EDPS+4021+Sociology+of+Education

=Next Offered = Fall 2013

Professor
Aaron M. Pallas

Syllabus
 Note: Syllabus is subject to change at the professor's discretion.

Course overview
This course is an introduction to the sociology of education. Sociologists of education study the myriad connections between education and society at all levels of the education system, including primary, secondary, and postsecondary. Some lines of inquiry emphasize the extent to which schools, colleges and universities are socializing institutions. Others attend to the ways in which these institutions influence social stratification, social mobility, and adult socioeconomic success, and examine the within-school and between-school stratification processes that account for education's observed effects. Still others view the relationship between education and society in macro perspective, analyzing how curricula create and legitimate the modern nation-state, or examining the supply of and demand for education in terms of social movements, social control and patterns of social change.

Because education is a public good, sociologists of education have a great deal to say about educational policy and practice, applying the knowledge the field has produced to a broad array of educational and social problems. Among these are unequal access to education, what makes schools effective, dropping out and persisting in school at various levels, teachers' professional development and collaborative work, ability grouping and tracking in elementary and secondary schools, school restructuring, and the school-to-work transition, to name but a few.

We are not going to examine all of these themes during this semester, but we shall touch on many of them. During the course, you will learn about many of the prominent perspectives on the relationship between schooling and society, and will read some of the current research literature that informs and is informed by these perspectives. By the end of the course, you should have an understanding of some key sociological constructs that have been used to understand educational phenomena, and be able to draw on a repertoire of sociological ideas that can be applied to new educational settings and contexts.

Reviews
I really liked the course. Professor Pallas is a great professor. Very well prepared classes, each class is around one main question, which helps you to understand the focus of the readings and the discussion. The readings are great. It's also an interesting course either if you have background in Sociology or if you haven't.

Student Contact Information
Pablo Alfaro - pa2343@columbia.edu