Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
KEY PEOPLE
Review the major theoretical contributions or research findings of these theorists and thinkers.
James Coleman and Thomas Hoffer: A study of students in Catholic and public high schools by these two sociologists demonstrated that performance was based on setting higher standards for students rather than on individual ability. (353)
Randall Collins: Collins studied the credential society. (342)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore: Davis and Moore argue that a major task of society is to fill social positions with capable people and that one of the functions of schools is gatekeeping—the funneling of people into these positions on the basis of merit. (348)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim investigated world religions and identified elements that are common to all religions: separation of sacred from profane, beliefs about what is sacred, practices surrounded the sacred, and a moral community. (354–355)
George Farkas: Farkas and a team of researchers investigated how teacher expectations affect student grades. They found that students signal teachers that they are good students by being eager, cooperative and working hard. (351)
Benton Johnson: Johnson analyzed types of religious groups: cults, sects, churches, and ecclesia. (361–362)
Karl Marx: Marx was critical of religion, calling it the opium of the masses. (359–360)
Richard Niebuhr: This theologian suggested that the splintering of Christianity into numerous branches has more to do with social change than with religious conflict. (366–367)
Talcott Parsons: Another functionalist who suggested that a function of schools is to funnel people into social positions. (348)
Liston Pope: Another sociologist who studied types of religious groups. (361–362)
Ray Rist: This sociologist’s classic study of an African American grade school uncovered some of the dynamics of educational tracking. (350–351)
Thomas Sowell: Sowell has studied international differences in student performance. (351)
Ernst Troeltsch: Yet another sociologist who is associated with types of religious groups from cults to ecclesia. (361–362)
Max Weber: Weber studied the link between Protestantism and the rise of capitalism and found that the ethic associated with Protestant denominations was compatible with the needs of capitalism. (360)
James Coleman and Thomas Hoffer: A study of students in Catholic and public high schools by these two sociologists demonstrated that performance was based on setting higher standards for students rather than on individual ability. (353)
Randall Collins: Collins studied the credential society. (342)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore: Davis and Moore argue that a major task of society is to fill social positions with capable people and that one of the functions of schools is gatekeeping—the funneling of people into these positions on the basis of merit. (348)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim investigated world religions and identified elements that are common to all religions: separation of sacred from profane, beliefs about what is sacred, practices surrounded the sacred, and a moral community. (354–355)
George Farkas: Farkas and a team of researchers investigated how teacher expectations affect student grades. They found that students signal teachers that they are good students by being eager, cooperative and working hard. (351)
Benton Johnson: Johnson analyzed types of religious groups: cults, sects, churches, and ecclesia. (361–362)
Karl Marx: Marx was critical of religion, calling it the opium of the masses. (359–360)
Richard Niebuhr: This theologian suggested that the splintering of Christianity into numerous branches has more to do with social change than with religious conflict. (366–367)
Talcott Parsons: Another functionalist who suggested that a function of schools is to funnel people into social positions. (348)
Liston Pope: Another sociologist who studied types of religious groups. (361–362)
Ray Rist: This sociologist’s classic study of an African American grade school uncovered some of the dynamics of educational tracking. (350–351)
Thomas Sowell: Sowell has studied international differences in student performance. (351)
Ernst Troeltsch: Yet another sociologist who is associated with types of religious groups from cults to ecclesia. (361–362)
Max Weber: Weber studied the link between Protestantism and the rise of capitalism and found that the ethic associated with Protestant denominations was compatible with the needs of capitalism. (360)
KEY TERMS
After studying the chapter, review each of the following terms.
born again: a term describing Christians who have undergone a life-transforming religious experience so radical that they feel they have become a “new person” (359)
charisma: an extraordinary gift from God; more commonly, an outstanding, “magnetic” personality (361)
charismatic leader: literally, someone to whom God has given an extraordinary gift; more commonly, someone who exerts extraordinary appeal to a group of followers (361)
church: to Durkheim, one of the three essential elements of religion—a moral community of believers; used by other sociologists to refer to a highly organized religious organization (355)
cosmology: teachings or ideas that provide a unified picture of the world (359)
credential society: a group that uses diplomas and degrees to determine who is eligible for jobs even though the diploma or degree may be irrelevant to the actual work (342)
cult: a new religion with few followers, whose teachings are practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion (361)
cultural transmission: in reference to education, the ways by which schools transmit culture, especially its core values (346)
ecclesia: a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off (362)
functional illiteracy: people having difficulty with basic reading and math even though they have graduated from high school (352)
gatekeeping: the process by which education opens and closes doors of opportunity; another term for the social placement function of education (348)
grade inflation: higher grades for the same work; a general rise in student grades without a corresponding increase in learning or test scores (352)
hidden curriculum: the unwritten goals of schools, such as teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms (349)
latent functions: the positives consequences that people did not intend their actions to accomplish (346)
mainstreaming: helping people to become part of the mainstream of society (347–348)
manifest functions: the positive things that people intend their actions to accomplish (346)
profane: Durkheim’s term for common elements of everyday life (354)
Protestant ethic: Weber’s term to describe the ideal of a self-denying, moral life, accompanied by hard work and frugality (360)
religion: to Emile Durkheim, beliefs and practices that separate the profane from the sacred and unite its adherents into a moral community (355)
religious experience: awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God (359)
rituals: ceremonies or repetitive practices; in this context, religious observances or ties, often intended to evoke a sense of awe of the sacred (358)
sacred: Durkheim’s term for things that are set apart or forbidden, that inspire fear, awe, reverence, or deep respect (354)
sect: a group larger than a cult that whose members feel hostility from and toward society (362)
secularization of religion: the replacement of a religion’s “otherworldly” concerns with concerns about “this world” (367)
social placement: a function of education; funneling people into a society’s various positions (348)
social promotion: promoting students to the next grade even though they have not mastered basic materials (352)
spirit of capitalism: Weber’s term for the desire to accumulate capital as a duty—not to spend it, but as an end in itself—and to constantly reinvest it (360)
tracking: sorting students into educational programs on the basis of real or perceived abilities (348)
born again: a term describing Christians who have undergone a life-transforming religious experience so radical that they feel they have become a “new person” (359)
charisma: an extraordinary gift from God; more commonly, an outstanding, “magnetic” personality (361)
charismatic leader: literally, someone to whom God has given an extraordinary gift; more commonly, someone who exerts extraordinary appeal to a group of followers (361)
church: to Durkheim, one of the three essential elements of religion—a moral community of believers; used by other sociologists to refer to a highly organized religious organization (355)
cosmology: teachings or ideas that provide a unified picture of the world (359)
credential society: a group that uses diplomas and degrees to determine who is eligible for jobs even though the diploma or degree may be irrelevant to the actual work (342)
cult: a new religion with few followers, whose teachings are practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion (361)
cultural transmission: in reference to education, the ways by which schools transmit culture, especially its core values (346)
ecclesia: a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off (362)
functional illiteracy: people having difficulty with basic reading and math even though they have graduated from high school (352)
gatekeeping: the process by which education opens and closes doors of opportunity; another term for the social placement function of education (348)
grade inflation: higher grades for the same work; a general rise in student grades without a corresponding increase in learning or test scores (352)
hidden curriculum: the unwritten goals of schools, such as teaching obedience to authority and conformity to cultural norms (349)
latent functions: the positives consequences that people did not intend their actions to accomplish (346)
mainstreaming: helping people to become part of the mainstream of society (347–348)
manifest functions: the positive things that people intend their actions to accomplish (346)
profane: Durkheim’s term for common elements of everyday life (354)
Protestant ethic: Weber’s term to describe the ideal of a self-denying, moral life, accompanied by hard work and frugality (360)
religion: to Emile Durkheim, beliefs and practices that separate the profane from the sacred and unite its adherents into a moral community (355)
religious experience: awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God (359)
rituals: ceremonies or repetitive practices; in this context, religious observances or ties, often intended to evoke a sense of awe of the sacred (358)
sacred: Durkheim’s term for things that are set apart or forbidden, that inspire fear, awe, reverence, or deep respect (354)
sect: a group larger than a cult that whose members feel hostility from and toward society (362)
secularization of religion: the replacement of a religion’s “otherworldly” concerns with concerns about “this world” (367)
social placement: a function of education; funneling people into a society’s various positions (348)
social promotion: promoting students to the next grade even though they have not mastered basic materials (352)
spirit of capitalism: Weber’s term for the desire to accumulate capital as a duty—not to spend it, but as an end in itself—and to constantly reinvest it (360)
tracking: sorting students into educational programs on the basis of real or perceived abilities (348)
RELIGION: ESTABLISHING MEANING
VI. What Is Religion?
A. According to Durkheim, religion is the beliefs and practices separating the profane from the sacred, uniting adherents into a moral community.
1. Sacred refers to aspects of life having to do with the supernatural that inspire awe, reference, deep respect, or deep fear.
2. Profane refers to the ordinary aspects of everyday life.
B. Durkheim found religion to be defined by three elements: (1) beliefs that some things are sacred (forbidden, set off from the profane), (2) practices (rituals) concerning things that are considered sacred, and (3) a moral community (a church) resulting from a group’s beliefs and practices.
VII. The Functionalist Perspective
A. Religion performs functions such as (1) answering questions about ultimate meaning (the purpose of life, why people suffer); (2) uniting believers into a community that shares values and perspectives; (3) providing guidelines for life; (4) controlling behavior; (5) providing support for the government; and (6) spearheading social change (on occasion, as in the case of the civil right movement in the 1960s).
B. War and religious persecution are dysfunctions of religion.
VIII. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
A. Religions use symbols to provide identity and social solidarity for members. For members, these are not ordinary symbols, but sacred symbols evoking awe and reverence, which become a condensed way of communicating with others.
B. Rituals are ceremonies or repetitive practices that unite people into a moral community.
Some are designed to create a feeling of closeness with God and unity with one another.
1. Symbols, including rituals, develop from beliefs. A belief may be vague (“God is”) or specific (“God wants us to prostrate ourselves and face Mecca five times each day”).
2. Religious beliefs include values and a cosmology (unified picture of the world).
C. Religious experience is a sudden awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God. Some Protestants use the term born again to describe people who have undergone a religious experience.
IX. The Conflict Perspective
A. Conflict theorists are highly critical of religion. Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” because he believed that the workers escape into religion. He argued that religion diverts the energies of the oppressed from changing their circumstances because believers focus on the happiness they will have in the coming world rather than on their suffering in this world.
B. Religious teachings and practices reflect a society’s inequalities. Religion legitimates social inequality; it reflects the interests of those in power by teaching that the existing social arrangements of a society represent what God desires.
X. Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism
A. Observing that European countries industrializing under capitalism, Weber questioned why some societies embraced capitalism while others clung to traditional ways. He concluded that religion held the key to modernization (transformation of traditional societies into industrial societies).
B. Weber concluded that:
1. Religion (including a Calvinistic belief in predestination and the need for reassurance as to one’s fate) is the key to the development of capitalism in Europe.
2. A change in religion (from Catholicism to Protestantism) led to a change in thought and behavior. The result was the Protestant ethic, a commitment to live a moral life and to work and be frugal.
3. The spirit of capitalism (the desire to accumulate capital as a duty, as an end in itself), which resulted from this new ethic, was a radical departure from the past.
C. Today, the spirit of capitalism and the Protestant ethic are by no means limited to Protestants; they have become cultural traits that have spread throughout the world.
XI. Types of Religious Groups
A. A cult is a new religion with few followers, whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion.
1. All religions began as cults. Cults often emerge with the appearance of a charismatic leader (exerting extraordinary appeal to a group of followers).
2. Each cult meets with rejection from society. The cult’s message is seen as a threat to the dominant culture.
B. A sect is larger than a cult but still feels substantial hostility from and toward society. If a sect grows, its members tend to become respectable in society, and the sect is changed into a church.
C. A church is a large, highly organized religious group with formal, sedate services and less emphasis on personal conversion. The religious group is highly bureaucratized (including national and international offices that give directions to local congregations). Most new members come from within the church, from children born to existing members, rather than from outside recruitment.
D. An ecclesia is a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off. The government and religion work together to shape the society. There is no recruitment of members, for citizenship makes everyone a member. The majority of people in the society belong in name only.
E. Although religions began as cults, not all varieties of a religion have done so. A denomination—a “brand name” within a religion (e.g., Methodist)—begins as a splinter group. On occasion, a large group within a church may disagree on some of the church’s teachings (but not its major message) and break away to form its own organization.
XII. Religion in the United States
A. Characteristics of membership in U.S. churches:
1. Membership is highest in the South and Midwest and not much lower in the East.
2. Each religious group draws members from all social classes, although some are more likely to draw members from the top of the social class system and others from the bottom. The most top-heavy are Episcopalians and Jews; the most bottom-heavy are the Baptists and Evangelicals.
3. All major religious groups in the United States draw from various racial and ethnic groups; however, people of Hispanic or Irish descent are likely to be Roman Catholics and those of Greek origin to belong to the Greek Orthodox Church; African Americans are likely to be Protestants. Worship services tend to be highly segregated along racial lines.
4. Membership rate increases steadily with age.
B. Characteristics of religious groups
1. There is a diversity of religious groups; there is no state church and no ecclesia, and no single denomination dominates.
2. The many religions compete with one another for members.
3. Today, there is a fundamentalist revival because mainstream churches fail to meet the basic religious needs of large numbers of people.
4. The electronic church, in which televangelists reach millions of viewers and raise millions of dollars, has grown. Recently, the electronic church has moved to the Internet. Some feel that the Internet may fundamentally change our ideas about God.
C. The history of U.S. churches is marked by secularization and the splintering of religious groups.
1. Initially, the founders of religious sects felt alienated from the general cultures, their values and lower social class position setting them apart.
2. As time passes, the members of the group become successful, acquiring more education, becoming middle class, and growing more respectable. They no longer feel alienated from the dominant culture. There is an attempt to harmonize religious beliefs with the new cultural orientation.
3. This process is the secularization of religion, of shifting the focus from religious matters to affairs of this world.
4. Those who have not achieved worldly success feel betrayed and break away to form a new sect.
XIII. The Future of Religion
A. Science cannot answer questions about four concerns that many people have:
the existence of God, the purpose of life, morality, and the existence of an afterlife.
1. Neither science nor political systems can replace religion, and religion will last as long as humanity lasts.
A. According to Durkheim, religion is the beliefs and practices separating the profane from the sacred, uniting adherents into a moral community.
1. Sacred refers to aspects of life having to do with the supernatural that inspire awe, reference, deep respect, or deep fear.
2. Profane refers to the ordinary aspects of everyday life.
B. Durkheim found religion to be defined by three elements: (1) beliefs that some things are sacred (forbidden, set off from the profane), (2) practices (rituals) concerning things that are considered sacred, and (3) a moral community (a church) resulting from a group’s beliefs and practices.
VII. The Functionalist Perspective
A. Religion performs functions such as (1) answering questions about ultimate meaning (the purpose of life, why people suffer); (2) uniting believers into a community that shares values and perspectives; (3) providing guidelines for life; (4) controlling behavior; (5) providing support for the government; and (6) spearheading social change (on occasion, as in the case of the civil right movement in the 1960s).
B. War and religious persecution are dysfunctions of religion.
VIII. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
A. Religions use symbols to provide identity and social solidarity for members. For members, these are not ordinary symbols, but sacred symbols evoking awe and reverence, which become a condensed way of communicating with others.
B. Rituals are ceremonies or repetitive practices that unite people into a moral community.
Some are designed to create a feeling of closeness with God and unity with one another.
1. Symbols, including rituals, develop from beliefs. A belief may be vague (“God is”) or specific (“God wants us to prostrate ourselves and face Mecca five times each day”).
2. Religious beliefs include values and a cosmology (unified picture of the world).
C. Religious experience is a sudden awareness of the supernatural or a feeling of coming into contact with God. Some Protestants use the term born again to describe people who have undergone a religious experience.
IX. The Conflict Perspective
A. Conflict theorists are highly critical of religion. Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” because he believed that the workers escape into religion. He argued that religion diverts the energies of the oppressed from changing their circumstances because believers focus on the happiness they will have in the coming world rather than on their suffering in this world.
B. Religious teachings and practices reflect a society’s inequalities. Religion legitimates social inequality; it reflects the interests of those in power by teaching that the existing social arrangements of a society represent what God desires.
X. Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism
A. Observing that European countries industrializing under capitalism, Weber questioned why some societies embraced capitalism while others clung to traditional ways. He concluded that religion held the key to modernization (transformation of traditional societies into industrial societies).
B. Weber concluded that:
1. Religion (including a Calvinistic belief in predestination and the need for reassurance as to one’s fate) is the key to the development of capitalism in Europe.
2. A change in religion (from Catholicism to Protestantism) led to a change in thought and behavior. The result was the Protestant ethic, a commitment to live a moral life and to work and be frugal.
3. The spirit of capitalism (the desire to accumulate capital as a duty, as an end in itself), which resulted from this new ethic, was a radical departure from the past.
C. Today, the spirit of capitalism and the Protestant ethic are by no means limited to Protestants; they have become cultural traits that have spread throughout the world.
XI. Types of Religious Groups
A. A cult is a new religion with few followers, whose teachings and practices put it at odds with the dominant culture and religion.
1. All religions began as cults. Cults often emerge with the appearance of a charismatic leader (exerting extraordinary appeal to a group of followers).
2. Each cult meets with rejection from society. The cult’s message is seen as a threat to the dominant culture.
B. A sect is larger than a cult but still feels substantial hostility from and toward society. If a sect grows, its members tend to become respectable in society, and the sect is changed into a church.
C. A church is a large, highly organized religious group with formal, sedate services and less emphasis on personal conversion. The religious group is highly bureaucratized (including national and international offices that give directions to local congregations). Most new members come from within the church, from children born to existing members, rather than from outside recruitment.
D. An ecclesia is a religious group that is so integrated into the dominant culture that it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other leaves off. The government and religion work together to shape the society. There is no recruitment of members, for citizenship makes everyone a member. The majority of people in the society belong in name only.
E. Although religions began as cults, not all varieties of a religion have done so. A denomination—a “brand name” within a religion (e.g., Methodist)—begins as a splinter group. On occasion, a large group within a church may disagree on some of the church’s teachings (but not its major message) and break away to form its own organization.
XII. Religion in the United States
A. Characteristics of membership in U.S. churches:
1. Membership is highest in the South and Midwest and not much lower in the East.
2. Each religious group draws members from all social classes, although some are more likely to draw members from the top of the social class system and others from the bottom. The most top-heavy are Episcopalians and Jews; the most bottom-heavy are the Baptists and Evangelicals.
3. All major religious groups in the United States draw from various racial and ethnic groups; however, people of Hispanic or Irish descent are likely to be Roman Catholics and those of Greek origin to belong to the Greek Orthodox Church; African Americans are likely to be Protestants. Worship services tend to be highly segregated along racial lines.
4. Membership rate increases steadily with age.
B. Characteristics of religious groups
1. There is a diversity of religious groups; there is no state church and no ecclesia, and no single denomination dominates.
2. The many religions compete with one another for members.
3. Today, there is a fundamentalist revival because mainstream churches fail to meet the basic religious needs of large numbers of people.
4. The electronic church, in which televangelists reach millions of viewers and raise millions of dollars, has grown. Recently, the electronic church has moved to the Internet. Some feel that the Internet may fundamentally change our ideas about God.
C. The history of U.S. churches is marked by secularization and the splintering of religious groups.
1. Initially, the founders of religious sects felt alienated from the general cultures, their values and lower social class position setting them apart.
2. As time passes, the members of the group become successful, acquiring more education, becoming middle class, and growing more respectable. They no longer feel alienated from the dominant culture. There is an attempt to harmonize religious beliefs with the new cultural orientation.
3. This process is the secularization of religion, of shifting the focus from religious matters to affairs of this world.
4. Those who have not achieved worldly success feel betrayed and break away to form a new sect.
XIII. The Future of Religion
A. Science cannot answer questions about four concerns that many people have:
the existence of God, the purpose of life, morality, and the existence of an afterlife.
1. Neither science nor political systems can replace religion, and religion will last as long as humanity lasts.
EDUCATION: TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
I. Education in Global Perspective
A. A credential society is one in which employers use diplomas and degrees to determine job eligibility.
1. The sheer size, urbanization, and consequent anonymity of U.S. society are major reasons for the requirement of credentials. Diplomas and degrees often serve as sorting devices for employers; because they don’t know the individual personally, employers depend on schools to weed out the capable from the incapable.
2. As technology and knowledge change, simple on-the-job training will not suffice; specific job skills must be mastered before an individual is able to do certain kinds of work.
B. Education in the Most Industrialized Nations: Japan
1. Japanese education reflects a group-centered ethic. Grade school children work as a group, mastering the same skills and materials; cooperation and respect for elders (and those in positions of authority) are stressed.
2. College admission procedures are based on test scores; only the top scorers are admitted, regardless of social class.
C. Education in the Industrializing Nations: Russia
1. After the Revolution of 1917, the government insisted that socialist values dominate education, seeing education as a means to undergird the new political system. Children were taught that capitalism was evil and communism was the salvation of the world.
2. Education at all levels was free. It was centralized, with all schools following the same curriculum.
3. Today, Russians are in the midst of “reinventing” education. Private, religious, and even foreign-run schools are operating, and students are encouraged to think for themselves.
4. The primary difficulty facing the post-Soviet educational system is the rapid changes in values and world views that are underway in Russia.
D. Education in the Least Industrialized Nations: Egypt
1. Several centuries before the birth of Christ, Egypt was a world-renowned center of learning. Primary areas of study were physics, astronomy, geometry, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine. After defeat in war, education declined, never to rise to its former prominence.
2. Today, education is free at all levels, including college; however, qualified teachers are few, classrooms are crowded, and education is highly limited. Children of the wealthy are still several times as likely to get a college education.
II. The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits
A. A central position of functionalism is that when the parts of society are working properly, each contributes to the stability of society. For education, both manifest (intended) and latent (unintended but positive) functions can be identified.
B. The functions of education include (1) teaching knowledge and skills; (2) cultural transmission of values (individualism, competition, and patriotism); (3) social integration (molding students into a more or less cohesive unit); and (4) gatekeeping (determining who will enter what into occupations, through tracking and social placement).
C. Schools have assumed many functions that were previously fulfilled by the family (e.g., child care and sex education).
III. The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality
A. The educational system is a tool used by those in the controlling sector of society to maintain their dominance. Education reproduces the social class structure, as well as society’s divisions of race-ethnicity.
1. Regardless of ability, children of the wealthy are usually placed in college-bound tracks, and children of the poor are usually placed in vocational tracks. Whites are more likely to complete high school, go to college, and get a degree than are African Americans and Latinos. This shows the funneling effect of education.
2. The education system helps to pass privilege (or lack thereof) across generations.
B. The hidden curriculum is the set of unwritten rules of behavior and attitude (e.g., obedience to authority, conformity to cultural norms) that are taught in school in addition to the formal curriculum
C. Conflict theorists criticize IQ (intelligence quotient) testing because these tests measure not only intelligence, but also culturally acquired knowledge. By focusing on these factors, IQ tests reflect a cultural bias that favors the middle class and discriminates against minority and lower-class students.
D. Because public schools are financed largely by local property taxes, there are rich and poor school districts. Unequal funding stacks the deck against minorities and the poor.
IV. The Symbolic Interaction Perspective: Fulfilling Teacher Expectations
A. Symbolic interactionists study face-to-face interaction inside the classroom. They have found that expectations of teachers are especially significant in determining what students learn.
B. The Rist research (participant observation in an African American grade school with an African American faculty) found that tracking begins with teachers’ perceptions.
1. After eight days—and without testing for ability—teachers divided the class into fast, average, and slow learners; social class was the basis for the assignments.
2. Students from whom more was expected did the best; students in the slow group were ridiculed and disengaged themselves from classroom activities.
3. The labels that were applied in kindergarten tended to follow the child through school.
C. George Farkas found students who score the same on course matter may receive different grades; female get higher grades, as do Asian Americans. Some students signal that they are interested in what the teacher is teaching; teachers pick up these signals.
V. Problems in U.S. Education—and Their Solutions
A. A variety of factors have been identified as the major problems facing the U.S. educational system today. These problems include the rising tide of mediocrity, grade inflation and how it relates to social promotion and functional illiteracy, and violence in schools.
B. A number of solutions have been offered to address these problems, including creating a secure learning environment and establishing higher academic standards and expectations.
A. A credential society is one in which employers use diplomas and degrees to determine job eligibility.
1. The sheer size, urbanization, and consequent anonymity of U.S. society are major reasons for the requirement of credentials. Diplomas and degrees often serve as sorting devices for employers; because they don’t know the individual personally, employers depend on schools to weed out the capable from the incapable.
2. As technology and knowledge change, simple on-the-job training will not suffice; specific job skills must be mastered before an individual is able to do certain kinds of work.
B. Education in the Most Industrialized Nations: Japan
1. Japanese education reflects a group-centered ethic. Grade school children work as a group, mastering the same skills and materials; cooperation and respect for elders (and those in positions of authority) are stressed.
2. College admission procedures are based on test scores; only the top scorers are admitted, regardless of social class.
C. Education in the Industrializing Nations: Russia
1. After the Revolution of 1917, the government insisted that socialist values dominate education, seeing education as a means to undergird the new political system. Children were taught that capitalism was evil and communism was the salvation of the world.
2. Education at all levels was free. It was centralized, with all schools following the same curriculum.
3. Today, Russians are in the midst of “reinventing” education. Private, religious, and even foreign-run schools are operating, and students are encouraged to think for themselves.
4. The primary difficulty facing the post-Soviet educational system is the rapid changes in values and world views that are underway in Russia.
D. Education in the Least Industrialized Nations: Egypt
1. Several centuries before the birth of Christ, Egypt was a world-renowned center of learning. Primary areas of study were physics, astronomy, geometry, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine. After defeat in war, education declined, never to rise to its former prominence.
2. Today, education is free at all levels, including college; however, qualified teachers are few, classrooms are crowded, and education is highly limited. Children of the wealthy are still several times as likely to get a college education.
II. The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits
A. A central position of functionalism is that when the parts of society are working properly, each contributes to the stability of society. For education, both manifest (intended) and latent (unintended but positive) functions can be identified.
B. The functions of education include (1) teaching knowledge and skills; (2) cultural transmission of values (individualism, competition, and patriotism); (3) social integration (molding students into a more or less cohesive unit); and (4) gatekeeping (determining who will enter what into occupations, through tracking and social placement).
C. Schools have assumed many functions that were previously fulfilled by the family (e.g., child care and sex education).
III. The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality
A. The educational system is a tool used by those in the controlling sector of society to maintain their dominance. Education reproduces the social class structure, as well as society’s divisions of race-ethnicity.
1. Regardless of ability, children of the wealthy are usually placed in college-bound tracks, and children of the poor are usually placed in vocational tracks. Whites are more likely to complete high school, go to college, and get a degree than are African Americans and Latinos. This shows the funneling effect of education.
2. The education system helps to pass privilege (or lack thereof) across generations.
B. The hidden curriculum is the set of unwritten rules of behavior and attitude (e.g., obedience to authority, conformity to cultural norms) that are taught in school in addition to the formal curriculum
C. Conflict theorists criticize IQ (intelligence quotient) testing because these tests measure not only intelligence, but also culturally acquired knowledge. By focusing on these factors, IQ tests reflect a cultural bias that favors the middle class and discriminates against minority and lower-class students.
D. Because public schools are financed largely by local property taxes, there are rich and poor school districts. Unequal funding stacks the deck against minorities and the poor.
IV. The Symbolic Interaction Perspective: Fulfilling Teacher Expectations
A. Symbolic interactionists study face-to-face interaction inside the classroom. They have found that expectations of teachers are especially significant in determining what students learn.
B. The Rist research (participant observation in an African American grade school with an African American faculty) found that tracking begins with teachers’ perceptions.
1. After eight days—and without testing for ability—teachers divided the class into fast, average, and slow learners; social class was the basis for the assignments.
2. Students from whom more was expected did the best; students in the slow group were ridiculed and disengaged themselves from classroom activities.
3. The labels that were applied in kindergarten tended to follow the child through school.
C. George Farkas found students who score the same on course matter may receive different grades; female get higher grades, as do Asian Americans. Some students signal that they are interested in what the teacher is teaching; teachers pick up these signals.
V. Problems in U.S. Education—and Their Solutions
A. A variety of factors have been identified as the major problems facing the U.S. educational system today. These problems include the rising tide of mediocrity, grade inflation and how it relates to social promotion and functional illiteracy, and violence in schools.
B. A number of solutions have been offered to address these problems, including creating a secure learning environment and establishing higher academic standards and expectations.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
As you read Chapter 13, use these learning objectives to organize your notes. After completing your reading, you should be able to answer each of the objectives.
1. Summarize the development of modern education, and discuss the links between democracy, industrialization, and universal education. (342–343)
2. Compare the education systems of Japan, Russia, and Egypt, and talk about how they represent the differences in education between Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized Nations. (343–346)
3. From the functionalist perspective, identify and evaluate the manifest and latent functions of education. (346–348)
4. From the conflict perspective, explain and discuss the different ways in which the education system reinforces basic social inequalities. (348–350)
5. From the symbolic interactionist perspective, cite the research into the effects of teachers’ expectations on students’ performances, and discuss the implications. (350–351)
6. Identify the major problems that exist within the U.S. educational system, and evaluate some of the potential solutions. (351–354)
7. Define religion, and explain its essential elements. (354–355)
8. Describe the functions and dysfunctions of religion from the functionalist perspective. (355–356)
9. Apply the symbolic interactionist perspective to religious symbols, rituals, and beliefs, and discuss how each of these helps to establish and/or maintain communities of like-minded people. (356–359)
10. From the conflict perspective, discuss how religion supports the status quo, as well as reflecting, reinforcing, and legitimating social inequality. (359–360)
11. Summarize Max Weber’s analysis of religion and the spirit of capitalism, and explain its significance. (360–361)
12. Define cult, sect, church, and ecclesia, and describe the process by which some groups move from one category to another. (361–362)
13. Know how religious membership in the United States varies by region, social class, age, and race and ethnicity. (362–364)
14. Describe and discuss the major features of religious groups in the United States. (364–366)
15. Define secularization, and distinguish between the secularization of religion and the secularization of culture. (366–367)
16. Explain what accounts for the fundamental significance of religion in people’s lives and why, in all likelihood, religion will remain a permanent fixture in human society. (367)
1. Summarize the development of modern education, and discuss the links between democracy, industrialization, and universal education. (342–343)
2. Compare the education systems of Japan, Russia, and Egypt, and talk about how they represent the differences in education between Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized Nations. (343–346)
3. From the functionalist perspective, identify and evaluate the manifest and latent functions of education. (346–348)
4. From the conflict perspective, explain and discuss the different ways in which the education system reinforces basic social inequalities. (348–350)
5. From the symbolic interactionist perspective, cite the research into the effects of teachers’ expectations on students’ performances, and discuss the implications. (350–351)
6. Identify the major problems that exist within the U.S. educational system, and evaluate some of the potential solutions. (351–354)
7. Define religion, and explain its essential elements. (354–355)
8. Describe the functions and dysfunctions of religion from the functionalist perspective. (355–356)
9. Apply the symbolic interactionist perspective to religious symbols, rituals, and beliefs, and discuss how each of these helps to establish and/or maintain communities of like-minded people. (356–359)
10. From the conflict perspective, discuss how religion supports the status quo, as well as reflecting, reinforcing, and legitimating social inequality. (359–360)
11. Summarize Max Weber’s analysis of religion and the spirit of capitalism, and explain its significance. (360–361)
12. Define cult, sect, church, and ecclesia, and describe the process by which some groups move from one category to another. (361–362)
13. Know how religious membership in the United States varies by region, social class, age, and race and ethnicity. (362–364)
14. Describe and discuss the major features of religious groups in the United States. (364–366)
15. Define secularization, and distinguish between the secularization of religion and the secularization of culture. (366–367)
16. Explain what accounts for the fundamental significance of religion in people’s lives and why, in all likelihood, religion will remain a permanent fixture in human society. (367)
KEY PEOPLE
Review the major theoretical contributions or research findings of these theorists and thinkers.
Jane Addams: Addams was the founder of Hull House—a settlement house in the immigrant community of Chicago. She invited sociologists from nearby University of Chicago to visit. In 1931, she was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (7)
Mario Brajuha: During an investigation into a restaurant fire, officials subpoenaed notes taken by this sociologist in connection with his participant observation research on restaurant work. He was threatened with jail but would not turn over his notes. (26)
Auguste Comte: Comte is often credited with being the founder of sociology because he was the first to suggest that the scientific method be applied to the study of the social world. (3)
Lewis Coser: Coser pointed out that conflict is likely to develop among people in close relationships because they are connected by a network of responsibilities, power, and rewards. (15)
W. E. B. Du Bois: Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. For most of his career, he taught sociology at Atlanta University. He was concerned about social injustice, wrote about race relations, and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (7–8, 9)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim was responsible for getting sociology recognized as a separate discipline. He was interested in studying how social forces shape individual behavior. (5)
Laud Humphreys: The sociologist carried out doctoral research on homosexual activity. To obtain information, he misrepresented himself to his research subjects. When his methods became widely known, a debate developed over his use of questionable ethics. (26–27)
Harriet Martineau: An Englishwoman who studied British and United States social life and published Society in America decades before either Durkheim or Weber was born. (6)
Karl Marx: Marx believed that social development grew out of conflict between social classes; under capitalism, this conflict was between the bourgeoisie—those who own the means to produce wealth—and the proletariat—the mass of workers. His work is associated with the conflict perspective. (4)
Robert Merton: Merton contributed the terms manifest and latent functions and latent dysfunctions to the functionalist perspective. (13)
C. Wright Mills: Mills suggested that external influences—or a person’s experiences—become part of his or her thinking and motivations and explain social behavior. In the 1950s, he urged U.S. sociologists to get back to social reform. He argued that research without theory is of little value, simply a collection of unrelated facts, and theory that is unconnected to research is abstract and empty, unlikely to represent the way life really is. (8)
Talcott Parsons: Parsons’ work dominated sociology in the 1940s and 1950s. He developed abstract models of how the parts of society harmoniously work together. (8)
Herbert Spencer: Another early social philosopher, Spencer believed that societies evolve from barbarian to civilized forms. He was the first to use the expression “the survival of the fittest” to reflect his belief that social evolution depended on the survival of the most capable and intelligent and the extinction of the less capable. His views became known as social Darwinism. (4)
Max Weber: Among Weber’s many contributions to sociology were his study of the relationship between the emergence of Protestant belief system and the rise of capitalism. He believed that sociologists should not allow their personal values to affect their social research and objectivity should become the hallmark of sociology. (5–6)
Jane Addams: Addams was the founder of Hull House—a settlement house in the immigrant community of Chicago. She invited sociologists from nearby University of Chicago to visit. In 1931, she was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (7)
Mario Brajuha: During an investigation into a restaurant fire, officials subpoenaed notes taken by this sociologist in connection with his participant observation research on restaurant work. He was threatened with jail but would not turn over his notes. (26)
Auguste Comte: Comte is often credited with being the founder of sociology because he was the first to suggest that the scientific method be applied to the study of the social world. (3)
Lewis Coser: Coser pointed out that conflict is likely to develop among people in close relationships because they are connected by a network of responsibilities, power, and rewards. (15)
W. E. B. Du Bois: Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. For most of his career, he taught sociology at Atlanta University. He was concerned about social injustice, wrote about race relations, and was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (7–8, 9)
Emile Durkheim: Durkheim was responsible for getting sociology recognized as a separate discipline. He was interested in studying how social forces shape individual behavior. (5)
Laud Humphreys: The sociologist carried out doctoral research on homosexual activity. To obtain information, he misrepresented himself to his research subjects. When his methods became widely known, a debate developed over his use of questionable ethics. (26–27)
Harriet Martineau: An Englishwoman who studied British and United States social life and published Society in America decades before either Durkheim or Weber was born. (6)
Karl Marx: Marx believed that social development grew out of conflict between social classes; under capitalism, this conflict was between the bourgeoisie—those who own the means to produce wealth—and the proletariat—the mass of workers. His work is associated with the conflict perspective. (4)
Robert Merton: Merton contributed the terms manifest and latent functions and latent dysfunctions to the functionalist perspective. (13)
C. Wright Mills: Mills suggested that external influences—or a person’s experiences—become part of his or her thinking and motivations and explain social behavior. In the 1950s, he urged U.S. sociologists to get back to social reform. He argued that research without theory is of little value, simply a collection of unrelated facts, and theory that is unconnected to research is abstract and empty, unlikely to represent the way life really is. (8)
Talcott Parsons: Parsons’ work dominated sociology in the 1940s and 1950s. He developed abstract models of how the parts of society harmoniously work together. (8)
Herbert Spencer: Another early social philosopher, Spencer believed that societies evolve from barbarian to civilized forms. He was the first to use the expression “the survival of the fittest” to reflect his belief that social evolution depended on the survival of the most capable and intelligent and the extinction of the less capable. His views became known as social Darwinism. (4)
Max Weber: Among Weber’s many contributions to sociology were his study of the relationship between the emergence of Protestant belief system and the rise of capitalism. He believed that sociologists should not allow their personal values to affect their social research and objectivity should become the hallmark of sociology. (5–6)
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