Schools have become separated from society and social issues through the practice of "transition education." More specifically, by stressing the preparation of students for society, schools accept the present structure of society as a given and therefore neglect their responsibility to educate. Since schools play an educational role in society, the neglect of this role results in the separation of schools from society. Two attitudes toward curriculum that involve transition education are the vocational/neo-classical orientation and the liberal/progressive orientation. The vocational/neo-classical orientation regards education as a preparation for work and mirrors the current principles of society. The liberal/progressive orientation regards education as a preparation for life, emphasizes individuality, and asserts that society can be improved through the preparation of students for participation in its reconstruction. An alternative to these orientations and their subsequent separateness is the socially-critical orientation. This orientation maintains that education must address society and social issues immediately, emphasizes social and critically speculative processes, and maintains that only collective action can execute social change. Strategies for converting schools to a socially critical orientation include involving the community, curriculum reflection and debate, inservice activities, school reviews, and monitoring progress. The first of two appendixes offers nine starting points or concepts for initiating the socially critical school, with annotated lists of readings grouped under each concept. The second appendix contains hypothetical interviews with proponents of the three orientations. (RG)
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