Sociology
of Education (Soc 347)
Fall
2008
Dr. John Rice
Office: SB 208D, 962-7313
Email: ricej@uncw.edu
Course Web Page: Web Page: http://people.uncw.edu/ricej/ (go to course pages link)
Office Hours: MW, 9:00-9:30,
1:00-1:45; R 3:30-5:00 (or by appointment)
I. Course
Description
Education is a modern social
institution. That simple sentence contains several key themes with which we
will be concerned over the course of the semester. First of all, to say that
education is a modern institution
is to say that the creation of an expansive social system comprising
specialized organizations, groups, and statuses – all dedicated to a formalized and rationalized process called “education” – is a by-product
of complex, urban, industrial,
bureaucratic – in a word, modern – societies. Secondly, to say that education
is a modern institution is to say that those organizations, etc., were
created to solve specific problems characteristic of modern societies. What
were those problems? Why was education separated out and institutionalized? Why
were schools created? What purposes was education created to accomplish? Does
it or does it not accomplish them? This course will examine these, and other
issues, focusing on the historical interplay between and among education and
other social structures and institutions (family, economy, politics, religion)
and the key sociological processes (social differentiation, stratification), with
which education is inextricably intertwined.
II. Texts, Course Requirements and Grading
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A. There is
one required text for the course:
The
Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them, by E.D. Hirsch
(There will also be additional readings
assigned. These will be on-line readings which can be easily accessed
by using the hot links on the on-line syllabus for this course.)
B. It will
be possible to earn 100 points over the course of the semester:
20 points: an early semester
examination
20 points: a mid-term examination
30 points: a final examination
25 pts: a term paper (5 pts of this will be
determined by a prospectus – see below)
5 points: attendance and participation. A
successful and enjoyable class
depends to a significant degree upon the
active intellectual involvement of both students and professor. Students are
not simply receptacles into which teachers "pour" information, and
learning involves the ability to actively engage -- wrestle with, think
through, challenge -- the ideas presented in the class. I both encourage and
expect that active intellectual involvement in my classes, and that
involvement requires that students be present in class (both physically and
mentally) and that they be prepared for the class.
a.
In the interests of fairness, I start all student scores on this measure at 4
points (which is 80% of the total points you can earn for attendance/participation),
and either add to or subtract from those points based upon your in-class
performance. Points will be added for perfect or near-perfect (all but 1 or 2
classes) attendance, and for positive involvement in the life of the class;
they will also be added in the event that -- for those reluctant to actively
participate in discussions -- students take advantage of my office hours to
clarify any points about which they are uncertain or interested. Points will be
subtracted for excessive absences and/or late arrivals, and for being a
negative presence in the class (disruptions, mentally absent). At the extremes,
it is possible to earn all 5 points or to earn no points at all.
1. The
examinations will be a mixture of short and long essays.
a. The Early Exam will be held during class time on Sept. 12
b. The Mid-Term will be held
during class time on Oct. 10
c. The Final Exam will be on
Monday Dec. 8th, 8:00-11:00 a.m.
2. The term
paper (8-12 typed, double-spaced pages, including the end-notes and appropriate
reference sections) should be a discussion of each student's independent and
original research relating to some educational issue. The research should be
empirical, but theoretically "driven" -- that is, you should use the
empirical material to explore a particular theoretical argument that has been
covered in readings or lectures for the course. The research project may be
either primarily library research or field work of some type (interviews,
participant observation). In general, the goal is to teach yourselves
something interesting and important about the social organization of education.
3. The
prospectus, 5 points: a short, 3-5 pp. description of your term paper will be
due in class on October 29th.
a. this short paper should include:
the theoretical issue(s) you will address; the specific research project you
have chosen and a description of how you will conduct the research; and, a
bibliography of the published research that will guide your own work.
4. Late
Papers and Missed Exams: The general rule, here, is do
not do either of these things. If you must miss an exam or turn in a paper
late, you will be expected to notify
me in advance, and/or be able to provide some proof of your trouble
(obviously, in the case of an emergency, advance notification may well be
impossible). If you are not able to meet these conditions you will not be
allowed to make up the exam or turn the paper in late.
C. Grading:
Your grades for the course will be determined by the number of points you have
earned, divided by the total possible points. This percentage will convert into
letter grades (Note: since the total is 100, your actual number of points will,
of course, be your percentage):
A = 95-100% B+
= 87-89% C+ = 77-79% D
= 60-69%
A- =
90-94 B = 83-86 C
= 73-76 F = 59% or less
B- = 80-82 C- = 70-72
THERE
WILL BE NO POSSIBILITY FOR EXTRA CREDIT WORK! YOUR COURSE GRADES WILL DEPEND
UPON YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THE REQUIRED COURSE WORK ONLY!
D. Cheating,
Plagiarism: All work – tests, papers – must be the product of your own
efforts. Plagiarism is defined as
"any attempt by a student to represent the work of another as
his or her own. This includes copying the answers of another student on an
examination or copying or substantially restating the work of another person or
persons in any oral or written work without citing the appropriate source, and
collaborating with someone else in an academic endeavor without acknowledging
his or her contribution."
Pay close
attention to this definition, because anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing
will receive an “F” for the entire course and will be reported to the Dean of
Students.
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III.
Course Outline
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Date Topics
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Aug. 20
Overview of the Course
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Aug. 22-27
General Theoretical
& Historical Background
Modernity & Public
Education: The Historical Context
Culture, Social Structure, & Social
Institutions
Education,
Social Differentiation, & Social Stratification
Readings: Hirsch, Chapter 2; Durkheim, “Discipline”; Collins,
"Functional & Conflict Theories," pp. 94-98; Blau and Duncan, “Status Attainment”
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Aug. 29, Sept. 3-5
Functionalism's View of
Education
“Allocation” & Status Attainment
Note:
No Class on Sept. 1: Labor Day Holiday
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Readings: Collins, "Functional &
Conflict Theories," pp. 98-end; Cookson, “Elite Schools”
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Sept. 8-10
Conflict Theory's View
of Education
Reproduction & Legitimation
Wrap-up & Review for Exam
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Sept. 12 EXAM #1
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Part
II: Key Issues and Concepts
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Stratification,
Cultural & Social Capital
Readings: Coleman, “Social
Capital”
Dates Topics
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Sept. 15-22
Stratification in
Educational Experience and Outcomes
Pierre Bourdieu: Cultural Capital, Cultural Reproduction
James Coleman: Social Capital
Film:
“Merchants of Cool”
Readings: Lareau,
"Family-School Relationships";
Fordham & Ogbu, “Acting White”; Hirsch,
Chapters 3 and 4
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Sept. 24-29
Stratification by Class,
Race, & Gender
Basil Bernstein: Class, Codes, and Control
The Importance of
Context: Historical, Cultural, Societal
Public
Education in the Context of Modernity
The Cultural Divide:
Moderns and Anti-Moderns
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Oct. 1-3
The Progressive Era
Rationalization
& "Scientific" Management"
Social Efficiency"
& the "Differentiated Curriculum"
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Note:
No Class on Oct. 6th: Fall Break
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Oct. 6-8
Rationalization &
Scientific Management (cont'd)
Redefining Democracy and
Education
The "Cardinal Principles of
Secondary Education" (1918)
Wrap-up
& Review for Exam
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Oct. 10 EXAM #2
Readings:
Hirsch, Chapter 5
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Oct. 13-15
The Differentiated
Curriculum vs. The Academic Curriculum
The Rise of IQ Testing
The
A
New Role for Schooling: Creating a New Social Order
A Brief Flirtation with the
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Oct. 17-20
The Rise of the
"Activity Movement"
Changing
Curricular Content
Literature
History
The Critics
Post
WWII & The Life Adjustment Curriculum
The
Beginning of the Contemporary "
Readings: Hirsch, Chapters 6 and 7
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Oct. 22-24
The Current Waves of
Reform: The Last Two Decades
The
Cultural Divide Revisited
“Propositions
3 & 7” & “The End of the String”; A Nation at Risk, http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html
(first page only)
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Oct. 27-29
N.B.:
Paper Drafts Due Oct. 29th
Critics & Crisis
Richard Mitchell's The
The Excellence
Commission & A Nation at Risk (1983)
The Central Concerns
& http://www.carnegie.org/results/03/index.html
(just the first three pages on the site)
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Oct. 31, Nov. 3-5
The Carnegie
Forum & A Nation Prepared (1986)
Education's Response
Professionalization of Teaching
Career Ladders
National Board Certification
Professional
Development Schools
Finn,
http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/books/osof.html#toc,
“Teacher
Reform . . .” (just click on the hot
linked page number next to the article name)
Lehman,
http://www.pbs.org/weta/twoschools/thechallenge/history/,
“Reading
Wars”
Recommended, but not required,
articles on the “reading wars”:
http://www.nrrf.org/article_anderson6-18-00.htm
http://www.sntp.net/education/The_Reading_Wars.htm
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Nov.
7-14
Education
Responds
Curricular
Reform & The
1.
NC Dep’t of Public Instruction, “ABC’s of Public Education” (Read just up to
“2000-2001 ABCs Accountability Model”) http://www.ncpublicschools.org/Accountability/reporting/ABCsHist.html
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/03-04/04backgroundpacket.pdf
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Nov.
19-24
The
States Respond: The Accountability Movement
The
ABC’s of
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NO
CLASS NOV. 26-28 THANKSGIVING BREAK
Happy
Thanksgiving!
Dec. 1-3
N.B. TERM PAPERS DUE NOV. 29TH
The
Current Situation
The Federal
Government Weighs In
Last Day of
Class: Sum & Review
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FINAL EXAM: Monday,
December 8th: 8:00-11:00 a.m.