Deck 11: Education: What Are We Learning

Question 1

Which of the following is not a latent function of education?

A) Fostering a youth culture
B) Promoting change and innovation
C) Keeping children off the streets until they can be absorbed into productive roles in society
D) Serving as a mate selection market

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is not one of the strategies students use to cope with school pressures presented in the text?

A) Ritualism
B) Rejection
C) Innovation
D) Divergence

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The statement, "Formal and informal education services certain crucial purposes in society, especially as societies modernize" most closely reflects:

A) Symbolic interaction theory
B) Conflict theory
C) Functionalist theory
D) Rational choice theory

Answer 3

C

Question 4

__________ refers to hiring male teachers at higher pay levels than female teachers, having more male-dominated extracurricular activities, and increased vocational curricula.

A) The war against boys
B) Institutionalized patriarchy
C) Myth of the fragile girl
D) Masculinization of schools

Question 5

Carolina has been considering dropping out of school. However, she now realizes that attending school on a daily basis has a relatively low social cost, yet there are many rewards associated with graduation, so she has decided to stay in school. Which theoretical consideration most strongly influenced this decision?

A) Structural functionalism
B) Social conflict
C) Cultural capital
D) Rational choice

Question 6

The statement, "Educational opportunities are manipulated in ways that keep the sons and daughters of the upper class in positions of privilege" most closely reflects:

A) Symbolic interaction theory
B) Conflict theory
C) Functionalist theory
D) Rational choice theory

Question 7

__________ refers to learning skills such as reading and math in a building via systematic instruction by a trained professional.

A) Compulsory education
B) Schooling
C) Mass education
D) Informal education

Question 8

Which of the following measures is used to determine educational quality?

A) Student-teacher ratio
B) Average textbook cost
C) Number of rooms a school has
D) Rate of illiteracy

Question 9

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's model of schooling that most countries have adopted includes:

A) Six years of primary school and three years of secondary school
B) Six years of primary school with the option of secondary school
C) Eight years of primary school with four years of secondary school
D) Eight years of primary school with the option of secondary school

Question 10

Jason always disrupts class by interjecting unnecessary comments or getting into trouble for skipping school and vandalizing school property. Jason is likely considered a(n):

A) At-risk student
B) Member of a peer culture
C) Member of a peer counterculture
D) Unprofessional student

Question 11

Which of the following is a key feature of being a "professional"?

A) Being a meso-level intermediary
B) Autonomy on the job
C) Outside regulation
D) Competency testing

Question 12

According to structural-functionalists, what is a manifest function of education?

A) Conferring status
B) Getting kids to go to college
C) Socialization
D) Encouraging children to wait to get married and start a family until they have graduated from high school

Question 13

The statement, "Popularity is learning how to be noticed and liked, and having everyone know who you are" most closely reflects:

A) Symbolic interaction theory
B) Conflict theory
C) Rational choice theory
D) Structural-functional theory

Question 14

Ty is an eighth-grade music teacher. Ty must support and encourage his students, but he must also give them poor grades for not learning their music. This causes Ty to experience:

A) Role conflict
B) Deprofessionalism
C) Role strain
D) At-risk behavior

Question 15

Which of the following statements supports the argument that education works to reproduce social class from one generation to the next?

A) Students from a lower socioeconomic position must obey authority.
B) Students from a lower socioeconomic position are taught to question the dominant ideology.
C) Student achievement, like test scores, plays a large role in determining how a student is tracked.
D) Students are encouraged to pursue any occupational path they find desirable.

Question 16

The statement, "The educational system is not equally beneficial to all or even to the majority of citizens" most closely reflects:

A) Structural-functional theory
B) Rational choice theory
C) Conflict theory
D) Symbolic interaction theory

Question 17

According to symbolic interaction theorists, one manifestation of the differences children create and maintain in schools is:

A) Tracking
B) College attendance rates
C) Popularity
D) Literacy

Question 18

Because kindergarten teachers teach children to follow rules, cooperate with each other, and accept the teacher as the boss, Gracey suggests that we should view kindergarten as a(n):

A) Iron cage of bureaucracy
B) Academic boot camp
C) Glass ceiling
D) Hidden curriculum

Question 19

Which of the following is a latent function of education?

A) Selecting and training individuals for positions in society
B) Keeping children off the streets until they can be absorbed into productive roles in society
C) Enhancing personal and social developments
D) Promoting change and innovation

Question 20

Which of the following groups is most likely to be closely knit and egalitarian?

A) Peer classmates
B) Individuals in the same reading track
C) A group of male students
D) A group of female students

Question 21

According to the text, there are ____ million functionally illiterate U.S. citizens.

A) 7
B) 17
C) 27
D) 37

Question 22

Gender gaps in educational attainment are narrowing worldwide.

Question 23

The major recommendation made by the Coleman Report was to:

A) Integrate schools
B) Masculinize schools
C) Provide early childhood education
D) Equalize per-pupil spending

Question 24

Jana is the athletic director at an area high school. Although she was previously employed as a math teacher and a soccer coach, Jana is now limited to scheduling athletic competitions. This resembles which of the following characteristics of Max Weber's bureaucratic model?

A) Specific rules and procedures
B) Division of labor
C) An emphasis on rationality
D) An emphasis on formalized relations

Question 25

Which of the following most accurately describes education in complex societies?

A) The knowledge needed by the young becomes too complex to be taught by families.
B) More educated parents are less reliant on formal schooling to teach their children.
C) The relationship between the school and the military becomes closer.
D) Schools become less bureaucratically organized.

Question 26

Which of the following is a finding of early childhood research?

A) Children's development occurs much faster after age 5 than before.
B) Although child survival programs reduce infant mortality in developed countries, they have no other benefits.
C) The growth trajectory in learning, health, and emotional development for young children should not be interrupted.
D) Societies are generally addressing the needs of young children.

Question 27

The school-to-work transition is most effectively defined by public policy in which of the following locations?

A) The United States
B) Asia
C) Europe and Russia
D) Australia

Question 28

Because of the importance of language in any culture, regardless of a nation's level of development, the literacy rate for the adult population will be 90% or higher.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is not a critique of the No Child Left Behind policy?

A) The policy sets high standards that all students must meet.
B) The policy overemphasizes testing.
C) The policy presents unrealistic timetables for schools to meet.
D) The policy will struggle to meet necessary funding mandates.

Question 30

Link completes all assigned homework to succeed in school. According to Robert Merton's goals-means taxonomy, Link is best described as a(n):

A) Innovator
B) Retreatist
C) Conformist
D) Rejector

Question 31

A(n) __________ is a general social condition that characterizes an aspect of a school.

A) hidden curriculum
B) formal educational system
C) educational subculture
D) school climate

Question 32

Which of the following was a finding of the Coleman Report?

A) Minority students scored equally on tests to white students in grade school.
B) The majority of children studied attended segregated schools.
C) The majority of children had teachers of a different race than they were.
D) The socioeconomic makeup of the school made little difference in students' school achievement levels.

Question 33

Lani is very strong in language and writing classes. She aspires to be a journalist and her teachers largely believe that she is capable of achieving this goal. However, Lani does not excel in her math or music courses and is in jeopardy of not graduating because of her poor grades in math and music. The emphasis on following a standard curriculum for all students best reflects which aspect of Weber's bureaucratic model?

A) An emphasis on rationality
B) A strong division of labor
C) Allowing individuals agency
D) An administrative hierarchy

Question 34

Rational choice theorists argue that students using cost-benefit analysis will always choose to stay in school when they consider dropping out because the life chances for a dropout are so poor.

Question 35

Recent research findings indicate that boys have more struggles with self-esteem than girls, especially in middle school.

Question 36

The authors argue that a syllabus in college classrooms represents part of:

A) An educational bureaucracy
B) The formal system of education
C) The hidden curriculum
D) An emotional climate

Question 37

Which of the following statements about tracking is false?

A) Track placement is always a measure of a student's ability.
B) Over time, differences in children's achievement become reinforced.
C) Students from lower social classes are clustered in the lower tracks.
D) Language differences between teachers and students affect track placement.

Question 38

Rational choice theorists explain teacher retention by looking at their perceptions of benefits.

Question 39

Eugene owns a house and land in a middle-class neighborhood. He is upset that the mayor has increased the sales tax to fund public school programs. As discussed in the text, Eugene should not be upset because:

A) Property tax provides only a small percent of funding for education expenses.
B) School strengthens minority cultural norms.
C) Middle-class children benefit the most from a quality education.
D) Property values are increased when schools are of high quality.

Question 40

Josh really wants to go to back to college, but after initially dropping out to pursue a job, he has little time to commute back and forth to campus or attend traditional classes. One option available to Josh is:

A) Buying a faster car in order to make the commute shorter
B) Learning the hidden curriculum
C) Attending a virtual university
D) Relying on credentials inflation

Question 41

One in five students report being sexually harassed in schools.

Question 42

Racial inequalities in early schooling have little impact later in life.

Question 43

The hidden curriculum is part of the formal system of schooling.

Question 44

Dimensions of the informal system of schooling include the educational climate, the value climate, and coping strategies in the classroom.

Question 45

Research can be used to support the theory that both boys and girls are disadvantaged by practices of the educational system.

Question 46

The peer culture that children and teens participate in rarely influences their future roles in society.

Question 47

The first compulsory education was in a Lutheran monastery in Germany.

Question 48

The school system in a local community is often the source of pride and the unifying symbol of identity in the community.

Question 49

Low achievement is linked to low expectations.

Question 50

According to conflict theory, the educational system is equally beneficial to all citizens in society.

Question 51

Boys experience "hostile hallways" in more physically and psychologically harmful ways than girls.

Question 52

According to conflict theory, the prosocial values and social competencies learned in academic boot camp are necessary for social cohesion.

Question 53

According to functional theorists, the hidden curriculum is a social and economic agenda that is responsible for differentiating social classes.

Question 54

Conflict theorists see institutions like education as tools of powerful affluent groups to ensure that their self-interests are met.

Question 55

Providing an opportunity for peer cultures to develop is a manifest function of education.

Question 56

According to the conflict perspective, schools teach students from lower socioeconomic positions to obey authority and accept the dominant ideology.

Question 57

A latent function of education is that it weakens parental control over children.

Question 58

The ways families stress the importance of education to their children are universal.

Question 59

The informal system of schooling includes implicit norms of behavior.

Question 60

Sociologists argue that family background is the single most important influence on children's school achievement.

Question 61

Describe three latent functions of education and give examples not from the text.

Question 62

What statuses influence students' friendship selection? What roles do friends play in the student peer culture?

Question 63

In some major U.S. inner cities, only a quarter of students graduate from high school.

Question 64

What is the value climate of schools? Provide examples.

Question 65

In 2005, more than 110 million children around the world received no schooling at all.

Question 66

Most communities welcome sex education in the schools because it relieves families and religious leaders from having to teach young children about sex.

Question 67

What is the hidden curriculum? Provide examples.

Question 68

Briefly explain the school-to-work transition. Provide examples.

Question 69

Using Weber's bureaucratic model, briefly describe the bureaucratic structure of U.S. schools.

Question 70

Describe three findings relating to the importance of early childhood education.

Question 71

Research finds that tracking levels correlate directly with factors such as the child's background.

Question 72

Compare and contrast the functionalist and conflict perspectives on education. Provide examples.

Question 73

African American preschoolers are twice as likely as white preschoolers to be expelled.

Question 74

Because IQ tests measure innate intelligence, students' socioeconomic status rarely affects their scores on the tests.

Question 75

A country's level of education is a key indicator of quality of life and placement in the global social world.

Question 76

List the three goals of equal educational opportunity described by James Coleman.

Question 77

Name three characteristics of Weber's bureaucratic model and provide an example of how each characteristic applies to schooling. What is one problem or dysfunction you see resulting from using the bureaucratic model in education?

Question 78

Overall, the United States spends more money per student on education than most other industrialized nations.

Question 79

Today, 34% of adults in the United States are below the most basic level of literacy.

Question 80

Research shows that the Head Start program in the United States increases the likelihood that enrolled children stay in school.