Women's Representation in Education and Leadership

Sociology of Education - Part 2

• Course: SOC100: Intro to Sociology
• Instructor: Dr. Mitch McIvor
• This is part 2 of a series on the sociology of education.
• The lecture slides cover important course information like upcoming deadlines, house-keeping items and the sociology of education.

Course Schedule

• Important Dates: Tutorial 2, Debate Paper 1 is due next week.
• Important reminders: Re-submission is optional but recommended. There is a 7-day no-questions-asked grace period after the deadline to submit a late paper without penalty.
• Instructions: For tutorial 1 reflections, students are to summarize the material presented in their own words to show reflection on the tutorial content. Copied and pasted text from the slides doesn't count toward the word-count.
• AM Quizzes: AM Quiz 2 grades were posted last Friday, Sept. 13. AM Quiz 3 grades will be posted this Friday, Sept. 20. There is no make-up or extension for missed AM quizzes. Missing reflection scores will be replaced with the final exam grade.
• Debate Paper Instructions: Debate papers are an independent project. A detailed rubric, a formatting template, and tutorials are available. Students are encouraged to submit a second paper in case the first one doesn't meet expectations.

General Course Policies

• AM quizzes: If opened early but not completed, the final exam grade will replace any missed AM Quizzes.
• Tutorial Reflections: If a student does not submit their tutorial reflection, the task will not be reopened. 100-word responses, that make sense, will receive a 100% mark for the reflection task. TAs will allow up to 15 minutes for the activity. If technology fails, the reflection task can be completed on paper and submitted to the TA by the end of the tutorial.
• For any course-related questions: First check the syllabus, FAQs on Quercus, relevant discussion boards. If the answer isn't found, bring the question to lecture or the instructor's office hours. Emails need to be directed to the course email address.
• Office Hours: Office hours are available and the link is found on the home page. No students are left behind!

Applying Sociology

• Knowledge isn't power until it's applied. This is a quote by Dale Carnegie.

Understanding Our Class

• Why is the class this large?
• The university allowed large class sizes due to the current funding constraints and cost versus benefit analysis regarding student tuition in relation to the current cost of education
• Current sentiments suggest that the older generations are idealistic and that the younger generations think older generations are jaded and vice versa. Sociology can help to explain this misunderstanding, particularly Max Weber's work.

Instrumental vs. Value Rationality

• Weber identified these different types of action
• Instrumental (Means-End) : Choosing the most efficient way to achieve the desired outcome. Considering conditions and other people who might affect goals.
• Value-Rationality : Making decisions based on ethical values.
• The distinction is helpful when applied to the ideal (theory) versus reality (experience). For example, in politics, the theory suggests that politicians make decisions based on what's best for society. The reality suggests a balance between what is best, what the people want, and the compromises required to be in power.
• Democracy is the worst form of government-except for all the others that have been tried. This is a quote by Winston Churchill.
• Society is constantly moving towards instrumental rather than religious ways to accomplish goals and societal issues.
• Applying the idea to academic choices- careers or university or college majors, one might consider passions and values versus practical constraints of money, employment, or social capital.

Instrumental vs. Value Rationality- Education

• The cost of education, even in a province like Ontario with funding, is affected by inflation and not being able to keep up with costs despite the government trying to keep tuition low, creates a budget shortfall.
• The current model does not allow the universities to cover expenses.
• Cost can be mitigated by increasing class sizes or by asking international students to pay higher tuition rates.

Other Hypotheses

• Universities' financial situations are complex
• University professors make more money than professors in other nations which is an important issue for retention.
• There could be a high level of administration in universities which suggests that the need for these offices has shifted over time.
• Universities focused on research as the primary source of funding which can create a risk of problems (e.g. opioid crisis).
• Universities have many competing interests in terms of how money is allocated and the way that each institution prioritizes these different areas.
• Omitted variable bias in an economic study on grades and income could include factors like socio-economic status which influences both university grades and income after university.

Summary of Instrumental/Value Rationality

• Key issue is how to balance student learning with university budget
• International students may help bridge the gap by making the education affordable.

Do Grades Matter?

• Studies suggest grades don't fully reflect overall intelligence.
• Omitted variables and lurking variables affect the correlation or association studies make (e.g., higher ice cream sales and shark attacks).
• The cause, in the ice cream example could be a hidden variable of "hot weather' which causes both more ice cream sales and a greater likelihood of shark attacks).
• Applying this to the economics study concerning grades and income, Socio-economic status (SES) is the lurking variable.

How Does SES Affect Both Grades and Income?

• High Socioeconomic Status (SES) benefits students since they have access to tutors, financial security allows not needing to work part-time, have better network connections, have greater knowledge of academic content and more. This can affect graduation performance.
• Students with high SES can have more opportunities by waiting for the right employment after graduation since financial and networking support is available.

The Experience of Education

• Grade chasing is problematic
• Grade interpretations can affect self-esteem and mastery.
• Pressures of succeeding can lead to issues such as social isolation
• Pressure to succeed leads to poor mental health among students
• Mental health and wellbeing among students should be considered.
• Important to consider what factors are affecting education outcome (e.g., lack of social support, financial pressure)

Feminism & Education

• Feminism in education involves three primary issues
• Underrepresentation in positions of power (professors, administrators, school board members).
• Gender representation in school activities: Curriculums lack female voices, textbooks often uphold traditional gender roles. Male sports teams receive more resources.
• Sexual harassment: A hostile school environment for female students.

Critical Race Theory

• Race is socially constructed
• Racism is a system within institutions like politics, economics, education.
• Progress in racial issues happens when it benefits the dominant group, not necessarily from altruistic intent.
• Intersectionality means membership in multiple groups shapes the experience of discrimination.

Race, Ethnicity, and Education

• Indigenous community educational outcomes are lower, largely due to the lasting effects of residential schools (cultural assimilation, abuse).
• Brain Drain: Canada attempts to import/target the best and brightest students from other countries, this is a global practice known as Brain drain and creates disadvantage for developing countries where those same students are from.

Symbolic Interactionism & Education

• Meaning and experience of education vary across different student groups.
• Immigrant parents prioritize education for their children to make up for their own sacrifices/ challenges
• Indigenous students have a different experience of education due to the legacy of residential schools