2. Education
• Sociological Perspectives on Education
• Schools as Formal Organizations
• Social Policy and Education
3. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Functionalist View
– Manifest functions include:
• Transmission of knowledge
• Bestowal of status
– Latent functions include:
• Transmitting culture
• Promoting social and political integration
• Maintaining social control
• Serving as agent of change
4. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Functionalist View
– Transmitting Culture
• Exposing young people to existing beliefs,
norms, and values of their culture
– Promoting Social and Political Integration
• Common identity and social integration fostered
by education contribute to societal stability and
consensus
5. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Functionalist View
– Maintaining Social Control
• Schools teach students punctuality, discipline,
scheduling, and responsible work habits, and
how to negotiate through a bureaucratic
organization
– Serving as an Agent of Change
• Schools serve as meeting ground where people
can share distinctive beliefs and traditions
6. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Conflict View
– Education is an instrument
of elite domination
– Schools socialize students
into values dictated by the
powerful
7. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Conflict View
– The Hidden Curriculum
• Standards of behavior deemed proper by
society are taught subtly in schools
– Credentialism
• An increase in the lowest level of education
needed to enter a field
8. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Conflict View
– Bestowal of Status
• Schools tend to preserve social class
inequalities in each new generation
• Schools can reinforce class differences by
putting students in tracks
Correspondence Principle: schools promote the values
expected of individuals in each social class and perpetuate
social class divisions from one generation to the next
Tracking: practice of placing students in specific
curriculum groups on basis of test scores and other criteria
9. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Conflict View
– Treatment of Women in Education
• The U.S educational
system long
characterized by
discriminatory
treatment of women
10. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Conflict View
– Treatment of Women in Education
• In 20th century, sexism in education included:
– Stereotypes in textbooks
– Pressure on women to study traditional women’s
subjects
– Unequal funding for men’s and women’s athletic
programs
– Employment bias for administrators and teachers
11. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
• Interactionist View
– Labeling and self-fulfilling prophecy
suggest if we treat people in particular
ways, they may fulfill our expectations.
Teacher-Expectation Effect: impact of teacher
expectations and their large role on student performance
12. Sociological Perspectives on
Education
Percentage of Adults Ages 25 to 64 Who Have Completed Higher
Educations, Selected Countries, 2001
Sources: Bureau of the Census 2004a:851
14. Schools as Formal Organizations
• Bureaucratization of Schools
– Weber noted five characteristics of
bureaucracy:
• Division of labor
• Hierarchy of authority
• Written rules and regulations
• Impersonality
• Employment based on technical qualifications
15. Schools as Formal Organizations
• Teachers: Employees and Instructors
– Teachers’ academic assignments have
become more specialized
• Still must control social order
– 20% of new teachers quit within 3 years
– Fewer students choose teaching as career
due to perceived low income
16. Schools as Formal Organizations
• Homeschooling
– More than 1.6 million children
homeschooled
• Good alternative for children with ADHD and LD
• Lacks universal uniform standards from state to
state
• Research shows homeschooled children score
higher on standardized tests
• Some theorist cite lack of social involvement as
problem with home schooling
17. Social Policy and Education
• No Child Left Behind Program
– The Issue
• In 2001, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) enacted
by Congress
• By mid 2005, Utah threatened to opt our
• 37 other states demanded major changes
18. Social Policy and Education
• No Child Left Behind Program
– The Setting
• Schools locally run and finances with some
federal and state aid
• 1990’s establish national educational standards
• By mid 2005, Utah threatened to opt our
• 37 other states demanded major changes
• States insist they require more federal funds
19. Social Policy and Education
• No Child Left Behind Program
– Sociological Policy
• Validity: the degree to which a scale or
measure truly reflects the phenomenon under
study
• Reliability: extent to which a measure
provides consistent results
• Reliability and validity of tests are major issues
in controversy of NCLB
20. Social Policy and Education
• No Child Left Behind Program
– Policy Initiatives
• Educational reformers have yet to find solution
that fits all schools in all states
• Many educators see NCLB as their best hope
