Sociology of Education PDF

SOCI 201 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY - Dr. Gbenga Adejare - 1  Education __________________________________________ Tools, Processes and Politics 2  “A little learning is a dangerous thing...” ― Alexander Pope 3  But…...

SOCI 201 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY - Dr. Gbenga Adejare - 1  Education __________________________________________ Tools, Processes and Politics 2  “A little learning is a dangerous thing...” ― Alexander Pope 3  But… What should be known? How should we know? Where should know from? Whose is the knowledge? When is the right time to know? Why should we know otherwise? …and the questions go on and on! 4  Introduction: Education as a Social Institution Influence: it influences socialization, status formation, social order and economic productivity Categorization: educational creates an enduring set of ideas about education and how it can be used to accomplish that are deemed important to society Tool: education serves as a powerful instrument for promoting ideas among impressionable youth, provide skills, modify behaviours, social interaction and conflict are negotiated Schools determine children’s potential social acceptability and social mobility 5  The Rise of Public Education in Canada Before the Industrial Revolution, there was little interest in educating the masses The Industrial Revolution demanded a more disciplined, trainable, and literate workforce Consequently, industrialization and public education became interdependent 6  The Rise of Public Education in Canada cont’d As early as 1846, education was seen as a way of achieving economic modernization Education reformer Egerton Ryerson promoted the idea of a school system that would be universal, free, and compulsory Education produce social order and ensure social control by subverting potential social conflict among immigrants (Irish labours) Education as tool of assimilation 7  The Rise of Public Education in Canada cont’d Schecter (1977) argued that compulsory, state-run public education is based on centralization and uniformity Legitimizes and supports social inequality Instrument of social control of the emerging working class Provincial school boards established to act as executive bodies to set up and maintain large systems of “normal schools” Enforced codes of discipline Enacted hierarchical authority relations 8  The Rise of Public Education in Canada cont’d Compulsory education is used as an instrument social subordination Education ranks and sorts children to the detriment of those considered inferior Malacrida (2015) identifies three ways in which children of different intellectual abilities were sorted out of the mainstream: Truancy laws, punishing those who did not come to class Tests and curriculums that standardize expectations of educational success “Health” testing conducted via medical and psychological examinations 9  Post-war Expansion and the Human Capital Thesis Economic expansion after WWII required an increasingly educated workforce Expansion of post-secondary education institution Human capital thesis: Industrial societies invest in schools to enhance the knowledge and skills of their workers Used to justify low income among marginalized groups, which is attributed to low human capital Since the 1970s, decreases in the taxes charged to corporations have contributed to cuts in governmental funding for postsecondary institutions 10  Models of Public Education in Canada The Assimilation Model Multicultural Education Anti-racism and Anti-oppression Education 11  The Assimilation Model Education in Canada has historically been based on a monocultural model that emphasizes assimilation into the dominant culture English Canada was perceived as a white Protestant nation and newcomers were expected to assimilate to fit in Example: focus on English literature This model fails to recognize racial bias and discrimination inside and outside the school system 12  Multicultural Education Canada’s federal government implemented its official policy of multiculturalism in 1971 Preserve and promote cultural diversity Remove the barriers that denied certain groups full participation within Canadian society Study and celebration of lifestyles, traditions, and histories of diverse cultures 13  Multicultural Education, cont’d Three fundamental assumptions of multicultural education 1. Learning about one’s culture would improve educational achievement. (E.g., Indigenous Knowledge System) 2. Learning about one’s culture would promote equality of opportunity 3. Learning about other cultures would reduce prejudice and discrimination Classroom focus tended to favour a museum approach that overlooked the complexity and vitality of these different cultures E.g., exotic aspect of different cultures - food, festivals, and folklore 14  The Hidden Curriculum – Socialization Agency Schools do a lot more than just teach students the so-called A-B-Cs and 1- 2-3s. Whether it’s learning about discipline, being reminded of the authority of teachers, hierarchies, or ideals, schooling does a lot more than equipping students with skills and abilities. Sociologists refer to this as the hidden curriculum, or the lessons about expectations for behaviour that tend to be more informal or unwritten. It consists of the unstated or unofficial goals of the education system The hidden curriculum is delivered through socialization and is designed to instruct on shared norms and values. 15  The Hidden Curriculum – Socialization Agency cont’d Those who regard the hidden curriculum as positive are generally echoing the themes from structural functionalists. Conflict theorists look at the hidden curriculum as one of the mechanisms for reproducing social class. Education system reproduces inequality. Conflict sociologist might argue that the hidden curriculum is performing a latent dysfunction Example: reproduces the class system by hindering social mobility Examples: the value of work, the need to respect authority, the efficient use of one’s time 16  The Hidden Curriculum – Socialization Agency cont’d Among the most important sociological contributions from this perspective is the correspondence principle. The argument that the norms and values instilled in school correspond to the norms and values expected of individuals in a capitalist society. A capitalist society needs workers who will be compliant, deferential to their superiors, perform their tasks effectively, and be motivated to compete with their co-workers. Elite boarding schools reproduce power and privilege through a robust social network. 17  The Hidden Curriculum – Deprivation Lack cultural capital Lack of social Capital Parenting: status - Material factor – poor level education, diet, sickness, work Underachievement paradox social class, etc orientation Teacher evaluations – stereotyping, labelling, and Language: use of restricted the self-fulfilling prophecy code (meant for exploitation or dominance Subcultures 18  Inclusive Education – Critical Pedagogy Decolonizing knowledge through “Education makes engaging in multiple ways of people easy to lead, knowing and being but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but Centering the benefit of impossible to enslave” transformative learning -Henry Brougham (1778- 1868) Sociological imagination Envisioning a better world  Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Education This approach is about decolonizing education and promoting inclusivity. It... Seeks to expose and eliminate the institutional and individual barriers to equity It is intended to create a classroom environment where… Stereotypes and racist ideas can be exposed Sources of information can be critically examined Alternative and missing information can be provided Students can become equipped to look critically at the accuracy of the information they receive The reasons for the continued unequal social status of different group can be explored 20  Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Education cont’d Emerged in the 1980s Recognizes that racial inequality exists, and that racism is systemic in Canada Seeks to change institutional policies and practices Seeks to change individual attitudes and behaviour reproducing inequalities 21  Discipline, Punishment, and Evaluation Discipline is a key part of the hidden curriculum Refers to controlled behaviour, not to the punishment administered for, say, speaking out of turn or passing notes in class Common at all levels of education is the external and internal “routinization” of the individual Punishment is enacted if the rules are not followed Example, “time-out,” trip to the principal’s office, detention 22  Discipline, Punishment, and Evaluation, cont’d Public education creates what Michel Foucault termed the docile body Representing an individual that has been conditioned, through a specific set of procedures and practices, to behave precisely the way administrators want it to Typically, docile bodies are conditioned through three forms of disciplinary control: 1. Hierarchical observation People are controlled through observation and surveillance 2. Normalizing judgment Individuals are judged on how their actions rank when compared with the performance of others 3. The examination. A normalizing gaze [that] establishes over individuals a visibility through which one differentiates them and judges them 23  Discipline, Punishment, and Evaluation, cont’d Studies have shown that negative stereotypes in education breed stereotype threat The idea that negative stereotypes about a group to which an individual belongs will have negative impacts on their academic performance. Even when the expectation is not directed explicitly to an individual student, negative outcome is still possible Their membership in a group acts as a threat. The response to the negative stereotype expectation is to underperform ( – self-fulfilling prophesy). 24  Cultural Reproduction Theory Cultural reproduction theory involves the legitimization of inequality Jeannie Oakes and the Hidden Curriculum of Tracking Oakes (2005) defined tracking as “the process whereby students are divided into categories so that they can be assigned in groups to various kinds of classes” Classes and students are ranked according to different levels of aptitude and projected outcomes Overrepresentation of lower-class and non-white students does not reflect student aptitude, but cultural biases of tests and educators Inferior quality of lower-track education came partly from the reduced expectations for students in the lower track 25  Cultural Reproduction Theory, cont’d An important element of cultural reproduction is the reproduction of social structure Socioeconomic status (SES) is largely impacts on individual’s educational achievement Where educational attainment refers to the benchmarks of academic performance, including such things as reading level, grade point average, and test score. Researchers document jobs, incomes, and educational attainments so as determine SES of households. These factors invariably influence educational outcomes. It is mostly about the resources that a family can or cannot provide for their child’s education. 26  Cultural Reproduction in Anyon’ s Five Schools Jean Anyon (1980), in a research on Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work, studied five schools in New Jersey and came up with the following categorization of schools: 1. Working-class schools 2. Semi-skilled or unskilled jobs 3. Middle-class schools 4. Affluent professional schools 5. Executive elite schools 27  Cultural Reproduction in Anyon’ s Five Schools cont’d ❑Working-class schools Students’ fathers held semi-skilled or unskilled jobs; some were unemployed Schoolwork primarily entailed: Following the steps of a procedure Mechanical adherence to rules Very little decision making or choice 28  Cultural Reproduction in Anyon’ s Five Schools cont’d ❑Middle-Class Schools Students’ parents worked in skilled, well-paid trades, professional jobs or owned small businesses Schoolwork focused on “getting the right answers” Follow directions to get right answers, but required some choice and decision making Answers are found in books and by asking the teacher 29  Cultural Reproduction in Anyon’ s Five Schools cont’d ❑Affluent Professional Schools Students’ parents were employed as corporate lawyers, engineers, executives The schoolwork entailed: Creative activity carried out independently Students are continually asked to express and apply ideas and concepts Work involves individual thought, expressiveness, expansion, illustration, and choice of method Work should show individuality 30  Cultural Reproduction in Anyon’ s Five Schools cont’d ❑Executive elite schools Students’ fathers held jobs as vice-presidents or presidents of major corporations Work required: Developing one’s analytical intellectual powers Reasoning through a problem, producing intellectual products that are both logically sound and of top academic quality Conceptualizing rules and applying those rules to solving a problem 31  Issues in Indigenous and Minority Education The Politics of Representation in Textbooks Textbooks form an important and influential part of education Textbook representations Indigenous and other minority groups are underrepresented in Canadian textbooks Indigenous writers were not represented as a significant source of information on their own people Foucault (1980) uses the term disqualified knowledges Knowledges that have been disqualified as inadequate to their task 32  Issues in Indigenous and Minority Education, cont’d Credentialism: practice of valuing credentials (degrees, diplomas, certificates) over actual knowledge and ability in the hiring and promotion of staff In Indigenous and minority communities, elders are essential to children’s education Qualification comes from recognition and valuing of their knowledge, not paper credentials Teachers coming from non-Indigenous communities are not familiar with the structure of the community. E.g. The system of respect 33  Issues in Indigenous Education, cont’d Best Practices in British Columbia Five best practices to ensure Indigenous students’ success 1. Collaboration between school district personnel and local Indigenous communities 2. Commitment by administrators and teachers to incorporating Indigenous content into the curriculum 3. Creation of influential positions dedicated to Indigenous education 4. Relationship-building between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the district 5. Willingness of school district authorities to share responsibility for making decisions with Indigenous communities 34  Issues in Post-Secondary Education Long-Term Adjunct Instructors: An Educational Underclass Online Teaching McJobs Plagiarism 35  Long-Term Adjunct Instructors The number of low paid, long-term adjunct professors (also sessional, contract, part-time) has been growing due to economic and social factors Increasing number of post-secondary students Reduction of government investment in post-secondary education Increasing levels of private corporate funding Rising influence of corporate culture that regards education as a business 36  Long-Term Adjunct Instructors, cont’d Major challenges High levels of job competition Low pay Poor work conditions Strained relationships with full-time faculty Dependence on positive student evaluations 37  A Critical Sociological Approach to Online Teaching Online teaching is driven by Technological improvements Desire to make education more accessible Cuts to post-secondary education funding Private organization specializing in delivering educational packages over the internet Major challenges The main motivation is political and financial Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s introduction of the idea of mandatory online high school courses in 2019 is a case in point Access without mobility Reproduces the class system while seeming to improve the lot of more marginalized social groups 38  A Critical Sociological Approach to Online Teaching cont’d Alienation Separation between people and the work they are paid to do due to administrative monitoring and control Instructors become disconnected from their intellectual property Significant drop-out rates Instrumental education relying on limited, narrowly defined tasks Undermines critical education, which involves analysis of ideas and discussion One-directional information flow controlled by the curriculum Rather than a cyclical flow Class reproduction through a two-tiered system 39  Do You Want Fries with that Degree? McJobs Underemployment Involuntary part-time work for people seeking full-time employment Low-wage, low-skill employment for people with valuable skills, experience, or academic credentials Causes The rate of unemployment Regional disparities (lack of employment opportunities and resources like training and childcare in economically depressed communities) Discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, disability, or lack of appropriate credentials 40  Do You Want Fries with that Degree, cont’d McJobs During the 1990s, universities produced 1.2 million graduates, but only 600,000 jobs required university-level credentials If job creation remains the same as in the 1990s, several hundred thousand graduates each year will be pursuing fewer than 100,000 job openings 41  The Sociology of Plagiarism Carol Thompson (2006) defines plagiarism is the act of copying another person’s work or of piecing together work from several sources into an academic pastiche Passing off someone else’s ideas or work as your own 42  The Sociology of Plagiarism cont’d Factors that account for the increase in plagiarism Role models Influence of people such as professors, school administers, famous writers, academics, and parents Advise students not to plagiarize, but indulge in plagiarism themselves Plagiarism as free enterprise Essay industry Graduate students who sell their writing services Companies that sell services to catch plagiarizers Social distance Students who know their professors are less likely to plagiarize 43  Conclusion: Cultures of Education Increasing corporate nature of post-secondary institutions Students are viewed as customers and might feel entitled to certain outcomes Group versus individual model Competition and inequality perpetuate alienation in educational system Western culture emphasizes putting what you say “in your own words” In other cultures, “repeating the words of the master” might be valued, which can disadvantage international students Inclusive education is key! 44