Time Schedule:
Paul C. Lepore
SOC 292
Seattle Campus
Addresses fundamental questions about the relationship between education and society. Examines why some students learn more and advance further than others; what factors shape how schools are run/organized and which materials are taught; how race/class/gender affect students within schools; how schools maintain our economic system and can become more effective.
Class description
This course is designed as an introduction to the Sociology of Education. There is no institution in America society that has changed as much or has had as much of impact on the shaping of this country as our nation’s educational system. Unfortunately, if you are like most, you probably give little thought to the organization and role schools play in modern society. Despite the lack of a nationalized curriculum and notwithstanding the fact that educational control and oversight are largely decentralized processes (operating at the local level of the town or city) – the structure of public and private elementary and secondary education in the United States is remarkably consistent from state to state and between school districts. Enrollment in kindergarten by age four; textbook and curricular material selection; attendance in school from September through June in coeducational, age-graded classrooms; assignment in ability groups or tracks; preparation for continued education beyond high school in college or through vocational training; and so on, are but a few of the organizational characteristics and practices common in most schools and districts. These facets that comprise our national system of education, while common, are, unfortunately, in most cases taken for granted – often going both unquestioned and unanalyzed.
The goal of this course is for you to start thinking like a sociologist and begin to challenge your assumptions upon which education as an institution is predicated. We will ask some fundamental questions about the relationship between education and society. For example, why does everyone go to school? Why do some students seem to learn more and “get ahead” further than others? What factors shape how schools are run, how schools are organized, and what curricular materials are taught? How do schools help to maintain our capitalist system, and how do the factors of race, class, and gender affect the educational experiences of students within schools and within classrooms? How can schools become more effective? These are among the questions we will consider during this Early Start session.
Over the next four weeks, this course will emphasize the ways in which schools reproduce, reinforce, and challenge prevailing social, economic, and political relationships. We will look at the structure, practices, content, and outcomes of schooling, primarily in the light of their relationships to the wider society in which schools are situated. We will begin by examining the rise of the modern school system in American and the dynamics of educational expansion. We will note the link between schools and societal stratification, addressing how schooling contributes both to social mobility and to the reproduction of the prevailing social order. Next we will discuss the outcomes of schooling (achievement, attainment, dropping-out, college entry, and so on), and how these outcomes are produced. In particular, we will be concerned with the relation between and among students’ experiences in schools, curricular and teaching practices, and what students ultimately get out of schooling. Finally, we will consider sociological perspectives on contemporary education reform.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Course requirements include completion of the assigned readings, active participation in classroom discussion, four exams/response papers, and a group project. Each of the four exams/response papers will be worth 20 percent of your final term grade, and the group project will be worth 15 percent of your grade. Active class participation will be noted and count for the remaining portion of your grade (5 percent).
Since this is a small class, it is expected that students are active participants in the classroom discourse and are prepared to discuss the materials assigned on that date. Discussion opportunities that reflect the readings and the topics addressed in the course will be held regularly as part of the normal class period.
Recommended preparation
This course is designed for students with little or no background in sociology or other social science fields.
Class assignments and grading
