Chapter 12: Education Flashcards
Purpose of School
Purpose of schooling changes over history.
Purpose ≠ neutral; always in conjunction with a political agenda
assimilation (of Indigenous Peoples)
to ensure social stability (vs forces of immigration, industrialization)
to provide credentials to students labour force
for the personal development of the individual child
to respond to market forces
Purpose of School: Assimilation of Indigenous Peoples
Sir John A. Macdonald: “The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the inhabitants of the Dominion, as speedily as they are fit for the change.”
Feds took control of almost every aspect of life of Indigenous peoples including schooling
Residential schools were established by Dept. of Indian Affairs, run by churches (Anglican, United, Presbyterian; Catholic); concentrated in prairie provinces
Purpose = to extinguish Indigenous culture by severing children’s ties to their language, practices, family, traditions, identity, social structure
1948 = 9,368 students in 21 schools
Impacts are long-lived and multi-generational alienation, substance abuse, suicide, incarceration
Residential Schools
“Cultural genocide is the destruction of those structures and practices that allow the group to continue as a group. States that engage in cultural genocide set out to destroy the political and social institutions of the targeted group. Land is seized, and populations are forcibly transferred and their movement is restricted. Languages are banned. Spiritual leaders are persecuted, spiritual practices are forbidden, and objects of spiritual value are confiscated and destroyed. And, most significantly to the issue at hand, families are disrupted to prevent the transmission of cultural values and identity from one generation to the next. In its dealing with Aboriginal people, Canada did all these things.”
Purpose of School: Responding to Market Forces
“Many employers find it difficult to hire the skilled workers they need to maintain and grow their businesses. This stems from several factors including an aging population, increased globalization, new technology and machinery, and rising skills and knowledge requirements in the workplace. Strong partnerships, and formal and informal training, can help students and employees develop the job-specific technical skills and the employability skills they need to be successful in the workplace, including: communication information management numeracy problem solving positive attitudes and behaviours responsibility and adaptability continuous learning safety working with others contributing to projects and tasks”
Problems in K – 12: Bullying
Overt bullying = physical aggression, eg. beating, kicking, shoving, sexual touching
Covert bullying = exclusionary practices of peer groups, eg. gossip, verbal threats, harassment
In 2011, 21% of secondary school students reported bullying others; 29% reported being bullied (K, 260)
Cyber-bullying is the most common method.
Studies show that between 1/5 and 1/3 of all teens experience cyber-bullying.
Problems in K – 12: Educational Inequalities
What accounts for academic success?
Ascribed status = status assigned to people b/c of traits beyond their control, eg. immigrant status, SES, gender
Achieved status = status that is not inborn but is the result of effort and accomplishment, eg. education, occupational attainment
SES affects academic achievement, academic track/stream in secondary school, students’ aspirations, job placement, PSE participation, and graduation from secondary school.
Parents’ education is the most important factor in secondary school attainment
But new immigrants have higher educational attainment than Canadian-born
Children of immigrants tend to achieve higher levels of education than children of Canadian-born parents
BUT it depends on the group, on parents’ status, occupation and income, English/French ability, school subject, etc.
Functionalism
Manifest functions = intended consequences; socialization, eg. academic subjects; transmission of culture, eg. norms associated with the dominant culture; social control, eg. discipline; social placement appropriate jobs; change and innovation
Latent functions = unintended consequences; removes children from the streets and the labour force; matchmaking; building social networks
Dysfunctions = poor preparation for jobs in global society; poor preparation for citizenship, eg. to be well informed, think critically
Conflict Theory
Schools perpetuate inequalities based on class, racialization, and gender
Children from low-income families come to school with less cultural capital (ie. fewer competencies in language and culture)
Hidden Curriculum = certain cultural values and attitudes are transmitted through the everyday rules and routines of schools, eg. conformity, obedience to authority There are social class differences re teacher expectations, standards, and pedagogy, eg. working class students are expected to obey rules, memorize information; middle-class students are expected to make decisions, solve problems, do higher-order and critical thinking
Interactionism
micro-level focus on how the self develops, labelling
self-fulfilling prophecies can affect both learning-disabled and gifted students
educational inequalities can be challenged by individual teachers, special programs (eg. Pathways to Education), parents’ initiatives
Interactionism
Girls were disadvantaged by receiving less attention in math and science
But girls have improved (with exceptions at the doctoral level, and in some professional faculties like engineering)
boys are at a disadvantage in reading, learning disabilities, and in completing secondary school and post-secondary school
Problems in Post-Secondary Education (PSE): Educational Inequalities
In 2006, youth aged 18–24 with parents earning more than $100,000 in pre-tax income were almost twice as likely (49%) to have been enrolled in university than those whose parents earning less than $25,000 (28%). (CAUT Almanac 2014-15)
Women accounted for a majority of students enrolled at the BA and other undergrad level (57%), 55% at the MA level, and 48% at the PhD level in 2011–2012. (CAUT Almanac 2014-15)
about 3% of first-year undergraduate students self-identify as Indigenous, 36% as a member of a visible minority group, and 8% as disabled. (CAUT Almanac 2014-15)
But you can’t generalize: Asians exceed average for degree attainment (over 40%); Indigenous (6.2%); African Cdns (18%); Latinx (18%)
Reduced Funding for PSE
1960s, Federal government’s 50% cost-sharing grants expansion of universities
1970s, economic slowdown neoliberalism (downsizing, privatization, deficit reduction) vs funding of PSE
1970-1986 successive spending cuts, freezing of grants, 3 laws passed re reductions for PSE (to 1990)
when measured as a proportion of GDP, cash for PSE has declined by 50% between 1992–1993 and 2013–2014. (CAUT Almanac 2014-15)
1990s, some re-investment
But when inflation, increased enrolment, and needs from accumulative losses are taken into account, the increases did not meet real needs
new money was earmarked for specific programs, buildings, but not for operating costs
Where can alternative sources of revenue be found?
private income sources:
university tuition fees;
business
Rising Tuition
Over the past 20 years, undergraduate tuition has increased from an average of $1,706 in 1991–1992 to $6,373 in 2016–2017 = increase of 346% (CAUT Almanac 2016)
Ontario has the highest average undergraduate tuition in the country.
Tuition for professional faculties, business, and for international students are higher.
Student debt averaged $28,000 in 2012 (cited in Kendall, 263)
Implication = PSE is no longer a public good, but a private entitlement for those who can afford it
Commercialization in PSE - 1
eg. ads in rooms; naming buildings and classrooms; partnerships with business
advantages for business = R&D for new products, labour and expertise, presence on campus, academic legitimacy
advantages for universities = revenues, technology and innovation, collaborations, co-ops for students
disadvantages for universities = risk of influencing research; suppression of knowledge that conflicts with corporate agenda and sales; threat to academic freedom
private funding sources in the form of business donations, grants and contracts = 12.1% of the total (in 2012). (CAUT Almanac 2014-15)
Commercialization of PSE - 2
“Thirty-eight per cent of Canada’s total R&D expenditures come from the PSE sector (higher education R&D, or HERD)…Currently, that spending is not translating into commercial impact. This presents an opportunity for PSE, business, and government to combine their efforts through partnerships to leverage the real-world value of HERD…although Canada may continue to be a world leader in producing ideas and basic research insights, it is at risk of remaining a laggard in commercialization unless ways can be found to better link higher “education research with business needs…a 2015 Conference Board report…highlights the need for more effective industry–university collaboration focused on commercialization.” (Conference Board of Canada, 2016)
