Deck 13: Education

Question 1

Chapter 13 presents three different goals that American education has been expected to serve over the years. One view expects that schools enable individuals to compete for social positions. This view is referred to as:

A) Democratic equality
B) Educational socialization
C) Social mobility
D) Social efficiency
E) None of the above

Answer 1

C

Question 2

An alternate expectation of American education is that it will focus on training individuals as adept and capable workers. This view is referred to as:

A) Democratic equality
B) Educational socialization
C) Social mobility
D) Social efficiency
E) None of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Lastly, some argue that the purpose of American education is to prepare individuals to be upstanding, engaged citizens. This view is referred to as:

A) Democratic equality
B) Educational socialization
C) Social mobility
D) Social efficiency
E) None of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What did sociologist James Coleman mean by the term 'value climate'?

A) 'Value climate' refers to the political tendencies in a school. Schools where students are more politically engaged are "hot." Democratic equality stresses the importance of a warm 'value climate.'
B) 'Value climate' implies that schools should be homogenous; representing only tempered beliefs and values in order to prevent conflict.
C) 'Value climate' refers to the atmosphere in a school. It is influenced by the student body, as well as teachers and administrators. It is assumed that if the 'value climate' is positively inclined, then the school will provide a better education.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 5

Which of the following statements accurately describes the difference between education and schooling?

A) Education refers to the ways individuals develop their abilities, acquire knowledge, and receive training in particular skills. Schooling refers to time spent in formal educational institutions.
B) Education refers to the sum total of knowledge acquired while enrolled in various formal institutions, including primary and secondary school. Schooling refers to the process by which this knowledge is acquired.
C) Education is a formal process. Schooling is an informal process.
D) There is no difference.
E) None of the above

Question 6

A sociologist would like to make the argument that the goal of American education is democratic equality. Which of the following examples might be used as evidence to support this argument?

A) School curriculum includes courses in social studies, civics, government, and American history.
B) Many schools have a student government association where students participate in making decisions and policies for the school.
C) Many school systems pay careful attention to diversity in the school, encouraging programs that support students from different backgrounds interacting peacefully and working collaboratively.
D) Many schools hold mock elections where students "vote" in upcoming political races.
E) All of the above

Question 7

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, education shifted away from academic learning toward training students in the skills necessary for carrying out particular job roles. This shift is sometimes referred to as:

A) Industrialism
B) Alienation
C) Vocationalism
D) Technomodernization
E) None of the above

Question 8

Some critics of the social mobility goal of American education argue that:

A) Social mobility results in the overproduction of academic qualifications.
B) Social mobility raises the level of educational attainment required for jobs while the skill requirements remain the same.
C) Social mobility facilitates democratic equality, rather than helping individuals to accept and move beyond their own shortcomings.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 9

The case of the Texas board of Education represents attempts to introduce into high school curriculum:

A) Enlightenment values.
B) Religious values.
C) Neutrality of values in education.
D) Revisions to how history is taught.
E) b and d only

Question 10

Which of the following statements accurately describes the functionalist perspective used to analyze education?

A) The functionalist perspective is best exemplified by the work of Max Weber.
B) The functionalist perspective views children and young people as being free spirits. The role of education is to nurture their search for what they are passionate about.
C) The functionalist perspective is focused primarily on individualism and individual interests.
D) The functional perspective was praised for its consideration of stratification in society.
E) None of the above

Question 11

Which of the following statements accurately describes the conflict perspective used to analyze education?

A) The basic premise of a conflict perspective is that there are conflicting group interests and goals in society.
B) Both Max Weber and Karl Marx offer a conflict perspective of analysis. Weber focused on the way that education served to train people to fill particular statuses. Marx focused on the way education served as a tool for the capitalists to produce disciplined workers.
C) A conflict perspective views American education as promoting an ideology of collective action and cooperation.
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 12

A sociologist studies the effect of early childhood education on college completion taking into consideration whether the students are male or female and whether or not they attended public or private school. This is an example of:

A) Microsociology
B) Labeling theory
C) Macrosociology
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 13

A sociologist studies the relationship between students and their teachers at four different points in their educational development. The sociologist is particularly interested in how a child's success varies depending upon the teacher's expectations and encouragement. This is an example of:

A) Microsociology
B) Labeling theory
C) Macrosociology
D) Both a and b, but not c
E) None of the above

Question 14

What is cultural capital?

A) A concept introduced by Karl Marx, cultural capital refers to the way that the production of cultural products, like art and music, has been detached from their creative impulses and are now mass-marketed capitalist products.
B) An urban center of any given city where culture has symbolic value, and is used as a means of bartering in place of money.
C) A concept introduced by Pierre Bourdieu, cultural capital refers to the cultural qualities that are prized in the educational system, as well as society.
D) A concept used by Max Weber to describe the transformation of culture with the rise of industrialization and urbanization.
E) None of the above

Question 15

Theories of cultural deprivation have been developed to explain the ways that lower class individuals are systematically held back from academic success. According to Chapter 13, what is an intrinsic flaw of these theories?

A) They privilege lower class and minority children over white, middle-class children who have to work just as hard to achieve in contemporary society.
B) They ignore the various welfare programs that are in place which have eliminated these problems.
C) They explain the failure of certain groups with regards to a single model of the "good student"-usually white and middle class.
D) They assume that the American educational system is based on equality of opportunity, when really it is meritocratic.
E) All of the above

Question 16

An increasing push toward multiculturalism has not been without resistance. On what basis has this resistance occurred?

A) Some critics argue that multiculturalism is not just about extending the value of cultural pluralism to individuals previously excluded, but that it is an attack on "the cultural heritage of Western civilization."
B) Conservatives have accused liberals of introducing a policy of political correctness to education that requires teachers to place political agenda in front of educational quality.
C) There has been no backlash to multiculturalism.
D) Both a and b, but not c.
E) None of the above

Question 17

What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism?

A) Ethnocentrism is a term that is improved upon and replaced by cultural relativism.
B) Ethnocentrism privileges one group over another. Cultural relativism sees all cultures as valuable and rejects any hierarchy.
C) Ethnocentrism is subjective, cultural relativism is objective.
D) They are unrelated terms.
E) None of the above

Question 18

Schools that are established to distribute and desegregate schools based on special interests or talents, such as mathematics or art, are called:

A) Online schools
B) Magnet schools
C) Charter schools
D) Voucher schools
E) None of the above

Question 19

Schools that focus on particular themes, methods or curriculum, are publicly funded, and give parents and students more autonomy in school government are called:

A) Online schools
B) Magnet schools
C) Charter schools
D) Voucher schools
E) None of the above

Question 20

A move toward a more market oriented model of education, school systems that give families money for their school age children and allow the parents to choose the school and educational program that best fits their child are called:

A) Educational economy
B) Independent education
C) Free-choice achievement
D) Voucher systems
E) None of the above

Question 21

According to Chapter 13, the domination of the social mobility goal in American education might mark the transition from a modern society to postmodern society.

Question 22

Informal processes at home and between friends are an important part of education.

Question 23

Education has been proven to be negatively linked to voter participation, though only to a small degree.

Question 24

An individual who lacks reading and writing skills adequate for everyday living might be called functionally literate.

Question 25

Labeling theory suggests that if students are given the impression that they are dumb and are not expected to succeed academically, they may behave as the label suggests.

Question 26

The study of student's 'speech code' is an effort at creating a synthesis between macrosocial and microsocial approaches.

Question 27

Examples of cultural capital might include income, wages, inherited wealth, and property.

Question 28

Many researchers have shown that standardized tests, such as the SATs, are biased against students from non-white and non-middle class students.

Question 29

Moves toward multiculturalism in education have met some resistance and given rise to ideological controversy, sometimes called the "culture wars."

Question 30

Online courses and virtual colleges are signs that we may be entering a postmodern educational era, and there is reason to believe that the social inequalities reproduced in modern education will be readily eliminated.