Making Sense of Mass Education 3rd edition by Gordon Tait 9781108445795 1108445799

Part 1 Re-assessing the three pillars: Modern and postmodern sociologies of education

Chapter 1 Social class

Introduction

Myth #1 Australia is a society characterised by equality

Myth #2 Schooling success is only about individual ability

Myth #3 Social class is all about money

Conclusion

Chapter 2 Gender

Introduction

Myth #1 Sex and gender are really the same thing

Myth #2 Schools are passive spectators to existing gender differences and inequalities

Myth #3 Boys are the latest victims of the schooling system

Myth #4 Sexuality is simply best ignored at school

Conclusion

Chapter 3 Race/ethnicity

Introduction

Myth #1 Humanity is naturally divided into races

Myth #2 We no longer discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity

Myth #3 Educational outcomes are unaffected by race or ethnicity

Myth #4 There is an ‘Indigenous problem’ in education

Conclusion

Part 2 The foundations of an alternative approach: Education and governance

Chapter 4 Governance

Introduction

Myth #1 Society has always been simply a collection of individuals

Myth #2 Schools are primarily about education, not regulation

Myth #3 The structure of the school isn’t really that important to the education process

Conclusion

Chapter 5 Subjectivity

Introduction

Myth #1 The sole purpose of psychology is to understand the nature of the human mind

Myth #2 My conduct may be governed, but my mind remains free

Myth #3 Psychology simply discovers new behaviour disorders; it plays no role in creating them

Conclusion

Chapter 6 Pre-adulthood

Introduction

Myth #1 ‘Childhood’ and ‘youth’ are facts of nature

Myth #2 The categories of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ have nothing to do with governance

Myth #3 ‘Childhood’ is characterised by its innocence, ‘youth’ by its natural resistance to

Conclusion

Chapter 7 Big data

Introduction

Myth #1 Big data isn’t that big, or that important

Myth #2 The rise of big data has no implications for the field of education

Myth #3 NAPLAN is the best thing to happen to education since the invention of chalk

Conclusion

Part 3 Cultural contexts of contemporary education

Chapter 8 The media

Introduction

Myth #1 We do not need pointless subjects like ‘media studies’ in our already crowded curriculum

Myth #2 With the news media, you don’t need to think, you just need to read and listen

Myth #3 The media doesn’t create moral panics, but even if it does, this doesn’t affect educatio

Conclusion

Chapter 9 Popular culture

Introduction

Myth #1 Popular culture is rubbish – in terms of taste, it’s awful; as an object of study, it’

Myth #2 Teachers need to be up to date with student cultures

Myth #3 Popular culture has no place in the classroom

Conclusion

Chapter 10 Technology

Introduction

Myth #1 ‘Technologies’ aren’t that important; they don’t affect the fundamentals of what it

Myth #2 Digital technology is the answer to all our education problems

Myth #3 Technology signals the end of teaching

Conclusion

Chapter 11 Globalisation

Introduction

Myth #1 Understanding globalisation is easy; it’s simply another word for Americanisation

Myth #2 We have an Australian education system here, not any kind of ‘globalised’ one

Myth #3 ‘Education for Sustainability’ has nothing to do with globalisation; it’s a politicall

Conclusion

Part 4 Philosophy and mass education

Chapter 12 Philosophy

Introduction

Myth #1 Philosophy has no place in the 21st-century curriculum

Myth #2 ‘Education’ is self-evident; we don’t need philosophy to explain it

Myth #3 Teachers don’t need a ‘personal philosophy of education’

Conclusion

Chapter 13 Ethics and the law

Introduction

Myth #1 Understanding ethics doesn’t help you be a good teacher

Myth #2 Unlike ethics, the law is straightforward; everyone agrees what it is, and what it does

Myth #3 We have an ethical education system; it does not discriminate

Myth #4 There are no real ethical dilemmas left for education law to deal with

Conclusion

Chapter 14 Truth and postcolonialism

Introduction

Myth #1 ‘Truth’ is the most straightforward thing there is

Myth #2 Given we haven’t been a colony for 100 years, postcolonial theory has nothing to tell us a

Myth #3 The knowledge in our school curriculum is both true, and culturally neutral

Conclusion

Chapter 15 Alternative education

Introduction

Myth #1 There are no serious alternatives to traditional mass education

Myth #2 If you do choose to stay within the current schooling system, there are no realistic ways to

Conclusion

Conclusion: The central aims of this book

The intended approach of this book

Finally