CHAPTER 6
Con temporary Trends and Issues
in Education
Collin College
EDUC 1301
 Students
who require special services for
academic, physical, or behavioral needs
may be mainstreamed into regular
classrooms with two teachers working
together.
 Inclusion classrooms offer all students
significant possibilities. The inclusion
teacher works closely with the regular
classroom teacher.
 Inclusion: Students
with disabilities are
in a “regular” class whole day
• Pros and cons- helps or hurts “regular” students?
 Mainstreaming: Students
are in regular
class for part of day
 Special education: Segregated class
• Stigmatizes and inhibits growth?
• Why is there a disproportionate # of minority
boys?
• How is the special education assessment made?
 Plan
describing academic goals, services
school will provide, and assessment
strategy for each student with disabilities
• Created through collaboration of teachers
(general ed. & inclusion specialist for that class),
school psychologist, administrators, student’s
guardians
 Learn differently from peers:
• Usually they learn faster and understand at more
complex level
• Often demonstrate special creativity
 Inclusion
students can also be gifted and
talented!
 Fewer poor & minority students
identified
• Parents less likely to demand inclusion
• Students had fewer experiences that convey
sense of “giftedness”
 Enrichment: Broadens
curriculum
• Classroom-based activities to expand on unit
 Acceleration: Speed
through curriculum,
students may skip grades, graduate early
• Segregated grade-level classes
• Advanced placement classes (college credit)
• International Baccalaureate Program

Uses a variety of strategies to meet different learning
needs- represents good teaching!
• Differences affect:
 What students need to learn
 Pace of their learning
 Level of support needed
• Students learn best when:
 Supportive adults encourage them
 The curriculum connects to their interests, lived experiences
 They feel respected & part of community
 Learning opportunities are natural outgrowths of the
classroom community.



Project-based: Students tackle a complex realistic task
(often constructing something);
Problem-based: Students solve real problems
In both approaches:
• Students collaborate in small teams, direct learning
• All answers are respected and analyzed
• Focus is on an engaging, complex, real-life issue
• Students gain new academic, thinking, & social skills
• Adds creativity & depth to study of subject

The major goal was to close the achievement gap
between poor, minority students & white middle-class
students;
• Instituted annual state and school report cards based on
standardized test scores.
• If schools don’t make “annual yearly progress”:
 Schools provide additional services (free tutoring)
 Schools must take corrective actions
 Students can transfer to better-performing school in district
• States & school districts given unprecedented flexibility
in spending federal $
• Federal $ targeted to support programs and methods
scientifically proven to improve student achievement
 Fostered
culture of test preparation
• Annual standardized tests in math & reading for
grades 3-8, but tests aren’t “standard”
• Narrowed curriculum, teaching practices
 Widened
gap between low- and highachieving students!
 Went back to being called the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
in 2010
State 32%
Local 60%
Federal 8%
 STAAR tests:
• 3-9 reading; 4,7 writing; 8 social studies 5,8, science
 Ratings:
• Exemplary, recognized, academically acceptable,
academically unacceptable
 Subgroups:
• All students, African American, Hispanic, White,
Economically Disadvantaged
 STARR
• 2011-12 begin EOC exams, eventually 12 EOC
exams
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Public School
Choice
Magnet
Schools
Charter
Schools
• Choice of schools within a district
• Sometimes between districts
Public schools with specific themes
Public schools chartered to be run
independently
Voucher Plans Public money to attend private school
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 Charter
exempts school from certain
rules, school produces set results by
deadline
• Goal: Innovative education, often for targeted
•
•
•
•
•
populations
State or local ed. agency grants charter
Publicly funded schools
Teacher certification standards vary
40 states have charter school laws
No clear evidence of success; supported by
2010 Race to the Top Federal Grant
Competition.
 Harlem
Success Academy
• 100% students pass zone test compared to 58%
of public school students
 Reasons
public schools unsuccessful (Eva
Muskowitz)
• 1)bureaucracy
2)union 3)can’t fire teachers
 365,000
children on waiting lists for
Charter Schools
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reserved.
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Against
For


Families have widest
possible range of
education choices
Free-market
competition will force
schools to improve
•
•
Good schools get
stronger
Bad schools “go out of
business”

Schools, rather than
families, choose
• Those not accepted remain
in public system



Voucher amounts not
enough for most private
schools
Reduces funds for public
schools
Public money could
support religious schools
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reserved.
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 1980s: Many
junior highs converted to
middle schools to better serve young
teens with interdisciplinary teamteaching
 Research
showed K-8 yields better
academic & social success
• Many middle school teachers aren’t certified in
subject area
 Most
homeschooling families are white,
middle or upper-middle class, religious,
well-educated
• 1/3 chose because of school environment (safety,
peer pressure, drugs); 1/3 to give religious ed.
 Can
parents adequately teach in all
subjects?
• Range of curricula from companies via the Internet
 Do kids gain social skills?
• Study reported 71% of homeschooled grads were
active in the community vs. 37% of traditionally
educated students.
% of students aged 12-18 who reported being
victims during past 6 months (“Violent crimes”
includes “serious violent crimes”)
Source: Dinkes, R., Cataldi, E.F., Kena, G., and
Baum, K. (2006). Indicators of School Crime
and Safety: 2006. NCES 2007-003/NCJ 214262.
Washington, DC: U.S. Departments of Education
and Justice. Figure 3.1, p. 15.
 Emotional
climate
• Establish a culture of respect
• Deal quickly with everyday teasing, bullying
 Create
connections between adults &
students
 Break the code of silence
 Involve everyone in school in creation of
“emergency response” policies &
practices
 Refers
to students’ abilities to manage
their emotions, develop caring and
concern for others, make responsible
decisions, establish positive
relationships, and handle challenging
situations effectively.
 SEL
skills are explicitly taught through
planned, systematic, and evidence-based
classroom instruction.
 Safety
 Privacy
• Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA):
School must protect confidentiality of students’
educational records
 A.k.a. “the Buckley Amendment”
 Students & parents can review records
 Can challenge content, insert explanation into file
 Exercise some control over disclosure
 For more information about FERPA
 Free
expression:
• Balance between individual’s rights & school’s
need to maintain productive learning
environment
• Speech cannot disrupt learning
• School newspapers can be censored
• District can impose dress code
 Freedom
of religion:
• In general, schools must be neutral
 Safety
 Academic
freedom
 Freedom of expression
 Privacy: Limited; if private actions affect
integrity of school or hamper teacher’s
effectiveness, teacher may be disciplined
 These rights are limited by context: The
teacher’s responsibility to students
 Take
reasonable precautions to keep
students safe;
 Report suspected child abuse/neglect!
 Watch
the TeachSource Video Case,
“Legal and Ethical Dimensions of
Teaching: Reflections from Today’s
Educators”
• In what ways are the “rules of the classroom”
meant to support students’ First Amendment
rights?”
 Trends
often have long lasting impacts on
teaching and learning! You will likely
encounter:
• Exceptional learners
• An inclusion classroom
• Project- and problem-based learning
• Standards-based accountability
• Issues related to students’ rights and safety
• Families choosing alternative schooling (charter
schools, homeschooling)
• Issues surrounding social and emotional learning.

Choose an Issue
Exceptional learners
An inclusion classroom
Project- and problem-based learning
Standards-based accountability
Issues related to students’ rights and safety
Families choosing alternative schooling (charter schools,
homeschooling)
• Issues surrounding social and emotional learning
•
•
•
•
•
•

Discuss the Issue Developing Pro and Con
Talking Points
• 10 minutes to work
• 2 minutes to present
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