Sociology of Education
SYA 4930 sect. 009G, Spring 2015
Mon/Wed/Fri: 9:35-10:25, Turlington 2333
Instructor:
Office: 3323 Turlington Hall
Justin J. Hendricks, M.A.
Office Hours:
justinhendricks@ufl.edu
Mon & Wed: 10:30-12 and by appointment
General Course Information
Course philosophy:
“We learn nothing from those who say: ‘Do as I do’. Our only teachers are those who tell us to
‘do with me’, and are able to emit signs to be developed in heterogeneity rather than propose
gestures for us to reproduce” (Deleuze, 1968/1994, p. 23)
I approach a course with the idea that we will all learn from our encounters with the text, articles,
visual media, and each other throughout the semester. The class members come from a wide
variety of backgrounds and all have something different to contribute. Classes, then, must be
highly collaborative if we are going to create and share new ideas. Considering that this is an
upper-level sociology course and that your majors are relevant to this topic, I approach this
course with the assumption that you are invested in the topic and self-motivated.
Course format:
This course is almost solely based on discussion. Therefore, it is imperative that you come to
class prepared. This also means that you are directly responsible for how interesting or well spent
our time is in class. In general, we will discuss the B&H reading on Monday, the reader on
Wednesday, and have a group application activity on Fridays. Readings should be completed
prior to the period in which they will be discussed and responses turned in at the beginning of
class. Occasionally we will disrupt the schedule to avoid boredom. The class moves quickly as
we take on a different subject every week, please keep pace.
Course objectives and goals:


Understand and be able to explain ideas of power in the construction of knowledge and
education
Interpret and understand research—correlation does not equal causation, assumptions,
different research approaches and their problems
1

Understand education related societal issues and the complexity in which they are
entwined.
Academic Integrity: This course will subscribe to the University of Florida Honor Code. This
honor code states, in part, “In adopting this honor code, the students of the University of Florida
recognize that academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the university
community. Students who enroll at the university commit to holding themselves and their peers
to the high standard of honor required by the honor code. Any individual who becomes aware of
a violation of the honor code is bound by honor to take corrective action. The quality of a
University of Florida education is dependent upon community acceptance and enforcement of
the honor code. The Honor Pledge: We, the members of the University of Florida community,
pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. On all
work submitted for credit by students at the university, the following pledge is either required or
implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this
assignment.’” Further information about the UF Honor Code and guidelines for Academic
Honesty are outlined online in the UF Graduate Catalog at:
http://gradcatalog.ufl.edu/content.php?catoid=2&navoid=762#Academic_Honesty
Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a
documented disability with the Disability Resource Center, located at 0001 Building 0020--Reid
Hall (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/; accessuf@dso.ufl.edu; Voice 352--392-- 8565; Fax, 352--392-8570). Please notify me within the first two weeks of class about any accommodations
needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodation to be
unavailable.
Course Assignments
In general all participants in this course will be expected to attend class, read all assigned
material, participate in and lead discussions, and complete assigned writing assignments and
presentations. Grades are not awarded for these basic expectations, they are a requisite part of a
college course (why would I give you points for being here? You already paid to come here).
Assignment
Organization Plan
Reading Responses
Research Paper
Persuasive Essay
Group prospectus
Group presentation
% of grade
5
25
20
20
15
15
Grading scheme
Pass/fail
2 per week; Pass/fail
See Appendix
See Appendix
See group project instructions
Graded by classmates
University of Florida Grade Scale:
A 95-100, A- 90-94.99, B+ 87-89.99, B 83-86.99, B- 80-82.99…
Semester organizational plan: Create a plan for organizing your semester and avoiding
procrastination. You might use the recommended books The Now Habit and/or Getting Things
2
Done if you need some guidance or struggle with procrastination. This does not have to be
elaborate. I simply want you to begin thinking about how to organize your time, get things done,
and avoid stress. For each assignment you should create a plan for how you are going to plan
adequate time to complete it in a timely manner. For example, when there is a paper due what
steps will you take and deadlines will you create for yourself in order to complete it without
procrastinating? You may need to consider your overall schedule for the semester including
other coursework and extracurricular activities. You will want to continually refer back to your
plan and make changes as necessary. At the end of the semester I will follow up and see how you
did with your plans and with avoiding procrastination and being productive. This is due in class
January 16th.
Responses: For each reading there is a one page (double-spaced, 12pt, Times New
Roman) written response due in class the day we discuss the reading. This is graded on a
pass/fail basis. You will receive one point if it is completed on time and zero if it is not. Late
responses receive a zero. You can make up four responses by doing an extra reading or attending
an event I announce and turning in a response. The response should briefly summarize and
discuss what you learned from the readings for that day.
Papers: Over the course of the semester you will write two papers. The first is a research
paper on an education related topic. You are not required to clear the topic with me, but it is in
your best interest to discuss the topic with me beforehand. Your sources for the paper should be
peer-reviewed journal articles or academic books. You should have a minimum of ten sources
for the paper. Ideally the paper will synthesize rather than summarize the research, meaning that
you should address a topic and weave in the research rather than listing article after article and
discussing them individually. For both papers see The Elements of Style for general formatting
and structural questions (introduction, body, conclusion, thesis, and topic sentences), but you
should follow the more specific APA formatting guidelines for this paper when applicable
(Google it). Please do not use contractions.
The second paper is a persuasive essay. The best idea would be to continue on your
research paper theme and use the sources to craft an argument for or against some course of
action, program, or policy. In other words you should have a central issue or concern you are
tackling, take a position on it (your thesis), and support that issue with theory and peer-reviewed
research sources.
Both papers papers should be 8-10 pages (including references, title page, and a one page
appendix of critical reflection), double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font with 1” margins. I
would suggest emailing me or coming to my office to talk about the issues you want to take up
well in advance of the due date. Depending on the performance of the class I may consider
allowing one paper to be revised and resubmitted.
Group Project: This project is your cumulative final. To do well on this project you
must be able to work well with your group, create a well-researched prospectus, and a
compelling presentation. For the semester you will be divided into thinktanks with whom you
will work most every week. I will assign you randomly to one of these groups. For this task you
3
will work as a think-tank. You must identify an issue that you want to resolve, find research to
support a plan for resolving the issue, and describe how you will put this plan into action. All of
this will be put together in a project prospectus given to me. Then your group will present your
plan to the class who will act as the board of a funding organization. The class will evaluate your
plan according to its viability and importance vote for the project that should be funded. I
encourage you to be creative in this project. How can you persuade the board that this is an
important project? How can you make convince them of its viability? You should also be critical
of your values and beliefs. How will you overcome your perspective as you work with others
with differing ideals and values? Your group should plan on working together throughout the
semester and you might spend time blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and sharing notes with
each other about your readings, activities, and feelings.
Required Readings:
The Elements of Style (4th Edition) by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White
http://www.amazon.com/The-Elements-Style-Fourth-Edition/dp/020530902X
Sociology of Education (7th Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/Sociology-Education-7th-JeanneBallantine/dp/0205800912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418089881&sr=11&keywords=sociology+of+education
Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader (2nd Edition)
http://www.amazon.com/Sociology-Education-A-Critical-Reader/dp/0415803705
The Shame of the Nation: the restoration of apartheid schooling in America by Jonathan Kozol
http://www.amazon.com/The-Shame-Nation-Restoration-Apartheid/dp/1400052459
Recommended Readings:
The Now Habit
http://www.amazon.com/The-Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination/dp/1585425524
How to get Things Done
http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-FreeProductivity/dp/0142000280/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1408991463&sr=11&keywords=getting+things+done
Weekly Schedule
(Read the Ballantine & Hammack (B&H) chapter before the Monday class and one of the
Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader (Reader) articles before Wednesday each week)
4
Week one: Jan 7 & 9
Read: The Elements of Style; Power and Knowledge—Foucault (on e-learning)
Week two: Jan 12, 14, & 16
Read: B&H, Ch. 1; Reader, Ch. 1
Due Jan 16: Semester organizational plan
Week three: Jan 21 & Jan 23, No Class Jan 19
Read: B&H, Ch. 2; Reader, Ch. 2 & 9
Week four: Jan 26, 28, & 30
Read: B&H, Ch. 3; Reader, Ch. 6
Week five: Feb 2, 4, & 6
Read: B&H, Ch. 4; Reader, Ch. 20, 21
Week six: Feb 9, 11, & 13
No Class, meet independently with groups; work on essays
Read: The Shame of the Nation—Jonathan Kozol (Turn in 2 page response Feb. 16th)
Week seven: Feb 16, 18, & 20
Due: Feb 16, Research Paper
Read: B&H, Ch. 5; Reader, Ch. 10, 11
Week eight: Feb 23, 25, & 27
Read: B&H, Ch. 6; B&H, Ch. 7
Week nine: March 2, 4, 6 SPRING BREAK, NO CLASS!
Week ten: March 9, 11, & 13
No Class March 9th
Read: B&H, Ch. 8; Reader, Ch. 8, 12
Week eleven: March 16, 18, 20
Read: B&H, Ch. 9; Reader, Ch. 4
Week twelve: March 23, 25, & 27
Read: B&H, Ch. 13; Reader, Ch. 25, 26, 27
Week thirteen: March 30, April 1, & 3
5
Due: March 30, Persuasive Essay
Read: B&H, Ch. 10; Reader, Ch. 16, 18
Week fourteen: April 6, 8, & 10
Read: B&H, Ch. 11; Reader, Ch. 13, 14, 15
Week fifteen: April 13, 15, & 17
Presentations
Week sixteen: April 20 & 22
Presentations
*I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus at any time
6
Appendix--Grading Rubrics
Paper Grading Guidelines
Criterion
Poor
Content & Development
Organization & Structure
Fair
40 pts
50 pts
60 pts
- Content is incomplete.
- Major points are not clear and
/or persuasive.
- Content is not comprehensive
and /or persuasive.
- Major points are addressed,
but not well supported.
- Content is inconsistent with
regard to purpose and clarity of
thought.
- Content is comprehensive,
accurate, and persuasive.
- Major points are stated clearly
and are well supported.
- Content and purpose of the
writing are clear.
10 pts
15 pts
20 pts
- Organization and structure
detract from the message of
the writer.
- Introduction and/or
conclusion is missing.
- Paragraphs are disjointed and
lack transition of thoughts.
Format
Grammar, Punctuation &
Spelling
Good
- Structure of the paper is not
easy to follow.
- Introduction is missing or, if
provided, does not preview
major points.
- Paragraph transitions need
improvement.
- Conclusion is missing, or if
provided, does not flow from
the body of the paper.
- Structure of the paper is clear
and easy to follow.
- Introduction provides
sufficient background on the
topic and previews major
points.
- Paragraph transitions are
present and logical and
maintain the flow of thought
throughout the paper.
- Conclusion is logical and flows
from the body of the paper.
0 pts
5 pts
- Paper lacks many elements of
correct formattting.
- Citations and references are
not provided.
- Paper is inadequate/excessive
in length.
- Paper follows most guidelines.
- Paper provides citations, but
they are incorrectly prepared.
- Paper provides reference list,
with some errors or omissions.
- Paper is over/ under word
length.
0 pts
5 pts
10 pts
- Paper contains few
grammatical, punctuation and
spelling errors.
- Language lacks clarity or
includes the use of some jargon
or conversational tone.
- Rules of grammar, usage, and
punctuation are followed;
spelling is correct.
- Language is clear and precise;
sentences display consistently
strong, varied structure.
- Paper contains numerous
grammatical, punctuation, and
spelling errors.
- Language uses jargon or
conversational tone.
7
10 pts
- Paper follows designated
guidelines.
- Citations and references are
used appropriately.
- Paper is the appropriate
length as described for the
assignment.
Final Group Project
Give each group a grade for complexity and viability. Complexity reflects the extent to
which they convince you that there is a problem worth solving, present its multiple facets (sides)
and present solutions equal to the complexity. Viability reflects their plan to fix or help with the
problem do they convince you that their intervention or program is helpful? Do they give
evidence to suggest that it will work?
Scoring (do not score your own presentation):
1= did nothing
2=in between 1 & 3
3=present problem and solution, but are not convincing and proposed solution is questionable
4=in between 3 & 5
5=excellent presentation of problem and propose a viable solution
Circle one group that you feel should be funded.
Group 1
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Group 5
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Group 2
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Group 6
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Group 3
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Group 7
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Viability:
Group 8
Complexity:
Comments:
Viability:
Group 4
Complexity:
Comments:
8