Chapter 1 Eisner Where are we heading The

The educational imagination § The process of education always occurs within a context and

Some items to ponder § How does one make valid comparisons among students in

Policy § Policymakers themselves often do not see and therefore do not know the

Thorndike § His work represented a vision of what he believed a science of

Dewey § Growth was not the result of a set of externally reinforcing agents

Tyler § Tyler’s Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction published in 1949 § Tyler’s

An examination of 3 beliefs § American education costs too much. We spend more

The goal § To complicate, not simplify… § Bring an appropriate uncertainty to mind

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Chapter 1 - Eisner Where are we heading?

The educational imagination § The process of education always occurs within a context and decisions about educational practices need to be sensitive to that context.

Some items to ponder § How does one make valid comparisons among students in programs that differ in content and in aims? § Is a common standardized curriculum appropriate for a nation with 45 million students attending 110, 000 schools in which 2 ½ million teachers work? § Is it fair to hold teachers and students accountable for achieving common outcomes in the face of such ‘savage inequalities’?

Policy § Policymakers themselves often do not see and therefore do not know the people their policies affect.

Thorndike § His work represented a vision of what he believed a science of behavior could do for the realization of social ambitions. § Behavior is controllable § Behavior can be shaped by method § Philosophically compatible with the scientific management of human behavior

Dewey § Growth was not the result of a set of externally reinforcing agents that Thorndike had described, but rather the outcome of an effort by the child to convert what Dewey called an indeterminate situation into a determinate one. § Considering ‘recipes’ for the classroom – If students were uniform in background, desires, and aptitudes, recipes might be useful.

Tyler § Tyler’s Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction published in 1949 § Tyler’s 4 ? s are fundamental to the concept of schooling: § What educational purposes should the school seek to attain? § What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? § How can these educational experiences be effectively organized? § How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

An examination of 3 beliefs § American education costs too much. We spend more on our schools than any other country. § American students are not doing as well as they once did in school; in fact, they know far less than their parents did at the same age. § Our educational position among nations lags far behind our economic competitors.

The goal § To complicate, not simplify… § Bring an appropriate uncertainty to mind as you think about the functions of education and the forms it can take