Comprehensive Exam
Sociology of Education
Spring 2015
Day 2: School Context
Please answer one question from each set of two choices below.
Set 2A (choose one)
1. A school’s context can be characterized in terms of its structure and organization on
one hand and its climate and culture on the other hand. Describe these two broad
dimensions of school context and how they are related to students’ outcomes, using
concrete examples, and then discuss how they overlap (or not) with each other. What are
the pros and cons of targeting each dimension as a component of policy interventions
aiming to improve students’ outcomes, and which one would you choose to target if you
could only target one?
2. Understanding school context is about understanding people and relationships, not just
classes and tests. How can delving into the interpersonal dynamics of a school illuminate
the ways in which racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and/or gender disparities in academic
outcomes are created and reinforced both within and between schools? In answering this
question, assess the state of theory and methods in this area of research.
Set 2B (choose one)
1. Most Americans spend a large part of their child and early adulthoods in school-related
environments. Although academic performance is a major focus of education research,
sociology of education scholars also focus on other aspects of students’ schooling
experiences (e.g., peer culture, social networks, extra-curricular participation, school
discipline, health and wellbeing). Discuss some of these contributions in relation to
broader schooling contexts, as well as to gender-, race-, and/or class- based stratification
in these contexts. Next, discuss how these non-academic factors, and possibly the
schooling experiences shaped by these non-academic factors, influence individuals’
academic and non-academic outcomes at various points across the life-course, focusing
on time points and outcomes you deem most important. Be sure to specify what these
outcomes might be and why they may be important.
2. There has been a long discussion about racial disparities in higher education outcomes
(e.g., college attendance, college completion) among scholars, particularly with respect to
African Americans and whites. The consensus among many scholars appears to be that
the reproduction of inequality has its roots in K-12 schooling. Two prominent
contributors are institutions (e.g., quality of education provided) and individual
characteristics (e.g., students’ academic skills, approaches to schooling) in K-12
schooling. Discuss the mechanisms by which institutional and individual factors in K-12
schooling contribute to disparities in higher education. How is this discussion
complicated by ongoing debates around deficit and oppositional explanations for
racial/ethnic differences in academic preparation and performance? Your answer should
include a brief summary of the theoretical perspectives included in this debate. In your
view, which aspects (institutional vs. individual) are more important factors in
contributing to racial disparities in higher education outcome? What policies are most
promising for addressing points of inequality in the both the U.S. educational system and
in society?
Set 2C (choose one)
1. The frog pond effect relates to students’ academic positions both within and between
schools and addresses the question of whether students in middle aptitude ranges benefit
more from being in a big (high achieving) pond or a small (moderately or low achieving)
pond. In other words, Davis and others after him considered the academic capacity of the
student relative to others in the school. Within schools, students develop identity, build
relationships, and conform to norms that have may have long-term effects on outcomes
ranging from academic success to health and well-being. These contexts also impact the
student’s academic performance, both directly and indirectly. Directly, students are
judged and evaluated in relation to others around them and they also learn from others.
Indirectly, the psychosocial and cultural context can impact motivation, effort, interests,
and so on. Taking into account what we know about the effects of contexts within schools
and going beyond the research that is explicitly framed around the frog pond effect,
discuss and critique the research on the pros and cons of the being in higher or lower
achieving settings. To what extent is the frog pond effect a useful concept and to what
extent does it fall short?
2. An age-old problem concerns how to motivate students to put forth effort and invest in
school. Consider the different approaches that scholars have taken to understanding this
problem. What role does the school play in motivation (either positively or negatively)?
Discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the approaches as well as the empirical findings
about the reasons that some students invest in school while others do not.