Transcript Chapter 8 Deviance, Crime and Social Control

CHAPTER 17
EDUCATION
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATION
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Education begins as an informal process where
an infant watches others and imitates them
As a child grows, the educational process
becomes more formal: play dates and pre-school
Grade school: academic lessons become the
focus of education
It is much more than simply learning facts!
CONTINUE INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATION
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The education system socializes us to our society
We learn cultural expectations and norms which
are reinforced by our teachers, textbooks and
classmates
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This can be an issue with students that are not part of
the dominant culture
Learning multiplication tables as well as taking turns
and saying “please” and “thank you”
CONTINUE INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATION
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Schools can be agents of change
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Schools can also be criticized
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Teaching students to think outside of the family norms
Can broaden horizons and help break the cycles of
poverty and racism
Not producing the test results and numbers
Letting students slip through the cracks
Letting students drop out
Sociologists understand education to be both a
social problem and social solution
SECTION 2: EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD
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Education – a social institution through which a
society’s children are taught basic academic
knowledge, learning skills and social norms
Every nation in the world is has some form,
although they vary widely
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Wealth of a nation has a lot to do with how much
money is spent on education
Worldwide educational inequality is a social concern
for many countries, including the US
CONTINUE EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD
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There are many differences in international
educational systems besides financial:
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The value placed on education
The amount of time devoted to it
The distribution of education within a country
Examples:
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220 school days in South Korea compared to 180 in
the US
US ranks 5th of 27 countries for college participation
but 16th for those that receive college degrees
CONTINUE EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD
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In December of 2010, a study showed that the US
dropped from 15th to 25th in rankings for science
and math. Shanghai, Finland, Hong Kong and
Singapore led the world
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Why? They had clearly established standards for
education with clear goals for the students
They recruited the top 5 to 10 percent of university
students that graduated with education degrees
CONTINUE EDUCATION AROUND THE WORLD
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Social Factors
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Another study attributed 20% of the performance
differences and the United States’ low ranking due to
differences in social background
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Money and quality teachers are not distributed equally in the
US
Access to limited resources didn’t affect students in
Shanghai or Singapore (where 70% of those who achieved at
a higher level than expected due to their social background)
like they do in the US (where it’s below 30%)
This could ultimately effect the US economy and social
landscape.
SECTION 2.1: FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION
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Formal education – learning of academic facts
and concepts through formal curriculum
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US educational system is considered a right and
responsibility for all citizens
Focuses on formal education, with curricula and
testing designed to ensure that students learn the
facts and concepts that society believes are basic
knowledge
CONTINUE FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION
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Informal education – learning about cultural
values, norms and expected behaviors by
participating in society
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Occurs both in the formal education system and at
home
Starts with parents, relatives, and others in the
community
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Learning to dress for different occasions, performing regular
life routines like shopping for and preparing foods, personal
hygiene
CONTINUE FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION
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Cultural transmission – the way that people come
to learn the values, beliefs and social norms of
their culture
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Both formal and informal education include this
Students learn cultural aspects of modern history in a
US History classroom and at the same time learn the
cultural norm for asking a classmate out on a date
through passing notes and whispered conversations
SECTION 2.2: ACCESS TO EDUCATION
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A big concern that is universal is the idea that
education is universal access to education; that
everyone has an equal ability to participate in an
educational system
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Can be difficult based on class or gender, race and
disability
Supported in the United States through federal and
state governments covering the cost of free, public
education
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Issues then evolve out of school budgets and taxes on the
national, state and community levels
SECTION 3: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
EDUCATION
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Functionalists – believes that education equips
people to perform different functional roles in society
Conflict theorists – view education as a means of
widening the gap in social inequality
Feminist theorists – point to evidence that sexism in
education continues to prevent women from
achieving a full measure of social equality
Symbolic interactionists – study the dynamics of the
classroom, the interactions between students and
teachers, and how those affect everyday life
SECTION 3.1: FUNCTIONALISM
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Functionalism – view education as one of the
more important social institutions in society
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Feel education contributes 2 kinds of functions:
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Manifest (primary) – intended and visible functions of
education
Latent (secondary) – hidden and unintended functions
CONTINUE FUNCTIONALISM
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Manifest functions
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Socialization – starts in pre-school and kindergarten
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Students taught to practice various societal roles
How to get along and become prepared for adult economic
roles
Learning the rules and norms of society as a whole
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Used to learn just the dominant culture
Now because of our diversity, they learn a variety of cultural norms
Social control – a core value of the US
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Teach conformity to law and respect for authority
Respect to teachers and administrators helps them navigate
through the school enviroment
CONTINUE FUNCTIONALISM
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Also prepares students to enter the workplace and world at
large where they will be subjected to people who hold
authority over them
Fulfillment of this function rests with educators and
instructors/aides who are with the students all day
Social placement – major methods used by people for
upward social mobility
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College and graduate schools are viewed as vehicles for
moving students closer to careers that will give them
financial freedom and security
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Increases student motivation (especially in college)
Can be dependent on specific courses
CONTINUE FUNCTIONALISM
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Latent Functions
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Things that go on in school that has little to do with
formal education
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Courtship/dating
Social networks
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The ability to work within small groups
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Becoming easier to maintain with sites like Facebook and LinkedIn
Transferable to the workplace
May not be learned in a homeschool setting
Learning about social issues
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More at the college level: social and political advocacy, tolerance for
other viewpoints
CONTINUE FUNCTIONALISM
Manifest and Latent Function Table
Manifest Functions – Openly stated functions Latent Functions – Hidden, unstated
with intended goals
functions with sometimes unintended
consequences
Socialization
Courtship
Transmission of Culture
Social Networks
Social Control
Working in Groups
Social Placement
Creation of a Generation Gap
Cultural Innovation
Political and Social
CONTINUE FUNCTIONALISM
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Functionalist recognize other ways that schools
educate and enculturate students
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Teaching individualism – the valuing of the individual
over the value of the groups or society as a whole
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Foster self-esteem
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Japan and China teach the good of the group over the rights
of the individual; the US teaches that the highest rewards go
to the best individual in academics and athletics
Japan focuses on fostering social esteem, the group over the
individual
Prepares students for competition in life
Teaching patriotism
CONTINUE FUNCTIONALISM
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Most recently, school have taken over some traditional
family functions
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Teaching human sexuality
Budgeting
Job applications and resumes
SECTION 3.2: CONFLICT THEORY
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Conflict theorists do not believe that schools
reduce social inequality
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They believe it reinforces and perpetuates them as
they arise from class, gender, race and ethnicity
View education serving a more negative role
Educational systems preserve the status quo and push
people of lower status into obedience
Fulfillment of one’s education is closely linked to social
class
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Students of lower socioeconomic status are not afforded the
same opportunities as those students of high status,
regardless of their academic ability or desire to learn
CONTINUE CONFLICT THEORY
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They may lack motivation, guidance or support at home
Be without the proper tools at home: internet, computer,
printer
Goes hand in hand with the traditional curriculum that is
more easily understood and completed by students of higher
social classes
Leads to social class reproduction
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Cultural capital – cultural knowledge that serves as currency
to help one navigate a culture
More cultural capital is found with upper and middle social
classes than within families of lower
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Educational systems thus maintain a cycle in which the dominant
culture’s values are rewarded
CONTINUE CONFLICT THEORY
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The cycle of rewarding those that possess cultural capital is
also found in hidden curriculum (nonacademic knowledge
that one learns through informal learning and cultural
transmission)
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Instruction and tests cater to the dominant culture, leaving others to
struggle to identify values and competencies outside their class
SAT tests: do they measure natural intelligence or cultural ability?
Reinforces the positions of those with higher cultural capital and
bestows status unequally
Tracking – a formalized sorting system that places students
on tracks
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Perpetuates inequalities
Leads to self-fulfilling prophecies where students live up or down to
teacher/societal expectations
CONTINUE FEMINIST THEORY
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Post-education gender disparity between what male and
female graduates earn
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A May 2011 study showed men made $5000 more than women on
average
Women made .77 cents to every male $1
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Trends among salaries of professionals in virtually all industries
The capacity for women to achieve equal rights are directly
correlated to their opportunities for education
SECTION 3.5: SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
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Sees education as one way labeling theory is seen
in action; that there’s a direct correlation to those
who are in power and those who are labeled
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Low standardized test scores or poor performance
often lead to a student being labeled a low achiever;
can create a self-fulfilling prophecy
Credentialism – embodies the emphasis on
certificates or degrees to show a person has a certain
skill, has attained a certain level of education or met
certain job qualifications
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Serve as a symbol of what a person’s achieved, thus labeling
CONTINUE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
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Labeling has a significant impact on a student’s
schooling
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Teachers and powerful social groups within the school dole
out labels that are adopted by the entire school population
SECTION 4: ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Equal Education
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1954 Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, Kansas)
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State laws that established separate schools for black and
white students (under the idea of “separate but equal”) were
unequal and unconstitutional
1957, Arkansas, the governor used the state National Guard
to prevent black students from entering Little Rock Central
High School
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President Eisenhower sent in members of the 101st Airborne Division
to uphold the students right to enter the school
1963, Alabama, governor George Wallace stood in the doorway
of the University of Alabama to keep 2 black students from
entering to enroll in school: said Wallace “segregation now,
segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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President Kennedy sent in the Alabama National Guard to apply his
order
Still remains a gap in the equality of education that all races
and ethnicities receive
Students from wealthy families and those of lower
socioeconomic status do not receive the same opportunities
The public school system today is mandated to accept and
retain all students regardless of race, religion, social class,
etc, and are held accountable to equitable per-student
spending
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Private schools are usually only accessible to students from highincome families and schools in more affluent areas tend to enjoy
access to greater resources and better opportunities
Some key predictors for student performance include socioeconomic
status and family background
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Coleman Report of 1966
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Children from families of lower socioeconomic status tend to enter
school with learning deficits they struggle to overcome
There is a great divide in the performance of white students from
affluent backgrounds and their non-white, less affluent
counterparts.
Head Start
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The Coleman Report brought 2 major changes to education:
Head Start and busing
Head Start is a federal program that is designed to give lowincome students an opportunity to make up the pre-school
deficit
Provides academic-centered preschool to students of low
socioeconomic status
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Busing
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Less successful than Head Start, subject to controversy
Courts were ordering some school districts throughout the
country (to further desegregate education) to bring students
to schools (they normally wouldn’t attend) outside their
neighborhoods to bring racial diversity into balance
Met with lots of public resistance, both sides were
dissatisfied with white students traveling to inner city
schools and minority students being transported to schools
in the suburbs.
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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No Child Left Behind
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2001, Bush administration, requires states to test students
in designated grades
Results of the tests determine eligibility to receive federal
funding
Schools that do not meet the standards set by the Act run
the risk of having their funding cut
Far more negative than positive, according to sociologists
and teachers, one size fits all does not apply to education
Designed to raise expectations and knowledge to compete
with the rest of the world in education and in turn, with jobs
Schools must meet AYP
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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What are the measures for School AYP?
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Attendance or Graduation Rate:
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The Attendance goal is 90%, or a target of any improvement from the
previous year.
Attendance applies to schools that do not have a high school graduating
class, and the rate is based on the entire school.
The Graduation Rate measure has a goal of 85%, or a 10% reduction of the
difference between the previous year's graduation rate and 85%.
The Graduation Rate applies to schools that have a high school graduating
class and every measurable subgroup. Graduates are the number of
students graduating in four years with a regular diploma. Cohort is described
as first time entering 9th graders four years earlier plus “transfers in” over
four years minus “transfers out” over four years. The graduation rate for any
year is the number of graduates divided by the cohort for that year multiplied
by 100.
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Achieving Proficiency (Academic Performance):
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The PA state goals for this school year (2011-12) are 78% of students scoring at
Proficient or higher in Mathematics and 81% of students scoring at Proficient or
higher in Reading.
In 2013, these goals will increase to 89% of students scoring at Proficient or
higher in Mathematics and 91% of students scoring at Proficient or higher in
Reading.
These percentages will increase gradually until the year 2014 when the goal will
be set at 100% of students scoring at Proficient or higher in Mathematics and
Reading.
NCLB allows schools to meet their performance measure by "Safe Harbor". Safe
Harbor states that if a school achieves a 10% decrease of students who scored
below Proficient from the previous year, it meets the AYP target for performance.
The performance rate is based on only those students enrolled for the full
academic year (enrolled as of October 1, 2011), who completed the test, and
who are not first year "English Language Learners" students.
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Taking the Test (Test Participation):
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At least 95% of students overall and within each subgroup must take the
test.
The participation rate is based on those students enrolled as of the last day
of the assessment window (March 30, 2012), regardless of whether or not
those students were enrolled for a full academic year.
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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PA Flowchart for Schools
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http://paayp.emetric.net/Content/datafiles/PDE%20A
YP%20Flowchart.pdf
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Teaching to the test
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NCLB Act has led to a social phenomenon known as
“teaching to the test” where a curriculum focuses on
equipping students to succeed on standardized tests to the
detriment of broader educational goals and concepts of
learning
2 approaches to classroom education
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Teachers impart knowledge that students are obligated to absorb
(lecture, memorization, lower level thinking skills)
Student centered learning that seeks to teaching students problem
solving abilities and learning skills (higher level thinking skills)
The first only equips students to spit back out the facts, while the
second fosters lifelong learning and transferable work skills
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Bilingual Education
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Attempts to give equal opportunity to minority students
through offering instruction in languages other than English
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(Mandated by the federal government in 1968)
Argued by supporters that all students deserve equal
opportunities in education (opportunities that some can’t
access without instruction in their native language)
Argued by opponents that the need for English fluency in
everyday life and the professional world and thus they need
to learn the language; also an extra, unnecessary expense
for the school districts
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Charter Schools
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Self-governing public schools with signed agreements with
state governments to improve students when poor
performance is revealed on tests required by NCLB
The same rules that apply to regular schools don’t
necessarily apply to charters; they make agreements to
achieve specific results
Part of the public school system, free to attend, some have
lotteries for positions while others pick and choose
Some specialize in specific fields like the arts and sciences
Most are at-will employers for teachers, make the grade and
standards, you keep your job, if not you’re gone
Performance at some are fantastic and others are lacking
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Teacher Training
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Many teachers in the US did not major in the area that they
teach (8% of US 4th grade math teachers majored or
minored in math, compared to 48% in Singapore)
Students in disadvantaged schools are 77% more likely to be
educated by a teacher who didn’t specialize in the subject
matter than students in affluent areas
Offers the debate of where teacher training and education
lies: pedagogy and effective strategies vs. subject matter;
teaching degrees vs. degrees in the subject matter
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Social Promotion
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Affirmative Action
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Passing students to the next grade regardless of their
meeting standards for that grade
Relating to the admittance of college students
Rising Student Loan Debt
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Debts of students average $25,250 upon graduation
Jobs are scarce
1 in 7 student loans are in default, about $52 billion
39 million student borrowers carry approximately
$1,000,000,000,000 in federal student debt (not including
private loans)
CONTINUE ISSUES IN EDUCATION
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Home Schooling
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Students being educated in their homes, usually by a parent
Provides great opportunity for student-centered learning
while not having to deal with the negatives in school
environments; parents know their children best
Opponents say that students miss out on social
development that takes place; education is a complex task
and requires a degree
50% of homeschoolers cite the belief that they can give a
better education, just under 40% cite religion as a reason
There have been consensus agreements on evaluating the
success or lack of success in homeschooling