Sociology- Society the Basics-Ch 14-Education, Health and Medicine

Education

the social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms and values

social epidemiology

the study of how health and disease are distributed throughout a society's population

schooling

formal instruction under the direction of specially trained teachers

the extent of schooling in any society

is tied to its level of economic development

low income countries

have little schooling

structural-Functional theory of schooling

highlights major functions of schooling, including socialization, cultural innovation, social integration, and the placement of people in the social heirarchy

symbolic-Interaction theory of schooling

helps us understand that stereotypes can have important consequences for how people act

Social-Conflict theory

links schooling to the hierarchy involving class, race and gender

latent functions of schooling

providing child care and building social networks

Formal education

serves as a means of generating conformity to produce obedient adult workers

tracking

assigning students to different types of educational programs; a program that gives privileged youngsters a richer education

the self-fulfilling prophecy

people who expect others to act in certain ways often encourage that very behavior; ex. Jane Elliott "blue eyes vs. brown eyes" experiment

three ways schooling causes and perpetuates social inequality

social control, standardized testing and tracking

Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis

they declared that the demand for public education in the late nineteenth century was based on capitalist factory owners' need for a disciplined and obedient workforce

Parochial " Of the Parish"

Catholic schools

Protestant private schools

Christian Academies

Public Schools

Difference in funding between rich and poor communities result in unequal resources

credentialed society

society that evaluates people based on schooling

Student passivity

students who are bored in class

Functional Illiteracy

a lack of the reading and writing skills needed for everyday living

US Academic Standards

spend more on schooling than almost any other country; US placed 16th in science and 19th in math

School Choice

Create a market for education so parents and students can shop for best value

Magnet Schools

offer special facilities and programs to promote educational excellence

Charter Schools

Public Schools that are given more freedom to try new policies and programs

Schooling for Profit

School systems operated by private profit-making companies rather than government

Home Schooling

Parents do not believe public education is doing a good job; students who learn at home outperform those who learn in school

Mainstreaming

including students with disabilities in the education program

Regarding Adult Education

Adults represent a growing proportion of students in the US

Regarding the Teacher Shortage

about 400,000 teaching vacancies exist in the US each year due to low salaries, frustration, retirement, and rising enrollments and class size

Medicine

the social institution that focuses on fighting disease and improving health

Health

a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being

Social Epidemiology

the study of how health and disease are distributed throughout a society's population

eating disorder

an intense form of dieting or other unhealthy method of weight control driven by the desire to be very thin

euthanasia

assisting in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease; also known as mercy killing

age 65

more than 80% of US children born today will live to at least this age

Structural-Functional theory of health and Medicine

considers illness to be dysfunctional because it reduces people's abilities to perform their roles

The sick role

excuses the ill person from routine social responsibilities

physician's role

is to use specialized knowledge to take charge of the patient's recovery.

Symbolic-Interaction theory of health and medicine

investigates the meanings that people attach to health illness, and medical care

Social-Conflict theory of health and medicine

focuses on the unequal distribution of health and medical care

Marxist theory criticizes the US medical establishment for

its over-reliance on drugs and surgery, the dominance of the profit motive, and over-emphasis on the biological rather than the social causes of illness

Feminist theory criticizes the medical establishment for

"scientific" statements and policies that effectively allow men to dominate women

Anorexia Nervosa

dieting to the point of starvation

Bulimia

binge eating followed by induced vomiting to avoid weight gain

obesity

2/3 of US adults are obese, it limits physical activity and raise risk of serious diseases

Gonorrhea and syphilis

cured easily with antibiotics

Genital Herpes

45 million adults in US and is incurable

AIDS

first reported in 1980 in the West Village....back then it was referred to as WOG's Disease (Wrath Of God); most serious of all STD's; incurable and almost always fatal

Death

defined as an irreversible state involving no response to stimulation, no movement or breathing, no reflexes, and no indication of brain activity

"Right to die"

one of today's most difficult issues

Socialists Societies

define medical care as a right; governments offer basic care equally to everyone

Capitalist societies

view medical care as a commodity to be purchased, although most capitalist governments help pay for medical care through socialized medicine or national health insurance

holistic medicine

an approach to health care that emphasizes prevention of illness and takes into account a person's entire physical and social enviornment

socialized medicine

a medical care system in which the government owns and operates most medical facilities and employs most physicians

direct-fee system

a medical care system in which patients pay directly for the services of physicians and hospitals

health maintenance organization (HMO)

an organization that provides comprehensive medical care to subscribers for a fixed fee

private insurance

68% of US population has

Psychosomatic disorders

when state of mind guides physical sensations

the profit motive

the real problem is not access to medical care but capitalist medicine itself; profit motive turns doctors, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry into multibillion-dollar corporations

Medicines as Politics a la Marx

Scientific medicine takes sides on significant social issues

1. medical establishments opposes governmental medical programs

2. Recently allowed women to join ranks of physicians

3. Racial and sexual discrimination kept women and people of color out of medicine

4. Scientific medicine explains illness in terms of bacteria and viruses ignoring poverty, racism, and sexism