Education

Question 1

Structural Functionalism on Education

Answer 1

• examines functions of educational institutions
• Selection (sorting students on basis of ability, ex, highly capable go to uni and do better in life)
• distinction between contest mobility and sponsored mobility (Canada = contest)
• schools socialize students by communicating society’s values to them

Question 2

Durkheim

Answer 2

• as society moved away from religion and become more secular, schools take on function religion once did, teaching moral education
• equality, meritocracy, diversities, etc.
• assert that schools reward the best students regardless of backgrounds

Question 3

Conflict Theory (Marxist)

Answer 3

• Educational institutions reproduce class based inequalities
• hidden curriculum teaches schools to accept place in social hierarchy - teaching kids obedience, discipline, respect, etc to be good workers
• teach us to accept inequality and not to challenge it

Question 4

Racism in Canadian University

Answer 4

• faculty is all white (not matching society that is educated)
• visible minorities underrepresented and less likely to be profs
• females underrepresented
• based on merit - whites work with whites subconsciously
• faculty of colour have less access to informal mentoring

Question 5

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 5

• Paul Willis: learning to labour; how working class kids get working class jobs
• learned only way to escape poverty often times was to do well in school
• but boys rejected the values of educational attainment and reproduce working class status
• they valued being cool and physical strength rather than education

Question 6

Feminist Theory

Answer 6

• if women’s history is not taught and experiences not referred to, it alienated female students
• women’s movement - entering jobs that were male dominant, requiring higher education
• sex segregation - male seen as less well behaved but more intelligent and females as more well behaved but less intelligent

Question 7

Contemporary Trends (school as socializing agent)

Answer 7

• schools = less influential as socializing agents
• progressive pedagogy (multiple intelligences, student directed learning)
• motivates them to be intrinsically motivated rather than pushed
• HS plays important role in peer culture and status/appearance

Question 8

Cote and Allahar

Answer 8

• more education = more money (parents push kids into post secondary)
• seeing great inflation in HS (more people going to uni just because they think they need to, not because they want to learn, and grades becoming easier to achieve)
• many students are not prepared for uni as teachers focus on self esteem rather than reality

Question 9

Student Engagement

Answer 9

• students less engaged as profs become reluctant gatekeepers
• students demand higher marks for less effort
• profs stressed most over dealing with students upset with marks and determining who goes on to elite programs