SOCI 102- Education (Chapter 9)
Socialization (Function of Education)
A major function of the education system that helps children learn the specialized tasks that they will perform in society as well as the values and behaviors required to fit into the mainstream
Legitimation
A major function of the education system, aimed at legitimating certain kinds of knowledge and divisions in society. The process is consistent with Marx's conflict theory.
Selection
A major function of the education system; the sorting, deferentially rewarding, and certifying graduates of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools. According to Weber, schools use the function to confer status and prestige.
Schooled Society
A term used by Davies and Guppy to describe the education system in modern society, particularly how mass education has expanded from elementary to high schools and to high post-secondary enrollment in Canada; how schooling has become increasingly integral to modern life; and how the forms and functions of education are increasing and diversifying
Cultural Capital
Bourdieu's term for the non-financial social assets that promote social mobility. For example, individuals can gain degrees, learn a more refined style of speech, or adopt elite social tastes, which can make them appear to belong to a higher social class than the one they were born into
Credentialing
Collins' term to describe an authority, such as a university, issuing a qualification or competence to an individual. This practice is used to exclude some people from certain job opportunities.
Understand the role of social and cultural capital in the education system
Cultural and social capital can be acquired through the educational system and affect one's chances of future success. Cultural capital is comprised of behaviors, knowledge, and values that indicate your social class. It is the non-economic social assets that promote social mobility. We can earn degrees, learn a more refined style of speech, adopt elite tastes, which can make us seem like we belong to a higher social class than the one we were born into. High class families are likely to possess cultural capital already. Additionally, cultural capital is taught and institutionalized in the education system. Social capital is the collective value of all of one's social networks. It is about who you know and the "norms of reciprocity" that develop between people who know one another. It can provide many benefits (having wide networks can help foster trust among ppl, provide resources and information, and lead to cooperation). Marx/other conflict theorists: education system reflects the interests/experiences of the dominant class in society. high class children do better in school because they enter into the system already having certain kinds of cultural and social skills that facilitate their progress. Working-class children must learn these skills in school which can slow down their progress in other areas of the curriculum. The capital acquired through school will never be natural for the working class kid. Authorities can detect who innately posses these skills and tend to reward these students through streaming.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Defined by Merton as a strongly held belief that a person thinks of as true, regardless of whether it actually is, which so influences the person that his reactions ultimately fulfill the prophecy
There are three main categories of functions that education serves in society. List these functions and explain each one
Education serves to socialize us. Durkheim was particularly interested in this function, arguing that education helps teach us to fit in and helps with overall cohesion in society. Schools work to select individuals by awarding grades and degrees. Weber focused on this part of education as a way that education confers status. Schools work to legitimate certain kinds of knowledge. Marx focused on this part of the education system. He argued that the education system is set up by the elite of a society and works to subdue the masses.
organic solidarity
The type of solidarity formed by people who are quite different. Durkheim argued that modern societies tend to lack adherence to a collective conscience. What holds these societies together, despite the differences between people, is the fact that people need one another because they are so specialized. ("glue" is education)
Differential Preparation
The various ways that individuals can be prepared for an aspect of society, depending on their social class. For example, children from families with more money probably have more access to private tutors, educational trips, educational toys, and books and newspapers than do poorer children. These resources help to prepare them for school and to do well in the educational system.
Latent Functions
Unintended functions
moral education
the means by which society perpetually recreates the conditions of its very existence; the teaching of children in a manner that will help them develop variously as moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant or socially acceptable beings.
collective conscience
the shared morals and beliefs that are common to a group and which foster social solidarity
mechanical solidarity
the type of solidarity that involves societies being held together by similarities among people. Durkheim argued that, in early societies, people shared a collective consciousness that created solidarity, despite the fact that each unit (such as a family) basically provided for its own production and consumption needs and subunits could survive in isolation from one another. ("glue" is religion)
Manifest Functions
Obvious and intended functions
Cumulative Disadvantage
Piling of negative experiences and failures that make it difficult for a person to succeed in life; most advanced individuals are awarded the best opportunities, which increases inequality
Discuss and assess the role of education in recreating, and potentially alleviating, inequality in society, with particular attention to the role of social class, gender, and ethnicity
Education system is an important institution in a meritocracy because it has the potential to level the playing field and provide equal opportunities for individuals to work hard and move up the social hierarchy. However, all western countries have a clear pattern of inequality that suggests the educational system is not a meritocracy. 1) EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CLASS: largest/most persistent inequality in educational outcomes; ppl from lower-class backgrounds do poorer in school than people from higher-class backgrounds this is because of different expectations, differential association, and differential preparation, streaming/tracking, self-fulfilling prophecy, cumulative disadvantage 2) EDUCATION AND GENDER: gender reversal in educational outcomes. Canadian women tend to do better on average than men in the educational system. Since 1990 women have earned more degrees than men. 1960's women's movement, women getting more involved in work force and education system than ever before, declining influence of religion leads to delay in marriage and childbirth (can put family on hold to attend post-secondary), birth control (women in charge). Women still earn less than men (15 percent less than men early on in their careers)-- they are socialized into selecting different majors (women are overrepresented in teaching and healthcare fields), women are not able to translate their earnings into degrees like men do. Women have to earn a PhD to make more money in a lifetime than men with a BA. 3) EDUCATION AND RACE: In general, people who earn more degrees earn more money than those with less education. However, not all individuals are able to translate their education into degrees. For example, African Americans and Latinos in the US have to earn a Masters degree in order to make the same amount of money as a white worker with a BA.
List three main ways that we are increasingly becoming a "schooled society."
First, there is a growth in modern schooling. This includes the rise of mass postsecondary education enrollment and completion. Second, schooling has become increasingly integral to modern life. Your educational credentials shape the kinds of jobs you can access, the income you will make, and your risk of unemployment. Third, the forms and functions of education are increasingly diversified. While schools traditionally focused on reading, writing and basic math, they now cover a much wider range of topics, including media literacy, physical education, drug and alcohol education, environmental responsibility, and sex education.
Social Capital
From the work of Bourdieu, Coleman, and Putnam, the collective value of all social networks. Social capital is essentially about whom you know and the "norms of reciprocity" that develop between people who know one another.
Assess the individual-level consequences of education, such as employment and income outcomes
Generally, a person's level of education is linked to earning more money and being less likely to fall into unemployment. However, the benefit of earning a degree is not equally distributed across groups. While university and college degrees increase the lifetime earnings of all groups, not all individuals are equally able to turn their degrees into earnings. For example, in terms of race whites earn more than any other ethnic group (with the exception of Asian Americans with MAs or PHDs). Latinos and African Americans need to earn an MA in order to make the same amount of money over the course of their lives as a white worker with a BA. Women are also less likely to reap the rewards of degrees. Women have to earn a PHD to make more money over their lifetime than men with only a BA. In general, those with less education are more likely to be unemployed. Their employment rate is more than twice that of people with post secondary education.
What is the relationship between education and income over the life course? How is this relationship related to race and ethnicity and gender?
In general, people who earn more degrees earn more money than those with less education. However, not all individuals are able to translate their education into degrees. For example, African Americans and Latinos in the US have to earn a Masters degree in order to make the same amount of money as a white worker with a BA. Women also have to earn a PhD to make more money in a lifetime than men with a BA.
Hidden Curriculum
Marx's term for lessons that are not normally considered part of the academic curriculum and that schools unintentionally or secondarily provide. These lessons teach students to be submissive, punctual, and hard-working- all the traits that make "good" workers in the capitalist system.
Explain the relationship between social class and educational outcomes. List three reasons why this relationship exists?
Social class is one of the most persistent and important predictors of educational outcomes. There are three main reasons for this. First, differential expectations lead upper and middle-class families to expect more from their children in the educational system. These expectations lead to higher achievement. Second, children from middle and upper classes have differential preparation for school. This differential preparation could include private tutors, educational trips, and access to books and newspapers in the home. All of these things are associated with better school achievement. Third, social class can help shape your placement in the school system through streaming or tracking. Students from middle and upper class homes are more likely to be streamed into high achieving classes even when they are of the same aptitude as lower class students.
Compare the functions of and funding for education around the world
The amount of money countries spend on the education system and the results from these expenditures differ significantly. Countries that spend a lot on education hope that this money will lead to better educational outcomes, such as higher achievements on international tests and higher graduation rates. In general, the more money a govt spends on education, the higher its degree attainment rate. Although this relationship is not universal. The US spends the most of all countries on education but has a low degree attainment rate. Korea on the other hand spends very little on education per student but has among the highest educational attainment rates. Most universities in Canada are publicly funded and operated. The federal govt is the majority spender but its share is decreasing. Most of the remaining money used to run universities comes from raising tuition (higher student debt than every before). Additionally, reduced govt funding and the unpopularity of increasing tuition leads to creating corporate partnerships and running unis with business or management techniques. Rising tuition/student debt persists in UK and US as well. Historically, Germany has provided free post-secondary education.
Human Capital Model
The argument, related to Durkheim's theory, that schools are organized largely to nurture productive skills needed in the economy.
Differential Expectations
The different values and outlooks that families have, based on their social class. The different education expectations of low-income and high-income families could explain why individuals from the former are less likely to perform well in schools or earn degrees than people from the latter.
Outline the major changes in educational curriculum over time and assess how these changes mirror (or inspire) other social change in society
The forms and functions of education are increasing and diversifying in our modern schooled society. Historically, schools focused on reading, writing, and basic math. The current system is expected to teach these skills as well as a host of additional subjects (phys ed, media literacy, drug awareness, coding, sex ed etc). Modern schools are seen as a way to solve a myriad of social problems. These changes mirror social change in that a school's curriculum reflects what students must know in order for society to succeed. These changes inspire other social change as children are becoming more aware of social problems and more tolerant of those different from themselves.
Differential Association
The idea that children from the lower class are less likely than other children to have role models who have achieved at school or attended university. As a result, these children lack the knowledge of how to work within the system and are less successful in it.
According to the Mullen reading about gender and education, why is it important to assess men's and women's majors when talking about inequality in education? How is this factor related to the types of jobs that men and women perform?
The most popular majors for women are psychology, education, nursing, and health. The most popular majors for men are engineering, computer science, philosophy, and economics. In fact, about one third of men and women would have to switch majors in order to achieve gender parity across majors. Because men and women tend to major in different things, it is not surprising that they also tend to perform different jobs after completing their degrees. However, the jobs associated with the degrees that women tend to get are less prestigious and well paid than the jobs associated with the degrees men get (e.g. the comparison between teaching or nursing for women and engineering or computer science for men). Women do get more of an increase in their income as a result of a university degree than do men. Women with a degree earn 55% more than women with only a high school diploma whereas men with a degree only earn 17% more than men with a high school diploma.
Streaming (tracking)
The placing of students with those of similar skills or needs, such as in specific classes or groups within a class.
Defensive Credentialing
The process of attending college or university and/or enrolling in graduate and professional programs in order to avoid losing job opportunities to degree holders and to gain an advantage in employment.
Corporatization
The process of using business or management techniques to transform institutions and services previously managed by government. Occurs in universities with the naming of buildings and scholarships after major donors and the signing of exclusive contracts with companies.
Curriculum
The standardized content, materials, resources, and processes used to teach students. Each province in Canada outlines a specific __________ for each grade.
Gender Reversal in Educational Outcomes
The trend, which seems to have stabilized, of more women than men obtaining post-secondary degrees. In the past, men were much more likely than women to attend and graduate from university or college.
