Chapter 13

Question 1

What is education?

Answer 1

Education—a social institution that transmits attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, values, norms, and skills through formal systematic training

Schooling—narrower term referring to formal training and instruction in a classroom

Question 2

Social Class

Answer 2

Social class predicts educational attainment.

Access to capital reinforces and reproduces the existing class structure.
> Economic capital—income and monetary assets
> Cultural capital—social assets such as education and attitudes
> Social capital—social networks

Question 3

School Vouchers

Answer 3

School vouchers—publicly funded payments toward tuition and fees at students’ schools of choice

Pros: provide parents with more options; level the playing field

Cons: divert resources from public education; violate separation of church and state

Question 4

The Hidden Curriculum

Answer 4

Transmits nonacademic knowledge, values, attitudes, norms, and beliefs

Schools in low-income and working-class neighborhoods stress obedience, following directions, and punctuality.

Elite private schools encourage leadership, creativity, and people skills.

Question 5

GateKeeping

Answer 5

Gatekeeping—when those in power control access to education and jobs

Intelligence quotient (IQ)—an index of an individual’s performance on a standardized test relative to the performance level of others

Question 6

Credentialism

Answer 6

The use of credentialism in maintaining social class distinctions.

Credentialism refers to the increasing demand for certificates and degrees.

Question 7

Tracking

Answer 7

Tracking—(streaming, ability grouping) assigning students to specific educational programs and classes

Sometimes based on stereotypes and results in labeling

Tracking creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students achieve what is expected of them.

Question 8

Charter Schools

Answer 8

Charter schools—self-governing public schools that have an agreement with the state to improve students’ education

Pros: reduce bureaucratic red tape; provide innovative teaching

Cons: can avoid accountability; drain resources from other public schools; are more racially segregated

Question 9

Magnet Schools

Answer 9

Magnet schools—public schools that offer students a distinctive program and specialized curriculum

Pros: mix diverse students with common interests

Cons: enrollment is limited

Question 10

Home Schooling

Answer 10

Home schooling—teaching in the home as an alternative to enrolling students in a public or private school

Data are mixed on the success rates of these programs.

Increasingly, parents who home-school are white, wealthy, and well-educated.