Social Programs: Education (Lecture 14) Flashcards
1
Q
Cliques (James Coleman)
A
- small groups held together by self-defined set of norms and taboos
- often deliberately seek to exclude others or to set strict conditions of membership
- explains different roles students were expected to play (eg: sporty, popular good looking teens were favoured) –> leads to role conflict as they moved between groups
2
Q
Subculture (Coleman)
A
- distinct cultural unit of its own, with values, norms and defined roles
- different from the mainstream, but not in active opposition to it
- he suggests that schools are bad at preparing students for adult life–? whatever formal education system does, the subculture in which they live causes them to devalue education
3
Q
Hidden Curriculum
A
- the surreptitious way in which children are taught to expect a certain place in society
- seen in gendered classes (eg: cooking is for girls) or in careers people are prepared for
- Critical theorists sees school as preparing individuals for subordinate positions–> eg: latent function in keeping children off the streets, lessons prepare for people’s expectations about their life and makes them accept an inferior social status
4
Q
Identity crisis (Erik Erikson)
A
- term for the challenge faced in adolescence of reconciling your own sense o self and ability, the expectations of others, and your position in society, so as to create a stable identity or ego
- sees school as our first real experience of society outside of family and is crucial for psychosocial development
5
Q
What two stages do we pass during school? (Erikson)
A
- Competence (age 5-12): children move from PLAY towards WORK, and the completion of tasks (asking ‘can I make it in a wold of things?’) but also learn shame and inferiority if they fail (and how to cope)
- Fidelity (age 12-19): asking ‘who am I and what can I be?’ adolescents struggle with an identity crisis, developing a clearer sense of self in the ‘safe’ space of school (challenge of forming a proper understanding of yourself and your place in the world)
6
Q
Formal Education and Informal Education
A
- Formal: education in recognized and accredited schools (highly institutionalized)
- Informal: how we learn for ourselves outside of institutions (less organized/ controlled)
7
Q
Meritocracy
A
- social rank should depend on your ability, not your birth or wealth
- by ensuring educational opportunities are open to all, those with greatest talent will have chance to rise to top
- Equality of opportunity is emphasized (everyone should have the same chance to succeed)
8
Q
Credentialism
A
- addition of qualification requirements to take a job (eg: degree, medical school)
- growing numbers of jobs have such requirements (including doctor, truck driver, acupuncturist)
- Frank Parkin argues that such credentials are not necessary for most of these jobs
- interest groups band together to add these requirements for jobs–> in order to minimize the number of people who can do them and reduce competition for jobs
9
Q
Trophy Child
A
treating one’s child as a status symbol; valuing a child by its educational or sporting achievements alone
10
Q
Crestwood Heights (John R. Steeley)
A
- examined expectations inculcated in children of wealthier families
- these families wanted children as perfect and successful as their model homes and careers (pushed to succeed)
- children made to focus increasingly on grades and teachers pressured to give higher ones
11
Q
Coleman and Capital
A
he used the idea of capital to describe what students in deprived areas lacked: they needed the broader cultural knowledge and social connections to climb higher
• lack social capital bc surrounded by ppl with similar backgrounds so they don’t have the connections to improve in social position
12
Q
Capital (and its branches–> Economic, Cultural, Social)
A
- Capital: a resource you can ‘invest’ in order to acquire more of it; something you use to increase your overall wealth, not just for pleasure
- Economic: means of production, money etc.. (eg: factories, company shares etc)
- Cultural: knowledge of culture and more concrete signs of your education (eg: degree from a ‘good’ university, ability to chat about art etc)
- Social: the people you know; your connections in society (eg: your friend whose mother works for a tp law firm and can arrange an internship for you)
13
Q
Desegregation
A
• attempt to ensure mixed-ethnicity schools (eg: bussing students in)
• combats inequalities of opportunity
• James Coleman argues that simply throwing economic resources at the problem wasn’t enough; he called for integrated, desegregated schools
- students learn more than just facts at school; they make networks of connections and learn ways of behaving
14
Q
Streaming
A
- practice of sorting children into classes of schools by educational achievements at young age
- higher performers taught more challenging material and told to expect better jobs
- may have unintended effect of limiting access to social and cultural capital (bc those who may perform well may have family advantages)
- separating lower performers from higher performers limits chances for transfer of social and cultural capital by peers
- deprived group needs to be integrated with a group that has traditions of higher educational aspirations
15
Q
Liberal Arts
A
- traditionally, education required to be a ‘free’ citizen, able to take a full part in civic/ political life and capable of informed rational debate
- defined in opposition to ‘practical’ arts (eg: carpentry, farming) which were ‘not free’ bc they are necessary for preservation of the body
- meant to develop the person as a whole, so as to produce a ‘free’ citizen ( highly rigorous)
- focused on socratic methods, developing ability to think independently, focus on philosophical ideas and classic texts (this kind of education is now chiefly available only in elitist schools eg: harvard, stanford)
