Overview
Chapter four discussion board- Answer all section of the questionRespond to the following in paragraph form, providing an appropriate level of detail and specificity. Your post should be a minimum of two well-developed paragraphs. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation count. Be certain to proofread prior to posting.
Ballantine Chapter Four Discussion Board (Organizing Schools for Improvement):
You may wish to read the following a couple of times before you respond.
- In this article the author describes the “five essential supports for school improvement,” pointing especially to the importance of their interdependence. Despite marked improvement in many schools, the results of this longitudinal study indicates that “the proportion of children who were living under extraordinary circumstances—neglect and abuse, homeless, foster care, domestic violence—also created a significant barrier to improvement in some schools…the odds of school stagnation soared when a concentration of these students appeared in the same place” (emphasis added) (p.157). Underlying this concentration is a lack of social, political, and economic capital. It is of course difficult to have the essential supports in place under such conditions. It would seem, then, that the social conditions of the surrounding community have a strong impact on whether or not, and to what extent, schools function at a high level, as schools are a reflection of the surrounding community. Does this mean that creating high-functioning schools in “truly disadvantaged communities” is ultimately, and intimately, linked to broader movements for social change? Given the current political context, what is the likelihood that this will happen? What are communities who face critical shortages of social, political, and economic capital to do? I understand this is a broad issue; do the best you can in response.
Required Text: Jeanne H. Ballantine & Joan Z. Spade, Schools and Society: A Sociological Approach to Education, 6th ed. (2018). Sage: Los Angeles, CA