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
a. Examples?
3.
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?
Or