SOC 100 chap 10 + guest speakers

“Science without conscience is the soul's perdition” who wrote this and what does it mean?

• François Rabelais

• In order to know science we need to be able to place our knowledge in context of a greater body of knowledge

• The ability to place knowledge within the living context of society itself 

• Asks the ethics of this knowledge “what does it mean to know it? What is it known for?” etc.

• Science without meaning can lead to perdition (sin / punishment)

what role does education have in society?

• The practice of raising autonomous individuals 

• Learning and accepting standards of society

autonomy

• someone that is self governing – someone that is able tor reflect on laws and can think critically and pose on individuals for the greater good

• Not accepting society as it is but constantly questioning it in respect for the greater good

• comes from auto (self) + nomos (the body of law governing human behaviour)

paideia

• origin of the word “pedagogy”; term refers to the civic function of education, notably the idea that education reflects the ways of a culture.

• More than the leaning of different skills, the aim of paideia is to form citizens capable of reflexivity and autonomy.

society…

individuals…

shapes its individuals

shapes its society

humans depened on ____.

nomos

nomos

the framework of norms, rules (both formal and informal), and cultural conventions (ideals, dispositions/attitudes) that govern and regulate social behavior within a given society

the aim of education as paideia is…

collective and individual autonomy: to question and make our own nomos, to have freedom of thought. 

scheler’s pyramid of values

five values from bottom to top:

• utility: usefulness for satisfying basic needs and wants

• virtue: courage, loyalty, humility , prudence, compassion

• wisdom: justice, beauty, truth, learning

• sacred: connectedness of all things

and two hemispheres/diriections:

• right hemisphere: bottom to top. builds on lower-order values to embrace higher-order values, all of which require affective of moral engagement with the world

• left-hemisphere: dismisses higher-order values in favour of lower-order values - it either reduces everything to its utility value or rejects it

schooled society

• created by Davies and Guppy, this refers to ways in which the education system has fundamentally changed in modern society. 

  • The idea that we spend all of our youth and better parts of early adulthood in school and for whaaaaat

  • Schools are supposed to teach the basics, such as reading, writing and arithmetic, and now they are also expected to teach topics such as media literacy and environmental responsibility. 

  • Modern schools are seen now as a way to solve a myriad of social problems. 

the average canadian youth spends ____% of each weekday in school

30

why has schooling become integral to modern life?

• Builds the blueprint for living + making a living in society

• Standardizes and emphasizes the importance of education

• HUGE investment for our societies future (we live in a very regulated society and we need to have a population that is specialized with skill sets in order to maintain that society)

• Develops a routine for younger kids (esp when parents have work!)

three main reasons why these sociologists theorized schooled society:

1. They believed there was a growth in modern schooling in Canada, particularly mass enrolment in post-secondary education. 

2. They believed schooling has become increasingly important to modern life.

3. The forms and function of education are increasing and diversifying in our modern schooled society. 

“i know that I know nothing” — socrates

• Humans are aware of the lack of knowledge they have

• When you begin to learn / gain knowledge you realize how little you actually know

• Knowledge is not the result but rather the searching, and interrogating. The result is being able to think and ask the right questions; to see things in a different perspective and progressively

the functions of education

manifest and latent

manifest function of education

• the obvious and intended functions. 

  • E.g. teaching basic knowledge and skills

latent function of education

its unintended consequences.

the functions of education falls into 3 broad categories:

1. Socialization of young people. 

2. Selection of people into employment. 

3. Legitimation of certain types of knowledge. 

Durkheim and the relationship between socialization and education

• Durkheim was interested in how education facilitated the functioning of society in general.

• Durkheim argued universal education serves the needs of society in a number of ways. 

• Modern society was more divers; industrial society needs more specialized skills + that we could have a cohesive society if we could help people find the right job based on THEMSELVES

• Durkheim believed schools convey basic knowledge and skills that will benefit society in general. 

• Individuals need skills to fill the occupational roles they will take on later in life. 

• Durkheim believed one’s education should be aligned with one’s occupational aspirations. 

socialization through education

• Education also socializes children into the mainstream so society successfully reproduces itself.

• This is because education offers moral learning in which students learn the norms and values of their society so they learn to fit in.

• This also mean that students learn to become actors in their society. Therefore they are responsible for the society that they reproduce.

selection through education

• The education system selects individuals by awarding badges of ability.

• Weber argued schools are based on bureaucracies and work to confer status and prestige.

• Bureaucracies in education aren’t necessarily a bad thing when they produce degrees efficiently.

• The rise in bureaucracies has also meant a growing need for individuals to have certification for specific occupations. 

• Weber highlighted how this specialization leads to an increasingly complicated set of certifications and degrees that prevent certain people from entering a trade or profession.

• The point is that credentials are bureaucratic tools: they enable a kind of technical control and regulation of the population.

  • You become your credentials and you FIT INTO society

• Collins referred to Weber’s observation as credentialing, when a qualification or competence is issued to an individual by a party with the authority to do so. 

• High-status groups maintain their privileged position by acquiring more education and educational credentials and keeping others from these routes to upward mobility. (ex law are for higher ups)

• SELECTING who can do what

• Point of university: select, assign roles, gives badges and prestige

legitimization through education

• Education legitimates certain kinds of knowledge and divisions in society. 

• Karl Marx believed education maintained inequality and the power of capitalists who are already in control of society.

• There are two views here: either education is a means to reproduce dominant ideas or education is a world changing praxis.

• Liberal ideas / meritocracy 

• Marx argued that schools work to reproduce class relations and the capitalist order.

• We value certain aspects (ex. Mathematics, science, etc. and if you are not good at those chances are you will not be as good OR chances are you are also in a working class family – hence school reproduces class relations by internalizing the idea of who is smart and stupid)

• The capitalist ruling class diffuses its ideas through the school curriculum. 

• A curriculum is the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content, materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives. 

Karl Marx and the hidden curriculum

• Marx believed ideas supportive of the ruling class were disseminated through the official curriculum and what he referred to as the hidden curriculum.

  • Hidden curriculum lessons are those that schools unintentionally teach students, such as obedience.

  • It is not about the LITERAL things you learn, rather about other aspects that you learn through school (ex. How to sit still and learn, be obedient, speak a certain way, etc.)

• Marx saw the education system as encouraging and fostering conformity to authority. 

• Marx’s point is not to understand the qualities of society but also change them

Paulo Freire and the Banking Model

• critiques traditional education as a system where teachers deposit knowledge into passive students, hindering critical thinking and knowledge ownership, ultimately reinforcing oppression

• education is an ASSET. Not about learning but “putting something in the bank” because it’ll be useful for later. It allows you to economically get ahead

characteristics of the Banking Model

• a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught;

• b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;

• c) the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;

• d) the teacher talks and the students listen – meekly;

• e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;

• f) the teacher chooses and enforces the choice, and the students comply;

• g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting, through the action of the teacher;

• h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;

• i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which he or she sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;

• j) the teacher is the subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects

Paulo Freire and the Problem-Posing Model

• a teaching method that contrasts with the "banking model," encouraging active student participation, critical thinking, and reflection on real-world issues to promote liberation and social change. 

• About unpacking implications of a problem. The process of thinking critically + dealing with a problem

• Heavier quality on back and forth dialogue, to be an active participant (in class and in the future in society)

characteristics of the Problem-Posing Model

1. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but is in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow.

2. It must encourage/develop 'critical thinking’, self-reflection. 

3. It values learning for learning’s own sake.

4. It concern civic virtues that guide the participation of learners in society. 

5. Problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings in a constant process of becoming... it affirms men and women as beings who can transcend themselves, progress and look ahead… and more wisely build the future. 

canadians pride themselves on a _____

meritocracy, a society in which individuals achieve based on their personal merit.

Our university is behaving less and less like a _____ institution

public

The education system is an _____ institution in a meritocracy as it levels the ____ and _____ opportunities.

integral, playing field, equalizes

critiques of meritocracy

• Some kids are more naturally gifted than others and it is not fair to say meritocracy is fair when it just isn’t

• normalizes class differences.

• Makes education seem less of a common good (rights that everyone should have) and more of a competition thing.

• nothing natural about social inequality

• Cooperation (solidarity) vs conquest (exclusive and segregationist notion of citizenship)

• Erosion of common goods as universal

what happens when tuition fees become prohibitive?

It creates class differences; impoverishes those who cannot afford to attend university

what is the largest and most persistent inequality in educational outcomes based on?

social class

higher income canadains are more likely to….

attend higher education + earn degrees compared to low-income canadians

education, cultural capital, and social capital

• One reason that education can perpetuate social inequality is its relationship to social and cultural capital. 

• These resources can be acquired through the education system and affect one’s chance of future success. 

• Education is an ASSET and becomes a cultural capital

cultural capital

• The non-economic social assets that promote social mobility. needed in order to live in society

  • Comprised of the behaviours, knowledge, and values that indicate your social class. 

social capital

• The collective value of all of one’s social networks.

• Who you know and the “norms of reciprocity” that develop between people who know each other.

• Having wide social networks can help us foster trust among people, provide resources and information, and lead to cooperation.

• Undermines fairness

• The problem with privatizing education is that it simply becomes an other form of ”capital” creating a two-tier society for first and second class citizens.

• What does this do to our conception of knowledge and scholars? It changes them!

• We don’t have a society of knowledge or scholars (takes time) but of information and experts (can give quick info) instead.

true or false: education can make us better humans but it can also produce an unequal society of unidimensional individuals (those who lack the dimensions that make us human)

true

true or false: when education gets privatized it is not submitted to a logic of scarcity.

false —>  It actually becomes a privileged commodity enjoyed by a closed group of citizens that are disconnected from the remainder of society. It is NOT scarce and is actually very vast and plentiful!! So it should NOT be a privileged commodity!!!!

differential expectations

parents in low-income families may have different expectations and values than high-income families.

differential association

children from low-income backgrounds are less likely to have role models who were high achievers.

differential preparation

students from high-income families had more opportunities tutoring, educational trips, and books and newspapers.

streaming

the practice of placing students with comparable skills or needs together

the advantages of streaming

• It allows students to advance according to their ability, thus helping to preserve their interest and incentive to perform.

• Teachers can adapt their teaching styles and materials to the types of students in their classes. 

• Bright students won’t be bored or slowed down; they’ll be motivated and engaged.

the disadvantages of streaming

• The stigma of being organized into lower-performing classes might discourage the learning of students in these classes.

• This is referred to as a self-fulfilling prophecy, where students who are told they perform poorly, in turn, perform poorly.   

education and gender

• Given the prevalence of patriarchy, one might assume that women experience inequality in education systems.

• Yet women are statistically doing better than men in the education system in Canada.

• How can we explain this gender reversal in educational outcomes?

  • one way to explain it is by recognizing the role of the women’s movement to mobilize for increased opportunities for women in higher education.

  • The declining influence of religion has changed the nature of families. As a result women were foregoing family for school.

  • Women gaining more control over their reproductive rights through birth control is another way.

  • These changes meant women could stay in education longer with fewer interruptions.

  • However, these educational outcomes have not translated into equality in terms of incomes after completing their degree.

the consequences of degrees

• A person’s level of education has many serious and important consequences. 

• Earning more money and less likely to fall into unemployment.

• Benefits from earning a degree is not equally distributed across groups in Canada. 

education around the world

• Education is an important institution in every country. 

• However, the amount each country spends on education varies. 

• Countries that spend a lot on education hope that this money will lead to better educational outcomes and higher graduation rates. 

education around canada

• Most universities in Canada are publicly funded and operated. 

  • The federal government is the majority funder.

  • Remaining money used to run post-secondary education comes from rising tuition fees. 

• Canadian students concerned with rising tuition fees and student debt have started the Education Is a Right campaign. 

anthropology

the study of human societies & cultures and their development

true or false: society and health are not interrelated

two typs of sociology + how they reflect two tendencies of intelligence

1. Isolation of aspects of the world and manipulating the environment (value of use and utility of things) – sees the world as PARTS

2. Interconnectedness of things – intelligence allows us to see how things relate to one another and how they work together or don't work together – sees the world as A WHOLE

personal map + its benefits

how you personally see an area (inside or outside)

• Enables you to see the smaller details

• Helps us see the relationships we have with places 

  • gets us to think about how we personally think about a place, route, etc. and what it means to us

  • Through what you think of making a map of, what places you deem as important enough to write down, and what is essential to you!