WEEK 6: Ecology of the School
Key Point Summary
I.
II.
The School’s Function as a Socializing Agent
A. The primary purpose of education from society’s perspective is
the transmission of the cultural heritage: the accumulated
knowledge, values, beliefs, and customs of the society.
B. The purpose of education from the individual’s perspective is to
acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to become selfsufficient and to participate effectively in society.
C. The school’s function in the United States can be described as
universal in that it is open to all, formal in that it is
methodological and prescriptive in that it provides directions
based on custom.
Macrosystem Influences on Schools
A. Influential macrosystem factors in developing educational policy
are political ideology, economics, culture, religion, and
science/technology.
1. Political ideology: The United States is a democracy in
which its educational policy must involve educating
citizens.
2. Economics: In the United States, funding for education
varies by state. Federal funding tied to schools’ abilities
to meet standards of the No Child Left Behind Act.
3. Culture: Values of the macroculture are reflected in the
school curriculum and in classroom management
practices.
4. Religion: The United States Constitution requires
separation of church and state.
5. Science/Technology: Advances in science and technology
affect not only school curricula but the methods of
teaching.
B. School Choice: Macrosystem influences are evidenced by
society’s policies regarding school choice, while might include:
1. Magnet schools are public schools that offer special
education programs, such as science, music, or
performing arts, and draw students from different
neighborhoods by choice.
2. School vouchers are issued by the federal government in
the amount the local school district would normally spend
on that child’s education at the public school, which
parents can apply toward tuition at a private school or
used for reimbursement for home schooling expenses.
3. Charter schools are formed by a group of parents,
teachers, or other community members with a shared
educational philosophy and that is authorized and funded
by a public school district.
4. Home-based schools provide an alternative to public
schools and the requirements vary from state to state.
C. Diversity and Equity: Efforts to ensure equal opportunity among
social groups are macrosystem influences impacting the school
environment.
1. Gender: Title IX of the Education Amendments Act
addresses gender equity in schools by prohibiting
discrimination.
2. Culture: Macrosystem philosophies are reflected in school
policies.
a. Three of these philosophies include cultural
assimilation (microcultures assume attributes of the
macroculture), melting pot (all cultures blend into
one) and cultural pluralism (micro- and macroculture
coexist)
b. Multicultural education, in which learning experiences
encourage interest in many cultures within the
society rather than in just the mainstream culture, is
an example of the socialization philosophy of cultural
pluralism.
3. Language: Children with limited English proficiency (LEP)
are at risk for failure. Disproportionately high numbers
of some diverse students enter school unprepared for
academic work and do not finish school.
4. Communication Style: Contrast in the student’s
communication style and that of the teacher can interfere
with the child’s ability to learn.
5. Religion: While schools are required to follow separation
of church and state, they often intersect. Schools can use
religion to discuss history and literature, but not teach
about religious views.
6. Disability refers to a reduction in the functioning of a
particular body part or organ, or its absence.
a. An impairment refers to physical damage or
deterioration.
b. A handicap is something that hampers a person – a
disadvantage or hindrance.
III.
c. Handicapism is a term used to describe assumptions
and practices that promote the deferential and
unequal treatment of people because they are
different physically, mentally, or behaviorally.
d. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
and the Americans with Disabilities Act address the
education of, and nondiscrimination of, individuals
with disabilities, respectively. It provides:
1) Provides federal money to states and local
agencies to education children with disabilities
ages 3 to 21.
2) Inclusion is the educational philosophy that all
children are entitled to participate fully in their
school and community.
3) The main purpose is to guarantee that all
children with disabilities have available to them
a free and appropriate public education.
4) An individualized education program (IEP) is a
form of communication between school and
family that is developed by the group of people
(teacher, parent, and other involved
personnel) responsible for the education of a
child with special needs.
5) Students with disabilities must be placed in the
least restrictive environment (LRE).
Chronosystem Influences on Schools
A. Adaptations to Social Change
1. Educational systems have changed over time in
response to trends and issues. Focus has vacillated from
focusing on academic skills to incorporating other life
skills and character education.
2. The passage of the NCLB in 2001 was intended to
motivate schools and students to fulfill the goals and
standards set for them.
B. Technology
1. Educational systems have changed over time in response
to a changing technological world.
2. To keep pace with a globalized technological culture,
American education must go beyond the classroom walls.
Computer technologys may help foster more self-directed
learning.
C. Health and Safety
1. The NCLB contains provisions for the Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Community Act (SDFSCA). States can apply
IV.
for funds to implement research-base drug prevention
programs.
2. Substance use in school by some students impairs the
educational environment for others.
3. With obesity increasing amongst children and
adolescents, schools play an important role in tackling
obesity.
4. Violence includes behaviors that intentionally threaten,
attempt, or inflict harm on others, such as bullying,
slapping, punching, and weapon use. To have an optimal
environment for learning, schools must be safe.
Mesosystem Influences on Schools
A. School-Child Linkages
1. Learning style refers to a consistent pattern of behavior
and performance by which an individual approaches
educational experiences.
B. School-Family Linkages
1. The effectiveness of the school as a socializing agent
depends on the degree of consistency, or supportive
linkages, between children’s home environment and their
educational environment.
2. The school needs to interact with the family so that
socialization goals for the child are complementary rather
than contradictory.
3. Decision making, participation, and partnership are three
types of family involvement.
C. School-Peer Group Linkages
1. Children’s attitudes about learning can be influenced by
the peer group to which they belong.
D. School-Media Linkages
1. Schools are linked to media through their use in the
classroom as well as by media-related experiences
students have outside the classroom.
E. School-Community Linkages
1. Communities allocate resources for schools.
2. The size of the school influences the kind of socializing
experiences students have.
3. Communities vary in their school districts’ policies
regarding class size.
4. Businesses in a community can support schools by
donating resources and time.
5. Many schools require students to participate in the
community by providing service.