Deck 44: Schools As Formal Organizations

Question 1

A particular school district hires a staff member who only works with students who have specific reading difficulties.This illustrates which characteristic of a bureaucracy?

A)written rules and regulations
B)impersonality
C)division of labor
D)hierarchy of authority

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Critics of homeschooling suggest that homeschooled children are

A)less academically prepared for college.
B)isolated from the larger community and lose an important chance to improve their socialization skills.
C)negatively affected if they have an attention deficit disorder.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true regarding families who homeschool their children?

A)Most homeschooled students perform better on standardized tests.
B)Most homeschooled students belong to single-parent families.
C)Most homeschooled students belong to middle-income families.
D)All of these answers are correct.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The average salary of teachers in the United States places them

A)much lower than the average wage earner in the nation.
B)much higher than the average wage earner in the nation.
C)near the average of all wage earners in the nation.
D)None of these answers is correct.

Question 5

Which of the college subcultures identifies with the intellectual concerns of the faculty and values knowledge for its own sake?

A)academic
B)collegiate
C)fraternity
D)nonconformist

Question 6

Which sociologist's analysis of bureaucracies has been applied to schools in the United States because of the growing number of students enrolled in schools and the greater degree of specialization required within a technologically complex society?

A)Émile Durkheim
B)Talcott Parsons
C)Max Weber
D)Samuel Bowles

Question 7

What percentage of new teachers quit within the first three years due to burnout?

A)5-8 percent
B)10-15 percent
C)25-33 percent
D)50-65 percent

Question 8

About how many children are homeschooled in the United States?

A)88,000
B)800,000
C)1 million
D)1.5 million

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT one of Weber's basic characteristics of bureaucracy?

A)sharing of labor roles
B)hierarchy of authority
C)written regulations
D)impersonality

Question 10

Which perspective generally takes a positive view of the bureaucratization of education?

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

Question 11

Researchers have identified distinctive student subcultures on college campuses.The students who focus on having fun and socializing are referred to as the ________ subculture.

A)academic
B)collegiate
C)fraternity
D)nonconformist

Question 12

You enroll in a freshman Introduction to Sociology course at your college,and the classes are held in a large auditorium with stadium seating that holds over a hundred students with a single instructor behind a lectern.This illustrates which characteristic of a bureaucracy?

A)written rules and regulations
B)impersonality
C)division of labor
D)hierarchy of authority

Question 13

In a particular school system,a teacher's aide must report to her teacher,and the teacher must report to his assistant principal,who then must report to her principal,who then must report to the superintendent,who ultimately is responsible to the board of education.This illustrates which characteristic of a bureaucracy?

A)written rules and regulations
B)impersonality
C)division of labor
D)hierarchy of authority

Question 14

In how many states is it legal to homeschool your child?

A)12
B)21
C)33
D)50

Question 15

Which perspective views the bureaucratization of education as simply a reflection of the values of powerful groups in society?

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

Question 16

In many respects,today's schools,when viewed as an example of a formal organization,are similar to factories,hospitals,and business firms.

Question 17

How many gay-straight alliances (GSAs)were in place in schools nationwide in 2005?

A)less than 100
B)about 500
C)about 1,000
D)nearly 3,000

Question 18

A particular teacher spends eighty-percent of her time filling out proper forms required by the school district and the rest of her time actually teaching.This illustrates which characteristic of a bureaucracy?

A)written rules and regulations
B)impersonality
C)division of labor
D)hierarchy of authority

Question 19

Your professor receives a promotion when she publishes a journal article within her body of expertise,instead of the promotion going to the department chair's brother-in-law who used to be a cashier but could really use the money.This illustrates which characteristic of a bureaucracy?

A)employment based on technical qualifications
B)impersonality
C)division of labor
D)hierarchy of authority

Question 20

Which of the following is considered a major problem regarding homeschooling?

A)quality control
B)the number of teachers
C)the quality of the time children spend with parents
D)the rate of learning

Question 21

The subculture that focuses on socializing and having fun instead of attending classes is the nonconformist subculture.

Question 22

The four collegiate subcultures are only types you would encounter on a college campus.

Question 23

Discuss the concept of homeschooling in contemporary America.Provide multiple reasons different individual families may choose schooling at home versus private and public choices.

Question 24

Describe the inherent conflict between a teacher's role in the classroom and as a professional who serves as part of a bureaucracy.

Question 25

The overall prestige of the teaching profession has increased over the last decade.