing—pressures and time.

• Number of students per day--compromises between ideals and reality—effects the amount of time for evaluating students’ work

• Required paperwork

• Extra non-class duties

• Time for reading professional material, improving skills.

• Time for to prepare for classes during the day.

• Respect for the profession