Chapter 13: Education and Religion Flashcards
(125 cards)
What is education as a social institution?
Education is the social institution through which a society teaches its members skills, knowledge, norms, and values to become productive members of society.
What are the two types of education?
Formal education: Occurs within structured institutions (e.g., schools, universities) under professional educators.
Informal education: Takes place outside of formal institutions, often at home or through life experiences.
How was education during the colonial period in the U.S.?
Education was primarily informal.
Only 10% of colonial children, mostly wealthy, went to school, and schooling wasn’t mandatory.
What functions did textbooks serve after the Revolutionary War?
Textbooks promoted patriotism, religion, and standardized language.
They also reinforced negative stereotypes of Native Americans and immigrants.
What is the significance of compulsory education by the late 1800s?
Compulsory education made access to free education available to children from all social classes.
It aimed to teach democracy, assimilate immigrants, and train children for the industrial economy.
What were the three main educational themes in U.S. history?
Wealthy white males were primarily educated until recently.
Compulsory education often served ethnocentric purposes and prepared poor people for blue-collar jobs.
Local control of schools led to inequalities in resources between wealthy and poor communities.
What are the manifest functions of education according to functionalist theory?
Socialization: Teaching societal norms, values, and skills.
Social integration: Helping immigrants and diverse groups integrate into society.
Social placement: Sorting students based on perceived abilities.
Innovation: Encouraging the development of future scientists, artists, and thinkers.
What are the latent functions of education?
Child care: Providing care outside of the home.
Peer relationships: Forming lifelong friendships.
Suppression of teenage labor competition: Reducing youth unemployment by keeping students in school.
How do conflict theorists view education?
Education promotes social inequality through tracking, standardized tests, and the hidden curriculum.
Tracking locks students into different academic paths based on perceived ability.
Standardized tests often reflect students’ socioeconomic status, not just academic ability.
The hidden curriculum teaches values that support the existing social hierarchy.
How does symbolic interactionism explain school behavior?
It focuses on the interactions between students and teachers.
Self-fulfilling prophecies: Teachers’ labels (e.g., “gifted” or “troubled”) can influence student behavior and performance.
What is the dropout rate for undergraduates in the U.S.?
The dropout rate for undergraduates is around 40%, with almost 1/3 of freshmen dropping out before their sophomore year.
How does social class affect educational attainment?
Social class and race significantly influence access to schooling.
Higher-income schools offer better opportunities and college attendance rates than low-income schools.
How does race impact educational outcomes?
African American students have the highest high school dropout rate at 54%.
Latinx students have a consistent increase in college enrollment from 22% in 2000 to 36% in 2020.
Asian Americans have the highest college enrollment rate at 59%.
What is the relationship between education and income in the U.S.?
Higher education correlates with higher employment rates and incomes.
People with a college degree earn significantly more than those with only a high school diploma.
How does education affect attitudes and behaviors?
Education typically leads to greater tolerance and less prejudice, particularly regarding race and sexism.
Learning challenges traditional ways of thinking and encourages more open-minded views.
What is a “credential society”?
A credential society is one in which the attainment of a degree or diploma is necessary for accessing most jobs.
How does education impact employment and income?
Higher levels of education lead to higher employment rates and higher earnings.
For example, in 2019, 87.3% of people with a bachelor’s degree were employed compared to 61.2% of those with less than a high school degree.
What role does education play in income disparity?
People with more education generally earn higher incomes.
In 2019, the median income for those with a master’s degree or higher was $69,980, while those with less than a high school degree earned $29,340.
How does race and gender affect the payoff from education?
Race and gender can influence the economic benefits of education.
White men and Asian American men tend to benefit more financially from education compared to Black, Latinx, and female students.
How does the U.S. educational system impact children from low-income families?
Children from low-income families often attend underfunded and inadequate schools, limiting their educational opportunities and future prospects.
What did Jonathan Kozol refer to as “savage inequalities”?
Kozol referred to disparities in school funding, conditions, and quality as “savage inequalities,” highlighting the poor infrastructure and resources in schools serving disadvantaged communities.
What was Kozol’s experience teaching in 1960s Boston?
Kozol observed crumbling school infrastructure, large classes, and severe overcrowding in public schools.
What disparities did Kozol find in his comparisons of inner-city and suburban schools?
Inner-city schools had crumbling buildings, outdated textbooks, and overcrowded classrooms, while suburban schools had modern facilities, extracurricular activities, and high-quality resources.
How has inequality in education persisted since Kozol’s book?
In wealthy states like Connecticut, poor students still attend some of the worst schools in the nation, with significant disparities in spending and resources.
