CHAPTER 12:
PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION
By the end of this chapter students will be able to:
- Define education and discuss its importance to society.
- Explain why the delivery of educational services crates a social problem when it fails to meet its ideals and objectives.
- Cite the manifest and latent functions of the education system, providing examples of each.
- Explain why conflict theorists believe the education system perpetuates inequality based on class, race, and gender.
- Explain the significance of the hidden curriculum, credentialism, and the meritocracy in maintaining class inequality.
- Discuss how a student’s personal interaction with peers and teachers and the labeling process that accompanies these relationships affect the students’ ability to succeed.
- Recognize the importance labels play in a student’s educational achievement based on the symbolic interactionist perspective.
- List and discuss the major problems in the education system in the United States.
- Analyze the major points of the No Child Left Behind Act to evaluate its potential as a solution to improving academic standards.
- Suggest ways to improve the educational system in the twenty-first century.
