Sociology: Education, Social Inequality, and Family Structures

Flashcards covering the social-conflict perspective on education, Bourdieu's theories of capital, and global family structures and marriage patterns.

How does the social-conflict perspective describe the role of schooling in society?

It explains how schooling both causes and perpetuates social inequality by reproducing social stratification and reflecting power and privilege that favors dominant groups.

In the standardized test example 'Painter is to painting as __________ is to sonnet', what is the correct answer and why is it considered biased?

The answer is poet; it is considered biased because it depends on knowledge of the sonnet as a Western European form of written verse, which may be unfamiliar to students outside the dominant culture.

What are the four types of capital distinguished by Pierre Bourdieu?

Economic capital, cultural capital, social capital, and symbolic capital.

How does Pierre Bourdieu define 'cultural capital'?

It consists of all the knowledge (cultural, linguistic, etc.), skills, 'savoir-être', diplomas, and cultural assets possessed by an individual, which are transmitted by the family during socialization.

What is the 'habitus' in Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital?

The embodied state of cultural capital, referring to the internalized disposition in the form of permanent ways of thinking, perceiving, and behaving accumulated through social experiences.

Why do students from the upper classes perform better at school according to Bourdieu?

Because they grew up in environment with high 'cultural proximity' to the education system, meaning the knowledge, attitudes, and skills the school sanctions are closer to their family's cultural capital.

How does the education system transform social privilege into 'academic merit'?

By treating all pupils as equal in culture while showing an 'indifference to differences', the system makes inherited cultural heritage appear as individual achievement or merit.

What is the difference between 'equality of means' and 'equity of opportunities' as shown in the notes?

Equality means everyone benefits from the same support regardless of need, while equity means everyone receives personalized support to ensure fair results.

What is the difference between a nuclear family and an extended family?

A nuclear family is composed of one or two parents and their children (common in industrial societies), while an extended family includes parents, children, and other kin (common in preindustrial societies).

Define the marriage patterns 'endogamy' and 'exogamy'.

Endogamy is marriage between people of the same social category, while exogamy is marriage between people of different social categories.

What is the difference between 'polygyny' and 'polyandry'?

Polygyny is a marriage that unites one man and two or more women, whereas polyandry unites one woman and two or more men.

What are the three residential patterns described in the notes?

Patrilocality (living with/near the husband's family), matrilocality (living with/near the wife's family), and neolocality (living apart from both sets of parents).

How do patrilineal, matrilineal, and bilateral descent systems differ?

Patrilineal traces kinship through men; matrilineal traces it through women; bilateral traces it through both parents (common in industrial societies with greater gender equality).

What are the four vital tasks performed by the family according to structural-functional theory?

Socialization, regulation of sexual activity (e.g., the incest taboo), social placement (passing on identity and status), and material and emotional security.

How did Friedrich Engels ($1884$) explain the origin of the family from a social-conflict perspective?

He argued families developed from the need for men (especially in higher classes) to identify heirs to hand down property to their sons, thereby reproducing the class structure.

What does social-exchange analysis claim about courtship and marriage?

It describes them as forms of negotiation where individuals 'shop around' to assess the advantages and disadvantages of potential partners to make the best possible 'deal'.

Define 'matrimonial strategies' according to Bourdieu's research in Kerala.

They are socially patterned ways families choose marriage partners—exchanging cultural, economic, and symbolic capital—to maintain or improve the family's social status.

Why is 'romantic love' considered an unstable foundation for marriage in Western societies?

Because feelings change over time, making it less stable than marriages based on social and economic considerations.

How does industrialization affect the economic view of children?

It transforms children from an economic asset (providing labor in preindustrial societies) to a liability (costing almost $300,000$ to raise in the US according to Lino, $2010$).

What are some of the causes for the high U.S. divorce rate cited in the text?

Rising individualism, fading romantic love, women's decreased dependence on men, stressful dual-earner households, and greater social and legal acceptance.

Which country was the first to permit registered partnerships for same-sex couples, and in what year?

Denmark in $1989$.

What is 'singlehood', and how has its prevalence changed in the U.S.?

It is adults living independently; the share rose from one household in ten in $1950$ to $27\%$ in $2010$.

Which country has the highest rate of babies born outside marriage according to the global patterns providing in the notes?

Colombia at $87\%$.