Lecture 3 - Education Part 2 - SOC100 (Thurs) - Prof. McIvor PDF

Views From the Duck The Sociology of Education- Part 2 SOC100: Intro to Sociology Dr. Mitch McIvor 1  Not on the Where We Are Now test....

Views From the Duck The Sociology of Education- Part 2 SOC100: Intro to Sociology Dr. Mitch McIvor 1  Not on the Where We Are Now test. We’re Here Tutorial 2 runs this week Debate Paper 1 Due Next Week *Remember that this is optional but a good idea if you want time to re-submit another paper for a better grade. *Please also remember that everyone has a no- questions-asked grace period of 7 days from the deadline to submit without penalty. 2  Not on the House Keeping- Tutorial Reflections test. Tutorial 1 activity grades will be posted by next Monday. PLEASE NOTE: any text copied and pasted from the tutorial slides will NOT count towards the word count expected. You MUST put the slide content in your own words and show reflection on it. Just giving us the text we gave you on the slides is not the point of the reflection, the point is to put into your own words what you learned and took away from the tutorial. 3  Not on the House Keeping- AM Quizzes test. AM Quiz #2 grades were posted last Friday, Sept.13 AM Quiz #3 grade will be posted this Friday, Sept. 20. You can see the full questions and answers for posted grades. Please remember that if you didn’t/don’t do any AM quiz, then there is no make-up opportunity or extensions offered. Any missing reflection grade will be replaced by your final exam grade. 4  Not on the House Keeping- Debate Papers test. Please remember that the debate papers are an independent project. If you have questions, please post them to the discussion board, but just a couple notes: we don’t review papers or parts of papers by email or otherwise, we also will not review your arguments and tell you whether they are good or not (this is what tutorial #2 is for). Remember that you have very detailed instructions that go through how each topic should be written and even what each paragraph should do. You also have the grading rubric, a template to help with formatting, a 7-page writing guide with how to cite and other writing tips, a 50-slide tutorial on how to write it and another 50 slide tutorial on making arguments. You also have the ability to submit a second paper if the first doesn’t go as well as you hope so there is lots of room for error there as well. All of this was done to help ease anxiety and to assist you in writing a good paper. 5  Not on the House Keeping- Debate Papers test. Just remember as well that there is NOT one right way to write a paper. We are all diverse and unique people and beyond what is written in the resources discussed prior, there is really no further rules that must be followed (though DO follow the structure given in tutorial #1 and the instructions). For example, some papers have lots of sources that are well connected and explained and they do really well, some have lots of sources but they are not well connected and explained which makes them feel like a grocery list versus an essay. It’s less about what you do, and more about how well you do it (aside from following the instructions, which you MUST do). It’s OK to use your judgement and do what you think is best. 6  Not on the House Keeping- Debate Papers test. When you get into jobs you will be given training and resources, like we do with the tutorials and the resources provided, but after that you will be expected to execute tasks independently. A common complaint from employers that we hear at the university is that we are not training students to work independently enough, and so this is an important skill to develop. Not saying we are not here to help, but university is much more independent than high school. You can definitely seek help on technical aspects of the paper but also try to use the many resources provided and do your best. Worst case scenario you can learn from feedback and try again ☺ 7  Not on the test. When you have SOC100 questions Steps to take when you have questions: 1. Check the syllabus 2. Check the FAQ pages on Quercus 3. Check the relevant discussion boards 4. Post your question to the relevant discussion board (if it is a general question/not specific to you). 5. Bring your questions to lecture or attend office hours. 6. If you’ve done the above, your question is personal/specific to you, and/or you’re unable to attend office hours, then send an email to [email protected] (remember all course emails need to go to this email address)  Office Hours Not on the test. No students left behind! You got a friend in me! If you have a question or concern you are always welcome to come to office hours (link on home page). 9  Not on the House Keeping test. We understand that initially adjusting to university is hard but moving forward we will be implementing the following policies. 1. If you open an AM quiz before you’re ready to start it, we will no longer open it back up for you. To open a quiz, you have to go to the quiz page, at the top of the quiz page in bold is a note not to start it until you have reviewed the assigned material. You then have to click the take quiz button, and then you have to click begin after a warning message about the quiz format pops-up. That’s multiple steps that are required to start a quiz, so it’s not like you can accidentally start it. So moving forward, if you start a quiz and you’re not ready to do it, then the final exam can replace it for you but we won’t make other accommodations for you. 10  Not on the House Keeping test. Similarly…. 2. Moving forward, if you don’t submit a tutorial reflection IN tutorial, we will not be opening the activity back up for you. These are low-stakes assignments that are graded pass/fail. They are not intense, they are not graded carefully, you just need 100 words on what you learned. As long as you reach 100 words and as long as your answer makes sense given tutorial content, then you will get 100%. We are ensuring TA’s are all giving you 15 minutes for the activity moving forward. If your technology fails, then submit the quiz using pen and paper to your TA by the end of tutorial. 11  Not on the House Keeping test. I’m sorry that we have to adopt these policies, but the reality is that we can’t process all the requests for special accommodations for the AM Quizzes and Tutorial activities that we are receiving. Last week, we had over 400 requests for these type of special accommodations. With it taking at least 5 minutes to answer each, that’s 2000 minutes or 33.3 hours of work. Our admin TAs have only 7.5 hours to answer emails per week in total. That meant I had to do over 25 hours of overtime last week just to address this issue. I can’t keep doing that, so this is the policy we have to adopt. Given that this is the case though, let’s resume our discussion of how we ended up here in a class this large. 12 Applying Sociology 13  Understanding Our Class Question for you all: Why is this class so large? What are the reasons for it being 250 students? Please note, by why is it so large I mean why did the university allow for classes of this size, NOT why do so many people want to take this class specifically. 14  Understanding Our Class ▪ Often you hear the sentiment from older generations that younger generations are idealistic (and vice versa, younger generations often think older generations are jaded—i.e. society broke them down and they no longer strive for what is right or ideal anymore). ▪ Sociology, particularly Max Weber, can help us with this misunderstanding. 15  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ Weber drew distinctions between different types of rationality or motivations behind social action and two of the primary types were: Instrumental or Means-End Rationality: choosing the most efficient, practical, and effective means to reach the desired end, which includes considering the conditions and other human beings that affect the ability to achieve the desired end (Kalberg, 1980). Value Rationality: Making decisions according to an ethical value that is seen as worth pursuing for its own sake regardless of the likelihood of success (ibid). 16  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ This distinction is often very helpful in understanding why things deviate from the ideal. For example, take politics & politicians: Value Rationality: Politicians should at all times make decisions according to what is best for society as a whole both in the present and future. Instrumental or Means-End Rationality: Politicians must get elected every 4 years, they must balance what they think is best with what their constituents desire (because it is their constituents that elect them), they must also work within their political parties and make compromises there (they must also often compromise with the other political parties). Further, they must also fundraise and seek donations to be able to run effective campaigns because they must get elected. These are just some of the practical or instrumental limitations to focusing solely on the ideal. 17  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality “Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried” ▪ There is a tendency among younger generations to attribute social problems to character flaws or apathy among leaders. ▪ More often, flaws and issues stem from structural factors that make perfection impossible. Life is about choosing the lesser of two evils (the least bad option), perfection is rarely an option. 18  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ Weber hypothesized that society was moving constantly more towards an instrumental rationality particularly as it moved away from religious motivations for actions, he called this the process of rationalization. ▪ If you ever look at an issue and wonder: why is this situation so far away from what it ideally should be? It often becomes clear what the barriers to the ideal are once the practical limitations or instrumental rationality are considered. ▪ Another easy example to illustrate this is your current decisions in majors and careers. You are likely balancing your passions and desires (value rationality) with the desire to achieve good employment and earn enough to make a good living (instrumental rationality). 19  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ What does this have to do with this class/your education? ▪ As we mentioned last class, the cost or tuition that the Federal and Provincial government paid for each year of your Kindergarten to Grade 12 education was $12,528 CAD/ year. ▪ You’ll notice that this is significantly less than the annual University of Toronto tuition for Domestic students of ~$8,580 (program dependent). How can university be cheaper despite being significantly more expensive institutions to run? ▪ First, because the provincial government provides funds per student (roughly $5,500/year) and the federal government also provides funds per student (about $2,150/year). 20  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ Beyond providing funding for domestic students, the reason tuition is low is because the Canadian governments artificially keep them low. ▪ For example, Ontario reduced tuition by 10% in 2019 then froze tuition including this year making it so universities cannot raise more money (CBC, 2022) 21  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ The problem is that inflation does not freeze, which means universities have to deal with a budget shortfall. ▪ Consider that after inflation, a dollar today in 2024 is worth $0.82 of a dollar in 2019 (Statistics Canada, 2024). In other words, the university's bills have increased by 18% but revenue has not due to the tuition freeze. ▪ In other words, the university has to come up with 18% of their budget in order to maintain the same operations as in 2019 (by the way, the UofT budget is 3.23 billion so 18% of the budget is ~582 million dollars). Remember that this is money they have to come up with ON TOP of the 10% cut that was implemented before the tuition freeze. ▪ When private businesses want to keep the same price of a product but face inflation, you get shrinkflation- “the practice of reducing a product's amount or volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price” (Merriam-Webster, 2023). 22  Instrumental vs. Value Rationality ▪ In university, the same principle, results in larger class sizes (i.e. less product for the money). ▪ In other words, the most common response to budget shortfalls in universities is to raise class size (that way you pay the same for the class/building, the same for the professor to teach it, but you are able to make-up that 18% budget loss by offering less “product” for the price). ▪ Intro classes are the obvious place to do this (4th year Soc classes, for example, are 15 students). 23  Other Hypotheses Universities in Canada Are Just Trying to Make Money ▪ Universities in Canada are public institutions (they are non-profit organizations), they do not try to turn profit or charge market value of their degrees to Canadian citizens. For example, the average private university tuition per year in the US is $53,167 (and that’s domestic tuition). What international students pay ($62,500 on average) is the actual market value of your degree at UofT. University Employees Make Too Much Money ▪ The average UofT Prof makes ~ $140,000 per year (depends on experience and discipline), equivalent professors at Ivy League schools in the US earn between $235,000 to $300,000 per year (Insider, 2019). UofT actually has trouble retaining our best professors, many leave for higher pay in other countries, especially the US. ▪ The University of Toronto President earns just under $500,000 per year (Toronto Star, 2022). He oversees roughly 97,000 students, ~15,000 faculty, ~10,000 staff members (UofT, 2022). In comparison, the CEOs of equivalently sized companies in Canada (e.g. Rogers also has ~25,000 employees) was 14.3 million per year in 2021 (Global News, 2023). 24  Other Hypotheses There are too many administrators at Universities ▪ A common critique in recent years is universities have too many administrators. What this argument neglects is that the demands on universities have changed. For example, Accessibility Services went from a service not offered at university to a large department at every university. Counselling services, Institutional Equity offices, and other similar initiatives are the same. Most people agree that these offices are necessary and there is high demand for them from students, but they bring more admin/non-teaching staff to a university. 25  Other Hypotheses Universities are too focused on research. ▪ Many people overestimate how much Universities spend on research (for example, in 2019- 2020 the UofT made 491 million on research revenue and spent 550 million on it for a total cost of 59 million, to put this in perspective the university spent 330 million that year on student aid, grants, and funding, i.e. 5.6 times more). Research is primarily funded by government grants, the typical UofT professor gets $2,000 a year to spend on their research. ▪ We also must consider WHERE research should be done. If universities do not engage in research, then research would be left to the business or private sector, which because of their motives for profits can create havoc. ▪ For example, Pharmaceutical companies funding research that found that Opioid use was safe which has caused a mass epidemic. ▪ Another example is Oil companies funding research that finds climate change is natural and not human-caused. ▪ For this reason, having non-profit, impartial institutions like 26 universities doing research is imperative.  Summary of Instrumental/Value Rationality ▪ So in other words, for universities… Value Rationality: Provide the best education/learning experience possible. Instrumental or Means-End Rationality: Provide as quality an education as possible in an environment where financials resources are stretched very thin with little leeway so domestic students don’t pay international student prices. ▪ Solutions: Charge more tuition (not desirable for students or for society with student debt limiting young adults). Charge more tax (Sweden and Norway have university education free but also have the 5th and 6th highest tax burdens among the 38 most developed countries, Canada is 27th) ([OECD, 2022a; OECD, 2022b]. Average income tax is roughly 33% in Canada and 52% in Sweden. Continue freezing tuition and raising class sizes. 27  Summary of Instrumental/Value Rationality ▪ Does anybody know (aside from raising class sizes) what the primary solution Canadian universities have been using to make up the budget shortfall is? ▪ It’s international students! Remember for domestic students (between tuition and government funding) the university get roughly $16,250 each. International students pay roughly $60,000 each. While $60,000 is market value (i.e. what international students would pay at any North American university), it means international students are subsidizing your education. ▪ It’s very understandable to want smaller class sizes, more access to professors, and more/better services at the university. But you need to realize that if you’re a domestic student you are actually paying an artificially low price for your education. International students pay roughly 7 times more for the same experience/degree. 28  Summary of Instrumental/Value Rationality ▪ The only way to decrease class sizes, to offer better services in all areas (from Accessibility services, to more on campus experiences, more social spaces, better mental health services, etc.) is to find a way to increase the funds universities receive. ▪ Over the last 30 years that has been done almost exclusively through raising tuition (governments have actually been decreasing university funding over the last 30 years). ▪ The issue is not anyone being unfair or evil, it’s quite simply a structural issue where university budgets keep increasing with inflation, new technology costs, and with more student service demands (like offering mental health and accessibility services, etc.) but the funds they receive do not increase. Thus, the issue is structural/sociological versus a greed or other issue. 29  Part 4: The Experience of Education 30  Symbolic Interactionism o In Sociology there are two general levels of analysis: (1) Macro-Sociology Looks at the "big picture" of society and suggests how social problems are affected at a large structural scale. Includes Structural Functionalism and Conflict Theory. (2) Micro-Sociology Concerned with the social psychological dynamics of individuals interacting. Concerned more with meaning and interaction than explaining large-scale problems like poverty. For example how does poverty feel versus what is causing it. This latter type of analysis is the concern of Symbolic Interactionism. 31  Symbolic Interactionism ❑ The four key principles of Symbolic Interactionism are: 1. focuses on face-to-face communication or interaction in micro-level social settings. This feature distinguishes it from both the functionalist and the conflict perspectives; 2. emphasizes that an adequate explanation of social behaviour requires understanding the subjective (i.e. personal) meanings people attach to their social circumstances; 3. stresses that people help to create their social circumstances and do not merely react to them; 4. validates unpopular and nonofficial viewpoints by underscoring the subjective meanings that people create in small social settings, increasing our understanding and tolerance of people who may be different than us. 32  Symbolic Interactionism o The key is that human behavior is influenced by definitions and meanings that are created through interaction with others. o In other words, meaning and interaction are vital to consider. For example, often we will react to a definition of a situation more than the situation or context itself. Answer this question: Are you an adult? Technically all of you are at least 18 but are you an adult really? When does one become an adult? Is it just an age thing or is it a maturity thing? I’m 35 and when things go wrong like someone gets hurt I still look around for an “adult”. Context also matters. In classes because I am the professor I do feel like an adult but when I am at home with my parents I feel less like an adult. If you had all the Sociology Professors together since I one of the youngest I would again feel less like an adult. 33  Symbolic Interactionism o One example of Symbolic Interactionism is Labelling Theory. This theory posits that how we label something is intrinsically linked to how it is viewed and handled, including whether it is seen as a problem or not. For example, gun laws and marijuana legalization in Canada versus the United States (guns not seen as a major problem in the US and Marijuana is, it’s the opposite in Canada). Another example is how sex and nudity affects movie ratings in North America versus how violence affects movie ratings in Europe. One further example is how people treat grades as an indicator of intelligence (despite studies showing that grades do not predict future success well). 34  The Experience of Education ❑ The problem is that people commonly associate grades with intelligence so getting a grade of 60% to many people is interpreted as being told they are not smart. This relates to cognitive dissonance. For example, someone holding the belief that they are a top student, then being confronted with low university grades. This is also, of course, absurd. First, if the high school average for UofT students is 93% and the class averages have to be roughly 70%, then a 60% grade in university is equivalent to an 83% in high school and a 70% in university is equivalent to a 93. I mean this quite literally. ❑ Interactions help shape this perspective as people at large associate grades with intelligence, and there is also the pressure of making ones family proud or feeling disappointment from family if a certain grade level is not reached. 35  The Experience of Education ❑ We already discussed how grades are standardized across courses and years by the university. ❑ But on a micro-level, we need to consider the meaning of grades to students (to you). Think about this. The high school entry average for a student at UofT (i.e. what the average student had as a grade average in high school) is now 93%. These students (including you) then enter a university where their class averages are going to be ~70%. This means that the average UofT student will see their grades decline by 23% from high school to university. I probably don’t need to tell you all, that this significantly affects students in their experience of education and their thoughts about themselves. 36  The Experience of Education ❑ The pressure of succeeding in university (as defined by grades) leads to problematic issues: It lowers self-esteem: “a positive or negative orientation toward oneself; an overall evaluation of one's worth or value” (University of Maryland, 2023) It lowers mastery: ones sense of having control over their life, of being able to accomplish goals and tasks they set their mind to, one’s sense of being captain of one’s own ship versus being at the whims of forces around them. It leads to social isolation due to feeling embarrassment and students prioritizing time spent studying over social engagements. It understandably leads to grade chasing: the act of prioritizing the achievement of good grades above the actual process of learning, and the understanding of the material. Which goes directly against the purpose of education. 37  The Experience of Education ❑ The result of all of this is poor mental health among university students, which is tied to many factors— cognitive dissonance theory of depression, loss of social networks, transition to adulthood and corresponding pressures and responsibilities, significantly higher workload, significantly more independence & subsequently a greater need for self- management, pressure to choose a future career, financial strain, and many more—but grades and how grades are interpreted by students is a large part of it. 38  The Experience of Education ❑ The pressures of university are high enough that those who attend university have WORSE mental health (higher depression and anxiety symptoms) than their counter-parts that do not attend (i.e., young adults 18-22 that are not in university) [Arsandaux et al, 2021]. The good news (for you all at least), is that this trend reverses immediately after university when, regardless of GPA, those with degrees have higher happiness and life satisfaction (Jongbloed, 2018). 39  Fixed versus Growth Mindset ❑ So what can be done? ▪ One of the more important recent developments within the scholarship of teaching and learning is the concept of a Growth Mindset from Carol Dweck. ▪ Intelligence is often conceptualized as an innate or natural gift that someone possesses or doesn’t. ▪ However, we know that while there is some level of innateness to skill and intelligence, it is something that is developed. ▪ For example, some of us are born with greater athletic ability, yet we can all increase our athleticism through practice and exercise. It’s the same with our brains in that reflecting, strategizing, and practicing leads to growth in intelligence and skill. This is empirically verified through brain scans. 40  Fixed versus Growth Mindset ▪ “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They are found to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts).” (Dweck, 2016). ▪ This idea has been used to propose changes to education. For example, instead of receiving F’s or Fails, giving students the grade of “Not Yet”. ▪ The idea is quite simple, to see the failure to reach a goal as an opportunity to grow versus as a permanent indictment on your abilities or intelligence. In other words to disconnect intelligence from grades. 41  Fixed versus Growth Mindset ▪ Those who adopt growth mindsets not surprisingly see significantly greater growth in grades (Broda et al, 2018; Yeager et al, 2016), have increased motivation to learn and are less likely to drop-out (Aditomo, 2015; Rhew et al, 2018), have a greater sense of mastery or control over one’s life (Ng et al, 2020), and reduced stress levels regarding education (Perada & Verlhiac, 2021). 42  Fixed versus Growth Mindset How do you adopt a growth mindset? ▪ Take negative feedback (including a test or quiz grade that you are unhappy with) as an opportunity to grow and learn. Reflect on your strategies, try to identify where you can improve, try new strategies. This helps you grow & get better. ▪ Consult peers and teachers on their strategies. Seek constructive feedback. ▪ Understand that success is a lifelong marathon, not a sprint and that there are MANY ways to reach a goal. ▪ Don’t give up or get down on yourself. You never fail, you just aren’t where you want to be yet. ▪ Focus on and celebrate improvement. ▪ Focus on working smarter versus just working harder. 43  Shifting the Meaning of Grades ▪ There is little we can do about the need for education to select people. There will always be a need to determine who gets into law school or medical school or other programs that many people apply to. ▪ Thus, there will always be competition in education and the social isolation and mental health consequences that come with it. Some stress in life is unavoidable. 44  Shifting the Meaning of Grades ▪ But we can change the way we view grades, specifically: University grades measure only some types of intelligence (specifically, linguistic and logical intelligence; it does not measure spatial, artistic, bodily, interpersonal, intrapersonal, or naturalistic intelligence). Grades DO NOT predict success in the labour market well (they are not a good measure of holistic intelligence or life potential). Your first-year grades are the LEAST important to applications to post-graduate programs (law, medicine, grad school, etc.). Averages also go up as you go on in year. The average needed to get into programs is significantly over-estimated by students (many programs have a 3.7-3.8 average, which means half of applicants have lower averages than that). 45  Do Grades Matter? Going back to the question of whether grades are a true indicator of intelligence and potential, this week’s Assigned Material article found that having an A average was associated with earning 13.6% more than those with a C average (those with B’s earn 8.5% more). The study controlled for getting post-grad degrees (like MA and PhDs), language spoken, region, disability status, immigration status, race, gender, and field of study. This means that the effect of grades on income that they found is not due to those other factors. However, one way we need to always critically analyse even academic studies is to ask what they didn’t consider in their study. 46  Do Grades Matter? Omitted variable bias refers to when a study is wrong due to not considering factors/ variables that affect the relationship they are studying. A silly example is a study that found: Higher Ice Cream Sales Are associated with More Shark Attacks This finding isn’t wrong. There is an association between higher ice cream sales and more shark attacks. The question is why are they associated with each other. Do humans become tastier and irresistible to sharks when we eat ice cream? Or is something else going on here, what do you think? 47  Do Grades Matter? The relationship between ice cream and shark attacks is subject to omitted variable bias, in this case there is a lurking variable—i.e. a variable that affects both the cause variable (a.k.a the independent variable) and the effect variable (a.k.a. the dependent variable). The real cause or predictor here is summer time and hot weather. In other words: Higher ice cream sales Summer (i.e. hotter weather) More people going to the beach, hence more people swimming, hence shark attacks are more common. 48  Do Grades Matter? So in the case of the economics study we considered as part of the AM Material this week… Grades are associated with Higher Income Do you think this might be subject to omitted variable bias? Is there potentially a lurking variable that causes both higher grades and higher income after university? Grades should somewhat predict income. Grades reflect: time management, ability to some extent, soft skills like how to game the system, and more. But a clear omitted variable here is Socio-economic status. In other words, coming from high SES background increases both performance in university (Delaney et al, 2011, Tomaszewski et al 2024, Berger & Archer, 2018) and income after university (Tomaszewski et al 2021, Jeffrey & Gibbs, 2015). 49  Do Grades Matter? In other words, SES is a lurking variable here: Grades are associated with Higher Income Higher grades in university High SES Associated with (higher economic, social, and cultural capital) Higher income after university 50  Do Grades Matter? How does SES affect both grades and income? High SES has How it affects University Performance How it affects Income after graduation higher… (i.e. grades) Don’t have to work part-time, no financial Can wait for the right job after graduation (no pressure Economic Capital stress, can hire tutors, can live on campus, to take jobs right away), can hire career coaches, have many more factors. higher grades due to factors discussed to the left  Network connections that attended Network connections in the labour market they are Social Capital university that can assist them. trying to get into that can assist them. Ability to connect to Professors, They know what goat cheese is (cultural flexibility to confidence in elite spaces (feel they relate to different groups), knowledge of different elite Cultural Capital belong), greater knowledge of university occupation cultures, comfortability in elite spaces. content. 51 52  TODAY’S OUTLINE Not on the test. Finish Discussion on Theoretical Frameworks & Education: Part 4: The Experience of Education Part 5: Gender Inequality in Education Part 6: Racial Inequality in Education 53  Part 5: Gender Inequality in Education (true start of lecture 3) 54  Feminist Approach/Theoretical Perspective ❑ Continuing on with our analysis of education using Sociological theoretical approaches, let’s next consider Gender Inequality and lean on the Feminist approach. ❑ The four tenets of feminism, as a theoretical ideal type, are as follows. Feminism… 1. …focuses on various aspects of patriarchy, the system of male domination in society. Patriarchy, feminists contend, is at least as important as class inequality in determining a person’s opportunities in life, and perhaps more so; 2. …holds that male domination and female subordination are determined not by biological necessity but by structures of power and social convention. From this point of view, women are subordinate to men only because men enjoy more legal, economic, political, and cultural rights; 3. …examines the operation of patriarchy in both micro and macro settings; 4. …contends that existing patterns of gender inequality can and should be changed for the benefit of all members of society. The main sources of gender inequality include differences in the way boys and girls are raised, barriers to equal opportunity in education, paid work, and politics; as well as the unequal division of domestic responsibilities between women and men. 55  Feminism & Education ❑ Feminist scholars have identified numerous ways that the education system reflects and reproduces gender inequality in society. Let’s consider three of these critiques : 1. Underrepresentation in Positions of Power 2. Gender Representation in School Activities 3. Sexual Harassment 56  Feminism & Education 1. Underrepresentation in Positions of Power ❑ We talked about the value of diversity when discussing meritocracy, but another way to understand the need for diversity (especially in positions of power) is through Social Location Bias. ❑ Your social location is a reference to your position in society based on all of the key characteristics that shape the way people treat you such as your gender, class, religion, ethnicity, abilities, place of birth, immigration status, sexuality, gender identity, and so on. ❑ It’s worth repeating that we DO NOT all experience the world the same. This is because our social location affects how we see the world, but also it affects how others treat us. 57  Feminism & Education 1. Underrepresentation in Positions of Power ❑ When we view the world and make decisions, we do so from our social location, which often misses the position of people in other social locations. This is why having diversity in leadership is so important. ❑ Women have long been underrepresented in positions of power. For example, women make up 49.6% of the world population, but comprise just 12% of the world’s leaders, only 21% of government ministry positions, and only 25% of elected federal government positions. Thus, most political decisions in the world are made by men with a male perspective (UN, 2021). 58  Feminism & Education 1. Underrepresentation in Positions of Power ❑ Education has a similar problem, though to a lesser extent due to recent gains. For example: In 2013, women made-up 44 percent of school principles despite making up 72% of elementary and secondary school teachers (Canadian Teachers Federation, 2013). In 2019, women made-up 47 percent of school board members (Statistics Canada, 2019). In 2017, women made-up 40 percent of full-time teaching staff at post-secondary institutions. Yet comprise only 33% of University presidents, and are currently relegated to lower roles. Rank Percent Women Professor 28% Associate Professor 44% Assistant Professor 50% Non-Tenure Track 55% 59  Feminism & Education 1. Underrepresentation in Positions of Power ❑ This under-representation has important consequences because it means fewer female perspectives when decisions are being made and a male majority when votes are taken. ❑ The results of this underrepresentation are demonstrated by the next two feminist critiques of the education system. 60  Feminism & Education 2. Gender Representation in School Activities ❑ Because women were excluded from participation in the workforce and politics for much of history, the majority of professors, scientists, authors, important political figures within history are male. ❑ As a result, feminists have critiqued the lack of female voices and perspectives in school curriculums and material. For example, using primarily male authors in English classes and ignoring the contributions of women in History classes. ❑ Further, gender stereotypes are often portrayed in textbooks and school materials (for example, portraying women in traditionally female roles in elementary school textbooks). 61  Feminism & Education 2. Gender Representation in School ❑ Beyond just curriculum and school materials, feminists have also pointed out the lack of equality in other areas. ❑ For example, male sports teams in schools are often prioritized with better funding and resources in both high schools and colleges. This then re-affirms gender inequality within athletic settings. 62  Feminism & Education 3. Sexual Harassment ❑ The third critique of education systems by feminism involves the way that school’s tolerate sexual harassment. ❑ For example, feminist scholars have pointed out ‘hostile hallways’ in educational settings where sexual comments, leers/stares, inappropriate jokes, and invasions of personal space are accepted by school authority figures as ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ things teenage boys do. In other words, boys will be boys due to their biology during the teen years. ❑ To illustrate the extent of this problem, in a study of Ontario high school students, the Ontario Human Rights Commission found that 80% of female students reported experiencing sexual harassment at school and 1 in 3 reported that it occurred on a near daily basis. 63  Feminism & Education 3. Sexual Harassment ❑ In studying disciplinary cases in high schools, feminists have also found that often the most common form of school intervention in matters of sexuality was enforcing dress codes on female students. ❑ Many argue that this re- affirms a shifting of responsibility from men for their behavior to women who must behave and dress in certain ways to avoid unwanted attention. 64  Feminism & Education Moving Forward: ❑ Improvements have been made in gender inequality in education, especially in recent decades. ❑ School boards and governments have implemented curriculum guidelines that ensure women’s representation and the disproportionate amount of women in educational authority positions has been improving. ❑ Further, since roughly 1980, women have surpassed men in high school graduation, post- secondary enrollment, post-secondary graduation, and in standardized test scores. ❑ Thus, the current trajectory predicts significant progress for gender equality in education, but as seen by the three critiques discussed, there is also still much work to do. 65 Part 6: Racial & Ethnic Inequality in Education 66  Critical Race Theory The final theory we are going to take up when considering education is Critical Race Theory. The 4 tenets of Critical Race Theory are… 1. Race is a socially constructed and NOT a biologically grounded category. It is used to oppress and exploit people of color. 2. Racism is a normal, persistent, and defining characteristic of social institutions including politics, the legal system, the economy, and all other societal institutions/structures. 3. Progress on racial issues occurs primarily during periods of interest convergence— i.e. when marginalized group interests are taken up by the dominant group only due to it fitting their own interests. 4. Individuals cannot be adequately understood by their membership in separate marginalized communities. In other words, marginalization is intersectional— i.e. membership in multiple marginalized communities compounds or intensifies the negative repercussions an individual faces as a result. 67  3. Interest Convergence ❖ For example, Ford took steps to hire Black employees beginning in 1918 but did so only to increase the pool of workers to draw from. Thus, making them less susceptible to strikes from worker unions. Other automotive employers did not hire Black employees until the labor shortage of WWII. In other words, it wasn’t for moral reasons that these actions were taken, it was due to interest convergence. ❖ Another example comes from Derrick Bell, the first tenured Black Law Professor at Harvard. He argued that Brown vs. Board of Education (the 1954 Supreme Court decision to end “separate but equal” policies and school segregation) occurred only because the US was worried about its image on the international stage during the Cold War (i.e. because of interest convergence). This hypothesis was eventually supported when the freedom of information act released documents that clearly showed the US State Department putting pressure on the US Department of Justice on the case for this exact reason. 68  4. Intersectionality ❖ The term Intersectionality was developed by UCLA Professor Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989. ❖ What’s important, and a little bit difficult, to understand about intersectionality is that it does not refer to additive discrimination. In other words, it is not as simple as members of the Black community face X amount of discrimination and women face Y amount of discrimination; therefore, someone that identifies as both statuses, faces X + Y discrimination. ❖ Instead, it refers to the unique and compounding or multiplicative effects of membership in multiple marginalized groups. In other words, a Black woman faces disadvantage associated with being Black, disadvantage associated with being a woman, but also face unique disadvantages associated with simultaneously being both black and a woman. 69  4. Intersectionality ❖ The theory does not apply just to race and gender, however, it applies to membership in any socially important marginalized group such as gender, class, education, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, disability, weight, physical appearance, and more. ❖ In this way, it can be considered acknowledgement and study of the unique experiences of discrimination and oppression that each person faces. 70  4. Intersectionality ❖ To understand what we mean by membership in marginalized groups having a multiplicative effect, we can draw on the concept of statistical interactions- when the effect of one variable depends on another variable. ❖ For example, take the experience of gender (Binary, Non-binary), race (White, Black), and immigration (Non-Immigrant, Immigrant) as it affects one’s income.’ ❖ These are just example categories chosen as binaries to keep the example simple. ❖ We do not just look at the effect of gender, race, & immigration separately or by adding them (i.e. we don’t just think there is one experience associated with each category). ❖ Instead, we look at each group as having a unique experience. Thus, the categories we use in analysis are: 1. Binary, White, Immigrants 5. Binary, Black, Immigrants 2. Binary, White, Non-Immigrants 6. Binary, Black, Non-Immigrants 3. Non-Binary, White, Immigrants 7. Non-Binary, Black, Immigrants 4. Non-Binary, White, Non-Immigrants 8. Non-Binary, Black, Non-Immigrants ❖ Thus 3 variables of 2 categories, is not 3 variables (additive) but 8 unique 71 experiences (multiplicative).  Race, Ethnicity, & Education Within Canada, there is variation in the educational outcomes and performances of different racial and ethnic groups. For example, on average children of immigrants perform better in education and have higher educational attainment compared to those born in Canada. Can anyone guess why this is? 72  Race, Ethnicity, & Education It’s related to (1) Canada’s immigration process, and to (2) the experience of being in an immigrant family. Canada, like most developed nations, targets the best and brightest from other countries when reviewing immigration applications. For example, Canada prioritizes applications of those with high levels of education. Below is the points associated with different education levels: 73  Race, Ethnicity, & Education Thus, on average immigrant children in Canada come from more highly educated families, which means they benefit from social and cultural capital advantages related to education such as a high value being placed on succeeding in school. It is important to recognize they do not always benefit from the expected economic capital associated with higher education due to Canada often not recognizing foreign credentials. Thus, this trend is a result of overt and systemic discrimination. In other words, Canada as part of its immigration system very openly and clearly prioritizes educated immigrants. 74  Race, Ethnicity, & Education Canada and other developed countries doing this practice (targeting the best and brightest from other countries), has led many scholars to refer to the process as a global “Brain Drain”. Brain Drain refers to how developing countries are disadvantaged by losing their wealthiest and most educated citizens to emigration. ** Please note that this process and critique is referencing voluntary immigration. When immigration is involuntary (due to fears of safety or other imperatives), or when we are referring to refugees, this term is not used. 75  Race, Ethnicity, & Education Like Feminism, Critical Race Theory takes both macro and micro approaches (in other words, it borrows from Symbolic Interactionism) Remember that Symbolic Interactionism focuses on the micro-level such as understanding the meanings people associate with their social circumstances. Can anyone think of why the meaning of education and succeeding in education may mean something different to a child in an immigrant family? This is a good opportunity to practice what Max Weber called Verstehen (i.e. an “empathetic understanding of human behavior” (Oxford, 2021). In other words, putting yourself in another’s shoes or imagining a different social location if this does not apply to you. 76  Symbolic Interactionism & Education Parents who immigrate to a new country often do so to provide more opportunities and a better life for their children. And many sacrifices are made in the process as any new immigrants often must: ▪ adapt to a new culture and often a new language; ▪ lose fundamental social network connections such as immediate family who often remain in their home country. ▪ experience a lack of credential recognition. ▪ face racism and other types of discrimination related to anti-immigration. ▪ And much more. 77  Symbolic Interactionism & Education Children in immigrant families have been found to want to honor their parent’s sacrifice by succeeding in education. This results in them placing more pressure on themselves to succeed (as well as parents often also putting more pressure on them). 78  Race, Ethnicity, & Education One group that underperforms in education within Canada is the Indigenous community. Non-Indigenous Population Indigenous Population High School Graduation Rate 90% 70% off-reserve, 40% on-reserve Trades Degree 12.0% 14.4% College Degree 21.3% 20.6% University below BA Degree 4.9% 3.5% Bachelor’s Degree 26.5% 9.8% Source: Statistics Canada, 2011, Population aged 25-64 Education attainment rates are significantly lower for the indigenous population. This then has employment and income repercussions. For example, a BA earns $14,000 more per year than college/trades and $29,000 more than high school on average in Canada. 79  Race, Ethnicity, & Education Lower education attainment in the indigenous community is a direct result of the legacy of residential schools in Canada. The residential school system for indigenous children was in operation from the early 1830’s to 1996 when the last school closed in Saskatchewan. The goal of the schools was cultural genocide. To forcibly take Indigenous children and assimilate them to white Canadian culture. Students were taken from their families, lived in the schools, were beaten for speaking their Indigenous language, stripped of their Indigenous clothes and names, and forced into Christianity. 80  Race, Ethnicity, & Education This was an overt form of systemic discrimination and it has long lasting systemic effects. Sexual and physical abuse was common at the schools and the mortality rate was exceptionally high. For example, the odds of an indigenous child dying in a residential school was 1 in 25. Comparatively, the odds of a Canadian soldier dying while serving in WWII was 1 in 26 (CBC, 2021). Residential school survivors have been found to have significantly higher rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, depression, anxiety, PTSD, homelessness, lower income and education rates, more physical health ailments, and many other severe negative consequences that have influenced their lives and the lives of their children. 81 Symbolic Interactionism & Education Residential schools, by essentially kidnapping and abusing entire generations of indigenous children, have led to severe disadvantages in the economic, social, and cultural capital of indigenous peoples and indigenous communities. A large part of the legacy of residential schools is the association of education systems with cultural genocide in the indigenous community. 82 Symbolic Interactionism & Education We discussed how children of immigrants associate the meaning of education with an opportunity their parents sacrificed for. Indigenous children, on the other hand, associate education with the intentional attempt by Canada to eliminate their culture and way of life. This association lowers the educational performance and aspirations of indigenous youth, which means that it represents a continuing form of systemic disadvantage. 83 Symbolic Interactionism & Education If you wish to learn more about the legacy of residential schools and the meaning indigenous communities associate with education, the following video provides a brief glimpse and I encourage you to watch it in your own time (please be advised this is a heavy topic though): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOkcqFQNGrs 84 85