Educational institutions and inequalities

Sarah Elgohary                                                                WILLAM lopsti 

Sociology of inequality                     4/22/14

People tend to look at the levels and structures of society at face value. But in order to understand why society is the way it is, people have to be like sociologists and peel away the layers individually to see where the problems really lie and the solutions to fit social problems.  American sociologist C. Wright Mills came up with the term “sociological imagination.”(Kaiser pg 90) Mills was trying to say that in order for people to understand the world they need to peel away the layers of society, which means that people need to analyze a specific aspect of society in terms of all the different factors that are causing it.  Most people do not have the sociological imagination, which is why they only look at the inequality in the education system through one aspect. They do not look at all of the different elements that cause education inequality in society. However, in this paper I will use the sociological Imagination to analyze educational inequalities through the intersection of  race with the concepts of differences in school funding, tracking, ascription, achievement ,wealth, and social mobility .

One way that people can understand the differences in school funding as a reason for educational inequality is to examine how the differences in school funding are based on how wealthy or poor the  neighborhoods or schools districts are. The article “The Savage Inequalities: Children in US Schools” by Johnson Kozol, shows people the statistics of the different populations of both rich and poor children in schools, Kozol  analyzes educational Inequalities by comparing the differences between students in the rich and poor schools As a result, he shows examples us of how unequal the education system is. For example, students in the Bronx only have access to old textbooks and worn facilities, with overcrowded classes, dirty bathrooms, and limited access to resources such as tutors and guidance counselors” (Kozol  pg 25).In opposition, wealthier communities have newer resources and facilities. This is due to unequal distribution of funds in schools that base the funding on economic status This is in opposition with schools in wealthier neighborhoods that have more access to funds and resources. This discrepancy between poor and wealthy communities is because of racism and school funding being based on economic need in society. In addition, Kozol talks about how Schools funds are distributed unfairly and unequally to poorer populations such as African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.( Kozol  pg 25 ). I know that school funding is greatly influenced by the economic status of certain areas where people live in society, I agree with Jonathan Cool’s argument that “schools stack the deck against poor children (as cited by Kozol, 1956, p. 6 )”. Unlike Jonathan Cool however, money is the only reason for lack of school funding and educational inequality in many public schools. Those who live in underprivileged neighborhoods do not get the same funding as privileged neighborhoods not only for financial aspects, but also because they do not have power of influence. (Kozol, p 9). 

 Another   reason for educational in school is the concept of   tracking.”Tracking” is a term in the educational language that determines where students will be placed during their secondary school years.   (Burris, 2008 , p 45)” In some schools, tracking begins with kindergarten screening. IQ and early achievement tests designed to measure so-called "ability" determine track placement in the elementary years, thus setting in place an educational trajectory for 12 years of schooling. In other schools, tracking is a meritocracy that relies on teacher recommendations, grades, and student motivation to determine placement. In still others, students and their parents are allowed to choose a track, with certain conditions attached to the placement. “(Burris, 2008 , pg  45)” “A common example is allowing students to take an honors class provided that they maintain an average of 90 or above. Standards for track placement are uniform in some schools; in others, each department determines the number of tracks and track placement.” (Burris, 2008, pg 45). ) my word Tracking is based on people‘s race because teachers unconsciously sorts students into different groups depending on race. As a result, each ethic group is sorted with each other so for example white students are grouped together, African-Americans are grouped with each other and Hispanic student are grouped separately from the other  students from the classes and finally Asians Students are grouped together “Tracking or sorting categorizes students into different groups based on standardized test scores. These groups or tracks are vocational, general, and academic. Students are sorted into groups that will determine educational and vocational outcomes for the future. “The sorting that occurs in the educational system parallels the hierarchical social and economic structures in society. Thus, students are viewed and treated differently according to their individual track. Each track has a designed curriculum that is meant to fit the unique educational and social needs of each sorted group. Consequently, the information taught as well as the expectations of the teachers differ based on the track resulting in the creation of dissimilar classroom cultures”. ,( Grob, 2003, p. 202).

  A person   race social, class can limit his or her exposure to advanced academic knowledge   as a result this limits advanced educational opportunities for their future The tracking issue in schools tends to perpetuate prejudices, ,( Grob, 2003, p. 202) There are many misconceptions, and inequalities of the poor and minority people in society. Schools provide both an education and a setting for students to develop into Schools have a unique acculturative process that helps to pattern self-perceptions and world views. The expectations of the teachers and information taught differ based on tracks. AS a result, different classroom cultures, different dissemination of knowledge, and unequal education opportunities are created As U.S. students become increasingly diverse, most of the nation’s teachers remain White, middle class, and female. The increasing diversity within U.S. schools provides both opportunities and challenges. Diverse classrooms and schools make it possible to teach students from many different cultures and groups how to live together cooperatively and productively. However, racial prejudice and discrimination are challenges that arise when people from diverse groups interact. Teachers need to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize the opportunities that diversity offers and to minimize its challenges. Teacher education programs should help teachers attain the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to work effectively with students from diverse groups as well as help students from mainstream groups develop cross-cultural knowledge, values, and competencies. ,( Grob, 2003, p. 202))

While tracking had many  negative qualities that  educational inequality there are some positive qualities  why people like Students learn better in an academically in an equal group.  2Positive self-attitudes are developed in homogenous groups, especially for slower students that do not have a high rate of ability differences. The third reason Fair and accurate group placement is appropriate for future learning based on individual past performance and ability.  The last for tracking in school is that Homogenous groups ease the teaching process. (Kaiser 228)

Another aspect of educational inequality is inequality of income and socioeconomic status of people in based on race society.  The issue Of inequality of income and socioeconomic status of people is discussed in an article Education and Inequality Why are Poorer Students  not Getting In top Schools.” by David Leichardt. In this article, David Leichardt talks about how poorer students who have the top test scores are not even applying to higher schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale because they do not have the money or resources to get Into these top schools in his  article “This is because most of these Poor college students are ascribed into either the lower working class or middle-class social status As a result; this is another reason why people have class inequality. Our class system stratification allows for very limited social mobility so it is very hard for poor working class citizens to become upper-class citizens.   In fact it would take a working class citizen nine generations to become an upper class citizen. There are two types of social mobility in society intergenerational and intra generational mobility. Intergenerational social mobility is the ability of a specific individual to move up or down the ladder within his or her lifetime. You come from humble origins, but intelligence and hard work, climb up the social ladder. On the other hand, Intergenerational social mobility, the changes of social class of different generations of family members. If, for example, your parents were squarely working class and you, for whatever reason, occupied a position in the middle class, you could serve as an example of Intergenerational social mobility of intergenerational mobility. David Leichardt talks about how poorer students have less Intergenerational social mobility the intergenerational mobility. their individual track. ( kesiter 333).

Race allows for educational Inequality in society because of ascription and achievement if a person is born a African American who lives in a poor neighborhood  in society the difference between an achievement culture and an ascription (born into culture is not difficult to understand. Achievement( is earned or learned status or behavior which  in society means that people are judged on what they have accomplished and on their ability Ascription means that status is attributed to you by things like birth, relationship gender, age, interpersonal connections, or educational record.  The former kind of status is called achieved status and the latter ascribed status. Achieved status refers to doing; ascribed status refers to being. Achievement-leaning societies or organizations justify their hierarchies by claiming that senior people have "achieved more."  In ascription-oriented cultures, however, hierarchies are justified by "power-to-get-things-done." People like college students in the article can get an Achieved status of education by going to college to get a degree but people cannot change their ascribed status unless people marry rich individuals.  The United States of America is becoming more of an ascribed oriented culture than an achievement culture because our social hierarchies are justified by “The people who have the power-and influence in society to-get-things-done these individuals are the upper class citizens. This is why there is so much inequality in school systems the poor students never get to show off their skills in the world if the government only favors the rich upper-class citizens in society.   

 Wealth overrides race for many and one reason for educational Inequality in society is special treatment of girls or women and minority groups based on gender, race, social class, power and wealth.   There are many cases of this special treatment For example many teachers in elementary schools and high schools are more likely to give the answers to tests TO Girls while boys have to work out problems because some teachers in elementary schools and high schools do not think that women   are not or less capable of solving problems than men. Another example of special treatment is when a young girl who was Hispanic in elementary school was considered to be mentally ill because she was to talkative in her class unlike the other students. After the school mistakes her daughter to be  mentally ill, the mother is mad knowing her daughter’s potential, and being that the mother was a wealthy, powerful influence in the school community she begins to volunteer in the daughter’s school every day, As a result, of the mother’s wealth and influence the school started to pay attention  to the daughter and they put her daughter in the gifted program. This is just because the mother was wealthy. The fact Is that daughter was never mentally ill In the first place and the school board knew that the daughter was fine. Therefore, the only reason that the daughter was declared mentally ill was the fact that the school was discriminating against the daughter because she was a minority and she was out of the ordinary.  the. Brown vs broad of education movie

. C. Wright Mills developed the principle of “sociological imagination,” which states that in order to explain any single problem in society, people have to look at the problem from all aspects. T Over the past four decades, there have been numerous discussions on student achievement and school failure.

Works Cited

Burris, C., & Garrity, D. (2008). Chapter 2. What Tracking Is and How to Start Dismantling It. In Detracking for excellence and equity. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

 Grob, M. (2003). "Educational systems and perceived social inequality". European Societies, 5 (2): 193.

Kozol, J. (1991). Chapter 4.  Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools (pp. 35-150). New York: Crown Pub.

Lisa Kester . (2012) the contempory social inequality New York

Leichardt, David. (2015) “Why are Poorer Students not Getting In top Schools.” New York: new York Times