EDUCATION
Education – the social institution by which society transmits knowledge –including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and values – to its members.
Functionalist Perspective – Socialization, Cultural innovation, Social integration, Social placement, Latent functions
Conflict Perspective – Hidden Curriculum; Education as a Sorting Device -“Sheepskin” Effects / Credentialism – an increase in the lowest level of education needed to enter a field; Correspondence Principle – schools promote the values expected of individuals in each social class and perpetuate social class divisions from one generation to the next.
Interactionist Perspective – Teacher expectancy effect – the impact that a teacher’s expectations about a student’s performance may have on the student’s actual achievements.
The great equalizer
More education = more money, less poverty
Median earnings by Education Level
HS grads earn $250,000 more than HS dropouts; College grads earn $800,000 more than HS grads
Real earnings of college graduates rising while the reverse is true for those with no college experience
Less education = higher unemployment rates and longer duration
Today the system faces numerous challenges
1. Academic Performance
Standardized test scores are down
Scores are even lower for minorities
and low-income students
By age 9, White students score 5-8% higher than blacks and Hispanics/Latinos on reading, science, and math tests. This gap increases over time.
2. Drop-out rates
6.6% overall, 4.3% White Americans, 7.5% African Americans; 12.7% Hispanics/Latino Americans; 13.0% Native Americans; 2.7% Asian Americans
3. Functional Illiteracy –not being able to read, write, or do basic arithmetic well enough to carry out daily responsibilities
4. Segregation
5. Tracking – placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of their test scores and other criteria
6. Funding
7. Gender Inequality
8. Immigration/Bilingualism
9. Disabled Students
10. Violence
Segregation
Both African American and Hispanic students are highly segregated.
1954 Brown vs. Board of Education – segregated facilities were deemed inherently unequal. Reversed 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson ruling
Classroom segregation; tracking systems
Equality in facilities
Number of books, science labs, textbooks, clubs, desks, lockers, gym equipment, teacher qualifications
Coleman Report: minority schools deficient in science labs, textbooks, debate clubs
Texas Study: minority-dominated schools have teachers with lower achievement test scores, less education and experience. Also had higher student/teacher ratios.
Class Discrimination
Schools are funded by property taxes and state funds primarily. Great regional w variation.
Poor children have higher dropout rates and lower college attendance rates.
Sex Discrimination
Sex-typing activities/curricula
Women are slightly more likely to attend college, but are less likely to major in math/science/engineering
Sources: Schiller, B. 2004. The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Macionis, John. 2002. Social Problems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
