Sociology of Education
Code
711081031
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Sociologia
Credits
6
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
1. Knowledge and understanding of main theories in the sociology of education;
2. Understanding of educational systems as simultaneously opportunity systems and inequality systems;
3. Understanding interactions of educational systems and other socialisation agents;
4. Ability to aplly knowledge to problematise and analise real-life educational processes;
5.Ability to intervene in an informed and critical way in designing, aiplementing and monitoring educational policies, both at national and local level;
6. Ability to communicate sociological quesions and knowledge on educational processes in a meaningful and accurate way.
Prerequisites
Subject matter
1. Some sociological approaches to the relationships between the educational system and global society
1.1. Functionalist
1.2. Marxian, neo-Marxian and neo-Weberian
2. Sociology and the interpretation of social inequality concerning schooling
2.1. Culturalist approaches
2.2. The actionalist approach
2.3 Testing the two approaches
3. Topics of empirical research on inequality
3.1. The first extensive studies
3.2. Teacher expectations and students´ performances
3.3. The influence of school guidance, assessment and contexts
3.4. Modalities of family-school relationships; family structure and parental involvement
3.5. School holidays and family influence
3.6. Gender and inequalities
Bibliography
Bellat, M.-D. (2002). Les inégalités sociales à l´Ecole. Paris: PUF.
Halsey, A.H. (ed.) (1997). Education, culture, economy and society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Saha, L.J. (ed.) (1997). International encyclopedia of the sociology of education. Oxford: Pergamon
Teaching method
Theoretical lectures (50 %). Practical classwork (50%): presentation by the students and classroom debates on themes proposed by the professor and supported by literature on the discipline.
Evaluation method
Continuous assessment of participation in classwork (10%). Oral presentation of one text in class (10%). One written term paper (30%). One individual test written in class (50%).