Ch 9

Division of labor

(ex: public elementary and secondary schools now employ instructors whose sole responsibility is to work with children with learning disabilities of physical impairments).

Postindustrialization

(world of information) Reliance on services, especially the processing and control of information; expanded middle class

What are William Domhoff's two coalitions in the electoral arena?

Domhoff's Model: - G. William Domhoff agreed with Mills that a powerful elite runs in the U.S. and he finds that it is largely white, male, and upper-class - Had 3 groups in his power elite model: Social upper class, corporate community, and policy formation organization

Describe Karl Marx's two major classes in his class system. What were the two minor classes?

-Power elite (at the top): the corporate rich leaders of the executive branch of government, and the heads of the military (Warlords) -Local opinion leaders: members of the legislative branch of government, and leaders of special interest groups (he thought these individuals would follow the wishes of the dominant power elite) -Unorganized exploited masses (at the bottom) -Global power elite = those business, political and former military leaders who exercise influence across national borders

What is Max Weber's concept of Bureaucracy?

1. Division of labor: 2. Hierarchy of authority: 3. Written rules and regulations: 4. Impersonality: 5. Employment based on technical qualifications:

What is the importance of the Brown v. Board of Education Decision?

Brown vs Board -revolutionary act (desegregating schools) few black students at the time were attending majority white schools

Weber's Types of Authority

Traditional authority Rational-Legal authority Charismatic authority

What is education? What are the Manifest and Latent functions of education ?

a formal process of learning in which some people consciously teach while others adopt the social role of learner. (education is the social institution that formally socializes members of our society).

Credentialism

a term used to describe an increase in the lowest level of education needed to enter a field

Capitalism

an economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands, and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits

Impersonality

as class sizes have swelled at schools and universities, it has become more difficult for teachers to give personal attention to each student. Bureaucratic norms may actually encourage teachers to treat all students in the same way, despite the fact that students have distinctive personalities and learning needs.

Hierarchy of authority:

each employee of a school system is responsible to a higher authority. (ex: teachers must report to principals, assistant principals and may also be supervised by department heads).

How does Conflict Theory describe the role of education in American society?

educational system helps certain poor children to move into middle class professional positions, it denies most disadvantaged children the same educational opportunities afforded to children of the affluent.

Employment based on technical qualifications

employment is based on hiring of teachers and college professors is based on professional competence and expertise. Promotions are normally dictated by written personnel policies.

Politics

involved in the struggle for authority and power

Traditional authority

legitimate power is conferred by custom and accepted practice

What is Microfinancing?

lending small sums of money to poor so they can work their way out of poverty (recipients are people who wouldn't be able to qualify for banking services "banking's the unbaked")

Laissez-faire

let them do which meant that businesses could compete freely with minimal government intervention Adam Smith coined the term

Socialism

means of production and distribution in a society are collectively rather than privately owned (basic objective is to meet people's needs rather than to maximize profits)

Rational-Legal authority

power that is made legitimate by law by the written rules and regulations of a political system

Communism

refers to an economic system in which all property is communally owned and no social distinctions are made on the basis of people's ability to produce

Authority

refers to power that has been institutionalized and is recognized by the people over whom it is exercised

Downsizing

refers to reductions taken in a company's workforce as part of deindustriliazation

What is hidden curriculum"?

refers to standards of behavior that are deemed proper by society and are taught subtly in schools

Influence

refers to the exercise of power through a process of persuasion

Charismatic authority

refers to the power made legitimate by leaders exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her followers

Tracking

refers to the practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of their test scores and other criteria

Deindustrialization

refers to the systematic, widespread withdrawal of investment in basic aspects of productivity such as factories and plants

C.Wright Mills' Power Elite

the corporate rich leaders of the executive branch of government, and the heads of the military (Warlords)

Written rules and regulations:

teachers administrators must conform to numerous rules and regulations in the performance of their duties. This bureaucratic requirement can become dysfunctional; time invested in completing forms could instead be spent on preparing lessons or conferring with students.

What is the Pluralist Elite Model?

the U.S.'s power is more widely shared than the lite models indicate and this model more accurately describes the nation's political system

Force

the actual or threatened use of coercion to impose ones will on others

teacher-expectancy effect

the impact that teacher's expectations about a student's performance may have on the student's actual achievements.

How does Functionalist Theory describe the role of education in American society?

this theory discusses education having both manifest (open, stated) and latent (hidden) functions - Most basic manifest function: the transmission of knowledge and the bestowal of status - Latent functions: transmitting culture, promoting social and political integration, maintaining social control, and serving as an agent of change.