Soc/TEP 126 Topic #4: The Critique of the Technical View of Schooling: Schooling Reproduces Inequality Part I

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Main Points About the Technical Conception of the Function of Education Industrial Work Needs a Stratified Work Force School Functions as a Rational Sorting Device Sorting is Based on Achievement not Ascription Society is Increasingly Meritocratic School Fosters Mobility

Questions to Guide Discussion About the Film,“Unequal Education” The “meritocratic thesis” is often expressed in terms of a contest in which all contestants have an equal chance to “win the race’ for success. For example, “the contest mobility system is like a sporting event in which many compete for a few recognized prizes. The contest is judged to be fair only if all the players compete on an equal footing. The victory must be one solely on one’s own efforts” (Turner, 1960: 857).

Compare Education in the Two Contexts What differences in opportunities for academic success are found in the social organization of the schools in the two communities? What differences in opportunities for academic success are found in the homes of the two students? In the Community? What effect do these social-economic and cultural factors have on the students’ development? What does the film’s contrast between South Bronx and Riverdale schools, families, and communities say about the technical conception of schooling?

State & Federal Policies Classroom Classroom 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 State & Federal Policies Political-Economic Constraints 1 the school 2 the district 3 the neighborhood 4 the community Levels of Context from Wilcox, "Differential Socialization . . ."

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