SOC100 - Lecture 2 The sociology of education

• provided training for jobs to help businesses and the economy grow

• helped with democracy and functioning government institutions

• helped reduce class differences and class inequality by accessibility

• the number of people attending post secondary institutions is increasing

• mental construct or thought exercise where you observe things of the same type and try to find common elements to form an ideal construct based on what they all have in common

• letting go of specific differences and details and seeing the commonalities

• human behaviour is governed by relatively stable patterns of social relations/structures

• social structures maintain or undermine social stability

• social structures are mainly based on shared values or preferences

• re establishing equilibrium can best solve most social problems

• follows society’s rules

• sees the good in every part of society

• believes that society is a stable set up

• look at different parts of society and try to identify the relationships between them

• problem solving through a big picture/holistic perspective

• everything serves a purpose

• there are different parts that do different things but every part serves a purpose

• everything is connected

• selection/sorting

• socialization

• job training

• different jobs have different levels of importance and difficulty

• you need to reward important difficult jobs with higher compensation

• motivation for people to pursue them

• a system of rewards based on personal attributes and demonstrated abilities

• a system based on nepotism, favoritism, bias, prejudice, preference and discrimination

• by free and public education

• an intended function

• sorting people according to a fair and open competition

• fostering patriotism through national anthems

• learning the importance of exercise and healthy food

• reaffirming respect, accepting diversity, and no bullying

• saying no to drugs and alcohol

• sex education

• teaching different gender identities/sexualities

• nation’s history of racism

• beneficial to developing and re affirming shared values

• platform for discussion

• education is necessary to improve economic or productive capacity of a population.

• well educated population will be able to work more effectively and creatively

• skills and knowledge obtained through education is inalienable

• employers prefer educated workers especially due to the increase in globalization

• society is made up of different groups with different interests that compete for power and resources

• looks at which groups have power and benefit from a social arrangement

• started the conflict theory

• looked at the bourgeoisie and how they exploited the proletariat

very wealthy who own means of production

those who must sell their labor to survive

• focuses on large, macro-level structures like relations between socio-economic classes

• major patterns of inequality in society produce social stability in some circumstances and social change in others

• members of a privileged group try to maintain their advantaged while subordinate groups struggle to increase theirs

• decreasing privilege will lower the level of conflict and increase the sum total of human welfare

• meritocratic nature of education is overstated

• considers equality of opportunity but ignores equality of condition

• education system reproduces class inequality

• equal access/opportunity to the competition

• differences in material conditions that make someone more or less likely to succeed in the competition

• a state of being equal

• a state of being fair and impartial

• very clear and not at all hidden

• ex: sexism, racism

• difficult to analyze or describe

• related to the structures and systems of society itself

• economic capital

• social capital

• cultural capital

• one’s economic resources like money, wealth, property

• social networks and the shared norms, values and understanding tied to who one knows and associated with

skills, tastes/preferences, habits, clothing, mannerisms and other symbolic elements that reflect one’s class

• unintended consequence

• reproducing class inequality and then justifying this inequality as fair

• education is socializing children into a hidden curriculum

• being obedient and not questioning authority

• macro-sociology

• micro-sociology

• looks at the big picture

• suggests how social problems are affected at a large structural scale

• structural functionalism

• conflict theory

• concerned with the social psychological dynamics of individuals interacting

• meaning and interaction

• example: symbolic interactionism

• focuses on face-to-face communication or interaction in micro-level settings

• an adequate explanation of social behaviour requires understanding the subjective meanings people attach to their social circumstances

• people help to create their social circumstances and do not merely react to them

• validates unpopular and nonofficial viewpoints by underscoring the subjective meanings people create in small social settings

  increases understanding and tolerance of people who may be different than us

• how we label something is intrinsically linked to how it is viewed and handled including whether it is seen as a problem or not

• lowers self-esteem

• lowers mastery

• social isolation due to feeling embarrassment and students prioritizing time spent studying over social engagements

• grade chasing

• positive or negative orientation toward oneself

• overall evaluation of one’s worth or value

• ones sense of having control over their life

• being able to accomplish goals and tasks they set their mind to

• one’s sense of being captain of one’s own ship versus being at the whims of forces around them

• act of prioritizing the achievement of good grades above the actual process of learning and understanding of the material

• individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and input from others

• failure is an opportunity to learn and grow

• believe their talents are innate gifts

• failure is a permanent indictment on your abilities or intelligence

• underrepresentation in positions of power

• gender representation in school activities

• sexual harassment

• canada prioritizes immigrants with higher levels of education

• sacrifices from immigrant parents drives their children to perform better in school

• adaptation to a new culture or language

• loss of fundamental social network connections (family)

• lack of credential recognition

• racism and other forms of discrimination