1. Teaching Today: An Introduction to Education 8th Edition
Part 3: Forces Shaping Educational Policies and Practices
Chapter 9: What is the Role of School in Society?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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2. Introduction
Education is one of the primary institutions in society because of its role in cultural transmissions and societal development.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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3. Focus Questions
Why are there complex relationships between school and society?
When did tension develop between school and society in the United States?
Which three modes of sociological analysis are used to identify and evaluate the role of school in society?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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4. Focus Questions (continued)
How are sociological modes of analysis applied to current educational issues?
What conclusions about the success of American schools should be drawn?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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5. Education and Tension in Society
Confidence in Education
The nation’s founders proposed a mass educational system that would be free to most citizens because they believed that diffusion of knowledge to the general population was important for building a nation.
What Do You Think?
Do you believe that the free American educational system educates people to be good citizens who are moral in their deportment and stable in social relationships?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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6. Education and Tension in Society
Confidence in Education (continued)
The faith in education has led to the assignment of a wide range of responsibilities to schools, bringing both positive and negative elements.
What Do You Think?
In your opinion, what are the visible symptoms that cause people to criticize schools? Can you blame these symptoms on schools?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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7. Education and Tension in Society
Education and Enduring Social Issues
It has been well-documented that schools are increasing assigned responsibility, or irresponsibility for enduring social problems;
Rather than address the problems of public attitude, media and advertising, schools are assigned responsibility for teaching drug and alcohol prevention, sex education, and anti-violence campaigns.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

8. Education and Tension in Society
Education and Enduring Social Issues (continued)
What Do You Think?
What is the role of the schools in addressing important social issues?
What are some issues that schools are currently being asked to address that could be addressed in other institutions?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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9. Education and Tension in Society
Tension Between Primary Institutions
Asking schools to counter popular and pervasive societal trends limits school effectiveness and creates tensions with other societal institutions.
The results is intergenerational tension; older generations question values and actions of youth; younger generations challenge the wisdom and beliefs of elders.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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10. Education and Tension in Society
Tension Between Primary Institutions
One manifestation of this generational tension is the contention of older generations that the schools are not as good as they used to be.
What Do You Think?
What roles do schools play in intergenerational tension?
Are schools as good as they used to be? Why or why not?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

11. Education and Tension in Society
Education and Family Responsibility
The early years are the years of most rapid social and cognitive development, however there is great variation in the quality of parental care and concern about how well the family is fulfilling its responsibility.
It has been reported that 1 of 7 children is sexually abused, and a substantial number of poor 3 year olds are 9 months behind in development.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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12. Education and Tension in Society
Education and Family Responsibility (continued)
What Do You Think?
What is the value of the preschool experience? Should it occur in the home or out of the home, and does it make a difference? Will formal preschool experiences reduce the number of sexual assaults or bridge the gap between poor and rich children, if nothing else changes?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

13. Education and Tension in Society
Conflict Between Education and Religion
Early on, it was perceived that public schools furthered Protestant beliefs so Catholics created their own schools.
Over time legal decisions clarified the separation but did not eliminate the conflict between church and state.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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14. Education and Tension in Society
Conflict Between Education and Religion (continued)
What Do You Think?
Does teaching creationism amount to teaching a religious doctrine?
What are the differences among creationism intelligent design and evolution?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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15. Sociological Modes of Analysis
Sociology uses three perspectives to address the functioning and performance of educational institutions:
The Functional Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
The Symbolic Interactionism Perspective
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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16. Sociological Modes of Analysis
The Functional Perspective analyzes the role of the whole system in maintaining an orderly and efficient society. If all institutions work well, then society works well (Curry, Jiobu, and Schwirwn, 2005).
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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17. Sociological Modes of Analysis
The Conflict Perspective contends that power relationships and conflicting interest influence educational policy and perspectives and schools are considered places where power groups compete for advantage (Pogrow, 2006).
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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18. Sociological Modes of Analysis
The Conflict Perspective today provides an important lens through which we can view educational reform movement and proposals for change, and the people who are proposing them.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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19. Sociological Modes of Analysis
The Symbolic Interactionists Perspective view school life at the “micro level” or what actually takes place in the classroom, the activities that shape student’s futures.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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20. Sociological Modes of Analysis
What Do You Think?
If diversity is an important consideration, what do teacher education programs have to do to increase minority recruitment of teacher education majors?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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21. Sociological Modes of Analysis
What are the advantages and disadvantages of schools having same gender classes?
Do high-stakes test ensure that students learn?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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22. Sociological Perspectives and Educational Issues
The following two issues illustrate how sociological perspectives can help you analyze the issues and gain helpful insight:
Recruiting and Retaining Teachers
School Violence
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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23. Sociological Perspectives and Educational Issues
Recruiting and Retaining Teachers
Of all the factors affecting the quality of students and education, teachers have the most impact. For this reason much attention has been paid to teacher qualification and teacher education. However, the social standing and level of respect of teachers is not on par with other professions.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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24. Sociological Perspectives and Educational Issues
Recruiting and Retaining Teachers
What Do You Think
What was the response of your family and friends when you said you wanted to be a teacher?
What might be done to improve the respect and status of teachers?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

25. Sociological Perspectives and Educational Issues
School Violence
School violence influences public attitudes towards schools. In fact, personal safety is cited as a leading issue for those considering teaching as a career.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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26. Are Schools Failing? What Do You Think?
Are schools succeeding or failing?
Why do you think there is such an emphasis on the negative data about schools?
Why would data be deliberately distorted or overlooked to vilify public schools?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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27. Summary
Linking education to the social, economic, and political development of a nation creates many tensions between schools and other institutions and groups in society.
Sociologist use three modes of analysis to view educational issues. The functionalist and conflicts perspectives view school at a macro level.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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28. Summary (continued)
The Interactionist perspective views schools at the micro level by looking at the interactions between teachers and students and between students and students, and how those interactions shape individuals views of themselves and their role in society.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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29. Summary (continued)
Two sociological perspectives that are useful in providing insight into educational issues are the teacher shortage and school violence areas.
Because schools are expected to achieve a wide variety of goals, it can be expected that some segments of society will find the accomplishments of the schools wanting.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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30. Summary (continued)
A Nation At Risk ignited a debate about the failure of public education that still influences policy decisions. Other researchers have disputed the claims an indicated that the “crisis” in education is a manufactured one designed to further the social and political agendas of certain groups.
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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31. Reflection
Which of the three sociological modes of analysis is most consistent with your view of the role of education in society?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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32. Reflection (continued)
What were the influences that led you to consider teaching as a career? What do you think is needed in order to address the teacher shortage?
Teaching Today, 8e
Armstrong, Henson and Savage
Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved