1. Chapter 8
Education
Lecture PowerPoint
© W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

2. Learning to Learn or Learning to Labor? Functions of Schooling
The two main functions of schools are to educate students and to socialize them.
Schools teach general skills, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as specific skills needed for the workplace.
Human capital is the knowledge and skills that make someone more productive and bankable.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

3. Learning to Learn or Learning to Labor? Functions of Schooling
Schools transmit values, beliefs, and attitudes that are important to society.
This hidden curriculum serves to form a more cohesive society but has also been used to impose the values of a dominant culture on outsiders or minorities.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

4. Learning to Learn or Learning to Labor? Functions of Schooling
Schools have been described as sorting machines that place students into programs and groups according to their skills, interests, and talents.
Critics argue that this sorting process is not based solely on merit and that ultimately it serves to reproduce social inequalities.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

5. Do Schools Matter?
The 1966 Coleman Report showed that two primary factors—family background and peers—explained differences in achievement among schools, rather than differences in school resources as had been expected.
Since the 1980s, it has been shown that smaller class sizes have a positive impact on student performance.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

6. Do Schools Matter?
Private school students perform better academically than their peers at public schools, in part due to academic and behavioral differences.
Some scholars argue that most private school students would also do well at public schools, so the education they are receiving may not, in and of itself, be the explanation for their better academic performance.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

7. What’s Going on Inside Schools?
Tracking, a way of dividing students into different classes according to ability or future plans, is intended to tailor a student’s educational experience more directly to his or her particular goals.
In practice, tracking has a number of negative effects and may be more beneficial for those who are already privileged.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

8. What’s Going on Inside Schools?
It has been shown that teachers can influence student performance through the expectations they set and their choice of instructional methods, which may include best practices.
Photo Courtesy of AP Photo.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

9. What’s Going on Inside Schools?
Studies show that low-achieving students placed in a classroom with mostly high-achieving students tend to improve rather than fall behind.
In a similar vein, a class with more problem students (in terms of behavior) tends to have more disciplinary problems overall and lower test scores.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

10. Higher Education
Functionalists have argued that the rise in education rates over the past one hundred years is a response to the demands of the marketplace, though there are many critics of this theory.
Conflict theorists claim that the educational boom is due to the expansion of the educational system and the general view held by Americans that education is a mark of elite status.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

11. Higher Education Credentialism
Overemphasis on credentials, such as college degrees, for signaling social status or job qualifications
As more and more people meet the qualifications for certain types of jobs, employers upgrade the requirements in order to weed out more people.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

12. Higher Education
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) has been shown to accurately predict a student’s potential for college success.
However, critics argue that there are other equally good predictors that don’t share the SAT’s downsides.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

13. Higher Education Affirmative Action
Refers to a set of policies that grant preferential treatment to a number of particular subgroups within the population
Has come under attack as constituting preferential treatment and taking opportunities away from more deserving students/candidates
However, research findings dispute these and other arguments
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

14. Inequalities in Schooling
Socioeconomic class, race, and ethnicity are often intertwined and clearly affect educational outcomes. White, middle-class students consistently outperform minority and lower-income students.
Photo Courtesy of Getty.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

15. Inequalities in Schooling
Money can buy advantages for a middle-class student, including: tutoring, test prep courses, access to private schools or better public school districts
Students who come from families with more cultural capital, which can include greater parental involvement, more informal educational opportunities outside of school, and more confidence in dealing with school bureaucracies, also tend to have educational advantages
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

16. Inequalities in Schooling
Much of the black-white achievement gap can be attributed to class. However, some elements that cause other theories to endure include:
The inversion of dominant values
The internalization of negative stereotypes
Arguments about intelligence being genetic.
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

17. Inequalities in Schooling
In the past thirty years, girls have caught up with and even surpassed boys in many measures of academic performance to such a degree that some scholars talk of a “boy crisis.”
However, on average women still earn less than men with the same educational level.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

18. Inequalities in Schooling
Studies show that family size, spacing between siblings, gender, and birth order can affect educational outcomes.
Although IQ tests have been updated to be more fair and accurate, they still measure only one kind of intelligence, they still face concerns about being culturally biased, and they still can’t truly measure innate intelligence.
You May Ask Yourself
Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

19. Concept Quiz
1. What are the two primary functions of schools? a) To teach basic skills and impart knowledge b) To educate students and socialize them c) To develop students’ social capital and train them for specific jobs d) To develop students’ human capital and integrate students of diverse backgrounds
Answer: B
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20. Concept Quiz 2. What is tracking?
a) A way of measuring student achievement in order to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods
b) A way of dividing students into different programs of study according to their abilities or interests
c) A type of longitudinal study that follows a particular group of students for several years in order to observe changes in their academic performance
d) A type of study that looks at the same category of students, for example, freshmen in high school, each year for several years in order to observe changes in academic performance
Answer: B
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21. Concept Quiz
3. A ________ response to the question of why there has been a significant increase in the number of high school and college graduates in the United States over the past century might point to the simple rules of supply and demand—a need for a more educated workforce encouraged more people to stay in school longer. a) symbolic interactionist b) conflict theory c) functionalist d) Marxist
Answer: C
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22. Concept Quiz 4. Affirmative action can best be defined as _________.
a) a set of policies that grant preferential treatment to a number of particular subgroups within the population
b) a set of policies that promote the advancement of minorities to the detriment of society as a whole
c) a set of policies designed to maintain the status quo and the privileged position of the dominant group
d) a set of policies that privilege diversity over individual ability and preparedness
Answer: A
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

23. Concept Quiz
5. A parent’s decision to become actively involved in the Parent Teacher Association at his or her child’s school may be related to that parent’s level of ________. a) cultural capital b) understanding of the purpose of the Parent Teacher Associations c) social capital d) desire for his or her child to succeed
Answer: A
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

24. Concept Quiz
6. Which of the following statements about changes in the boy-girl achievement gap during the past thirty years is true? 
a) Girls now score higher than boys on the math and verbal section of the SAT.
b) Boys from all backgrounds have lost ground to girls in most measures of educational achievement.
c) Boys now score higher than girls on English and foreign language AP exams.
d) Girls have caught up with boys in most measures of educational achievement.
Answer: D
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Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

25. Figure 8.1 | Twentieth-Century Higher Education Rates

26. Figure 8.2 | Educational Attainment Based on Race, 2004

27. Figure 8.2 | Educational Attainment Based on Race, 2004