Slide 1
chapter
fourteen
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
1st Edition
Education
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 2
Education
14
•Module 42: Sociological
Perspectives on Education
•Module 43: Schools as Formal Organizations
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 3
A Look Ahead
█
█
█
Do public schools offer everyone a way
up the socioeconomic ladder, or do they
reinforce divisions among social classes?
What is the “hidden
curriculum” in U.S. schools?
What have sociologists learned
about the latest trends in education?
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 4
Sociological Perspectives
on Education
█
Education is social institution that
formally socializes members of society
– Proportion of people age 25 or over with a
high school diploma increased from 41%
in 1960 to more than 86% in 2008
– Proportion with a college degree
rose from 8% in 1960 to 29% in 2008
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 5
Functionalist View
█
Transmitting Culture
– Exposing young people to existing
beliefs, norms, and values of their culture
– Internet offers new and potentially
revolutionary way to transmit culture
█
Promoting Social and Political Integration
– Common identity and social integration
fostered by education contributes
to societal stability and consensus
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 6
Functionalist View
█
Maintaining Social Control
– Schools teach students punctuality,
discipline, scheduling, responsible
work habits, and how to negotiate
a bureaucratic organization
█
Serving as an Agent of Change
Schools serve as a meeting ground
where people can share
distinctive beliefs and traditions
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 7
Conflict View
█
Education is instrument
of elite domination
– Schools socialize students
into values dictated by the
powerful and stifle
individualism and creativity
to promote relatively
insignificant change
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 8
Conflict View
█
The Hidden Curriculum: Standards
of behavior deemed proper by
society are taught subtly in schools
Credentialism: Increase in the lowest
level of education needed to enter a field
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 9
Conflict View
█
Bestowal of Status
– Schools tend to preserve social class
inequalities in each new generation
– Tracking: Practice of placing students
in specific curriculum groups on the
basis of test scores and other criteria
– Correspondence principle: Promotes
values expected of individuals in each social
class; perpetuate social class divisions
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 10
Feminist Views
█
In 20th century, sexism found in:
• Stereotypes in textbooks
• Pressure to study
traditional women’s subjects
• Unequal funding for athletics
• Employment bias
– Women have made strides
in continuing education
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 11
Interactionist View
█
Labeling approach suggests that
if people are treated in particular
ways, they may fulfill expectations
Teacher-expectancy effect: Impact
of teacher expectations and their
large role on student performance
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 12
Figure 42-1: Higher Education
Completion Rates (BA/BS), Selected Countries
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 13
Figure 42-2: Annual Median
Earnings by Educational Level
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Module 42
Slide 14
Figure 42-3: Foreign Students by
Major Countries of Origin and Destination
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Module 42
Slide 15
Figure 42-4: Tuition Costs, 1976 – 2007
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 16
Table 42-1: Sociological Perspectives on Education
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 42
Slide 17
Sociology on Campus
█
Google University
– Do you prefer to do your reading online
or in a magazine, newspaper, or book?
– Have you participated in any social or
political causes or volunteered your time
while on campus? Did you use the
Internet to organize or disseminate
information about your activities?
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 18
Bureaucratization of Schools
█
Weber: characteristics of bureaucracy:
–
–
–
–
–
Division of labor
Hierarchy of authority
Written rules and regulations
Impersonality
Employment based on
technical qualifications
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 19
Teachers: Employees
and Instructors
█
Teachers undergo many stresses
– Between a quarter and a third of new
teachers quit within their first 3 years
█
Fewer students choose teaching as
career due to perceived low income
– In 2009, 4.1% first-year college students
were interested in elementary education
and 4.4% in high school education
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 20
Student Subcultures
█
In colleges:
–
–
–
–
Collegiate subculture
Academic subculture
Vocational subculture
Nonconformist subculture
• Each student is exposed to
competing subcultures and must
determine which seems most in line
with his or her feelings and interests
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 21
Homeschooling
█
About 1.5 million schooled at home
– Some theorists cite lack of social
involvement as problem
– Good alternative for children
with ADHD and learning disabilities
– Homeschooled children score
higher on standardized tests
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 22
Research Today
█
Violence in the Schools
– Has a shooting or other violent episode
ever occurred at your school. Do
you feel safer at school than at home?
– What steps have administrators at
your school taken to prevent
violence? Have they been effective, or
should other steps be taken?
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 23
Figure 43-1: Average Salary for Teachers
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 24
Figure 43-2: College Campuses by
Race and Ethnicity: Then, Now, and in the Future
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 25
No Child Left Behind Program
█
Understanding the Issue
– Too many U.S. public schools
failing to educate students
– In 2001, No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) enacted by Congress
• Supporters charged act not
enforced stringently enough
• Opponents felt
legislation went too far
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 26
No Child Left Behind Program
█
Understanding the Issue
– Schools in U.S. locally run and
financed with some federal and state aid
• National educational
standards established in 1990s
– NCLB built on national standards and
set penalties for failure to meet standards
• Every student to be proficient in
reading and mathematics by 2014
• Debate about how best to offer
high-quality schooling to all children
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 27
No Child Left Behind Program
█
Applying Sociology
– Objectives of common curricular
promotes social integration
– Testing is controversial
• Validity: the degree to which a
scale or measure truly reflects
the phenomenon under study
• Reliability: extent to which a
measure provides consistent results
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Module 43
Slide 28
No Child Left Behind Program
█
Initiating Policy
– Educational reformers have yet to
find solution that fits all schools in all states
– Independent commission advocated
maintaining 2014 goals even though
only small portion of nation’s schools
would reach objectives (1997)
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.