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• Social Science


  The branch of science devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies
• Social Science Theory


  Scientific attempt of social scientist to explain the structure of the society and its behavioral pattern
• Theory


  A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained
• Conflict


  A clash of interest. The basis of conflict may vary but it is always a part of society. Basis of conflict may be personal, racial, class, caste, political and international. Conflict in groups often follows a specific course
• Educational Leadership


  Consensus decision-making or consensus politics (often abbreviated to consensus) is group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on avoiding negative opinion differentiates consensus from unanimity, which requires all participants to positively support a decision
• Lesson objectives


  • Discuss the basic features of the different social science theories
  • Explain the implication of the different social science theories to education
  • Write a reflection paper regarding the social science theories
• Functionalism


  • Education serves several functions for society including socialization, social integration, social placement, and social and cultural innovation. Latent functions include child care, the establishment of peer relationships, and lowering unemployment by keeping high school students out of the full-time labor force
• Conflict theory


  • Education promotes social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing and the impact of its "hidden curriculum". Schools differ widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social inequality
• Symbolic interactionism


  • This perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues. Specific research finds that social interaction in schools affects the development of gender roles and that teachers' expectations of pupils' intellectual abilities affect how much pupils learn
• Functional theory


  1. Socialization

  2. Social integration

  3. Social placement

  4. Social and cultural innovation
• Latent functions of education include child care, the establishment of peer relationships, and lowering unemployment by keeping high school students out of the full-time labor force
• Tracking students


  Perpetuates social inequality based on social class and race/ethnicity
• Standardized tests


  Are culturally biased and help perpetuate social inequality
• Unequal school resources and learning conditions

  Perpetuate inequality in the larger society
• Hidden curriculum


  A set of values and beliefs that support the status quo, including the existing social hierarchy
• Compulsory schooling in the 19th century was in part to prevent immigrants' values from corrupting "American" values and to teach workers the skills they needed for the new industrial economy
• Symbolic interactionist studies of education examine social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues
• Symbolic interactionist studies help us understand what happens in the schools themselves, and how what occurs in school is relevant for the larger society
• Girls tend to play more cooperative games, while boys play more competitive sports on the playground, reinforcing gender-role socialization
• Thorne, 1993: 'Girls tend to play more cooperative games, while boys play more competitive sports'
• A federal jury in Houston, Texas, awarded $3.2 million to three women, all county employees, who had accused a former judge of sexual harassment
• The judge had resigned his position three years earlier after pleading no contest to several charges of misdemeanor assault related to his physical contact with several women
• The plaintiffs' attorney said the verdict sends a message to all public officials that they are not above the law and should think twice before abusing power
• One of the plaintiffs felt alone, small, and scared when being harassed by the judge, who was the most powerful man in Brazoria County
• The plaintiff was encouraged by the jury's verdict and the fact that other women had come forward to speak out about the judge's behavior
• Despite tremendous advancements for women since the 1960s, gender inequality persists and manifests itself in many ways
• The ideal study of class size would involve random assignment of both students and teachers to classes of different size
• Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) in Tennessee randomly assigned 11,600 students and 1,330 teachers to either smaller (13-17 students) or larger (22-25 students) classes
• Students in the smaller classes had higher average test scores in grades K-3 and continued to have higher average test scores in grades 4-7
• Students who had been in the smaller classes were more likely to complete high school, attend college, be married, and live in wealthier neighborhoods in their twenties
• White girls who had been in the smaller classes were less likely to have a teenage birth than white girls who had been in the larger classes
• Teachers' views about students can affect how much the students learn, as teachers tend to spend more time with and praise students they think are smart
• Teachers often call on and praise boys more often than girls, sending an implicit message that math and science are not for girls
• Functional perspective on education


  • Education helps socialize children and prepare them for their eventual entrance into the larger society as adults
• Conflict perspective on education

  • Education reinforces inequality in the larger society
• Symbolic interactionist perspective on education


  • Focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on school playgrounds, and at other school-related venues