Transcript Education Chapter 17 Henslin’s Sociology: A Down To Earth Approach The Development of Modern Education How did modern education develop? In most of human history, education consisted.

Education
Chapter 17
Henslin’s
Sociology: A Down To Earth Approach
The Development of
Modern Education
How did modern education develop?
In most of human history, education consisted of informal
learning, equivalent to acculturation.
In some earlier societies, centers of formal education did
develop, such as among the Arabs, Chinese, Greeks, and
Egyptians.
Because modern education came about in response to
industrialization, formal education is much less common in
the Least Industrialized Nations.
Education in Global
Perspective
How does education compare among the Most
Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized
Nations?
In general, formal education reflects a nation’s economy.
Consequently, education is …
– Extensive in the Most Industrialized Nations (Japan)
– Undergoing vast change in the Industrializing Nations
(Russia)
– Spotty in the Least Industrialized Nations. (Egypt)
The Functionalist
Perspective:
Providing Social Benefits
What is the functionalist perspective on
education?
Among the functions of education are the
teaching of knowledge and skills, providing
credentials, cultural transmission of values, social
integration, gate-keeping, and mainstreaming.
Functionalists also note that education has
replaced some traditional family functions.
The Conflict
Perspective:
Reproducing the Social Class Structure
What is the conflict perspective on education?
The basic view of conflict theorists is that
education reproduces the social class structure;
that is, through such mechanisms as unequal
funding and operating different schools for the
elite and for the masses, education perpetuates
society’s basic social inequalities from one
generation to the next.
The Symbolic
Interactionist Perspective:
Fulfilling Teacher Expectations
What is the Symbolic Interactionist perspective
on education?
Symbolic Interactionists focus on face-to-face
interaction.
In examining what occurs in the classroom, they
have found that student performance tends to
conform to teacher expectations, whether they
are high or low.
Problems in U.S. Education—
and their Solutions
What are the chief problems that face
U.S. education?
In addition to violence, the major problems
are low achievement (as shown by SAT
scores), grade inflation, social promotion,
and functional illiteracy
What are the potential
solutions to these problems?
The primary solution is to restore high
educational standards, which can be done
only after providing basic security for
students.
Any solution for improving quality must be
based on expecting more of both
students and teachers