Chapter 13 Education

The State of Education: A Global Perspective Education - social institution by which society transmits knowledge including: Basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and values to its members Schooling - formal instruction carried out by specially trained teachers Schooling is more available in some parts of the world than others © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-Income Countries: Too Little Schooling All nations provide for primary education of at least some children In the poorest nations many children do not go to school © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-Income Countries: Too Little Schooling Secondary education of children is even less common Poor nations are agrarian and rural Families take primary responsibility for education © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-Income Countries Children work at an early age Governments in poor nations are trying to increase literacy by extending school Literacy is important for economic development in poor countries of the world © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-Income Countries Gender also is related to education in poor countries Patriarchy and education Males have greater opportunities © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

High-Income Countries: Unequal Schooling Higher rates of schooling and literacy Education is a necessity for jobs Post-secondary education Made available to a larger segment of the population © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Education in U.S. History Thomas Jefferson: Literacy & democracy By 1918, all states had laws making education mandatory Requiring students to attend school until the age of 16 or through the eighth grade The 20th century saw the expansion of education © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Academic Performance of U.S. Schools A larger share of the U.S. population earns a college degree than any other nation Except Norway Scholastic Assessment test scores Below the 1967 average for both men and women © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Race, Ethnicity and Class Testing: SAT African-American students score about 300 points below the average white student Hispanics 200 points below non-Hispanic whites Asian Americans average about the same as white students © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Race, Ethnicity and Class African American children living in a single parent family Racial stereotypes and educational bias Hispanic children and language barrier Native American children and cultural alienation Poverty © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dropping Out Completing high school is a major problem About 8.1% of the population aged 16-24 have left school before graduating Figure was 14% in 1960 © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dropping Out Dropping out is related to being socially disadvantaged Economically and culturally Dropping out puts one at risk for other social problems © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Functional Illiteracy Not being able to read and write or do basic arithmetic Well enough to carry out daily responsibilities About 14% or more of the population lack the necessary skills to function in society Affects job opportunities Source of embarrassment and shame © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Segregated Schools and Busing Segregated schools post slavery through the 20th century Supreme Court case - Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Separate but equal Law and educational segregation in the South © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Segregated Schools and Busing Supreme Court case - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) Residential segregation and continued educational segregation Busing to achieve integration Blacks reacted to busing with mixed opinions © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Segregated Schools and Busing White flight and the continuation of educational segregation White opposition The 1990s and the end of busing © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

School Funding Inequality in educational resources between states and within states Public schools funded by state/local taxes Economic disparities between rich and poor communities Sources of income & educational spending for students © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

School Funding Cultural Capital Differences in the home life of rich and poor children is a major factor in education Families with more income are able to give their children more cultural capital More conducive environment Parental education © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tracking A policy of assigning students to different educational programs Supporters of tracking argue that tests will be used to assign students to tracks Best suited to address each child's abilities © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tracking Critics argue that tracking is a form of institutional discrimination Tracking transforms a social advantage into an educational advantage Self-fulfilling prophecy © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender Inequality Reproduction of gender inequality in schools Gender and educational steering by teachers and counselors Based on cultural prescriptions of gender in society © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender Inequality Educational resources (books) & different images of the role of men and women Gender role models in school and cultural learning Congress (1972) & Title IX of Educational Amendments to the Civil Rights Act © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender Inequality Increase of girls in gifted programs in elementary schools Increase in the number of women going on to college © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Immigration: Increasing Diversity Educating the more than one million immigrants that enter the U.S. annually English Immersion versus Bilingualism English immersion - teaching immigrants using English © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Immigration: Increasing Diversity Bilingual education – Policy by which schools offer classes in most subject areas in a student’s native language While also teaching them English © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Schooling People With Disabilities In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act Mainstreaming – Integrating special students into the overall educational program © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Schooling People With Disabilities Special education – Schooling children with physical or mental disabilities in separate classes With specially trained teachers © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Teacher Shortage 400,000 teaching jobs remain unfilled Causes larger classes and greater burden on staff Low salaries a factor Excessive bureaucracy and school violence are also a factor © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

School Violence School violence has been a growing concern and includes: Homicides Aggravated assaults Rape © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

School Violence Type of school and violence: Larger schools are more likely to have violence Urban schools are more likely to have violence Poverty and school violence © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

School Violence Reactions to school violence by schools and communities Zero-tolerance policies Dress codes Conflict resolution programs © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural-Functional Analysis: The Functions of Schooling The focus is on the role of education in society How education leads to transmitting knowledge and skills How education leads to occupational roles © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural-Functional Analysis: The Functions of Schooling How education integrates someone into the larger society Latent functions Child care © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: Labels in the Schools The focus is on how individuals experience education How educational labels shape the student’s future © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: Labels in the Schools Labels and the self-fulfilling prophecy- Situation in which people who are defined in one way: Eventually think and act as if the definition were true © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Social-Conflict Analysis: Schooling and Inequality How education results in the reproduction of education: Class Gender Race © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Social-Conflict Analysis: Schooling and Inequality Education and the hidden curriculum and the teaching of conformity: Political Economic Cultural © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conservatives: Increased Competition Charter Schools – Public schools that are given more freedom in order to try out new policies and programs Subject to less regulation if students perform well 4,700 chapter schools with about 1.4 million students © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conservatives: Increased Competition Magnet schools – Public schools that offer special facilities and programs in pursuit of educational excellence Private companies to engage in schooling for profit School vouchers – funds used by parents for private school or out of school district © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Liberals: Increase Special Programs Support public education Some free choice in schooling Equalize school funding Bilingual education Invest in out-of-class activities Expand investment in education © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Radicals: Attack Structural Inequality Academic shortcomings are a function of structured inequality in society Equalize school funding Eliminate inequality throughout society © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.