Educational Reform ADMPS 3314 Fall 2014

Noreen Garman, Professor

Course Description

Since the beginning of organized schooling in the US, efforts to “make schools better” has been a major goal. Conceptions of educational reform have continued to spring from complex interactions of the values, experiences, observations and power struggles of the public surround. In the early twentieth century many reformers focused on reforming society by reforming education based on pragmatic, scientific, humanistic, and democratic principles. Economic growth and the spread of democracy enhanced the value of education. In this course we will focus on reform initiatives associated with public school reform, such as the common school movement, the progressive movement, the civil rights movement, the standards movement, and the school choice movement. We will study the challenges of today’s reform efforts that result in ways in which public schools have morphed from local community establishments into an education-industrial complex of considerable national dimension – with outsourced educational work by entrepreneurs and corporations, the rise of powerful teachers unions, larger and growing bureaucracies at every level of government, and interest groups with political, economic, religious and social agendas that impact curriculum and teaching. Course members will have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the forces that influence specific reform initiatives and to practice the role of educator as public intellectual within group and individual activities. Assessment of accomplishments will be made through a folder review process.

Goals

The Goals and Opportunities that shape the Educational Reform course are intended as guides to the readings and activities. We assume that participants will also work on their own goals that can emerge from the dialogic initiatives of the class:

• To locate those historic, philosophic, political, and cultural forces that shape educational reform initiatives. • To consider the curriculum and teaching consequences that have resulted from educational reform efforts.. • To name the current reform efforts and analyze the complexities that emerge from reported situations. • To develop a position related to educational reform that reflects one’s role as public intellectual. • To appreciate one’s spirit of investigation through group and individual work.

1 Imagining the “Text” of the Class and Course Sructure

Contrary to the common idea of an academic text as written materials, this class will consider the class text as the socially constructed experience that we create as we engage with the materials and the reflective insights we all bring to the evolving knowledge. The common readings introduce ideas and themes that can serve as a basis for discourse. Hopefully the readings will also provide glimpses of the “complicated conversations” inherent in educational reform efforts. However, the major content for the course will be generated by each class member as he/she engages in the group and individual activities. We begin with the statement by the National Research Council “The meaning of knowing has shifted from being able to remember and repeat information to being able to find and use it.” We live in an information society in which more people must manage more information which in turn requires more technological support, which both demands and creates more information. The general consequences of the information society are threefold: larger volumes of information, new forms and aggregations of information and new tools for working with information. The development of new and alternative organizational structures for dealing with large volumes of information demands more information management skills. Typically, in academic coursework, the primary content (the intellectual information) is provided by the instructor through required readings and lecture. Currently, with the massive amounts of intellectual content now digitally available, the curriculum is ripe for open inquiry and discovery approaches to course and curriculum structure. Curriculum Structure CCurriculum Structure In contrast to the dominant “means-ends” structure of most academic classes, Educational Reform is intended to provide learners with an organic learning mode. In a means-ends structure, the learning objectives are determined before the class begins and the materials and activities are designed in order for students to meet the objectives (means). Evaluations are done to determine to what extent the students accomplished the objectives (ends). In an open process learning structure, Educational Reform class members have the opportunity to engage in the emerging experiences of the course and to generate insights as a result of the involvement. The course content is chosen to represent issues and scholarship in the field in order to invite class members into a dialogic space. It’s not possible to predict the various accomplishments of class members before the class begins since the learning is a result of the involvement in the on-going experience. We can, however, consider some key opportunities that are reflected in the course

2 content. There will be other accomplishments that occur as a result of the dialogic experience. (For further explanation see Garman, N. “On dialogic thinking and writing” and “The closed and open contract: Two irreconcilable structures in the curriculum” (1989). WCCI Forum: Journal of the World Council for Curriculum and Instruction 4(2): 176-82)

Opportunities

• To practice various strategies for information seeking in order to develop deeper understanding of specific reform efforts. • To trace the complex dimensions of a reform initiative. • To locate helpful sources and determine their reliability and utility for one’s educational inquiry. • To design authentic ways to demonstrate one’s course accomplishments.

FOUR ACTIVITIES IN THE COURSE:

ANALYSIS OF A REFORM INITIATIVE: (A Project-based Group Inquiry)

Small groups will be provided with a current New York Times article reporting a situation that has surfaced as a result of the current educational reform efforts. Although national media reports are fragmented, (often rhetorical, or even inaccurate), the situation represents the results of a current reform initiative. Group members have the opportunity to inquire about the nature of the reform effort and to problematize the consequences. As group members inquire into the threads of the historical background as well as the political, economic, and cultural influences, hopefully you will be able to consider the curricular and philosophic implications for students and educators, as well as the general public.. A report of the group inquiry can provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of educational reform. Groups will be ready with their reports to the class on October 9.

POSITION PAPER: (An Individual Inquiry)

In an era of heightened educational reform efforts, educators are challenged to become informed about the situations and consequences of their profession. Thus, class members are invited to practice the role of educator as public intellectual by constructing a position related to an aspect of educational reform. As such, the paper can serve as a working draft for a public text, such as a policy recommendation, an op-ed piece, a rationale for a curriculum design, etc. (Although a version of the public text is not required during the course, the position paper can demonstrate, through deep inquiry, the complexity inherent in an educational reform effort, Class members will provide the instructor with a sketch of their intended position paper by October 23 for deliberative comments.

WELL-KNOWN REFORMERS: (Search and Quiz)

3 Any study of educational reform should reflect the ways in which individual efforts are significant forces in influencing the directions of reform efforts. The “reformers” on the course list are meant as illustrative of many others who do similar work. Likewise, they do not work in isolation, however they are well-known authors in the reform literature; educators, politicians, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and cultural icons who reflect the dimensions and complexities of reform. Class members are challenged to search on-line in order to locate information about each person and identify the significant aspects that are related to their contributions. There will be a quiz on November 6 to see how well you’ve been able to determine their reform legacy.

SEUSSIAN SENTIMENT AND SPECULATIONS (A Dr. Seuss Experience)

Class members are invited to use Dr. Seuss’ book, Hooray for Diffendoofer, in order to consider how a cultural artifact can be related to educational reform discourses. A Dr. Seuss text should be read aloud to experience the fullness of it’s meaning, The cadence allows one to hear the resonance of the rhymes and images that convey more than the literal meaning of the story. In order to respond to this Seussian activity, please determine how you will “experience” the cadence and meaning of the book with another listener. Suggestions include: Reading to an interested listener (child, educator, friend, etc.) and engaging in a discussion about the ways in which both of you respond to the implied message, as well as other aspects of the poetic story. OR – perhaps you might ask an interested person to read the text out loud to you, engaging afterward in a conversation. After the discussion, write about the experience in order to share your observations with members of the class during our final class celebration on December 11.

Demonstration of Accomplishments

Finally, at the end of the term, class members will be asked to present a folder as evidence of their accomplishments, including demonstrations of the results of the activities. The contents of the folder represent the various ways in which one has engaged in the text of the class.

Common Readings

Labaree, David (2010). Someone has to fail: The zero-sum game of public schooling. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Tucker, Marc, ed. (2012). Surpassing Shanghai: An agenda for American education built on the world’s leading systems. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Tucker, Marc (1995). A nation prepared: teachers for the 21st century: The report of the Carnegie forum on education and the economy task force on teaching as a

4 profession . In Ginsberg, Rick & Plank, David (Eds.), (1995). Commissions, reports, reforms, and educational policy. Westport, Ct: Praeger.

Goldstein, Dana (2014). The teacher wars: A history of America’s most embattled profession. NY: Doubleday.

Dr. Seuss (1998). Hooray for diffendoofer day, with some help from Jack Prelutsky & Lane Smith. NY: Alfred A, Knopf.

(Consult Courseweb for posted readings.)

KEY REFORMERS

Thomas Jefferson

Horace Mann

Franklin Bobbitt

John Dewey

Edward L Throndike

Jean Piaget

Benjamin Bloom

Ralph Tyler

James Popham

Maxine Greene

Betty Friedan

James Conant

Terrance Bell

Milton Friedman

Gloria Steinem

Madelyn Hunter

Terrence Bell

Martin Luther King

5 Diane Ravitch

John Ogbu

Marc Tucker

Christopher Whittle

William Gates

Charlotte Danielson

Deborah Meier

RECOMMENDED READINGS

Berliner, David & Biddle, Bruce (1995). The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on America’s public schools. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group

Blasé, Joseph (Ed.), (1991). The politics of life in schools: Power, conflict, and cooperation. London, UK: Sage Publications

Bracey, Gerald (2002). The war against America’s public schools: Privatizing schools, commercializing education. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Cornbleth, Catherine (Ed.). (2000). Curriculum politics, policy, practice: Cases in comparative context. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Gibbons, Andrew (2007). The matrix ate my baby. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Ginsberg, Rick & Plank, David (Eds.), (1995). Commissions, reports, reforms, and educational policy. Westport, Ct: Praeger.

Hess, Frederick & Petrilli, Michael (2006). No child left behind: Primer. NY: Peter Lang.

Horn, Raymond (2004). Standards: Primer. NY: Peter Lang.

Hofstadter, Richard (1955) (1960). The age of reform. NY: Vintage Books.

Klein, Frances (Ed.), (1991). The politics of curriculum decision-making: Issues in centralizing the curriculum. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Poetter, Thomas, Wegwert, Joseph, & Haerr, Catherine (Eds.), (2006). No child left behind and the illusion of school reform: Critical essays by educators. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

6 Ravitch, Diane (2010). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. NY: Basic Books.

Shipps, Dorothy (2006). School reform, corporate style: Chicago, 1880 – 2000. Lawrence, KA: University Press of Kansas.

Tyack, David & Cuban, Larry (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of public school reform. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press

University Policies Non-Discrimination & Accessibility Policy: The University of Pittsburgh is committed to providing equal opportunities in higher education to academically qualified students with different abilities. Students with different abilities will be integrated as completely as possible into the University experience. Disability Resources and Services (DRS) shares with you, the student, the responsibility for creating equal access toward achievement of your academic goals. The DRS provides a broad range of support and services to assist students with various challenges and different abilities. Services include, but are not limited to, the following: tape-recorded textbooks, sign language interpreters, adaptive computer technology, Braille copy, and non-standard exam arrangements. DRS can also assist students with accessibility to campus housing and transportation. Contact the DRS at (412) 648-7890 (voice or TDD) in room 216 of the William Pitt Union, or visit http://www.drs.pitt.edu/ for more information.

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism: (The following is taken from the “Preface” of the University of Pittsburgh’s “Guidelines on Academic Integrity,” available on-line and downloadable at http://www.pitt.edu/~provost/ai1.html) “In general, we seek to preserve the traditional freedoms and duties associated with academic endeavors. The University should work to preserve the rights and responsibilities of faculty and students in their relationships with one another. Just as faculty and students must be free to seek truth and to search for knowledge with open minds, they must also accept the responsibility that these activities entail maintaining the highest standards of integrity, mutual respect, and honest inquiry.” Each individual student is expected to read, understand and adhere to the University’s guidelines regarding “academic integrity,” which includes and is not limited to plagiarism and cheating

7 I. Course Outline (Temporary draft … See Courseweb for specifics)

OPTIONAL TOPIC READINGS RESOURCES

Aug 28 INTRODUCTIONS: NONE

Large goup Groups address reform Sept 4 Reform Narratives GARMAN NOTES Introduction to small situation in NYT group interaction Practice information DR HELEN HAZI Large group Sept 11 Information-seeking strategies seeking and begin Small Group rhetorical criticism LABAREE Large group discussion Small groups continue Sept 18 (CHAPS 1-4) Small group work reform documents

LABAREE Large group Sept 25 (CHAPS 5-8) Small Group SURPASSING SHANGHAI Begin M. Tucker story as model VII-P.77 Large group discussion Plan for M. Tucker Oct 2 for reform map. . (CHOOSE ONE OTHER Small group work readings COUNTRY) SURPASSING SHANGHAI Large group DISCUSS TUCKER Tracing a reform initiative Oct 9 PART II PP.169-223 Small Group READINGS Tracing a reform initiative PREPARE COMMENTS Large group Oct 16 Read: History of National Center TUCKER PUBLICATIONS AND QUESTIONS FOR Small group on Education & the Economy. CONVERSATION CONVERSATION WITH Sketch of Position Oct 23 TUCKER ON SKYPE Paper Due NEW HISTORY WARS Oct 30 Pre-K – 16 Reform initiative (NYT ARTICLE)

Nov 6 PreK-16 reform initiatives Reformers Quiz

Educational Reform in Higher Nov 13 INDIVIDUA REPORTS Education

Nov 20 TBA

Nov 27 THANSGIVING

HOORAY FOR Dec 4 DIFFENDOOFER

Dec 11 LAST CLASS SEUSSIAN CELEBRATION

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