Chapter 16

universal access.

This term refers to people's equal ability to participate in an education system.

social placement

a function of education-funneling people into a society's various positions

Functionalists

believe that education equips people to perform different functional roles in society.

informal education

describes learning about cultural values, norms, and expected behaviors by participating in a society.

Formal education

describes the learning of academic facts and concepts through a formal curriculum.

sorting

functionalist theory, is that of sorting, or classifying students based on academic merit or potential.

Feminist theorists

point to evidence that sexism in education continues to prevent women from achieving a full measure of social equality.

Cultural transmission

refers to the way people come to learn the values, beliefs, and social norms of their culture. Both informal and formal education include cultural transmission.

Symbolic interactionists

study the dynamics of the classroom, the interactions between students and teachers, and how those affect everyday life.

Conflict theorists

view education as a means of widening the gap in social inequality.

latent (or secondary) functions

which are the hidden and unintended functions. introduces students to social networks, ability to work with others in small groups, ability to develop tolerance

manifest (or primary) functions

which are the intended and visible functions of education; socialization. learning the rules and norms of the society as a whole, social control, conformity to law and respect for authority.

Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia.

A precedent for universal access to education in the United States was set with the 1972 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's decision in Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia. This case was brought on the behalf of seven school-age children with special needs who argued that the school board was denying their access to free public education. The school board maintained that the children's "exceptional" needs, which included intellectual disabilities, precluded their right to be educated for free in a public school setting. The board argued that the cost of educating these children would be too expensive and that the children would therefore have to remain at home without access to education. This case was resolved in a hearing without any trial. The judge, Joseph Cornelius Waddy, upheld the students' right to education, finding that they were to be given either public education services or private education paid for by the Washington, D.C., board of education.