Chapter 12

Education

Chapter Outline The Development and Structure

of Education The Functionalist Perspective The Conflict Perspective Symbolic Interactionism Higher Education

Questions for Consideration What are the roles that are defined

for students? What are the roles for teachers in

an academic setting? Does the academic setting

change the role for the student and the teacher?

Development of Education The purpose of education is the

transmission of knowledge. Early emphasis in American schools was

on “civilizing” the young. After the turn of the 20th century, the

emphasis shifted to education for jobs. Early schools were modeled after

businesses and have become increasingly more bureaucratic.

Objectives of Early Schools To create a literate, active, and

informed public. Teaching democratic values and

marketable skills became popular between 1850 and 1910.

In the 19th century, public schooling was designed to be a mechanism of social control.

Bureaucracy in Education Early school administration was based on the

factory model of education. Children were to be educated in much the

same way as cars were mass-produced. Specialization, rules and procedures, and

impersonality as characteristics of schools demonstrates its bureaucratization.

Characteristics of School Bureaucracy Specialization division:

Administrators who run schools Teachers who either concentrate on one or

two topics, or teach a specific grade level Specialists who purchase materials Specialists who test and counsel students Specialists who manage libraries Specialists who drive buses, serve lunches,

and type memos.

Characteristics of School Bureaucracy Education of large numbers of students can

be accomplished most efficiently when the students are homogeneous in development and ability.

It is thought to be more efficient to have all teachers of a given subject teaching the same material.

Rules and procedures exist to ensure that students can transfer from one school to another without losing continuity of curriculum.

Reforms in the Classroom In the 1920s and 1930s, John Dewey led the

progressive education movement, with a child-centered focus and emphasis on work-related knowledge.

1960s and 1970s, humanistic education movement advocated for elimination of restrictive rules and codes and the involvement of students in the educational process.

Reforms in the Classroom 1983, the back-to-basics movement due to

deficiencies in the education system. Emphasis placed on a minimum core curriculum that all students must take.

In 2002, Bush signed a bill known as “No Child Left Behind” that is a manifestation of back-to-basics that requires each student racial and demographic subgroup improve each year.

There has been no evidence that back-to-basics has been successful.

National Educational Reform Plan: Six Goals

1. Every child must begin school ready to learn.

2. The national high school graduation rate must be 90%.

3. Competence in core subjects must be shown after grades 4, 8, and 12.

National Educational Reform Plan: Six Goals4. American students should be the

best educated in the world in math and science.

5. All adults must be literate and possess the skills necessary for citizenship and competition in a global economy.

6. Schools should be free of drugs and violence.

Cooperative Learning Cooperative learning – takes place in a

nonbureaucratic classroom structure in which students study in groups, with teachers acting as guides rather than as the controlling agents.

Students learn more if they are actively involved with others in the classroom.

An accent on teamwork rather than individual performance to concentrate on results rather than performance comparisons.

Integrative Curriculum Integrative curriculum – an approach to

education based on student-teacher collaboration; the curriculum is created by students and teachers together.

Subject matter is selected and organized around certain real-world themes or concepts.

Recognizes that students bring to any unit of study a variety of learning styles, interests, and abilities, and different units of study will engage students in varying ways.

Competitors to Traditional Public School Voucher System Charter Schools For-profit Schools Magnet Schools

Functionalist Perspective: Functions of Education Cultural transmission Social integration Selection and screening of talent Promotion of personal growth

and development Dissemination, preservation, and

creation of knowledge.

Latent Functions of Education Day-care facilities for dual-employed

couples or single parents. Help locate potential marriage partners. Prevent delinquency by holding juveniles

indoors during the daytime. Training grounds for athletes. Inculcate discipline needed to follow

orders in a bureaucratized society.

Literacy Rates

Questions for Consideration What patterns in the rates of literacy

do you see? Explain. How does the U.S. compare to other

countries in the world?

Conflict Perspective and Education Meritocracy – social status is based on

ability and achievement rather than social class or parental status.

Under this model, all individuals have an equal chance to succeed and develop their abilities.

Many believe that the U.S. is a meritocratic society, however there are recurring problems that indicate the model does not always work the way we think it does.

Critique of Meritocracy in America Critics argue that public education primarily

serves the economic elite. Schools are not equal for children of all social

classes, students do not all have the same starting point.

Randall Collins contends that America is composed of status groups competing with one another for wealth, power, and prestige.

Collins argues that the elite has structured public schools to reinforce the shared culture of their group.

Critique of Meritocracy in America Racial and ethnic minorities face related barriers

to achievement. College entrance examinations demonstrate

lower performance by these groups. The SAT was created in 1926 to enable talented

youth, regardless of social class, to attend premier colleges and universities. Ironically, we have seen that social class is a major factor in SAT performance.

Question for Consideration How would a conflict theorist

interpret the context of the U.S. as a meritocracy based on this data?

Educational Equality Addresses equality in relation to “effects”

of schooling. Educational equality exists when schooling

produces the same results for lower-class and minority children as it does for other children.

Historically in the U.S., not all children have been considered deserving of a formal education. Native Americans, Latinos and African Americans were specifically excluded.

Educational Equality Not until 1954 was separate-but-

equal challenged with Brown v. Board of Education.

Results, not resources, are the test of educational equality.

School Expenditures

Questions for Consideration How does your state stack up

compared to other states in terms of pupil expenditures?

Do you see a regional pattern in public school funding? Explain.

Testing Cognitive Ability Cognitive ability is the technical term

for intelligence, one’s capacity for thinking abstractly.

Cognitive ability testing is an important element in sorting and tracking students, it contributes to educational inequality.

Testing Cognitive Ability Social scientists have generally criticized

advocates of genetic differences in intelligence for failing to consider adequately the effects of the social, psychological, and economic climate experienced by children of various backgrounds.

We have discovered the older people are, the higher they score on intelligence tests. Researchers have concluded that environmental factors affect test performance.

Testing Cognitive Ability Robert Williams and other social scientists

have argued that intelligence tests have a cultural bias (an unfair measure of cognitive abilities because they are designed for middle-class children and because the results measure learning and environment as much as intellectual ability.

Most tests assume fluency in English, which also impacts performance.

Promoting Equality in Education Four avenues have been identified

by policy makers and educators for improving educational equality.

•School Desegregation•Compensatory Education•Community Control•Private Schooling

Symbolic Interactionism and Education Hidden Curriculum – transmit to

children a variety of nonacademic skills. Over the years, schools socialize children. In addition to academics, schools teach

discipline, cooperation and conformity. These skills are thought to be

necessary for success in modern bureaucratic society.

Symbolic Interactionism and Education Textbooks and Teachers

Textbooks are a byproduct of the hidden curriculum because many textbooks are slanted in favor of a particular view.

Resistance to critical accounts of history is especially apparent when a teacher attempts to introduce a controversial book (e.g., The Color Purple).

Textbooks implicitly convey values and beliefs.

Schools and Sexism In a coeducational setting, girls, compared

with boys, are: 5 times less likely to receive the most

attention from teachers 3 times less likely to be praised 8 times less likely to call out in class 3 times less talkative in class 1/2 as likely to demand help or attention 1/2 as likely to be called on in class

Schools and Sexism Boys are more talkative in class, raise

their hands more often, move around more, argue with teachers more, and get more of the teacher’s attention than girls.

All of this tends to make young women mature as second-class citizens and deprives the world of important contributions women can make.

Trends in College Enrollment A larger proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds

are attending college. Number of students over age 24

attending college, particularly women, has continued to grow.

The number of students remaining in college after their first year has increased.

College Enrollment in the United States: 1965–2010

Factors in Rising College Enrollment Colleges and universities have strong

student recruitment campaigns. Low-paying service jobs continue to

replace high-paying manufacturing jobs, resulting in fewer options for those with only high school diplomas.

Increase in the number of community colleges offers an opportunity for many who could not otherwise continue their education.

Median Annual Income by Gender, Race, and Education

Education, Income, & Occupation A college education results in higher annual

income, regardless of race or gender. African American and white males who

have a college degree have an annual income that is more than double that of high school dropouts.

White male high school graduates earn 65% of that earned by white college graduates.

Education, Income, & Occupation African American males with high school

diplomas earn 58% of that earned by African American male college graduates.

White female high school graduates earn annually only about 59% of that earned by white college graduates.

African American females with high school diplomas earn only 50% of African American female college graduates’ annual income.

Education, Income, & Occupation White college graduates earn 3 times the

amount earned by white female dropouts. The benefits of college are even more

apparent occupationally. For African Americans, whites, males, and

females, occupational status increases dramatically with higher education.

Changes in Higher Education College studies and college life have changed

dramatically during the past 40 years. A shift from academic merit to student

consumerism began in the mid-1960s. Students increasingly demand courses and

programs that are more beneficial for employment, as evidenced in the rise of vocational programs in community colleges, and the shift from liberal arts into business and economics.

Changes in Higher Education Social science departments become service

departments for nonmajors. It is contended that a generation of liberal arts

scholars has been lost. Another problem has been declining financial

support which threatens high quality and low cost of public higher education. For instance, University of California’s system

enjoyed 70% of its funding from the state and today it is less than 25%. University of Michigan now receives less than 20%.

Questions for Consideration Can you think of specific

examples from your educational experience that demonstrate a hidden curriculum?

What do you think are future impacts to higher education? How does this impact you?

Did You Know? The following web link provides a

short YouTube video regarding how fast our technology is changing and the impact this has on education.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U