SOC Ch. 17

Mediocrity

"settling for meh" (average) // grade inflation // social promotion

Industrializing Nations (education system characteristics) - ex: Russia (attempting to join most industrialized nations group)

- Challenges in "reinventing" the education system as these nations look to modernize -Difficulties in balancing tradition and progress as these nations attempt to transform -How you move forward is a big challenge based upon what kind of skills you're teaching the kids - what skills you're going to teach students, what strategies will teachers use, and what kind of styles will teachers use.

LEAST INDUSTRIALIZED Nations (education system characteristics) - ex. Egypt

- Little to no emphasis on formal schooling - Education limited only to the wealthy of society. - Emphasis on memorization than critical thinking // how and why questions are not as important - these questions typically could lead to more free thinking which usually leads to people speaking up about things that the country doesn't want them to do. When you're not asking for the how and why questions, then you're not going to become "radical" and not question the leaders. Therefore, it's easier to become a follower.

Most industrialized Nations (education systems characteristics) - ex: Japan

-Concept of cultural capital -Competition to advance and achieve -You are in the education system in order to outperform others and you get your pick to choose whatever educational opportunities are next in line for you

Creates millions of jobs → strengthens the economy Provides society with stability → helps "keep the peace" Helps people live longer → people with the more education tend to have longer life expectancies.

Consequences of latent functions

Privileges that develop in education systems often due to one's level of wealth More highly educated parents Being pushed and pressured to achieve high grades Enjoying additional cultural experiences - These privileges help you maintain and more comfortable lifestyle

Cultural Capital

Education systems NOT static, they are ever changing Economics and culture change ---> education systems change---> human behavior and interaction change

Fig 17.1 and Fig 17.2 demonstrate how the development of the education system (social institution) effects individual behavior and interactions (study of sociology)

Fig 17.1 : the development of the modern education system in the US has greatly increased the # of high school and college graduates in the US over the last 100 years

Fig. 17.2/ Fig. 10.8 pg 279): the less education Americans gain increases the chances for living in poverty *Social institutions impact behavior and interactions of individuals on an economic level. *The Education choices you make affects your behavior and interactions for people on an economic level. *Social institutions of education affect the choices that Americans have made over the last 100 years and have affected behavior and interactions.

Economy

Industrialization of society creates the need for a modern education system / teach and improve skills that were necessary to build, operate and fix the machines. So reading, writing, mechanics (math and science are necessary)

Culture

Promote values that a society finds important/pass on these values to future generations (US values: individual rights and liberties/ representative government)

These expectations in the classroom produce EXPECTATIONS for teachers + students

Teacher Expectations of students Student Expectations of teachers

families were teaching their children and relatives what to do. - Education was for the wealthy, it was almost like a hobby for the rich with a lot of time on their hands.

Who was teaching the things that were needed for basic survival, before modern education?

Education

a formal system of teaching knowledge, values and skills

Social placement

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

Functional illiterate

a high school graduate who has difficulty with basic reading and math

Symbolic Interaction

belief that the education system can best be explained through the FACE-TO-FACE interactions between students + teachers in the classroom

Ray Rist

by 8th day/grade LABELS are placed by teachers that can attach to students for the rest of their school life + beyond / these labels produce a self-fulling prophecy for many students

Teaching knowledge and skills → "credential society" develops Cultural transmission of values → passing on core natural ideals to next generation Social integration → has been used for segregation in the past (dysfunction) Social placement → issues regarding "gatekeeping"~ it keeps students from getting access from certain things based on their privileges Replacing family functions/roles → being "the parent" during the school day

consequences of Manifest Functions

Tilting the test

cultural bias affects how test questions are written or presented can often decide how will you score on a test which decides courses (you're placed in/what schools you get into/your aptitude) what schools you can attend and what courses you can take (discrimination by test scores - which perpetuates social inequality)

self

fulfilling prophecy - Robert Merton's term for an originally false assertion that becomes true simply because it was predicted

Inclusion

helping people to become part of the mainstream of society; also called mainstreaming

3 Major ways that this is accomplished according to conflict theory analysis....

hidden curriculum, tilting the test, stacking the deck (subcategory unequal funding)

Grade inflation

higher grades given for the same work; a general rise in student grades without a corresponding increase in learning

Manifest Functions

intended (usually positive) consequences of the US education system

stacking the deck

intentionally preventing individuals from getting ahead by unfairly altering the education system (fixing the game to get the outcome you want) - Unequal funding of the education system "stacks the deck"

Mandatory education laws

laws that require all children to attend school until a specified age or until they complete a minimum grade in school

4 major problems in US education system?

mediocrity, raising standards, cheating and violence

raising standards

often causes anger and criticism from parents/students/taxpayers/school administrators

Social promotion

passing students on the next level even though they have not mastered basic materials

Cultural Capital

privileges accompanying a social location that help someone in life; included are more highly educated parents, from grade school through high school being pushed to bring home high grades, and enjoying cultural experiences that translate into higher test scores, better jobs, and higher earnings.

Modern Education

related to ECONOMY(wealth, production, employment) and CULTURE (our way of life), provides STABILITY for a society

hidden curriculum (pt 2)

reproducing the social class structure by emphasizing the ideas of obeying authority and conforming to norms

Farkas

teacher expectations contain gender and racial-ethnic biases based on "signals" given off by students in the classrooms. - Female students have generally higher course grades than male students with the same aptitude scores - Asian-American students have generally higher course grades than students of other racial-ethnic backgrounds with the same aptitude scores

Rosenthal-Jacobson

teacher expectations of students were the major factor in student achievement level regardless of ability of the student. ("expect dumb, you get dumb / expect smart, you get smart")

Conflict Theory "LENS"

the education system is set up to maintain (perpetuate) social inequality in order for those in power to maintain their power

Manifest functions

the intended beneficial consequences of people's actions

Gatekeeping

the process by which education opens and closes doors of opportunity; another term for the social placement function of education

Cultural transmission of values

the process of transmitting values from one group to another; often refers to how cultural traits are transmitted across generations; in education, the ways in which schools transmit a society's culture, especially its core values

Functionalism Theory

the social institution of education provides social benefits to society that allow society to operate better.

Correspondence principle

the sociological principle that schools correspond to (or reflect) the social structure of their society.

Tracking

the sorting of students into different programs on the basis of real or perceived abilities

Hidden curriculum

the unwritten goals of schools, such as teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms.

Credential society

the use of diplomas and degrees to determine who is eligible for jobs, even though the diploma or degree may be irrelevant to the actual work

Latent Functions

unintended (but positive) consequences of the US Education system

Latent functions

unintended beneficial consequences of people's actions

Cheating

→ demand for use of more technology causes ethical questions/concerns → pressure and temptation for school administrators / teachers to mess with the results of a student's grades. Bumping "unqualified" students up so they don't have to deal with a student anymore

violence

→ offers learning environment/focus on security takes away from classroom time