Deck 13: Education

Question 1

Max Weber believed that education was:

A) part of the class conflict between various social classes
B) functional for many reasons
C) useless in a socialist economy
D) central to a status competition among groups with society

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Student loan default rates are highest for those at:

A) private nonprofit institutions
B) public universities
C) two-year colleges
D) private for-profit colleges

Answer 2

D

Question 3

One conflict/critical perspective on education sees the school as a form of _________.

A) meritocracy
B) prison
C) bureaucracy
D) social construction

Answer 3

C

Question 4

John is a factory worker who has a high school degree. He would like to be promoted to the managerial position, but Bob, who has a bachelor's degree, obtains the position. This is an example of ___________________________.

A) discriminatory meritocracy
B) credentialing
C) workplace bias
D) commercialization

Question 5

Ethnomethodologists would be particularly interested in focusing on:

A) how teachers administer an exam to students
B) the overall structure of the educational system
C) the class conflicts between students of various social classes
D) trends in how education is currently purchased and consumed

Question 6

Ethnomethodologists do not theorize about students as if they are being controlled by a variety of external forces without activity being involved in decisions. They don't see students as _________________.

A) cultural dopes
B) culturally undefined
C) children
D) consumers

Question 7

According to the text, students cannot help bring the ethos of _________ to the college experience since it is pervasive throughout U.S. society.

A) narcissism
B) consumption
C) short attention spans
D) anti-intellectualism

Question 8

Education and ___________ are closely related processes because education builds on the base of knowledge already acquired in early life.

A) socialization
B) family
C) bureaucracy
D) stratification

Question 9

Structural functionalists generally focus on how schools_____________.

A) produce value for society
B) educate students in both intended and unintended ways
C) further stratify society by social class
D) construct interaction order in the classroom

Question 10

Randall Collins focused on the growth of ______________ as a social signal that high-status groups use to maintain their status.

A) business degrees
B) credentials
C) private schools
D) mentorship

Question 11

Conflict/critical theories have two branches based on the classical theories of ________ and __________.

A) Durkheim; Weber
B) Durkheim; Marx
C) Marx; Weber
D) Marx; Veblen

Question 12

____________ focus on labels that students acquire in school and how this affects the way they are treated by teachers.

A) Structural-functionalists
B) Symbolic interactionists
C) Conflict/critical theorists
D) Exchange theorists

Question 13

Mrs. Harper, a third grade teacher, labels certain students as achievers and other students as slackers. This, in turn, affects their school performance. This is an example of the labeling theory, which is part of the _________________________ theory as it pertains to education.

A) functionalist
B) conflict
C) symbolic interactionist
D) critical

Question 14

According to Durkheim, the two types of training that the educational system should provide are _________ and ____________.

A) general; specific
B) beginner; intermediate
C) skills; content
D) reading; math

Question 15

The correlation between educational attainment and employment earnings is:

A) strong and negative
B) strong and positive
C) weak and positive
D) weak and negative

Question 16

Symbolic interactionists, when studying the educational system, are most likely to focus on:

A) the behaviors between students in a particular classroom
B) the struggles that working class and upper class face
C) the functions of the educational system in various countries
D) the larger structure of the school system

Question 17

Which of these best represents how conflict/critical theorists Bowles and Gintis see the role of school?

A) Schools train students to become "good workers" before they enter the capitalist system
B) Schools train students to be aware of class differences
C) Schools train all students to be independent problem solvers
D) Schools train individuals to be achievement oriented

Question 18

______________ theories examine how education serves to reproduce social inequalities and reinforce the system of social stratification.

A) Structural/functional
B) Symbolic interaction
C) Conflict/critical
D) Exchange

Question 19

Which structural-functionalist founder of sociology was also a professor of education at the Sorbonne?

A) Max Weber
B) Karl Marx
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Auguste Comte

Question 20

_______________ are interested in everyday methods that students employ to accomplish school-related tasks, such as completing exams.

A) Structural-functionalists
B) Conflict/critical theorists
C) Ethnomethodologists
D) Exchange theorists

Question 21

__________ is a system based on the idea that all people have an equal chance of succeeding economically based on their hard work and skills.

A) Democracy
B) Meritocracy
C) Credentialism
D) Capitalized education

Question 22

What was the most controversial finding that sociologists have debunked from The Bell Curve by Herrnstein and Murray?

A) Men are innately smarter than women
B) There are innate intelligence differences by race
C) Those from elite social groups are innately smarter than those from lower classes
D) Some individuals are incapable of learning at a college level

Question 23

According to the text, differences in children's educational levels can be detected as early as:

A) six months of age
B) two years of age
C) four years of age
D) seven years of age

Question 24

Hart and Risley concluded, through their research, that there is a correlation between children's exposure to differences in parenting practices and _________________________.

A) academic performance
B) how they raised their own children
C) vocabulary growth
D) discipline problems

Question 25

When the government issues certificates to allow students to pay tuition to private school with public tax dollars, it is called:

A) scholarship tax
B) vouchers
C) unschooling
D) charter schools

Question 26

___________________ view meritocracy as a positive development because society benefits from having the most important positions filled by the hardest working and most skilled individuals.

A) Symbolic interactionists
B) Conflict theorists
C) Feminists
D) Structural-functionalists

Question 27

The process by which the most advantaged individuals are awarded the best opportunities is referred to as the _________________________.

A) cumulative advantage
B) tracking advantage
C) performance advantage
D) schooling advantage

Question 28

Which of the following would be a disadvantage of commercialized education?

A) Teaching becomes McDonaldized
B) College degrees become devalued
C) Students shop for education based on cost instead of other values
D) Instruction becomes infused with commercialized messages

Question 29

Jill and Steve are parents to three young children and are college educated. They are always stressing the importance of a college education to their children. Their children are developing a(n) _____________________ as a result of this socialization.

A) college-going habitus
B) achievement orientation
C) organizational capacity
D) cumulative advantage

Question 30

In the U.S. education system, students with the highest reading and math scores:

A) are scattered throughout various backgrounds with no pattern
B) are divided evenly based on the teacher's experience level
C) are correlated to the education level of the students' parents
D) decrease between groups from first grade to twelfth grade

Question 31

At what grade level do German schools recommend an academic track for all students?

A) Kindergarten
B) Second grade
C) Fourth grade
D) Seventh grade

Question 32

In what way do Japanese schools recommend an academic track following the first nine years of school?

A) Evaluation of student grade record
B) Standardized test
C) A combination of past performance and student career assessment measures
D) A formal interview with student and parents

Question 33

Rankings of worldwide student educational performance are known as:

A) WSEP rankings
B) PISA rankings
C) MOOC rankings
D) EDUC rankings

Question 34

The first study of American schools found that the most important school characteristics were the family background and racial composition of the students attending the school as well as _____________________________.

A) teacher quality
B) a friendly administration
C) funding
D) gender

Question 35

__________ argue that within meritocracies, advantaged groups can secure better opportunities for their children, ultimately reproducing inequalities across generations.

A) Symbolic interactionists
B) Conflict theorists
C) Feminists
D) Structural-functionalists

Question 36

Which of these social events did the original Coleman study address?

A) Whether or not schools should be racially integrated
B) Whether or not schools should educate girls and boys separately
C) Whether or not educational differences were genetic or biological
D) Whether or not students should be homeschooled

Question 37

Which of the following values did Robert Dreeben believe schools should teach students in order for them to become successful?

A) To value independence among students
B) The value of achievement
C) To value being evaluated on specific skill competence
D) To see adults and always focused on assisting children

Question 38

The popularity of ____________ has/have grown in recent years, while the popularity of _______________ has/have been mixed at best.

A) charter schools; homeschooling
B) homeschooling; unschooling
C) unschool; charter schools
D) homeschooling; charter schools

Question 39

Herrnstein and Murray argue that educational inequalities and differences in learning and schooling are largely determined by _________________________.

A) social class background
B) one's neighborhood
C) inborn differences in intelligence
D) teaching quality

Question 40

Which alternative to public school attempts to allow every student and teacher an equal voice in decision making about how long classes are and who teaches them?

A) Homeschooling
B) Charter schools
C) Voucher schools
D) Unschool

Question 41

According to the study referenced in your text, a group of black impoverished children who attended an enriched preschool (Perry Preschool) for two years:

A) performed at an equal level to children from the same background who didn't receive any preschooling
B) maintained an academic advantage throughout elementary school but resembled peers without preschool by the time they reached junior high
C) experienced larger gains in intelligence than those who didn't receive any preschooling
D) were more likely to finish college

Question 42

According to current college enrollment statistics:

A) enrollment rates of students from low-income households has increased modestly since 1970
B) high-income students have college enrollment rates that are almost 30 percent higher than their low-income peers
C) students from middle-class backgrounds were the most likely of all types to complete a degree
D) while rates of enrollment among low-income students have increased over the last 40 years, the rate of graduation with a degree has stayed the same

Question 43

According to the text, which of these are the alternatives to public school that have emerged over the past few decades?

A) Homeschooling
B) Competency-based education
C) Unschooling
D) Charter schools

Question 44

Select and discuss one way that family background has affected educational outcomes in the United States. What does this say about equality within the American education system?

Question 45

In which of these ways does the U.S. system differ from Germany and Japan?

A) Tracking occurs within schools, not between schools
B) The United States organizes education at the state level, but Germany and Japan each have one national system
C) The United States has the highest levels of achievement inequality when compared to Germany and Japan
D) The United States has achievement levels between Japan and Germany

Question 46

Durkheim believed that schools should provide every student with the same education.

Question 47

Educational experts have been interested in the consistently high rankings of Finland. Which of these are characteristics of Finland's educational system?

A) Teachers are well trained and unionized
B) Finnish schools rely heavily on standardized testing
C) Finnish schools show consistency across schools indicating equality of educational opportunity for all
D) Characteristics of the country of Finland make it a good model for the United States or other countries in the developed world

Question 48

Which of the following are considered indicators of the commercialization of education?

A) The increase of college logo apparel and houseware goods on the market
B) Increased enrollment in for-profit colleges
C) Sales of fake degrees from nonexistent universities
D) The exchange of free video and communication equipment for broadcasting programming schools

Question 49

Compare three types of alternative types of schooling discussed in the text. In current trends, where do each of these alternatives stand?

Question 50

Education makes a big difference at the individual level, but varies too much person by person to affect the national level of income.

Question 51

Conflict theorists inspired by Marx see the educational system as a system of social reproduction of class relations.

Question 52

Education can serve as a buffer to those with higher educational levels in times of economic recession. Those with the highest educational levels had a much lower unemployment rate during the recession.

Question 53

Compare the differences that exist between German, Japanese, and American schools.

Question 54

What are two outcomes that are associated with higher levels of educational attainment?

Question 55

Symbolic interactionists are interested in the following issues related to schools:

A) how schools reproduce social class inequalities
B) mundane ways that students can disrupt classes
C) how gang activity affects classrooms
D) how schools function to prepare students as workers under capitalism

Question 56

Discuss two indicators of the commercialization of education.

Question 57

Discuss the Coleman Report findings in relation to The Bell Curve work by Herrnstein and Murray. What claims did each research make, and what were its implications? How has sociology responded to these findings?

Question 58

Compare and contrast the structural/functional and conflict perspectives on education. How do these two theories see the role of education differently?

Question 59

What are three specific characteristics of the Finnish school system that have defined its success? What is the potential for applying lessons learned through the Finnish educational system to systems in other countries?

Question 60

Discuss two ways that education is related to socialization within the family.

Question 61

Asian countries ranked highest in the PISA scores for math, reading, and science.

Question 62

Proponents of alternatives to public school have much in common with each other.

Question 63

Recent research on school effects has contradicted the findings of the Coleman Report.

Question 64

Public education is undermined by focusing solely on the interests of private individuals as consumers rather than the role of education as a public institution.

Question 65

Completion of a bachelor's degree or higher varies by race more than graduation from high school.

Question 66

The text compares schools in the United States, Germany, and Japan to illustrate the superiority of the U.S. educational system when compared to other developed nations.

Question 67

Teachers who label students in a certain manner can affect their academic performance. This is part of the symbolic interactionist perspective as it pertains to education.

Question 68

Diane Ravitch has been and remains a staunch advocate for privatization in education and believes these efforts can create better results if implemented better.

Question 69

Critical theorists see education as a part of the culture that is meant to keep people passive and in their place.

Question 70

There is an increase in the commercialization of education.

Question 71

As advanced by educational philosopher John Dewey, the ideal of public education is to serve the public interest by providing educational opportunity for all citizens.

Question 72

Private, market-based solutions often offered by more politically conservative candidates have experienced a great deal of success in the last ten years.

Question 73

For the first nine years of school, German students are exposed to a uniform curriculum.

Question 74

Many of the choices made for educational reform benefit those with the ability to participate and influence politics, those who have capital.

Question 75

We can tell that American education is meritocratic because social origin and ascribed statuses have little effect on how much students learn and how far they go in school.

Question 76

Herrnstein and Murray claimed that differences in learning and schooling are largely determined by differences in intelligence.