Education and Religion
Education in Global
Perspective

Credential Societies - Diplomas Determine
Job Eligibility

Diplomas Serve as Sorting Devices

Education Related to Nation’s Economy
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
1
Education and Religion
Figure 13.1 - Educational Achievement in the United States. Page 344
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
2
Education and Religion
Functionalist Perspective

Manifest vs. Latent Functions

Teaching Knowledge and Skills

Cultural Transmission of Values

Social Integration

Gatekeeping
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
Microsoft Images
Providing Social Benefits
3
Education and Religion
Conflict Perspective
Perpetuating Social Inequality

The Hidden Curriculum

Tilting the Tests: Discrimination by IQ

Stacking the Deck: Unequal Funding
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
4
Education and Religion
Figure 13.2 - The Funneling Effects of Education: Race and Ethnicity. Page 349
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
5
Education and Religion
Symbolic Interactionist
Perspective
Fulfilling Teacher Expectations
The Rist Research

George Farkas and Teacher Expectations

How Do Teacher Expectations Work?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
Microsoft Images

6
Education and Religion
Problems in U.S. Education

Rising Tide of Mediocrity

Cheating on SATs

Grade Inflation, Social Promotion,
Functional Illiteracy

The Influence of Peer Groups

Violence in Schools
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
7
Education and Religion
SAT Scores
Figure 13.3 - National Results of the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT). Page 352
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
8
Education and Religion
Race Cultural Capital and
Educational Resources

Role of Socioeconomic Status
 Type and quality of school a student
attends
 The academic track a given student ends
up in
 Amount of attention from teachers
 Household educational resources (books,
computers, etc.)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
9
Education and Religion
Cultural Capital
“family tendencies that depress educational
attainment (are) a manifestation, rather than
a cause, of lower SES and poverty”
 A key point to remember here is that
schools are not neutral institutions, but ones
that have preferences, attitudes, and
behaviors of the “dominant class”

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
10
Education and Religion

“Although lower and working class children
may certainly aquire the knowledge and
skills necessary to succeed in school, they
are less likely to achieve the same “natural
familiarity” that middle and upper class
students have and thuse are more likely to
fail academically.
 Education, as an institution, is
exclusionary
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
11
Education and Religion
Method
2 “waves” of data comprised of responses
form students, parents, teachers, and school
principals
 Nationally representative

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
12
Education and Religion
Conclusions
Cultural capital and educational resources
only moderately explain racial and social
class gaps in educational performance.
 Black and low-SES students receive less in
return for cultural trips and educational
resources than do their white and higher
SES counterparts
 The sources of this disparity are located
within the dynamic that occur in schools

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
13
Education and Religion
Micropolitical mediation
Definition: How the teachers and
administrators evaluate their students and
set them on particular tracks
 Poorly measured here
 Impossible to separate ‘actual’ student
performance from the teachers’
evaluations
 Researchers call for qualitative inquiry
to resolve this problem

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
14