The Content of Education

• Education content comes in so many forms: essays, stories,

assignments, and assessments all come together to reach students.
• Why?
• Because the main purpose of education content is to assist in high-
quality instruction. The content a student is given is the vessel to their
comprehension and mastering of a skill. It’s also the way educators
communicate with students.
• In short, students need content to learn and educators rely on it to
teach.
Education professionals need resources that are “engaging,
effective, and diverse.” Publishers and product creators have the
responsibility to find content that meets all these needs. Missing
one of these elements actually hinders student learning. The great
part is that this is preventable.

The answer is to know what type of content is needed, and why.

 Some professional standards to follow
when choosing content are
• grade-level appropriateness
• readability
• adaptability
• differentiation
• timeliness
Although this list is not exclusive, it does provide basic criteria
for successful educational content.
Also, when choosing content education professionals need to
include equal representation. This means
- equal multicultural,
- multilingual,
- gender,
- author origin representation across content.

Equal representation in texts bridges cultural gaps between

teachers and students. Once the bridge is formed, student
academic performance can increase.
However, depending on where and how the content is used, the expectations and requirements change. Content
that is thorough and extensive enough for curriculum use would not be appropriate for an assessment.
Alternatively, content that is concise enough for an assessment may not be suitable in a supplemental product.

Since content is such an essential component to instruction, it’s

important to recognize what types of content work best in each
scenario. Mastering this understanding will boost instructional
success and meet educator expectations everywhere.
 Education Content in Curriculum

• In a previous blog post, we touch on the idea that curriculum content needs to

sustain a longer shelf-life. Curriculum tends to not be updated as frequently as
other products and needs to last longer. Because of this, curriculum content
needs to be extensively vetted and assessed before use.
• An educator Jennifer Kennett, identifies curriculum as the core of student
instruction. This type of education content has some big shoes to fill. As
mentioned, it needs to sustain a much longer life cycle. Schools typically use
textbooks for ten or more years because of budget limitations. Although
publishers update content to reflect changes and accuracy, they are also sensitive
to this challenge. So they work to produce content that can remain in circulation
for longer timeframes.   
 Education Content in Curriculum

• Choosing the right content for curriculum can determine its success.
Curriculum is not just the books or texts used in a classroom, it is the
foundation of all classroom instruction. According to 
educator Dr. Beverly White, a fully-developed curriculum includes
everything an educator may need while leaving room for the educator
to make it what he or she wants.
• This is a deeply extensive need and demonstrates the vast importance
of incorporating the right texts.
 Education Content in Supplemental Products

• Most curriculums now include supplemental • Supplemental content should

products. These products aid in standard
mastery. They can be in print or digital form, be a clear representation of
but their purpose is the same. Supplemental the standard or skill being
products are designed to help students
master a skill they may be struggling with addressed. However, since the
through traditional instructional efforts. content is meant to help with
• Content in supplemental materials needs to instructional gaps,
help isolate specific skills. The content
needs to not be overly complex, and help  supplemental materials do not
address areas in which students struggle. need to stick to the strict
Due to this, the content used in
supplemental products falls somewhere requirements of assessment
between strict restrictions and expectations. content.
 Education Content in Assessment

• Of all the types of instructional content, assessment content requires the deepest
alignment to specific regulations. This is because assessments are meant to do
one thing…assess a student’s abilities. This needs to be done clearly and with as
few variables as possible.
• Assessment content needs to follow five guidelines. It needs
• content validity,
• reliability,
• fairness,
• student engagement,
• consequential relevance.
This means it needs to address what it is supposed to, and nothing else.
Assessment content cannot distract students from what is being asked,
while being interesting and data-driven.
One of the largest concerns in assessment content is avoiding bias and
sensitivity. It is illogical to assess students with materials that are
offensive or uncomfortable. This may prevent students from performing
to their fullest ability. Instead, including content that avoids distractions
or emotional triggers allows for a clearer vision of the students’ skill.
Clear and unbiased content leads to higher student success.
Gathering education content goes far beyond just choosing texts. A deep
level of analysis is required every step of the way.
 Education and Teaching (introduction)
• Education is a process that aims biological, emotional, mental,
social and moral development of human (Thornburg, 1984). In
a contemporary world, this process was formed to a regular
and planned structure which is carried out in a planned and
scheduled way. In a contemporary world, this process was
formed to a regular and planned structure which is carried out
in a planned and scheduled way.
 Education and Teaching
• The school is the important component of this structure. The school where
education is carried out collectively is one of the most important centers of
educational institution. It will be beneficial to know and use some sociological
concepts to understand behaviors of students, teachers and school directors in
these centers (Willower and Carr, 1965). Issues like social structure and functions
of the school, the school as a social system, classroom atmosphere, school and
environment, job and career can be considered among the primary problems that
educational sociology focus on (Gross, 1965). While education is a phenomenon
connecting the society and various elements forming the society with each other,
it is influenced and shaped by them. Developed and developing countries are
intensively affected by the occurring developments in information and
transportation technologies of their era and all these issues have restarted the
debate how the school and education should be.
 Knowledge, Teaching, and the School as an Institution

• Generally, school is on the top of the centers where educational institutions

become concrete and active. Actually, schools are the indispensable part of the
general social system of the societies. All kinds of innovations and changes in the
society or in the world directly have an effect on education and school in terms of
process, organization, structure and functional dimensions. Accordingly, schools
cannot be considered independent from the social structure of the society as well
as innovations and changes in the world. In order to understand and appraise the
structure and function of the school, it is necessary to have an idea on the
dynamics of the relational networks and the role of the school in the society
Regarding this fact, the present study intends to figure out the function of the
school on theoretical and functional bases, its foremost problems and their
possible solutions through a sociological perspective.
 Knowledge, Teaching, and the School
as an Institution

• Educational problems cannot be solved unless we understand the developments

and changes occurring as a result of the dynamic interaction of social relations
network and differentiation of institutions as a consequence of these. Therefore,
any educational event experienced or carried out must be scientifically analyzed
and evaluated within the reality of social structure. An opposite attitude or
approach becomes only saving the day and lacks in evaluating in detail. The real
question should be asked and be focused on here is although there are numerous
scientific studies related to education, why problems in schools are increasing
instead of decreasing. Despite the rise in the level of education of societies, why
the violence both in the area of family and education is increasing.
 Knowledge, Teaching, and the School as an Institution

• In addition, in recent years, many of contemporary educational

researchers increasingly and specifically focus on the particular
problems at school and this situation causes them to have difficulties in
understanding the relationships in social and global magnitude of
instructional developments and social changes in the classroom
(Schneider, 2005). All these indicate that analysis of educational
problems cannot be done alone in a simple manner. In other words,
educational problems and activities cannot be considered independent
from the social structure lived in and changing social and global
developments.
 Education and Teaching
• Education is primarily a social phenomenon and activity. As other social
phenomena, education concept is a phenomenon which is tried to be
described in different ways and through considering many aspects. For
instance, as a process education is preparing the child to the position in
society where he will take place through teaching. Another definition
of education is to create a behavior change in human in a desired
direction. The part of education conducted in schools in a planned and
programmed way is called teaching. Education is also defined as an
effect that is applied by adults to the ones who are not prepared for life
yet (Kızıloluk, 2013)
Teaching is a collection of processes which are used for learning and development
of the desired behaviors on student. In teaching there is both a time limitation and
it involves informing individuals unilaterally in particular subjects or transferring
knowledge. The most important result expected from teaching is the
comprehension of the provided information. Education and teaching are two
complementary processes. In this process, teaching constitutes the head while
education builds spirit and character. Teaching gives knowledge and education
provides the values. However, it is understood that teaching will take place in
education when knowledge is thought as a value among values and head as a part
of spirit (Ülken, 1967). In general, teaching is considered as the part of education
which is planned and programmed.
Teaching includes the whole of the interaction between the instructor
and learners. In other words, education is the result of teaching and
learning activities. Teaching is an activity which is carried out to provide
information to human and develop abilities and mental capabilities of
human (Musgrave, 1983).
Today, education and teaching are consciously planned and carried out
activities. Education and teaching cannot be conducted in a random,
unplanned and unscheduled way. Education is a planned and conscious
activity of modern era that aims to train experts who need it. (Rothman,
1970). Today almost all societies form their education and teaching with
a global perspective and on the basis of societal needs.
 School and Teacher
• School is a center which both trains individuals within a framework of a certain
plan and program and influences and shapes the society as a result. School is a
union which tries to enlighten a group in terms of intelligence, morale, technical
knowledge and skills meeting in a particular time and place in a conscious and
systematic way. The two most important elements of education and teaching are
the teacher and the student. The quality of relationship between these two
elements is a crucial determinant in the quality of education (Yılmaz and Tosun,
2013). Teacher is the specialized and instructive actor of education. In the success
of provided education, the quality and number of the teacher, an important actor
in education, is very important too. In educational services, school administrators
and teachers have a very important role. In general school administrators
providing management service at schools and teachers offering teaching services
are considered as the direct production centers of educational services.
 The School

• The school is one of the social organizations founded by the society to meet
the educational needs and to maintain the educational activities. In other
words, the school is an organization by which educational activities are
conducted regularly and continually (Hunt, 1972). As an educational
organization, the school provides the students to gain knowledge, ability
and attitude in accordance with the aims and principles of the educational
system. The school is a social organization on its own as well as it can be
handled within the context of the relations and its place within the society.
Within this context, the roles of teachers and students, authority relations
and disciplinary in the school are important (Brom and Selznick, 1963).
 The School
• The school and the society are the structures within the complicated and
interdependent relation. For a long time, the pedagogues have dealt with the
simple, pedagogical question of how good education should be (Berner, 2013).The
pedagogical process disconnected from the social reality or a pedagogical
independence like a “holy world” lead people to the blind streets of the city of
pedagogy (Berner, 2013).The teachers, union of the teachers and the students in
the school and the forces like political parties, association, groups of economy,
religious communities, science and scientific organizations out of the school affect
the school and the education in a direct or indirect way (Berner, 2013). For most
parents, the schools are institutions of education and instruction. Besides the
virtues like care, harmony, cleanliness, it is expected from the staff at the school to
have social attitudes like trueness, being obedient and helpful, having
responsibility and will (Berner, 2013).
 The School
• The schools are organized educational centres to achieve the
educational function. Institutionalized for bring about a change on
students’ behaviors, the schools are general learning environments.
Having similarities to the learning content, the classrooms in the
schools are much more specific environments where the behavioral
change is aimed to be achieved by means of the objectives on the
common curricula. The classrooms are learning areas to meet the
social learning needs rather than individuality. As collective learning
environments, the classrooms are the areas where the students’
behaviors are harmonized. There are varieties of learner characteristics
in the classrooms (Doğan, 2011).
 The School
• The society expects and asks the school to make the students
adopted to the society and also developed. Therefore, one of
the areas of investigation in the educational sociology is the
school as a social system, because there is a close relationship
between the aims of the school and the expectations and
values of the society. The society affects the school and the
school affects the society by its outcomes. Therefore, the
society and the school can be conceived as two sides of the
coin.
 The School
• The students’ and society’s need of knowledge has been an important factor on the
constitution and development of the schools. On one hand, the growing
bureaucracy of educational system, one other hand the need for getting maximum
output from the educational institution have caused the arise of the school
management as a specific discipline (Mialaret, 2001). The school is a distinctive
association aiming at providing balance within the society, raising people
understanding and explaining the knowledge (Ülken, 1967).In the old periods that
the writing, press and technique had not been improved, the schools were
regarded as the institutions where the teachers do teaching. But now, the school
has become an organization including people gathered to achieve an aim. In the
school as an organization, the students, teachers, advisors, officers, employers and
the members of parent-teacher association provides the school to fulfil its
functions. The relationship between these people can be analysed as a whole.
 The School
• There is a correlative relationship and interaction between the curriculum and organization
type of the school and the structure of the society (Musgrave, 1983). The functions of the
school have changed in the course of time. Even though the education is grounded on national,
egalitarian and secular features, the aim of the education is to raise people according to the
specialized fields the society needs. As a social organization, the managers, teachers and the
students of the school have to function to achieve certain aims within the scope of specific
rules. From this aspect, Mimar Turkkahraman / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 186
( 2015 ) 381 – 387 385 modern school systems present a bureaucratic character by its structure
of hierarchical authority, (Kornblum and Julian, 1992). Today’s school has an important role in
the developments of personality, formation of national consciousness and awareness of
humanity. The schools are the centers aiming at raising a citizen having e developed personality
and supporting psychological factors of personality, like emotion and mind (intelligence and
abilities) and consciousness of perception.
 School and Teacher (conclusion)

• Personal characteristics of teacher may sometimes be more important than field knowledge
and pedagogical knowledge. These are empathy, respect and sincerity, and considered as
essential qualities of being teacher. Empathy is the ability of an individual to put himself in
others’ shoes and to understand others with his/her own point of view. Respect is the
acceptance of an individual another one as he/she is unconditionally, Sincerity refer to be
consistent in what one says and does. A sincere person does what he/she says (Saban, 2005).
Teachers contribute to meeting the educational needs and expectations of the students and
the environment through teaching-learning experiences. Teachers must create leaning
environments that could encourage potentials of the students in learning process. Teacher
must perceive each student as a genius and act accordingly. Another crucial expectation from
the teacher is to create a caring and friendly learning atmosphere at school and in the
classroom.
 School and Teacher

• There will be problems at school which is a small model of the social

structure and social life. These problems can be mainly categorized as
follows:
• 1. Problems related to teachers
• 2. Problems related to courses (Academic issues)
• 3. Problems of friendships
• 4. Psychological and personal problems
• 5. Developmental issues
No matter what the problems are, everybody should be aware of that
they can be solved with the cooperation of school administration,
parents, teachers and students. The teaching profession requires
professionalism however educator Ira Shor points out that an ordinary
teaching life with full of repetition can cause teachers to suffer from
official information by being placed in a cage. It is a need for teachers to
study and improve themselves much more to be able to have
satisfaction from teaching and learning processes (Shor, 2009). Teachers
can be considered as successful on the achievement of their objectives
as long as they are instructional leaders and role models to their
students for situations they may encounter in every aspect of life.