Lecture 21 Flashcards
What is a Schooled society?
refers to ways in which the education
system has fundamentally changed in modern society
Which people have highest income?
more educated person has the higher income
High income benefits government cuz they collect it with taxes
How is Canada a schooled society?
A growth in modern schooling in Canada, particularly mass enrolment in post-secondary education.
● Schooling has become increasingly important to modern life.
● The forms and function of education are increasing and diversifying in our modern schooled society.
Is Canada high on university acheivement?
Canada has a larger share of the
population with a college or university
credential than any other country in the
G7. (Only beaten by Korea)
How has Schooling become integral to modern life?
Higher incomes for college graduates on average (Also earn more as you get older)
What is a potential exception to higher schooling = more money?
Starting salary for teacher in QC 44,368$ / Construction labourer salary in QC 45,956 $
- Feminized jobs earn less
In US how are rates of unemployment different by education lvl?
Less likely to be unemployed
In the USA the rates of unemployment are twice as high for high school graduates as they are for college graduates
What do schools do?
● Schools provide basic skill sets such as reading, writing and arithmetics
● Schools are expected to teach topics such as media literacy and environmental responsibility.
● Modern schools are seen as a way to solve a myriad of social problems.
● ex. French immersion and Mandarin immersion
What is the main function of education?
Schooling prepares students (youth) for adult life in a particular society
● Imparting values (e.g. individualism, patriotism)
(Function of School)
a) Manifest (primary) functions
Socialization, social control, social placement
(Function of School)
b) Latent functions –
ex. Courtship
What does Durkheim say about Socialization in education?
Durkheim: education is central to creation of organic solidarity
● Education socializes children into the
mainstream so society successfully
reproduces itself.
● This is because education offers moral
learning in which students learn the norms
and values of their society so they learn to fit in
What does Max Weber say the function of education is?
Sorting
● The rise of rationalization in society
● Development of bureaucracies
● Sorting, differentially rewarding, and certifying graduates of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools
The prototype of rationalization in modern
society is referred to as______?
bureaucracy
What is bureaucracy?
Effectively machines made from
humans.
● For-profit bureaucracies and not- for-profit bureaucracies rose to prominence in the 20th century
According to Weber, bureaucracies
have six core features
- Based on hierarchically organized
“offices” - Vertical chain of command
- Clear division of labour
- Dominated by technical qualifications
- Impersonal decision-making
- Staffed by fulltime, salaried employees
(Technique of sorting)
What is Credentialling?
The attestation of a qualification or competence issued to an individual by a party with authority to do so, such as a university.
● High-status groups maintain their social position by acquiring more education and credentials and keeping others out of these routes to upward mobility
What is Legitimation the Egerton Ryerson perspective on education?
a free and compulsory universal school system
Education could assimilate these “alien” labourers into the dominant Protestant culture (worried about irish)
What is Legitimation the Karl Marx perspective on education?
Society’s dominant institutions (including schools, religions, and the state) support and reproduce the capitalist system.
● Schools work to systematically reproduce class relations and the capitalist order with each new generation of students.
What is the Conflict Theory perspective on education?
● Educational experiences and fulfillment closely linked to social class
● Educational Tracking/Streaming
● Self-fulfilling prophecies
Education trains working-class to accept
their position –
* Prizes for following the rules.
*Constant competition with peers
What is the Hidden curriculum?
lessons that are not normally considered part of the academic program but
that schools unintentionally or secondarily provide (Schools teach you this)
How is the education system is an integral institution in a meritocracy?
levels the playing field and equalizes opportunities, but research shows education systems aren’t meritocratic.
● Not all dimensions of inequality work in relation to educational outcomes.
How does Education persist the class inequality?
Largest and most persistent inequality in educational outcomes is based on social class.
● High-income Canadians are more likely to attend higher education and earn degrees than low-income Canadians
What is the association with earnings and educational acheivement?
Higher earnings = more schooling
(higher quintile = higher % attend school)
What is the “Tracking” phenomenon?
based on achievement as measured by standardized tests
- You have fixed academic abilities
So like rating kids based on test performance
Tracking rarely accounts for differences in family education or circumstances, past school experiences, and other factors.
How can Tracking lead to self fufilling prophesy?
Tracking results in labeling and labels may become a “self-fulfilling prophecy”
Tracking might reduce/increase motivation
How is tracking criticized?
tends to segregate students based on race and class (lower class and minorities might underachieve based on personal circumstances)
- Creates new inequality
Tracking leads to unequal division of resources as “high achieving classes” tend to receive…
Highly qualified, experienced teachers
Access to higher-level skills such as critical thinking, and more intensive writing assignments.
Exposure to various teaching strategies such as cooperative learning and lively discussions.
Constructive, personal criticism instead of harsher correction in front of other students
Access to specialized knowledge
such as higher mathematics and sciences.
Active support from parent groups
Explain the three reasons low-income
families don’t succeed educationally?
Differential expectations:
Differential association:
Differential preparation:
● Differential expectations:
parents in low-income families may have different expectations and values than high-income families.
● Differential association:
children from low-income backgrounds
are less likely to have role models who were high achievers.
● Differential preparation:
students from high-income families had
more opportunities tutoring, educational trips, and books and newspapers
How does the summer break impact learning?
For lower SES students: might not have support for learning during the summer, so losing skills
For middle class students: supported and able to retain skills
(Relatively similar learning rates throughout school year)
How did the 2020 school closures effect students ?
widened pre-existing achievement gaps by large amounts
What is the trend with Indigenous people and educational earning?
Advancing in education more !
- In all stages (highschool, trades, college, uni)
Are more Indigenous men or women attending post secondary edcuation?
More women
What does feminist theory say about education?
Aims to understand the mechanisms and roots of gender inequality in education
- Repercussions
-unequal access to education (limits equal rights)
Why are women going to education more?
Women could stay in education longer with fewer interruptions (can mobilize more)
- The declining influence of religion
- Women gaining more control over
their reproductive rights through birth
control
Has more women in Uni translated into equality in terms of incomes after completing their degree ?
No, men still out earn (with less education)
- Graduate degree for women = some college for men
Do men and women in same field earn the same?
Nope
even if same degree
Is the STEM fields equal now?
Still pretty unequal (except engineer)
But more “feminized” fields are more equal
What is the difference in gender and prestigious institutions?
Women graduate from less prestigious institutions
What does Symbolic Interactionism think about education?
Emphasizes the importance of interaction, particularly between students and teachers and students and other students
(Social capital - networking)
How is cultural capital involved in education?
non-economic social assets that promote social mobility. Comprised of the behaviours, knowledge, and values that
indicate your social class
(Learn these in school, and how far in school they do)
What does “Elite Education” prioritize? (3 things)
- Social capital – the collective value of one’s social networks
- Cultural capital – the non-economic assets that promote social mobility
- “Privilege”- ease (like you belong in every situation)
Why do some countries spend more on education?
Countries that spend a lot on education hope that this money will lead to better educational outcomes and higher graduation rates
Who funds the schooled society? (the universities)
Most universities in Canada are publicly
funded and operated.
The federal government is the majority
funder
How is funding of universities changing?
Government is funding less, so charging students more
- Canadian students concerned with rising tuition fees and student debt
Is student debt increasing?
Yes massively
