anthro30 12 education
TRANSCRIPT
Sociological Perspectives on Education
Education is social institution that formally socializes members of societyProportion of people age 25 or over with a high school diploma increased from 41% in 1960 to more than 86% in 2008
Proportion with a college degree rose from 8% in 1960 to 29% in 2008
Functionalist View
Transmitting CultureExposing young people to existing beliefs, norms, and values of their culture
Internet offers new and potentially revolutionary way to transmit culture
Promoting Social and Political Integration
Common identity and social integration fostered by education contributes to societal stability and consensus
Functionalist View
Maintaining Social ControlSchools teach students punctuality, discipline, scheduling, responsible work habits, and how to negotiate a bureaucratic organization
Serving as an Agent of ChangeSchools serve as a meeting ground
where people can share distinctive beliefs and traditions
Conflict View
Schools socialize students into values dictated by the powerful and stifle individualism and creativity to promote relatively insignificant change
Education is instrument of elite domination
Conflict View
The Hidden Curriculum:Standards of behavior deemed proper by society are taught subtly in schools
Credentialism: Increase in the lowest level of education needed to enter a field
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Conflict View
Bestowal of StatusSchools tend to preserve social class inequalities in each new generation
Tracking: Practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of test scores and other criteria
Correspondence principle: Promotes values expected of individuals in each social class; perpetuate social class divisions
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Feminist Views
In 20th century, sexism found in:
Stereotypes in textbooks
Pressure to study traditional women’s subjects
Unequal funding for athletics
Employment bias
Women have made strides in continuing education
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Interactionist View
Labeling approach suggests that if people are treated in particular ways, they may fulfill expectationsTeacher-expectancy effect:
Impact of teacher expectations and their large role on student performance
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Teachers: Employees and Instructors
Teachers undergo many stressesBetween a quarter and a third of new teachers quit within their first 3 years
Fewer students choose teaching as career due to perceived low income
In 2009, 4.1% first-year college students were interested in elementary education and 4.4% in high school education
Academic subculture
identifies with the intellectual concerns of the faculty and values knowledge for its own sake
Vocational subculture
interested primarily in career prospects and views college as a means of obtaining degrees that are essential for advancement.
Nonconformist subculture
Hostile to the college environment and seeks ideas that may or may not relate to academic studies
61 million children of primary school age are out of school. 42 percent of these children live in conflict‐affected poor countries
At least 250 million children are not able to read, write or count well even for those who have spent at least four years in school.
In at least 63 countries , young women from poor households are significantly less educated than poor young men
171 million children in developing countries are stunted by malnutrition by the time they reach age five, which means their ability to learn is likely to be affected