Chapter 16 Education

Manifest Function: Socialization

-Practice various societal roles -Learning the rules and norms (culture) of the society

Types of informal learning

-Self-directed: taking initiative and control -Incidental: accidental by-product of doing something else -Tacit: subconscious level

Manifest Function: Social control

-Teach students conformity to law and respect for authority -Prepares students to enter the workplace and the world at large (authority)

Latent (hidden) Functions

1. Courtship 2. Social networks 3. Group work 4. Political and social advocacy and tolerance (integration)

Tracking (conflict theorist)

Formalized sorting system that places students on "tracks" (advanced versus low achievers) perpetuate inequalities.

Conflict Theory on Education

Is a means of widening the gap in social inequality. Class, gender, race, & ethnicity

Symbolic Interaction-ism: Education

Is one way that labeling theory is seen in action - has a direct correlation to those who are in power and those who are labeled.

Informal education

Learning abot cultural values, norms, and expected behaviors by participating in a society - occurs both through the formal education system and at home. --(everyday) learning, --Ubiquitous, in non-organized contexts of everyday life --70% if learning (in the workplace) is informal

Functionalism: Two kinds of functions

Manifest: (primary) intended and visible Latent: (secondary) hidden and unintended

Manifest Function: Social placement

Provides (best opportunity) for upward social mobility; financial freedom and security

Education

a social institution through which a society's members learn basic academic knowledge, practical living skills, and cultural norms.

Conflict Theory: Hidden curriculm

academic knowledge that students learn through informal learning and cultural transmission.

Functionalists

also contend that school, particularly in recent years, is taking over some of the functions that were traditionally undertaken by family. Society relies on schools to teach about human sexuality as well as basic skills such as budgeting and job applications- topics that at one time were addressed by the family.

Symbolic Interactionism: Labeling Theory

ascribing certificates or degrees to show that a person has a certain skill, has attained a certain level of education, or has met certain job qualifications. - There certificates or degrees serve as a symbol of what a person has achieves, and allows the labeling of that individual.

Sorting (functionalist)

classifying students based on academic merit or potential

Conflict Theory: Cultural capital

cultural knowledge that serves (metaphorically) as currency to help one navigate a culture

Functionalism on Education

equips people to perform different functional roles in society

Functionalists

see education as serving a beneficial role

Conflict Theory: Cultural transmission

the way people come to learn the values, beliefs, and social norms of their culture. Both informal and formal education include cultural transmission. -The hidden curriculum reinforces the positions of those with higher cultural capital and serves to bestow status unequally.

Symbolic Interaction-ism: Within education

studies are done to assess the dynamics of the classroom, the interactions between students and teachers, and how those affect everyday life

Formal education

the learning of academic facts and concepts through a formal curriculum

Conflict theorists

view education more negatively- educational systems preserve the status quo and push people of lower status into obedience.