Synopses & Reviews
Clear, concise, and authoritative, American Education brings up-to-date information and challenging perspectives to teacher educators classrooms. Revised every two years, the text provides an up-to-date introduction to the historical, political, social, and legal foundations of education and to the profession of teaching in the United States. This edition provides thorough coverage of "No Child Left Behind," a review of drug testing and vouchers, a new discussion of academic testing, and coverage of the Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
About the Author
Joel Spring, professor of education at the New School University, received his Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin. His father was born a citizen of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory prior to the abolishment of the Choctaw government and the creation of Oklahoma. Professor Spring’s current interest in Native American culture and history is a reflection of his Indian background. His major research interests are the history of education, multicultural education, Native American culture, and the politics of education.Professor Spring is the author of many books including The Cultural Transformation of a Native American Family and Its Tribe 1763-1995: A Basket of Apples; Images of American Life: A History of Ideological Management in Schools, Movies, Radio, and Television; and Political Agendas for Education: From the Christian Coalition to the Green Party. For McGraw-Hill Professor Spring has authored American Education; Wheels in the Head: Educational Philosophies of Authority, Freedom, and Culture from Socrates to Human Rights; The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States and the Global Economy; Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States, and Conflict of Interests: The Politics of American Education.
Table of Contents
PART 1: SCHOOL AND SOCIETYChapter 1: The Purposes of Public SchoolingThe Problem Defining Educational Goals: Character EducationThe Public Benefits of SchoolsAre Schools Always a Public Good?History and the Goals of SchoolingThe Political Goals of SchoolingThe Social Goals of SchoolingEconomic GoalsHuman Capital and the Role of Business in American EducationIssues about Human CapitalismChapter 2: Education and Equality of OpportunityThe Common School ModelThe Sorting MachineThe High-Stakes Testing ModelEducation and IncomeGender, Educational Attainment, and IncomeClosing the Gap Between Men's and Women's IncomesRace, Educational Attainment, and IncomeAre Students Treated Equally?The Issue of Social ClassEducation, Social Class, and School DistrictsEducation, Social Class, and Real Estate BrokersShopping for a Public SchoolSavage InequalitiesCentral City SchoolsSocial Class and "At-Risk Students"Poverty Among School-Aged ChildrenThe End of the American Dream: School DropoutsTracking and Ability GroupingShould Tracking and Ability Grouping Be Abolished?Social ReproductionResistanceParental Involvement Chapter 3: Equality of Educational Opportunity: Race, Gender, and Special NeedsThe Law, Race, and Equality of Educational OpportunityThe Meaning of RaceWhat Race Am I?: Racial and Cultural Self-IdentificationRace and Social ClassThe Economics of RacismDefining RacismInstitutional Racism: Relationship Between Racial Segregation and High School DropoutsTeaching About RacismThe Future of DesegregationSecond-Generation SegregationThe Recent Struggle for Equal Education for WomenSexism and EducationStudents with DisabilitiesPublic Law 94-142: Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)Writing an IEPWhich Children Have Disabilities?Integrating Children with Disabilities into the Regular ClassroomInclusion and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001An Inclusion Success StoryThe Inclusion DebatePresident George W. Bush's Commission on Excellence in Special EducationChapter 4: Student DiversityIs It Hispanic or Latino?The Changing Population of U.S. SchoolsEducational Experiences of Immigrants to the United StatesImmigrant LanguagesAre U.S. Teachers Prepared for Language Diversity?Mexican American Students and U.S. SchoolsAsian American Students and U.S. SchoolsNative American Students and U.S. SchoolsChapter 5: Multicultural EducationDominated Cultures: John OgbuEmpowerment through Multicultural Education: James Banks, Sonia Nieto, and Critical PedagogyEducating for Economic Power: Lisa Delpit Ethnocentric EducationBilingual Education and English Language Acquisition: No Child Left BehindEnglish Language Acquisition Act of 2001Bicultural Education: Is This The Answer?Globalization: Language and Cultural RightsPART 2: POWER AND CONTROL IN AMERICAN EDUCATION Chapter 6: Local Control, Choice, Charter Schools, and CommercialismThe Education ChairSchool BoardsEducational BureaucracyHome SchoolingSchool ChoiceNational Public School Choice Plan: No Child Left Behind Act of 2001Public-Private Choice Plan: The State of Ohio's Pilot Project Scholarship ProgramCharter SchoolsAre Charter Schools Failing?Examples of Three Charter SchoolsFor-Profit Schools and ChartersEdison Schools Inc.: A Tale of an Education Company in Search of ProfitThe Edison DesignCommercialism in SchoolsChapter 7: Power and Control at the State and National Levels: High-Stakes Testing, School Violence, The Reading and Math Wars, and Private FoundationsLocal, State, and Federal School RevenuesCategorical Aid: The Source of Federal PowerIncreasing State Involvement in SchoolsNo Child Left Behind: High-Stakes Testing and Academic StandardsDoes High-Stakes Testing Work?The Backlash to High-Stakes TestingCheating on High-Stakes TestsThe Federal Government Decides the Reading War: No Child Left BehindA Case Study: Student Violence and Federal ActionPrivate Foundations: The Invisible Power in EducationShould The Role of Politicians In Education Be Limited by Eliminating Compulsory-Education Laws?Chapter 8: The Profession of TeachingTeacher Education in a Global EconomyDisparities in Teacher Salaries and Equality of Educational OpportunityCurrent Issues in Teacher EducationControl Through Testing: National Licensing and CertificationTeacher Certification and No Child Left BehindNational Certification: The National Board for Professional Teaching StandardsTeacher EducationAmerican Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence: Alternative Routes to TeachingThe Rewards of TeachingWorking ConditionsTeachers' Unions and Teacher PoliticsDifferences Between the Two UnionsA Brief History of the National Education Association (NEA)A Brief History of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)The NEA and the AFT TodayA Case Study: Tom Mooney, AFT Vice President and President of the Ohio Federation of TeachersShould Teachers Strike?Chapter 9: Textbooks, Curriculum, Internet E-Learning, and InstructionCensorship IssuesWeb Scrub: A New Form of Censorship?TextbooksCurriculum Standards and the Political Nature of KnowledgeCurriculumJohn Dewey and Progressive EducationHumanistic Social Efficiency for the 21st CenturyThe Internet and E-LearningThe Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000InstructionCritical PedagogyChapter 10: The Courts and the SchoolsDrug TestingStudents Free Speech RightsGays, Boy Scouts, and No Child Left Behind Act of 2001Sexual Harassment and DiscriminationAccess to BooksSuspensionsDo School Authorities Have the Right to Paddle Children? Compulsion and ReligionVouchers and Religious SchoolsChild-Benefit TheoryCan States Regulate Private Schools?Religion and State School RequirementsSchool Prayer, Bible Reading, and MeditationStudent PrayersSchool Prayer and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001Secular Humanism and the Religion of Public SchoolsEvolution and CreationismParents' RightsTeachers RightsThe Liability of TeachersTeachers Private LivesThe Language of the SchoolsSchool FinancesAt end of each chapter: Conclusion · Suggested Readings and Works Cited in Chapter