Sociology of Education 104
Sociology 104a: The Sociology of Education
Brandeis University
Fall 2012
Mitra K. Shavarini, Lecturer
Class Meeting: Tuesdays and Fridays 12:30-1:50
Office: Rabb 107
Office Hours: By appointment
E-mail: shavarini@brandeis.edu
Schools are the primary institution for instructing, training and socializing the next
generation. School attendance or equivalent instruction is mandatory in this country,
and the subjects and methods of instruction have been hotly debated. This course will
explore sociological research and theories that are useful for examining the roles of
educational institutions and practices in the United States. We will critically examine the
place and role of schools and schooling in the wider society, both through a brief
historical overview as well as modern perspectives and current debates on the role and
function of schools. Class participants will investigate the ways in which schools
reinforce, and/or challenge prevailing social, economic, and political relationships.
Issues to be discussed include: the purpose of schooling, the structure and organization
of schools, curriculum development, social reproduction, family/school relationships,
and the role of teachers. The meaning of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic
status, disability, sexual orientation and identity will also inform our investigations into
these topics. We will examine the school as a society within itself, with its own dominant
system of values, ideology, and relationships of power and authority. We will also
examine the interpersonal relationships within schools: the types of interaction that
occur, and the opportunities for learning and development.
Course Requirements
This course requires you to complete each week’s reading before the week’s first class
session, attend class, and participate in discussions and exercises. Attendance is
required, and I will pass around a sign-IN sheet during each class session. In general, I
do not excuse absences unless you have a serious problem. If such a problem occurs,
you need to let me know.
During class sessions, you should feel free to ask questions, challenge ideas, and
respond to me and to your classmates. I insist that participation be appropriate to the
topic and respectful of everyone, but you are otherwise free to express your views. You
need not agree with everything you read. You need not even understand all of the
reading. Class discussions will, ideally, answer questions, foster critical engagement,
and explore areas of disagreement.
You are welcome to contact me between class sessions and during times outside my
office hours. If you are working on an assignment or concerned about some aspect of
the reading, please do not hesitate. You need not hesitate anyway. I usually check my
email more than once a day, and I try to respond promptly. I’m on campus on a regular
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basis on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and I’ll be happy to make an appointment
when I am available.
I will calculate grades as follows:
 Attendance and participation/presentations: 30 percent
 First (short) assignment: 5 percent
 Second AND third assignments: 20 percent each
 Take-home final/paper: 25 percent
Due dates are noted in the course outline. Instructions for assignments will be
distributed in class.
Written Assignments
Final versions of written assignments are due in hard copy on the deadlines listed.
Written work should be typed, double spaced, with margins on all four sides of the page.
I expect hard copies, but please keep your electronic files for back-up until the semester
is over.
Please be sure to refer specifically to the class readings. Please use the ASA style
guidelines for references and citations.
Articles
Students should check news sites such as newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and
radio, for articles and reports on issues relating to the sociology of education. If
possible, please e-mail the article or information about the article to me in advance. If
not, please be sure to notify me at the start of class. Please briefly present the main
argument of the article in the context of the themes of the course and the article’s
source. These presentations will contribute to your class participation score.
Student Accountability
Accountability includes a number of classroom norms: class attendance and punctuality,
timely submission of assignments, and attention to the class sessions without diversion
from texting or web surfing. These elements of normative accountability will be part of
your grade.
Recognizing that unanticipated problems do occur, I will consider occasional extensions
for assignments if asked before the deadline passes. I do, however, review patterns of
lateness and other elements of accountability. A pattern that violates these norms more
than occasionally will result in a lower grade.
Please turn off phones and other devices during all class sessions. Texting in class is
not only rude but also disruptive; please refrain from all electronic communication. I
expect not to have to ask you again at any time during the semester. If I do have to ask,
I will consider it a breach of accountability.
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Laptops are emphatically discouraged and require permission for note taking. If I grant
permission, laptop users must occupy the front rows of the classroom during each class
session. Please think carefully before asking for permission to use a laptop in class. If
several people seek permission, I will ban laptop use entirely.
***Please hand a printed hard copy AS WELL AS electronic copy of each paper. ***
Academic Accommodations
If you are a student who needs academic accommodation because of a documented
disability, please contact me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as
possible. Undergraduates and graduate students with questions about documenting a
disability should contact the Director of Disabilities Services and Support Office of
Academic Services, 6-3470. Letters of accommodation should be presented at the start
of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodations cannot be
granted retroactively.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis
University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except
when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use
words or ideas of another without proper acknowledgment of the source. This means
that you must use footnotes and quotation marks to indicate the source of any phrases,
sentences, paragraphs, or ideas in published volumes, on the Internet, or created by
another student. Violations of university policies on academic integrity, available at
http://www.brandeis.edu/studentaffairs/srcs/ai/index.html, may result in failure in the
course or on the assignment, and could end in suspension from the University. If you
are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, be sure to ask for
clarification.
Course Readings
Class readings will be available on-line in Latte or as handouts in class. It will not be
necessary to purchase any additional books.
Course Outline
PART 1: THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL IN AMERICAN SOCIETY
WEEK 1: Introduction, Sociological Themes and Perspectives, the Origins of
Public Schooling in the U.S.
(1) Course Overview: What is Sociology of Education?
 Introduction to course
Friday, August 31
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
Raising sociological questions: themes of the course
(2) Historical overview I: The Common School
Tuesday, September 4
Read: - Kaestle, C.F. 1983. "Prologue: The Founding Fathers and Education."
Pp. 3-12 in Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and American Society, 1780-1860.
New York: Hill and Wang.
Film (in class): Mondale, Sarah and Sarah Patton. 2001. School: The Story of
American Public Education. Part I: The Common School: 1770-1890. Boston: Beacon
Press.
For reference only (not required), written companion to film: Kaestle, Carl. 2001.
“Part One: 1770-1900 The Common School.” Pp. 1-58 in Mondale,
Sarah and Sarah B. Patton, eds.. School: The Story of American Public Education.
Boston: Beacon Press.
WEEK 2: The Origins of Public Schooling in the U.S: Models of School Structures,
Aims and Ideals of Education
(3) The Administrative Progressives: A Factory Model of Schooling
Friday Sept 7
Read: -Tyack, David. 1974. “Some Functions of Schooling” and "Inside the System: The
Character of Urban Schools" Pp. 72-77, 177-198, 229-254 in One Best System: A
History of American Urban Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Read: - A Walker in the City by Alfred Kazin pp. 5-51. Also read Gina Bellafante’s
recent NYTimes book review of the book on Latte.
OPTIONAL: (not required, discusses the effect of school size on various
educational factors): -Lee, V. E. 2000. “School Size and the Organization of Secondary
Schools.” Pp 327-344 in Handbook of the Sociology of Education. M.T. Hallinanan,
editor. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
(4) John Dewey: A Democratic Model of Schooling
Tuesday, September 11
Read: - Dewey, John. 1916. "Education as a Social Function.” Pp. 10-22 in,
Democracy and Education. New York: The Free Press. (Optional and suggested : "
Aims in Education." pp. 100-111.)
OPTIONAL (Discusses the limits of what schools can really do): -Sizer, Theodore.
1994,1985. Prologue, Chapter 2: Setions 2, 4 and Chapter 1: Section 4. Pp. 9-21, 8498, 109-115, 53-58 in Horace's Compromise. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
PAPER 1 DUE: Explain John Dewey’S quote, "Education is life."
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PART 2: PERSPECTIVES ON THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF
SCHOOLS
WEEK 3: Perspectives on the Aims and Ideals of Education
(5) Sociological Themes and Perspectives: on the Sorting Function of Schools
Friday Sept 11
Read: -Durkheim, E. 1961. “On Education and Society.” Pp. 23-34 in Sociology
of Education: A Critical Reader. A.R. Sadovnik, editor. New York: Routledge. (NOTE:
Reading called “Sadovnik & Durkheim in Cicada—this is the second reading).
OPTIONAL (Good reference, overview of field): -Sadovnik, A.R. 2007.
“Theory and Research in the Sociology of Education.” Pp. 3-20 in Sociology of
Education: A Critical Reader. A.R. Sadovnik, editor. New York: Routledge.
(6) Theoretical Perspectives on the Social Function of Schools
Friday, Sept 21
Read: -Parsons, T. 1959. “The School as a Social System.” Harvard
Educational Review 29:297-318.
OPTIONAL-McMannon, Timothy. 1997. “The Changing Public Purpose of Education
and Schooling.”Pp. 1-40 in Goodlad, John and Timothy McMannon. The Public Purpose
of Education and Schooling. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
WEEK 4: On Schooling and the Social Order: Social Class, Social Reproduction,
Cultural Capital
(7) Privilege, Inclusion and Opportunity: Social Class, Social Reproduction, Cultural
Capital I
Tuesday, Sept 25
Read: -Bowles, Samuel and Herbert Gintis. 1976,1977. "Education and Personal
Development: The Long Shadow of Work." Pp. 125-150 in Samuel Bowles and Herbert
Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of
Economic Life. New York: Basic Books.
-Lareau, A. 2000. “Why Does Social Class Influence Parent Involvement in Schooling?”
Pp. 97-120 in Home Advantage, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield
(8) Privilege, Inclusion and Opportunity: Social Class, Social Reproduction &
Cultural Capital II
Friday, Sept 28
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Read: -Bourdieu, Pierre. 1973. “Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction.” Pp.
473-486 in Karabel, J. & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Power and Ideology in Education. New
York: Oxford University.
-Granfield, Robert. 2008. “Making it By Faking It: Working-Class Students in an Elite
Academic Environment.” Pp. 114-127 in Ferguson, Susan. Mapping the Social
Landscape: Readings in Sociology 7. New York: McGraw-Hill.
WEEK 5: Privilege, Inclusion and Opportunity in Education II: The Tracking
Debate, Language and Immigration
(9) On Schooling and the Social Order II: The Tracking Debate
Tuesday Oct 2
Read: -Oakes, Jeannie. 1985. “Tracking.” Pp. 1-13 in Keeping Track: How Schools
Structure Inequality. Binghamton, NY: Vail-Ballou Press.
-Hallinan, Maureen T. 1994. “Tracking: From Theory to Practice.” Sociology of
Education. 67: 78-90.
-Oakes, Jeannie. 1994. “More than Misapplied Technology: A Normative and Political
Response to Hallinan on Tracking.” Sociology of Education. 67: 84-91.
(10) Privilege, Inclusion, Opportunity: Language, Immigration, Cultural Legacy
Friday Oct 5
Read: -De La Luz Reyes, Maria. 1992. “Challenging Venerable Assumptions:
Literacy Instruction for Linguistically Different Students.” Harvard Educational Review
64(4): 427-266.
Listen: -AUDIO SEGMENT: Suarez-Orozco, Marcelo and Carola. “Immigrant
Children in America.” February 21, 2010 on On Point. National Public
Radio. http://onpoint.wbur.org/2008/02/21/immigrant-children-inamerica
.
SECOND PAPER DUE @ NOON: For Topics see Latte
WEEK 6: Privilege, Inclusion and Opportunity in Education III : Gender, Sexual
Orientation, Religion, Disability
(11) Privilege, Inclusion, Opportunity: Gender, Sexual Orientation
Friday Oct 12
Read: -Marvin Hoffman. 1993. “Teaching ‘Torch Song: Gay Literature in the
Classroom.” The English Journal. 82(5): 55-58.
Read: “Family forced out of Lexington, MA” ALSO read the “Opposition” segment of
Wikipedia regarding the book King & King.
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-Mead, Sara. 2006. “The Evidence Suggests Otherwise: The Truth About Boys and
Girls”(Pamphlet) Washington, DC: Education Sector. (You do not need to remember
every detail, but try to get a sense of the main points)
-“How Schools Shortchange Girls” – the AAUW Report pp. 35-54.
OPTIONAL: -Webpage of Project 10East, a program for LGBT support in high schools.
http://www.project10east.org/about/main.php.
(About schools dealing with gay and lesbian families) -Lipkin, A. 1999. “Gay and
Lesbian Families.” Pp. 218-229 in Understanding Homosexuality: Changing Schools.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
(12) Privilege, Inclusion and Opportunity: Religion & Disability-Federal Regulations
in Education
Tuesday, Oct 16
Read: -Artiles, Alfredo J. 2003. “Special Education’s Changing Identity: Paradoxes and
Dilemmas in View of Culture and Space.” Harvard Educational Review, Summer 73:
164-202. (Focus on p. 164 to the top of 179.)
-Nord, W. A. & Haynes, C. C. 1998. Pp. 1-33 in Taking Religion Seriously Across the
Curriculum. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
OPTIONAL: “Why Education in Public Schools Should Include Religious Ideals” Ruyter
& Merry.
http://uva.academia.edu/MichaelMerry/Papers/833104/Why_education_in_public_schoo
ls_should_include_religious_ideals 2008
WEEK 7: Busing and Racial Desegregation of Boston’s Schools
(13) Case Study: Separate but Unequal? Busing and School Desegregation in Boston
Friday, Oct 19
Read: -Willie, Charles Vert. 1983. “School Desegregation and Public Policy: The Boston
Experience” pp. 163-174 in Race, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status: A Theoretical
Analysis of Their Interrelationship. Bayside, NY: General Hall.
Read: Klugar, Richard. 1975. “Together Let Us Sweetly Live” pp. 3-26 in Simple Justice
Vintage Books: New York.
OPTIONAL: Goldsmith, Pat Rubio. 2009. “Schools or Neighborhoods or Both? Race
and Segregation and Educational Attainment.” Social Forces 84(4):1913-1920.
Video in class on busing from “The Keys to the Kingdom: 1974-1980” in Eyes on the
Prize 1990, 2006. Blackside/PBS Productions.
(14) Separate but Unequal? What Now? Critical Race Theory and Education
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Tues Oct 16
Read: -Dixson, Adrienne and Celia Rousseau. 2006. “And We Are Still Not Saved:
Critical Race Theory in Education Ten Years Later.” Pp. 31-56 in Critical Race Theory in
Education: All God’s Children Got a Song. Dixson, Adrienne and Celia Rousseau, eds.
New York: Routledge.
Read: G. Ladson-Billings & Tate, W. “Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education” pp.
1-29 in in Critical Race Theory in Education: All God’s Children Got a Song. Dixson,
Adrienne and Celia Rousseau, eds. New York: Routledge.
Note: In Latte, both these articles are scanned into one entry.
-Vasnis, James. 2010. “Area School Segregation Called Rife.” The Boston Globe,
September 20. P. B-1.
OPTIONAL: -The JBHE Foundation. 2006/2007. “The Expanding Racial Gap on the
SATII Tests.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 54:30-32.
PART 3: TEACHING AND AUTHORITY IN EDUCATION
WEEK 8: Authority Patterns in Schools, Racial Exclusion, Cultural Dissonance
(15) Authority Patterns in Schools: Racial-Ethnic Exclusion
Friday Oct 19
Read: -Szasz, Margaret Connell. 2005. “I Knew How to Be Moderate. And I Knew How
to Obey”: The Commonality of American Indian Boarding School Experiences, 1750s1920s. American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 29(4):75-94.
-Miller, Kara. 2010. “Do Colleges Redline Asian-Americans?” The Boston Globe.
February 8.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/201
0/02/08/do_colleges_redline_asian_americans/ .
(16) Authority Patterns in Schools, Cultural Dissonance Between Students and
Teachers
Tues Oct 23
Read: -Delpit, Lisa. 2006. "The Silenced Dialogue.” Pp. 5-9, 21-27 in Other People's
Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom New York: New Press, W. W. Norton.
-Ballenger, Cynthia. 1992. "Because You Like Us: The Language of Control." Harvard
Education Review, Summer 1992, 62(2): 199-208.
WEEK 9: Transmission of Norms and Values: What Gets Taught in School and
Who Decides? PART I
(17) Perspectives on the Transmission of Culture and Values: The Culture of the School
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Friday Oct 26
Read: - Lightfoot, Sara Lawrence.1983. "St. Paul's School: Certainty, Privilege and the
Imprint of History" and "George Washington Carver High School: Charismatic
Leadership: Building Bridges to a Wider World." Pp. 221-245, 29-55 in The Good High
School: Portraits of Character and Culture. New York: Basic Books.
(18) The Textbook Industry & Curricular Standards Debates
Tuesday, Oct 30
Read: -Spring, J. 1996. Chapter 10, “The Politics of Curriculum, Instruction, and
Textbooks.” Pp. 230-254 in American Education. New York: McGraw-Hill
-Eisner, E. 1997. “Who Decides What Schools Should Teach.” Pp. 337- 341 in D.J.
Flinders & S.J. Thorton (Eds.) Curriculum Studies Reader. New York, NY: Routledge.
-Ravitch, Diane. “Education after the Culture Wars.” 2002. Pp. 5-21 in Daedalus MIT
Press/American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 131(1):5-21.
OR
-Ravitch, Diane. 2002. “Diversity, Tragedy and the Schools” The Brookings Review
20(1):2-3.
Paper 3 Due @ NOON: For Topics see LATTE
WEEK10: Transmission of Norms and Values: What Gets Taught in School and
Who Decides? PART II
(19) The Panopticon: Are Schools Going Too Far?
Friday Nov. 2
Read: -Foucault, Michel. 1979. “The Means of Correct Training.” Pp. 170-228 in
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books.
-Vander Schee, Carolyn. 2009. “Fruit, Vegetables, Fatness and Foucault: Governing
Students and their Families Through School Health Policy.” Journal of Education Policy
24 (5): 557-574.
-Recent Articles on current debates in education (Articles to be selected from current
news sources during the semester. Likely to relate to issues such as regulating school
lunches, sex education, etc.
(20) Standardization Debate/Market Approaches to Education Reform
Tues Nov 6
Read: -Ravitch, Diane. 2010. “The Trouble with Accountability. Pp. 149-167 in The
Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are
Undermining Education New York: Basic Books.
OPTIONAL: Borman, Kathryn M. and Bridget A. Cotner. 2008. “No Child Left Behind:
The Federal Government Gets Serious about Accountability.” Pp. 245-250 in Schools
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and Society: A Sociological Approach to Education. 3rd ed. Ballantine, Jeanne H. and
Joan Z. Spade, eds. Los Angeles, CA: Pine Forge Press.
OPTIONAL: -Renzulli, Linda A. and Vincent Roscigno. “Charter Schools and the Public
Good.” Pp. 363-369 in Ballantine, Jeanne H. and Joan Z. Spade, eds. 2008. Schools
and Society: A Sociological Approach to Education. 3rd ed. Los Angeles, CA: Pine Forge
Press
WEEK 11: What Gets Taught in School? Who Decides? PART III
(21) Perspectives on the Transmission of Culture and Values: Power and Authority
Friday, Nov 9
Read: -Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner. 1969. "Crap Detecting" and "The
Medium is the Message, Of Course" Pp. xi-xv, 1-25 in Teaching as a Subversive
Activity. New York: Dell.
- Illich, Ivan, 1970. “Why We Must Disestablish School” Pp. 529-536 in Deschooling
Society. New York: Harper and Row.
OPTIONAL: in Illych (above) “Phenomenology of School” Pp. 37-48.
(22)Homeschooling
Tuesday Nov 13
Read: “Does Homeschooling Pose a threat to Public Education?”
http://www.examiner.com/article/does-homeschooling-pose-a-threat-to-public-education
Read: “Why Are Pulbic School Proponents So Afraid of Homeschool Kids?”
http://buehlereducation.com/homeschool/indianasportsbill/
WEEK 12: Power & Authority, Classroom Roles & Relationships
(23) “Race to Nowhere” – Film we’ll watch in class
Friday Nov 16
(24) Interactions Between Students, Student Culture
Friday, Nov 30
Read: -Milner, Murray Jr. 2006. “Fitting In, Standing Out and Keeping Up.” Pp. 39-60 in
Freaks, Geeks and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools and the Culture of
Consumption. New York: Routledge.
Skim: -Olweus, Dan. 1993. Bullying At School. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
(Read pp. 1-39).
WEEK 13: Interpersonal Relationships in Education: Relationships Between
Teachers, Students & Parents
(25) Between Teachers and Students
Tuesday Dec 4
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Read: - Gracey, Harry L. 2008. “Learning the student role: Kindergarten as academic
boot camp.” Pp. 131-136 in Schools and Society: A Sociological Approach to Education
(3nd ed.). J.H. Ballantine & J.Z. Spade, editors. New York: Thomson Wardsworth.
Read: - Lampert, Magdeline. 1987. “How Do Teachers Manage to Teach" Pp. 106-123
in Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
(26) Between Parents and Teachers
Friday, Dec 7
Read: -Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara. 2003. Introduction and “Natural Enemies.” Pp. xiii-xxx,
42-75 in The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each
Other. New York: Random House.
Optional: -Flanagan, Caitlin. “Cultivating Failure” 2010. Atlantic Magazine
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/01/cultivatingfailure/
7819/3/.
WEEK 14: IDEAS ON THE GROUND: Schools and Communities, Looking at
Teachers in Action
(27) Between Communities and Schools
Tuesday Dec 11
Read: (Skim) Schutz, A. 2006. “Home is a Prison in the Global City: The Tragic Failure
of School-Based Community Engagement Strategies Review of Educational Research,
76(4): 690-743.
Listen: -Audio segment :The Kitchen Sisters. “For Traveler Women in Ireland, Life is
Changing” April 29, 2010 on Morning Edition . National Public
Radio.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125907642
OPTIONAL: -Epstein, Joyce L. 1995. “School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring
for the Children We Share.” Phi Delta Kappan, 76: 701-712
Film: Guggenheim, Davis. 2004. The First Year: Five Teachers. 180 Days. Our
Children’s Future. New Video Group.
Summary of due dates:
3 Five- to Six-PAGE PAPERS
Due at the start of class on the following dates:
Paper 1: Tuesday, September 11th
Paper 2: Friday, October 5th
Paper 3: Tuesday, October 30th
Final due: Friday, December 14th @ NOON (since there is no class, please deliver to
my office – Rabb 107)