General Course Information
Title and Section : SYO 4250, Section 1
Semester : Spring 2014
Meeting Time: 2:00-3:15 pm, Mondays and Wednesdays
Location: Bellamy Building, Room 23
Course Website : http://campus.fsu.edu
Instructor Information
Instructor : Andrew Mannheimer
Email : ahm08@fsu.edu
Office Location: Bellamy Building, Room 431(Fourth Floor)
Office Hours : Mondays and Wednesdays (12:30-1:30pm) and by appointment
Required Course Materials:
Sadovnik, Alan R. (2010) Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader: Second Edition .
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. 2010. ISBN: 978-0415803700.
Other requirements: All students must be able to access the Blackboard course website, read
PDF documents, view streaming audio and video, and use Microsoft Word.
Course Description
Sociologists who study education utilize various theories and empirical methodologies in order to understand the relationship between schools and society. Accordingly, this course will examine the impact of education as a social institution from a sociological perspective. The course will begin by discussing the history and goals of education, as well as the ways in which sociologists have sought to understand this institution. We will then examine important topics including educational inequality, the dynamics of race, class, and gender in education, standardized testing, school choice, and higher education.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Define the key questions that have motivated the bulk of sociological research on education.
2. Summarize ongoing debates in the sociology of education.
3. Apply key concepts in the sociology of education literature to an actual school system.
4. Identify opportunities to advance the state of the field in the sociology of education.

Grading/Evaluation
Final grades are based on the quality of performance with respect to the course assignments and responsibilities. Below is the allocation of points and the grading scale:
Exam I: 100 points
Exam II: 100 points
Paper 1: 100 points
Paper 2: 100 points
Discussion Questions: 100 points
Total: 500 points
A =500-465 A- =464-450 B+ = 449-435 B= 434- 415 B- = 414-400 C+ = 399-385
C=384-365 C- =364-350 D+= 349-335 D=334-315 D- =314-300 F=<300
Exams. Two exams will be given throughout the semester. Exams will include a combination of multiple choice and essay questions. The exams will cover potentially all material from lectures and required readings. Make-up exams are only offered to students with excused absences.
Discussion Questions. Ten separate times throughout the semester students are required to submit a discussion question via Blackboard by 9 pm prior to the day of lecture (i.e. Sunday night before a Monday class, or Tuesday night before a Wednesday class). Each discussion question must be relevant to the assigned reading for that class day. Selected discussion questions will be read and expounded upon in class.
Students may only submit a discussion question before class periods in which there are assigned readings. Discussion questions will be graded on a credit/no credit basis (10 points each). Students are not eligible to receive more than
10 points per total reading assignment (even on days were multiple articles/chapters are assigned). Students may receive a maximum of 100 total points for this grading category (10 discussion questions receiving 10 points each). Late submissions will not be accepted.
Papers. Two papers will be assigned in which students use information from course materials and outside sources in order to answer a specific prompt. Instructions and rubrics will be posted on the course website. Papers should be a minimum of 1100 words long (not including cover page or reference page). Citations will be confirmed through TurnItIn. Papers will be graded on a
100 point scale and late papers will be deducted 10 points per day past due date (i.e. an 85 will receive a 75 if submitted one day late). Papers will not be accepted if submitted 4 days past the due date.
Attendance . Students are expected to attend class and participate in class discussion. A sign-in sheet will be passed around during every class period (except for exam days) in order to document attendance. Students with fewer than four unexcused absences will receive an additional 5 points to their overall grade. These 5 points will be added to the possible 500 points for the course. Again, make-up exams are only offered to students with excused absences.

Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities.
These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.
Course Policies
Students are expected to treat everyone in class with respect, regardless of their opinions, positions, and beliefs. This course will cover controversial topics and it is important that a respectful atmosphere is maintained throughout the semester.
Students should check their official FSU email account and the course Blackboard page regularly.
Students should arrive to class on time, having completed all assigned readings for the day, and stay for the entire class period. If there are circumstances in which students need to arrive late or leave early, they should notify the instructor in advance. Students who leave early without notifying the instructor will be marked absent.
Students must raise their hand and wait to be called on by the instructor before speaking.
Students may use laptops or tablets during class to take notes, open lecture slides, and view assigned readings. Students may not use these devices for activities unrelated to the course (i.e. checking Facebook, sending tweets, or watching Youtube videos).
Academic Honor Code
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.”
(Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm
.)
Any form of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of “zero” for that particular assignment.
Americans With Disabilities Act
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:
(1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and
(2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request. For more information about services available to
FSU students with disabilities, contact the:
Student Disability Resource Center
874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167

(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD) sdrc@admin.fsu.edu http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/
Syllabus Change Policy
Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.
Course Outline
( SR =reading found in Sadovnik reader, and BB = reading found in the “Course Library” on
Blackboard)
Date Topic Assignments (All readings should be completed before class meetings)
Week 1
1/6
1/8
Course Introduction
Course Introduction
Week 2
1/13
1/15
History and Goals of
Education
History and Goals of
Education
-Read Syllabus
-Obtain Sadovnik reader
-Familiarize yourself with course site on Blackboard
-Read: “ The Goals of Public
Schooling” by Robert Arum and Irenee R. Beattie ( BB )
-Read: “Beyond Silver
Bullets” by Pedro Noguera and Randi Weingarten ( BB )
Week 3
1/20 No Class:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
1/22 Theory and Research in the
Sociology of Education
-Read: “Theory and Research in the Sociology of Education” by Alan R. Sadovnik (Chapter
1 in SR )

Week 4
1/27
1/29
Week 5
2/3
2/5
2/7
Week 6
2/10
2/12
Theory and Research in Soc of
Ed.
Theory and Research in Soc of
Ed.
-Read: “Functional and
Conflict Theories of
Educational Stratification” by
Randall Collins (Chapter 3 in
SR )
-Read: “On Understanding the
Processes of Schooling: The
Contributions of Labeling
Theory” by Ray Rist (Chapter
5 in SR )
Education and Inequality
Education and Inequality
Race, Ethnicity, and
Education
Race, Ethnicity, and
Education
-Read: “Tracking: From theory to Practice” by
Maureen Hallinan (Chapter
19 in SR )
-Read: “More than Misplaced
Technology: A Normative and
Political Response to Hallinan on Tracking” by Jeannie
Oakes (Chapter 19 in SR )
-Read: “Disparities Within:
Unequal Spending and
Achievement in an Urban
School District” by Dennis J.
Condron and Vincent J.
Roscigno ( BB )
Submit Paper 1 by 9:00 pm
-Read: “Collective Identity and the Burden of ‘Acting
White’ in Black History,
Community, and Education” by John U. Ogbu (Chapter 21 in SR )
-Read: “Assessing the
Oppositional Culture
Explanation for Racial/Ethnic
Differences in School
Performance” by James W.
Ainsworth-Darnell and
Douglas B. Downey ( BB )

Week 7
2/17
2/19
Week 8
2/24
2/26
Week 9
3/3
3/5
Spring Break
3/10
3/12
Week 10
3/17
3/19
Social Class and Education -Read: “Invisible Inequality:
Social Class and Childbearing in Black Families and White
Families” by Annette Lareau
(Chapter 20 in SR )
Social Class and Education -Read: “Beyond the
Schoolyard: The Role of
Parenting Logics, and
Financial Resources, and
Social Institutions in the
Social Class Gap in Structured
Activity Participation”
by
Pamela R.
Bennett, Amy C.
Lutz, and Lakshmi Jayaram
(2012) ( BB )
Gender and Education
Gender and Education
-Read: “Bragging About One's
School Grades: Gender
Stereotyping and Students'
Perception of Their Abilities in Science, Mathematics, and
Language” by Serge Guimond and Lydie Roussel ( BB )
-Read: “Teaching and
Women’s Work” by Michael
Apple ( BB )
Exam Review
Exam I
No Class: Spring Break
No Class: Spring Break
Teachers
Standardized Testing
-Read: “Poor Schools, Poor
Students, Successful
Teachers” by Rebecca Gehrke
( BB )
-Read: “Where the Rubber meets the Road: Rethinking the Connection between Highstakes Testing Policy and
Classroom Instruction.” By
John B. Diamond ( BB )

Week 11
3/24
3/26
Week 12
3/31
4/2
Week 13
4/7
4/9
4/11
Week 14
4/14
School Choice
School Choice
School Culture and Student
Identity(ies)
Bullying
Higher Education
Higher Education
Education and Health
-Read: “School Choice,
Charter Schools, and White
Flight” by Linda A. Renzulli and Lorraine Evans ( BB )
-Read: “False Promises: The
School Choice Provisions in
No Child Left Behind” by
Douglas Lauen (Chapter 26 in
SR )
-Read: “Only Here for the
Day: The Social Integration of
Minority Students at a
Majority White High School” by Megan M. Holland ( BB )
-Read: “A Systematic Review of School-Based Interventions to Prevent Bullying” by
Rachel C. Vreeman and Aaron
E. Carroll ( BB )
Read: “Mass Higher
Education and Its Critics” by
Paul Attewell and David
Lavin (Chapter 18 in SR )
-Read: “School Strategies and the ‘College Linking’ Process:
Reconsidering the Effects of
High Schools on College
Enrollment” by Lori Diane
Hill ( BB )
-Read “Beyond the ‘One-Size-
Fits-All’ College Degree” by
James Rosenbaum, Kennan
Cepa and Janet Rosenbaum
( BB )
Submit Paper 2 by 9:00 pm
-Read:
“Stressing Out the
Poor: Chronic Physiological
Stress and the Income-
Achievement Gap” by Gary
W. Evans, Jeanne Brooks-
Gunn, and Pamela Kato

4/16
Week 15
4/21
4/23
Week 16
5/1
Education and Health
International Education
Exam Review
Exam II
Klebanov ( BB )
-Read: “Why Education Is the
Key to Socioeconomic
Differentials in Health” by
Catherine Ross and John
Mirowsky ( BB )
-Read: “Nation versus Nation:
The Race to Be the First in the
World” by David P. Baker and
Gerald Letendre (Chapter 15 in SR )
-Meet in our regular classroom
(Bellamy Building, Room 23)
-Exam II will be given from
12:30-2:30 pm