This document discusses several key topics related to education, including: 1. The "hidden curriculum" teaches norms like respect for authority and passive learning in school. 2. Cultural capital refers to exposure to art, music, and literature from one's family that benefits social mobility. Those with more cultural capital start with an advantage. 3. Tracking groups students by achievement, aiming to facilitate higher achievement but often results in self-fulfilling prophecies. 4. Differences in school quality between affluent and impoverished districts mean those with more resources get a better education. Inequitable access to educational resources is a social problem.

1. Why do we go to school?
• Because our parents say we have to
• To get a good job
• To make more money
• To get a bigger world view
• To wizen ourselves
• To better participate in a democracy
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2. What are we taught?
• How to line up
• How to be respectful of authority
• The process of “passive consumption”
• Acceptance of the current social order
This is called the “hidden curriculum”
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3. The Hidden Curriculum
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4. The Hidden Curriculum
This is the process in which we learn the
norms and values of the status quo. We learn
nationalism (flag salute), passive learning
(raise hand and be quiet), and other items
mentioned already.
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5. Cultural Capital
Cultural capital is a concept that was conceived
by Pierre Bourdieu in the 1960s. It refers to
the cultural exposure that a student receives
from his/her family in the way of art, music,
and literature as well as a world view that is
beyond the typical.
How much one has as a child (according to
Borurdieu) has a direct effect upon future
socio-economic status (SES).
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6. Cultural Capital
How much cultural capital do you have? Is it the
same amount as the wealthy have?
You are accumulating it now. As you pass it on
to your offspring they begin with an edge that
they might not have had otherwise.
Cultural capital can be acquired through
education.
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7. Social Promotion
• How are we promoted through school?
Should we be “socially” promoted or
promoted only on merit?
• Consider the following link: (note: you must
be logged in to EBSCOhost prior to
connection)
"What if we ended social promotion?"
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8. Tracking (within school effects)
• The process of categorizing students into
groups by IQ and achievement scores.
• The intent is to better facilitate them into
higher achievement.
• The result is labeling and self-fulfilled
prophesy.
• Consider the Jennie Oakes study.
(note: if link fails place cursor in address bar to right of address and hit
return again.)
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9. The Bell Curve controversy
Researchers Herrnstein and Murray (1994) did a
study that claimed that minority groups and
those in lower SES had lower IQs, and that this
was about 40 percent genetically based.
Do you recall the concept of “social Darwinism?”
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10. The Bell Curve controversy
The eight major claims of the study are:
1 General intelligence exists.
2 At least half of the variation in intelligence is genetically transmitted.
3 Intelligence has become more necessary in the work world than before.
4 Colleges have shifted their entrance priorities away from inherited wealth to those
based upon merit.
5 Society is now dominated by a “cognitive elite.”
6 As the elite forms a social group it reproduces itself through marriage.
7 As well, poor people tend to marry those alike passing on their “modest” abilities
to their children.
8 Because of this genetically passed on intelligence we should see the poor as
having higher crime rates and drug abuse.
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11. The Bell Curve controversy
For a critique of the work of Murray and
Herrnstein, see the following link:
Critique of the Bell Curve study
(NOTE: You must already be logged in to
EBSCOhost for link to work.)
In general the study as been debunked. But this
should remind you of social Darwinism.
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12. Between school effects:
• According to the Coleman study (1966) material
resources in schools made little difference to
educational performance.
• The decisive influence was the children’s background.
(Giddens et al, 2008)
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13. Social Economic Status and
Education
There IS a relationship between social class and
wealth to education—this is not the same as
intelligence.
Most of a student’s success is based upon the
parent’s education.
So what is causing what?
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14. Social Economic Status and
Education
Look at the following graphs and see how race
and ethnicity and class overlap. See the
numbers and consider the causes for them.
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15. We can safely assume that the more
education the more income:
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24. Who gets the best education?
If primary and secondary education is
financed by property taxes, which districts
flourish and which don’t?
Consider Jonathan Kozol and his comparison
of impoverished schools to affluent ones?
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25. Who gets the best education?
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26. Contrast
Such extreme contrasts do exist. South
Central Los Angeles, East Saint Louis,
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27. Who gets the best education?
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28. Who gets the best education?
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29. Who gets the best education?
And do we all have access to those resources?
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30. Who pays for education
• State taxes (from personal property taxes—
your home)—mostly for primary and
secondary education).
• Federal funds ( although this is minimal)—
mostly for primary and secondary education).
• Tuition for college (your direct cost of
education)
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33. Who pays for education
• Should education be free and tax paid?
• If so, should this apply to college?
• Medical school?
Consider Northern Europe: in Denmark a college
education is completely free to participating
and qualified students.
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34. Privatization
• School vouchers: Government money granted to
parents who want their children to attend an
alternative to a public school.
• Home schooling: Teaching your children at home via a
qualified curriculum.
• Charter schools: Private schools that nonetheless
receive public money.
• Religious schools: Private schools that receive public
and private money but emphasize a particular religion.
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35. The College Education
John Merrow (in the film Declining by Degrees,
1995) discusses the following issues:
• Grade inflation
• Debt for an education
• Having to work while going to college
• Government cuts in education overall
• Lack or lessening of grant opportunities
• Different educations for different income brackets
more ->
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36. The College Education
• Lack of counseling
• Special privileges to special groups (athletes,
high school honor students)
• An eroding social contract (gone is the easy
access to a college education as is available in
other developed countries)
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37. Who pays for a college education?
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38. You do! Note the ratio of
decreases in Pell Grants:
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39. Who goes to college?
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40. Social problem
All of these issues and more compound to
make education in the United States a severe
social problem.
How does this affect you and your educational
experiences?
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