Sociology 4

Explain how sex and social class intersect and may account for educational difference between males and females.

"Girls catch up, while boys from lower-class backgrounds fall behind". Girls now are doing better in school than boys, going to college in higher numbers, etc. Before 1960, only girls whose moms were educated did as well, but now it's boys without fathers or without fathers with high levels of education are doing significantly worse. Girls now outperform boys in reading writing tests.

What do findings on racial discrimination among graduates of elite institutions tell us about the "signaling effect" hypothesis?

Higher education credentials do not mean the same thing for blacks and whites. Credentials do not equalize employment opportunities. Factors like race override credentials. Black candidates from the best universities do only as well as whites from less selective universities.

Contrast the functionalist and conflict perspectives on higher education

Higher education has exploded= from 3% in 1910 to 30.1% in 2012. Functionalist: the rise in education boils down to supply and demand. Industrialization required a more educated workforce. Conflict: the dramatic increase in college graduation may be traced to American views on education and the expansion of the school system in the twentieth century. High levels of education signal to employers that you have been indoctrinated in the dominant group's values.

The Coleman Report was ten years after Brown v. Board of Education. Did the study hold the idea that schools were "separate but unequal"? Explain.

Most of the differences between black and white schools could be attributed to family background and the other students in schools, not administration, extracurriculars, resources, facilities, etc. It meant that it didn't matter what the school was getting, how it was set up, but that all the differences were from those who attended the school. Black students do better at primarily white schools. Low-class students do better at middle-class schools.

Do IQ tests reliably measure intelligence for everyone equally? Why or why not?

No. It only measures one kind of intelligence, not the ability to think creatively or understand complex science or anything else. Also, they're biased towards white, middle class knowledge. They also don't measure innate intelligence; because by the time one takes the test they've already interacted with the environment in a meaningful way that affects them.

Hidden Curriculum

nonacademic and less overt socialization functions of schooling. The hidden curriculum is taught by the school, not by any teacher. Something is coming across to the pupils, which may never be spoken in the English lesson or prayed about in assembly. They are picking up an approach to living and an attitude to learning

Cultural Capital

the symbolic and interactional resources that people use to their advantage in various situations. Examples can include education, intellect, style of speech, dress, or physical appearance.

Cultural capital

the symbolic and interactional resources that people use to their advantage in various situations. Things like knowing to play piano, but also how to deal with bureaucracies, confidence and social settings, sense of entitlement. In a school setting, having more cultural capital works with the school and its expectations. For example, teachers place emphasis on parental involvement in the class, but lower class parents don't have the time to be involved the same way the upper class parents do.

What are the three competing explanations for the rise of educational attainment and educational requirements by employers

Credentials are measures, codifying the acquisition of skills and knowledge. In a knowledge economy, credentials reflect productive human capital. Credentials act as a signal to employers. A BA from the local state university conveys meaningful information: the employer has hired other graduates from the program and associates it w/ a reliable expectation for the degree holder: they can do the job. Credentials are social currency, a scarce resource that be traded for privilege. As more Americans earn higher degrees, credential inflation means staying in school longer and longer credentials codify the acquisition of skills and knowledge Credentials act as a signal to employers that they can do the job credentials are social currency, a scarce resource that be traded for privilege.

How does he test these ideas, and what does he find in terms of empirical support? What is his alternative explanation?

He looks at the data and finds the change in the proportion of skilled to unskilled jobs accounts for 15% of changing educational requirements. Upgrading in the skill level of jobs - evidence remains unclear. More educated employees are not generally more productive than others. No linear relationship between job performance and education. Most skilled workers acquire these skills ON THE JOB or casually, not in school

What are the myths about affirmative action as it relates to college admissions?

MYTHS: Affirmative action is the only form of preferential treatment. Affirmative action takes away opportunities from deserving white students. African American and Hispanic students who gain entrance to selective schools through affirmative action are underprepared and will flounder in the competitive environment

You should know the basic trends in terms of educational attainment and its relation to lifetime earnings in the US

PhD: $4 million. Professional Degree: $4.65 million (Make the most even though less educational attainment than a PhD) The rest shows that as educational attainment increases, lifetime earnings also increases. We enter school earlier and stay in longer.

What are some of the problems with using the SAT to predict student performance? Why is it still used?

SAT does not predict college outcomes above and beyond high-school grades and class rank (high school GPA better predictor than SAT). SAT predicts the college outcomes only for white students SAT is biased towards affluent white people. Still used because colleges get so many applicants so having a number cutoff makes life easier. Also College Board wants to sell its product so SAT is still around

Provide definitions of social capital and cultural capital. Then discuss how these combine to influence educational outcomes.

Social capital- the information, knowledge of people, and connections that help individuals enter, gain power in, or otherwise leverage social networks. Smaller private schools like catholic schools facilitate a large amount of social capital in the community; the closeness of the community reinforces the learning. More social capital, better your education.

What two things should be true, according to Randall Collins, if the technological (Measure of human capital) explanation is correct?

Technological advances have changed the nature of available jobs. The proportion of skilled to unskilled jobs changes as newly created jobs require more skills and low-skill jobs are eliminated by technology. Existing jobs are upgraded in the skill level required. Formal Education provides the necessary training for these skilled jobs

What is the "hidden curriculum" of education? In this light, how do Marxist theorists like Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis interpret the role of schools?

The hidden curriculum of schools is the nonacademic part, socialization. Schools instill the dominant cultural values in their students. Bowles and Gintis say that schools teach skills that are conducive to maintaining dominant and subordinate positions in the workforce, such as self discipline, obedience, punctuality, and dependability.

Briefly outline Rosenthal and Jacobson's study of the Pygmalion effect. Then discuss how teachers' expectations of students could positively and negatively affect students' academic achievement

They had everyone take an IQ test, and then said that ⅕ had especially higher IQ's when really they were selected at random. Those kids did much better on another IQ test at the end of the year, and were labeled by their teachers as more curious and happier. When teachers held higher expectations for their students, likely changing their behavior towards them, the students responded by meeting the teacher's expectations. This is called the Pygmalion effect, or the self fulfilling prophecy. The same applies when teachers have negative or low expectations for their students.

What factors inside classrooms can affect students' learning experiences?

Tracking: dividing students into different classes by ability or future plans (honors vs. standard classes). Taking the middle track: neither college prep nor vocational prep provides no benefits for students. Teacher-student and peer-to-peer dynamics. Good teachers change classrooms. Pygmalion effect: If teachers have high expectations for students those students will meet them

Stereotype Threat

a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group (stereotypes are usually negative)

Credentialism

an overemphasis on credentials (e.g., college degrees) for signaling social status or job qualifications

Social Capital

any relationship between people that can facilitate the actions of others. the information, knowledge of people, and connections that help individuals enter, gain power in, or otherwise leverage social networks.