EducationEducation Macionis, Sociology, Chapter Twenty

2 Education vs. Schooling Education –The social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and values Schooling –Formal instruction under the direction of specially trained teachers

3 Functions of Schooling Socialization –Primary schooling Basic language and mathematical skills –Secondary schooling Expansion of basic skills to include the transmission of cultural values and norms Cultural Innovation –Educational systems create as well as transmit culture Social integration –Brings a diverse nation together Social placement –The enhancement of meritocracy

4 Latent Functions Schools as child-care providers Schools consume considerable time & energy- activity thus fostering conformity Engages young people at a time in their lives when jobs are not plentiful Sets the stage for establishing relationships & networks Link between particular schools and career opportunities

5 Schooling and Social Inequality Social control –Mandatory education laws encouraged compliance, following directions, and discipline –Hidden curriculum – subtle presentations of political or cultural ideas in the classroom (unwritten rules) Standardized testing –Is it biased based on race, ethnicity, or class School tracking –Assigning students to different types of education programs Does it segregate students into winners and losers?

Self fulfilling Prophecy If teachers think some category of students is superior, those same students may end up doing superior work. What theory does this fall under? 6

7 Access to Higher Education Family income is still best predictor for college attendance –Families making at least $75,000 send 64% of their children to college –Families making under $20,000 send 27% of their children to college On average, a person with a college degree will add almost $500,000 to his or her earnings over a lifetime A woman with a bachelor’s degree will earn two-and-a- half times as much as a woman with eight or fewer years of schooling

8 Credentialism Evaluating a person on the basis of educational degrees Diplomas and degrees are viewed as evidence of ability Over-education is often the case when people are overqualified for the job at hand

9 Academic Standards A Nation at Risk - a 1983, governmental commission –Troublesome findings concerning what students are and are not learning in school 40% of could not draw inferences from written materials 33% could not complete multi-step mathematical problems Other insights –Functional illiteracy – a lack of reading and writing skills needed for everyday living –Lack of interest in the importance of education apathetic attitudes toward classes, course materials, doing assignments, and attendance –Belief that good grades need not be “earned,” but rather just rewarded (as if they had a right to them)

10 Academic Standards Global performance –U.S. Eighth graders still placed 17th in the world in science and 28th in mathematics! Recommendations from A Nation at Risk - a 1983, governmental commission 1.All schools should require several years of English, math, social studies, general science & computer science 2.No more “social promotion” of failing students from grade to grade 3.Teacher training and salaries should improve

11 21 st Century Schooling Computers and other high-tech tools will become increasingly important –high-tech equipment may become one of the new marketing tools for schools to out-perform one another –Will the education system play a role in dividing people into two groups in the future. Those literate and illiterate in computer skills –Will we become a country of have’s and have not’s divided along lines of high-tech competencies

12 “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” – Chinese Proverb