Deck 14: Education

Question 1

Roger served in the U.S. Army as a military policeman for twenty years. He had a distinguished record of service and training that included attendance at the Fib Academy. When he retired from the service, he applied for a patrolman's position in his hometown police department but his application was refused because he did not have a college degree. Which statement best describes Roger's application's being denied?

A) Roger was a victim of credentialism.
B) Roger was a victim of tracking.
C) Without a college degree Roger could not compete intellectually with other police officer candidates.
D) Roger's hometown police department has taken a theoretical approach rather than an applied approach to hiring.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What sociological perspective is most aligned with the school as an agent of socialization, the labeling of students, and student-teacher interaction?

A) the functionalist perspective
B) the conflict perspective
C) the symbolic interactionist perspective
D) the feminist perspective

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, how was access to education viewed in Great Britain?

A) It was the cornerstone of society and included mandatory attendance laws for all children.
B) It was a privilege not a right and reserved for the upper classes and nobility.
C) It was a right to which everyone was entitled but seldom exercised by members of the lower classes.
D) Education was viewed as a nonessential luxury that had a low priority, even among the wealthy classes.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In Japan, what is a juku?

A) It is the equivalent of a reform school for juvenile delinquents.
B) It is a school with "rigid regimentation" with in-depth focus and discipline.
C) It is a "cram school," where students receive additional instruction after the regular school day concludes.
D) It is the national standardized achievement test to determine college admission in Japan.

Question 5

On what general theme is the national education system in America based?

A) It is intended to build patriotism and national awareness.
B) It is to provide resources to families with dependent children.
C) It is to provide students with the most up-to-date technology.
D) There is no national education system in the United States.

Question 6

Based on a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately what percentage of Americans over age 25 have a high school diploma?

A) 75 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 85 percent
D) 66 percent

Question 7

What are two tactics recommended by educational reformers that will better humanize schools?

A) increasing class size and increasing technology in schools
B) returning to a basic curriculum and training teachers to be more specialized
C) making the learning process more passive and developing uniform expectations
D) making class schedules more flexible and training teachers more broadly

Question 8

What is a school called that is created by a contract between those starting the school (individuals or parent groups) and the governing authority granting the agreement (state or local school board)?

A) parochial school
B) charter school
C) public school
D) private school

Question 9

Based on a 2007 Gallup Poll, what is the most serious problem facing public schools?

A) lack of qualified teachers
B) use of drugs by students
C) lack of financial support
D) lack of discipline

Question 10

What is the main goal of education as a social institution?

A) to teach cognitive skills and knowledge
B) to pass on cultural tradition
C) to promote the propagation of the faith
D) to increase patriotism and national pride

Question 11

What political entity is most responsible for public education in the United States?

A) the federal government
B) the National Education Association
C) the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
D) the individual school district

Question 12

What event transformed education in Great Britain from being only for the upper class to also being offered to middle-class families?

A) the discovery of the New World
B) the Industrial Revolution
C) World War I
D) the Great Depression

Question 13

In which society would anticipatory socialization be less difficult for students to master and more consistent from one generation to the next?

A) the agrarian society
B) the industrial society
C) the postindustrial society
D) the bioeconomic society

Question 14

In the United States public and private kindergartens and elementary schools provide the largest day-care system in the world. What is the term functionalists would use to describe this phenomenon?

A) It is a manifest function of education.
B) It is a dysfunction of education.
C) It is a latent function of education.
D) It is a social function of education.

Question 15

The school board of the Whoville School District has a mandate that directs its educational staff to employ a curriculum that teaches its students the knowledge and skills necessary for successful fulfillment of their future roles and statuses. In view of this, which statement BEST describes this mandate?

A) This mandate seeks to preserve the cultural tradition of Whoville.
B) This mandate reflects how education is a tool of capitalism.
C) This mandate addresses the function of anticipatory socialization.
D) This mandate supports the symbolic interactionist view of education.

Question 16

What did Postman and Weingartner identify as the "basic function of all education"?

A) to pass cultural tradition from one generation to the next
B) the propagation of the faith
C) the development of patriotism and national pride
D) to increase the survival prospects of the group

Question 17

In today's England, what is the basis for the stratification of the quality of education?

A) social class
B) race
C) the geographic location of schools
D) the sex of the student

Question 18

Approximately how many American children are homeschooled?

A) Under 1 million
B) 1.7 million
C) 5 million
D) 7.5 million

Question 19

The belief that mass education has the potential to promote equality, but instead promotes perpetual inequality in both capitalist and socialist societies, is most aligned with which sociological perspective?

A) the conflict perspective
B) the structuralist perspective
C) the functionalist perspective
D) the symbolic interactionist perspective

Question 20

What is the phrase used to describe the rigid regimentation that includes focus on discipline, conformity, and respect for authority in Japanese schools?

A) the divine wind
B) kanri kyoiku
C) loyalty, fidelity, tradition
D) juku moto

Question 21

What is the Pygmalion effect?

A) the placement of students in classrooms with other students of the same intellectual ability
B) teachers who expect students to succeed and excel and are motivated to work with students to ensure that they do
C) creating a false belief that certain occupations are natural based on sex, such as women being nurses and secretaries
D) an overemphasis on educational credentials by employers as a means of narrowing the field of applicants

Question 22

What was the significance of the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?

A) It struck down the "separate-but-equal" doctrine that supported racial segregation in the public schools.
B) It created the "No Child Left Behind Act" that dominates school philosophy today.
C) It outlawed corporal punishment (paddling) in all public schools.
D) It created a national policy that public schools were required to hire only certified teachers.

Question 23

Harry Gracey compared kindergarten programs to being an "academic boot camp."

Question 24

Approximately 1.7 million school-aged students are homeschooled. What is the percentage of all public and private schools that this group comprises?

A) 3 percent
B) 5 percent
C) 8 percent
D) 12 percent

Question 25

Of the following students, which one is MOST likely to suffer from computer phobia?

A) a five-year-old kindergarten student
B) a ten-year-old fifth grader
C) a fourteen-year-old eighth grader
D) a forty-year-old earning his GED

Question 26

What is the hidden curriculum in education?

A) the emphasis of the education system on reading, writing, and arithmetic
B) the aspect of education designed to teach dominant norms, values, and consensus ideology
C) the unequal access of technology experienced by schools based on their funding
D) the credentialism of society created by employers looking to take shortcuts in hiring

Question 27

What is the most popular way for the nation's public schools to be funded?

A) federal subsidies
B) property taxes
C) state grants
D) tuition and fees

Question 28

Who was responsible for calling kindergarten "the academic boot camp"?

A) Horace Mann
B) Harry Gracey
C) James B. Watson
D) Jeffrey Kozol

Question 29

What is the objective of a campaign that calls for "zero tolerance" in the school?

A) It refuses to allow the social promotion of any student.
B) It ends any form of discrimination in education.
C) It puts an end to hiring teachers who are not fully certified.
D) It establishes schools as drug-free and gun-free zones.

Question 30

What sociological perspective are cultural transmission, anticipatory socialization, and integration in the school most closely aligned?

A) the conflict perspective
B) symbolic interactionism
C) the feminist perspective
D) the functionalist perspective

Question 31

The function of school that stresses the knowledge and skills necessary for the successful fulfillment of future roles and statuses is called the hidden curriculum.

Question 32

The Supreme Court case P.L.O. v. New Jersey struck down the "separate- but- equal" doctrine that supported racial segregation in the public schools.

Question 33

What was the 2002 federally sponsored program that established laws that all states implement standardized tests to assess student performance?

A) the National Education Achievement Act
B) the War on Poverty
C) the No Child Left Behind program
D) the New Frontier

Question 34

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy?

A) the creation of a social class system through the denial or access to education
B) the belief that all schools provide the same level of quality in education and experience
C) when predictions about students' abilities shape the students' future actions and behaviors in such a way that the predictions come true
D) assigning students to specific classrooms based on perceived ability

Question 35

In the Bentleyville Elementary School, Mrs. Reese administered a standardized reading test to all first graders, then assigned students to classrooms based on their level of achievement. What is such a practice called?

A) gatekeeping
B) integration
C) tracking
D) credentialism

Question 36

When schools bring together people from diverse social backgrounds so that they share common social experiences and develop commonly held norms, attitudes, and beliefs it is called integration.

Question 37

Based on a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately what percentage of Americans over age 25 have doctorate degrees?

A) a little over one percent
B) about four percent
C) over seven percent
D) almost ten percent

Question 38

What was the conclusion reached by the Coleman Report on the relationship between the amount of money spent by a school and student achievement?

A) There is a direct relationship between the amount of money a district spends on education and student achievement.
B) There is an inverse relationship between the amount of money a district spends on education and student achievement.
C) There is a positive relationship between the amount of money a district spends on education and student achievement.
D) There is very little relationship between the amount of money a district spends on education and student achievement.

Question 39

Which of the following is one of the major criticisms of homeschooling by the critics of the home- schooling movement?

A) Parents have fewer technological resources at their disposal than public or private schools.
B) It creates empty desks in a public school that have already been paid for with public monies.
C) The dropout rate of students in homeschooling is higher than the dropout rate in public schools.
D) The quality of instruction is inferior and results in low scores by homeschooled students on standardized tests.

Question 40

Quality education is one of the basic rights promised to all Americans in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 41

A school that is created by a contract between those starting the school (individuals or parent groups) and the governing authority granting the agreement (state or local school board) is called a ________ school.

Question 42

Because most school districts are financed through local property taxes, there is a great deal of inequality in the amount of money allocated for a school district based on its location and the status of the community in which it is located.

Question 43

Efforts to turn to technology to redefine and improve education by inspiring students and rejuvenating teachers has not met with its expected success.

Question 44

Tax dollars received by parents or guardians to offset some of the costs of tuition and transportation so that their children can attend a private school outside their district are called ________.

Question 45

When teachers expect students to succeed and excel, which motivates teachers to work with the students to ensure that they do, it is called ________.

Question 46

The aspect of education designed to teach dominant norms, values, and consensus ideologies is called the ________.

Question 47

Most serious research has demonstrated that computers in the classroom are most effective as a supplemental tool and not a replacement for human contact in the classroom.

Question 48

The process of teaching patriotism, nationalism, and basic American values and sharing a common academic curriculum in public schools is referred to as Americanization.

Question 49

Institutionalized forms of education exist in every society.

Question 50

The charter school concept has been widely accepted throughout the United States, primarily because it is void of critics and thus far has had no negative impact on the overall educational system.

Question 51

Studies on the effects of children's watching television are generally consistent in their conclusion that television viewing has a negative impact on a student's ability to concentrate and learn in a traditional manner.

Question 52

One of the major problems with credentialism is that many individuals must settle for jobs for which they are overqualified.

Question 53

A focus on the contributions of Europeans to history, math, science, and literature in American education curriculums is referred to as the hidden curriculum.

Question 54

The "zero tolerance" campaign calls for no child's failing to master the basic skills necessary to be promoted to the next higher grade level in public schools.

Question 55

The process by which culture is passed from one generation to the next is referred to as cultural transmission.

Question 56

Studies show that the efforts to use the educational system to fight social problems have been largely successful.

Question 57

The Coleman Report found that there was a direct, positive relationship between the amount of money spent on a school and student achievement.

Question 58

When predictions about students' abilities shape the students' future actions and behaviors in such a way that the predictions come true, it is called a ________.

Question 59

Youth homicides and gun violence are phenomena experienced most commonly in American schools, with a very low incidence in other countries, especially Japan.

Question 60

Education that recognizes cultural diversity and promotes an appreciation of all cultures is referred to as Eurocentrism.

Question 61

The policy that calls for the placing of students perceived to have similar intelligence and academic abilities in the same classroom is ________.

Question 62

Discuss the "No Child Left Behind" program (NCLB). In your opinion has the NCLB program had a significant impact on improving the American education system?

Question 63

In education, the creation of new knowledge and finding new ways to use existing knowledge is called ________.

Question 64

The institutionalized process of systematically teaching certain cognitive skills and knowledge and transmitting them from one generation to the next is ________.

Question 65

List and define the four manifest functions of education.

Question 66

Discuss how charter schools and homeschooling are changing education in America.

Question 67

How does the Pygmalion effect lead to self-fulfilling prophecies?

Question 68

Teaching knowledge and skills necessary for the fulfillment of future roles and statuses is referred to as ________.

Question 69

The overemphasis of educational achievement by employers that calls for applicants to have degrees not necessarily needed to perform the work to be done is ________.

Question 70

Compare and contrast the public education systems in Great Britain, Japan, and the United States.