Sociology of Education

Review for Exam #2

 

I. Format: The exam will be short essay and/or short answer format (as mentioned, no other format makes sense with this kind of material). You will not need anything but a pen and your brain (hopefully containing knowledge of the subjects we’ve covered so far).

 

II. Readings: Arum & Beattie Reader:

* Collins, "Functional & Conflict Theories"

* Collins’s evaluation of the technical-function theory of educational expansion

* Cookson & Persell, "The Chosen Ones"

* Cultural & Social Capital in the curricula of elite schools

* Factors affecting (& not affecting) educational attainment

* Lareau, "Social Class Differences in Family-School Relationships"

* Cultural capital as a mediating factor (a la the class lectures) in these relationships

* Fordham & Ogbu, "Black Students' School Success"

* The burdens faced by African-American students that want to and do succeed, academically

 

III. Key Themes: Class Lectures (These overlap – of course – with the assigned readings.)

          A. Conflict theory’s view of education

1. Marx & conflict theory: to what roles is education relegated in Marx’s original writings on industrial capitalism?

2. The two main themes in conflict theory’s view of education (what are these themes?)

          B. Randall Collins: on credentialing & educational expansion

1. Critique of functionalism (the technical-function theory of educational expansion)

2. Collins’s alternative explanation for educational expansion

          C. Human Capital

                   1. Schultz on human capital

2. Types of expenditure and investment (know & be able to give examples of these)

3.  4 Major categories of investment (know & be able to give examples of these)

          D. Social Capital (Coleman & Hoffer)

1. Networks with & without intergenerational closure (know what these are)

2. Structural & Functional Deficiencies (know what these are & be able to give examples)

3. What type of network is growing more common? Why?

4. Be able to relate these ideas to “Merchants of Cool,” & be able to give examples from that video

5. The four logical combinations of human and social capital: what are they? Be able to describe the characteristics of networks/families that correspond with each of the four possibilities.

          E. Cultural Capital (Bourdieu & Passeron)

                   1. Be able to summarize the theory & to clearly explain:

                             a. What B. means by cultural capital

b. How he defined the concept in order to measure it (and how he measured it.

2. Does Bourdieu’s conceptualization of c.c. supported by empirical research in the U.S.?

          a. Examples?

3. Kingston’s criticisms of c.c. theory

          a. be able to identify some of these and explain them

4. Lamont’s (& Lamont & Lareau’s) reconceptualization of c.c.

          a. Inclusion & Exclusion in family-school relationships

b. What are the three factors they identify as important to understanding either inclusion or exclusion?

          F. Basil Bernstein’s Class, Codes, & Control

                   1. What are codes? What  are the types of codes?

                   2. Why are codes significant?

                   3. How is Bernstein’s work related to Bourdieu’s?

          G. The Cultural “Divide”

                   1. Rationalism vs. Romanticism

                             a. Key points of difference between them?

                   2. Significance for education?

 

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