Chapter 12: Education Sociology Mrs. McVey

THE RULE! YOU CAN TALK ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES BUT DO NOT NAME TEACHERS OR ADMINISTRATORS OR OTHER STUDENTS!! WE ARE NOT PLAYING A BLAME GAME OR BASHING PEOPLE.

Why do we have education? Society’s future depends on the successful socialization of new members. Children must acquire the knowledge, skills, behavior patterns, and values necessary to become functioning members of society. To accomplish this goal, every society has developed a system of EDUCATION!

Why does Education exist? Education arose as a response to the need to provide children with knowledge they need to inherit the world How people choose to educate their children varies widely from culture to culture and may be as simple as tribal elders passing on ancient stories or complex bureaucratic system as found in the united states Education: roles & norms that ensure the transmission of knowledge, values, and patterns of behavior from one generation to the next

Illiteracy Illiteracy in U.S. usually means less than 4th grade level reading/writing ability Chart on page 397 Most American school-aged children have access to public education—less than 10% illiterate 30% of the population of developing countries is illiterate Estimated 250 million (more than U.S. population) is illiterate in India

Psychology Today Article When Will We Learn?

Bureaucracy in Education Based on specialization, rules, procedures, and impersonality? Should schools be standardized? Schools part of bigger bureaucratic system—the federal government Formal schooling: education provided & regulated by society Against say that doesn’t meet emotional/creative needs of all students

Democratic Reforms Good education is American priority since Puritans in Massachusetts in 1647 Progressive Movement Humanistic Movement Democratic Student-focused

Year-Round? The United States educational system was established around agriculture. Having 3 months off in the summer allowed students to help with planting and harvesting crops—which most students no longer do Does year-round school make sense?

Open Classroom Non-bureaucratic approach to education based on democracy, flexibility, and non-competitiveness Not standardized curriculum Competition not good motivator (no report cards comparing students)

Cooperative learning Instructional method that relies on cooperation among students Part of open classroom Group work/cooperative learning Reduces student stress Increases academic performance Students have positive attitudes toward school Creates tolerance of race, culture, etc. Self-esteem increases

Cooperative Learning Attempts to teach students interpersonal skills in the classroom so they are able to implement (use) them in job setting Skills include: Work on a team Teach others Lead Serve customers Work well w/people from other backgrounds

Integrative curriculum Approach to education based on student-teacher collaboration Students participate in developing curriculum and content Hands-on Multiple Intelligences

Multiple Intelligences Artistic Musical Verbal-linguistic Spatial Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalistic Math/science kinesthetic

Back-to-basics Push for return to traditional curriculum—reading, writing, arithmetic A Nation At Risk (1983) America at risk of being overtaken by other countries because of deficiencies in the educational system Strict graduation requirements Standardized tests

Back to basics? Some critics say that the American educational system is in decline...do you agree? Why or why not?

Alternatives to public school Voucher school Public school funds may be used to support public, private, or religious schools Charter school Public schools that are operated like private schools by public school teachers and administrators Magnet school Schools that focus on particular discipline or area, such as fine arts or science For-profit school Schools run by private companies on government funds

Functionalist perspective Educational institution is a response to society’s need Graphic Organizers! Manifest An action that produces an intended and recognized result Latent An action that produces an unintended and unrecognized result Cooperate and share

Functionalist Perspective Manifest Functions of education Transmit culture Create common identity Select and screen students Tracking: placement of students in programs according to academic ability levels Promote personal growth and development

Functionalist Perspective Latent Functions of Education Daycare Dating/marriage Prevent delinquency Train athletes Some are negative, such as tracking Unequal

Conflict Perspective America is a meritocracy, a society where social status is based on ability and achievement Conflict perspective theorists point to inequalities in the educational system to support their theory Competition: system where rewards are based on relative performance

Is American really a Meritocracy? Meritocracy really means that everyone has an equal chance to succeed P. 401 chart Gender and race play a role in the success or lack of success of Americans

Equality & Inequality in Education Ed. Equality: condition in which schooling produces the same results for lower-class and minority children as it does for other children Conflict theorists would argue ascribed status and social class set the tone for education in American and lead to educational inequality

Cognitive Ability Capacity for thinking abstractly Contributes to educational inequality Is intelligence inherited? Social Darwinism Environmental factors Cultural bias: unfair measurement of the cognitive abilities of people in some social categories Q. A symphony is to a composer as a book is to what?

A. a. paper b. a musician c. a sculptor d. a man e. an author

Promoting Educational Equality School desegregation Achievement of a racial balance in the classroom Multicultural education An educational curriculum that emphasizes difference among gender, ethnic, and racial categories Compensatory education Specific curricular programs designed to overcome a deficiency

Symbolic Interactionism Emphasize the socialization at school—teaching people to participate in society Help make transition from home to “real world” (or the larger society) Hidden curriculum The nonacademic agenda that teaches discipline, order cooperativeness, and conformity

Textbooks Our textbooks present view of the history/society that favors United States Textbooks present stereotypes Been a recent push to present a more balanced picture of society to students (multicultural education)…that not all students are white, or middle class, or Christian and not all women are homemakers/nurses, etc.

Teachers and socialization 1st authority figures outside the home Self-fulfilling prophecy: prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction come true….basically treating students according to societal stereotypes Teachers transmit unconscious sexism. Boys are: 5x more likely to receive attention from teacher 3x more likely to be praised 8x more likely to call out in class 3x more talkative 2x to demand help/attention 2x more likely to be called on in class