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Sociological theorists and their theory
The principles sociological perspective
Sociological theorists and their theory
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Education is a major component in an individual’s future success in today’s society. The traditional model that we are taught to follow is to achieve good grades in High School so that we are able to get accepted to a good college in order to obtain a good high paying job. However, if the major building blocks of our education are somehow hindered by sociological influences, it would be correct to assume that our future success would also be affected. An example of a situation in which sociological aspects impact that education system can be found right here in the city of Lowell. According to the United States Census Bureau, the median household income for the year 2012 was about $51,714 annually compared with the average income throughout Massachusetts which was about $66,658 annually. Additionally in the year 2012, the statistics for the persons below the poverty level was 17.3 percent, significantly higher than Massachusetts average of 11.0 percent. Lowell is known as an urban environment and a city full of many different and diverse types of people. However, the city of Lowell does contain a large population that are, by today’s standards, considered to be living below the poverty line. ("U.S Census Bureau")
In order to understand how these sociological concepts have an impact on the education of the children of Lowell as well as their future success, it is important to understand exactly what these sociological concepts are and what their presence entails. Firstly, we must define the concept of stratification- in the case of the education systems in Lowell there is a clear case of social stratification. Social stratification is “the structured inequality between groups, this can be based on economic status, gender, race,...
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...sychology, 18(4), 363-372. doi: 1939-0106
McWayne, C., Cheung, K., Green Wright, L. E., & Hahs-Vaughn, D. L. (2012). Patterns of school readiness among head start children: Meaningful within-group variability during the transition to kindergarten. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(3), 862-878. doi: 1939-2176
Bassok, D. (2010). Do Black and Hispanic children benefit more from preschool? Understanding differences in preschool effects across racial groups. Child Development, 81(6), 1828-1845. doi: 0009-3920
United States Census Bureau, (n.d.). U.S. Census Bureau: State and county quickfacts. Data derived from population estimates, American community survey, census of population and housing, county business patterns, economic census, survey of business owners, building permits, census of governments United States Census Bureau.
The Jumpstart Solution. (2014).
It’s considered a rarity now days to walk down a major city street and not come across a single person who is fighting to survive poverty. The constant question is why don’t they go get help, or what did they do to become like this? The question that should be asked is how will America fix this? Over the past year, Americans who completed high school earned fifteen point five percent more per hour than that of dropouts (Bernstein, Is Education the Cure to Poverty). According to Jared Bernstein, in his article “Is Education the Cure to Poverty”, he argues that not only do the poor need to receive a higher education, but to also maximize their skill levels to fill in where work is needed (Is Education the Cure to Poverty). Counter to Bernstein’s argument Robert Reich expresses that instead of attempting to achieve a higher education, high school seniors need to find another way into the American middle class. Reich goes on to say “the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories” (Reich, Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone). Danielle Paquette, though, offers an alternative view on higher education. Paquette gives view that it doesn’t matter on the person, rather it’s the type of school and amount of time in school that will determine a person’s
people agree with the state that Liz borrows from Thomas Jefferson, "Everybody should have an education proportional to their life,"(Addison 256). Unfortunately, the average income between rich and poor in America is not accurate, everyone supposed to become somebody in life; college gives opportunity to everyone who wants to do so, to become whatever they want, and at any age with a low cost. as much as the income level between rich and poor in America stays unbalanced; college will always be there to gives opportunity to people who want to learn, but cannot afford to attend university. Liz Addison points out an example in the article.
Returning to his old high school after having had graduate ten years ago, Shamus Rahman Khan came in with one goal: to study the inequality of a school that claims to be more “diverse.” St. Paul’s School located in Concord, New Hampshire claims to have become more diverse over the years, accepting people of different racial backgrounds and social classes to their prestigious boarding school. However, as described in his book, Khan found that this claim made by the school is false. He also found out that the elite that used to attend his school is not the same as the elite attending it now. Nonetheless, it was the elite that were succeeding because they were the ones who could afford the school, had family linages that already attended the school, and mastered “ease” which made them privileged in society. Separating his book into five different chapters, each focusing on a different topic that helps support his claim, Khan describes this change in elite and the inequality that still accompanies St. Paul’s. In the introduction to Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul’s School, Khan states the three most important points he will refer to during the rest of the book: hierarchies are natural and can be used to one’s advantage, experiences matter more than inherited qualities, and the elite signal their status through ease and openness. These are discussed thoroughly in throughout Privilege.
Barnett, W.S. & Hustedt, J.T. (2003). Head Start’s lasting benefits. Infants and Young Children, 18(1), 16-24.
In the 1980s, child care was back on the national agenda due to the education reform movement (Tejada, 2010). Tejada further disclosed that several states even launched pre-kindergarten programs for disadvantaged children. Why the Need for Universal Preschool Two-thirds of 4-year-old children in the United States attend preschool, as well as 40% of 3-year-olds (Tejada, 2010). Half of those are enrolled in a public program, such as state prekindergarten (preK), Head Start, or special education, and the other half are in a private program (Adams, 2009). Despite such a large enrollment of children in these programs, there is still a handful of children who are missing out on obtaining a head start in obtaining a good quality education.... ...
Morosely, people hitting poverty level are truly given zero opportunities to advance their education. In America, it 's not common that the A+ education is given to you. It 's not entirely easy to land the greatest job ever with just a high school diploma. But, the cost of college has made the difference between having a job that pays well, and having a job that pays immensely for people living in poverty. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, childcare, health care, and education. The cost of living per month for a single, childless person in America is $2,372. Galbraith stresses importance of improving housing across the nation.(Galbraith 405) With unemployment rates remaining high, jobs are hard to find in the current economy. Even if people can find work, this does not automatically provide an escape from
Students who live below the poverty line have less motivation to succeed, and their parents are less inclined to participate in their child’s education, often because the parents cannot provide support for their children. Although it’s logical that school districts from poorer communities cannot collect as much funding as the richer communities, people stuck in these low-income communities often pay higher taxes, and still their school districts cannot accumulate as much money.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Seventeen to nineteen percent of the fifty percent of children who are in early education programs are in head start. Head start was created in 1965 and is the largest financed early education in the United States. Although many say that head start is a great tool to get students ready for school there are some mixed evidence on both of it. Head start has not shown any improvement on the math skills. There is only a limited research on the impact of making a teacher and student relationship. It has shown that it helped with the students who have special needs on their attention abilities. Children who went to head start did have a more positive school readiness then the one who did not go to Head
Education is now more important than it has ever been. Because it is the law that every child receives an education, most people believe that all children are getting an equal education. But, that is not the truth; low-income children are receiving poorer quality education than middle-class children. These children also experience racial inequality, and they live in an unbreakable low-income cycle, all of which are things that have an effect of the quality of education a child is receiving. As stated by Brooks and Duncan (1997), "How does the relative lack of income influence children 's day-to-day lives? It is through inadequate nutrition; fewer learning experiences; instability of residence; lower quality of schools;
4. "USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." State and County QuickFacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.
"USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau." USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. US Census Bureau, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. .
Loeb, S., Bridges, M., Fuller, B., Rumberger, R., & Bassok, D. (2005). How much is too much? The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children's Social and Cognitive Development (No. 11812). National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
The results of quality preschool programs can be seen early after they begin. Children learn many important life le...
Social class has effects on student’s education in the lower class. As we see Henry in “Two Students, Two Schools” students do not receive equal educational opportunities. Henry attends Jefferson high school where mostly Hispanic students attend. As Mitchell Landsberg says “Today it is a landing pad for the children of immigrants. Nearly half the students learn English as a second language. Free lunch is available to anyone willing to stand in line. About 800 freshman arrive each year, most ill-prepared for high school. Four years later, about 200 pick up diplomas.” (7) Educational opportunities
Currently, relatively few urban poor students go past the ninth grade. The graduation rates in large comprehensive inner-city schools are abysmally low. In fourteen such New York City Schools, for example, only 10 percent to 20 percent of ninth graders in 1996 graduated four years later. Despite the fact that low-income individuals desperately need a college degree to find decent employment, only 7 percent obtain a bachelors degree by age twenty-six. So, in relation to ...