Sociology of Education - Chapter 1 Notes

Functionalist Theory

• Functionalists see society as interdependent and integrated, emphasizing consensus and social order.

• Functionalism originated from Emile Durkheim's work, focusing on social cohesion and the impact of modernization.

• Durkheim believed education creates moral unity and social cohesion.

• Functionalists view schools as socializing and sorting students, promoting social unity through technically advanced curricula.

• The purposes of schooling are intellectual, political, social, and economic, playing a role in modern, democratic societies.

• Talcott Parsons saw education as vital for equality of opportunity and meritocratic selection.

• Functionalists distinguish between equality of opportunity and equality of results, viewing education as a vehicle for a meritocratic system.

• Conflict theory emerged in the 1960s, critiquing functionalism by arguing schools serve dominant groups.

Conflict Theory

• Conflict theory views society as held together by dominant groups imposing their will on subordinate groups.

• Schools are seen as battlefields, with power relations reflecting those in the larger society.

• Karl Marx is the intellectual founder, emphasizing class struggle and critiquing capitalism.

• Max Weber highlighted status cultures and bureaucracy, questioning the goals of education (training vs. thinking).

• Contemporary conflict theory includes status competition (Randall Collins), institutional theory (John Meyer), and social/cultural reproduction theories (Pierre Bourdieu, Basil Bernstein).

• Bourdieu examined how cultural capital is passed on, affecting life chances.

• Bernstein linked language with educational outcomes, showing how schools reproduce social stratification.

Interactionist Theory

• Interactionist theories critique the abstract nature of functionalist and conflict theories, focusing on everyday interactions in schools.

• Interactionists analyze taken-for-granted behaviors, such as labeling students.

• Origins lie in the social psychology of George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley, emphasizing social construction of the self.

• Erving Goffman examined micro-sociology and interaction rituals.

• Ray Rist studied how labeling and ability grouping reproduce educational inequalities, with teacher expectations affecting student achievement.

Code Theory: Basil Bernstein

• Code theory examines how macro-level structures relate to systems of meaning (codes).

• Bernstein's early work on language (restricted and elaborated codes) raised questions about class differences in learning.

• He connected macro power relations to micro-educational processes.

• Bernstein argued that restricted codes are context-dependent while elaborated codes are context-independent, affecting school success.

• He linked communication codes to curriculum and teaching methods, highlighting social-class differences.

Cultural Capital and Symbolic Violence: Pierre Bourdieu

• Bourdieu synthesized Durkheim and Marx to understand culture and stratification.

• Cultural capital and symbolic violence explain how schooling is part of cultural and social reproduction.

• Schools advantage upper and middle classes through symbolic representations and cultural capital.

• Bourdieu viewed these patterns as leading to class domination rather than social cohesion.

Understanding Unequal Educational Outcomes: James Coleman

• Coleman's work, including the Coleman Report, examined school-based and external factors affecting educational achievement.

• He found that family background and socio-economic status had a greater impact.

• Coleman later argued that private schools had higher achievement.

• He contributed to social science methodology, sociological theory, and the concept of social capital.

Status Competition and Interaction Ritual: Randall Collins

• Collins synthesized Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Goffman into a conflict theory of society.

• He distinguished between productive and political labor within organizations.

• Collins argued that educational expansion is a result of status competition among groups.

• The rise in credentials cannot be explained solely by labor market needs but by symbolic conflict.

• Credentials have increased beyond occupational skill requirements as middle-class professionals attempt to raise their status.

Institutional and Neo-Institutional Theories: John Meyer

• Meyer argued that schools are global institutions developed similarly worldwide.

• Mass educational systems have developed as part of democratization and globalization.

• Belief in education in a democratic civil society fuels demands for mass schooling.

• Baker and LeTendre analyzed international educational systems, noting common beliefs about mass schooling.

• Neo-institutional theories consider how education shapes not just individuals but also other institutions.

Feminist Theory

• Feminist theory challenged patriarchal ideologies and traditional gender roles in schools.

• Feminist educators examined how schools perpetuate sexist attitudes and behaviors, and unequal educational outcomes based on gender.

• They analyzed the role of schooling in the reproduction of gender roles.

• Feminist sociologists examined the role of schooling in reproducing a gender-based achievement gap.

Postmodernism and Critical Theory

• Postmodernism developed out of dissatisfaction with the modernist project.

• Key themes include rejection of metanarratives, connection between theory and practice, democratic response to authoritarianism, critique of Eurocentrism and sexism, and recognition of power structures.

• Critical theories of education draw on postmodernist thought and the work of Paulo Freire.

• Critical pedagogy stresses the classroom as a site for political action.

• Postmodern theories often lack empirical methods and connection to practice.

The Rise of Empirical Sociology of Education: Methodological Approaches

• Quantitative methods dominated research, using large-scale data sets.

• Analyses examined school effects on different groups.

• Qualitative researchers provided complementary approaches using ethnographic methods, analyzing how school processes affect students from various backgrounds.

• Mixed-method approaches combine quantitative and qualitative research methods.