Putting Sociology to Work; Chapter 4 Gender, Race, and Class: Attempts to Achieve Equality of Educational Opportunity; Gender and Equality of Educational Opportunity; Class, Race, and Attempts to Rectify Inequalities in Educational Opportunity; Integration Attempts; Educational Experience of Selected Minorities in the United States; Improving Schools for Minority Students; Summary; Putting Sociology to Work; Chapter 5 The School as an Organization; The Social System of the School; Goals of the School System; The School as an Organization.

‘An essential student-friendly text for Education Studies.’ Dr Gillian Forrester, Subject Head for Education & Early Childhood Studies, Liverpool John Moores University ‘Introducing students to the complexities of Education Studies is a difficult task and this book will go a long way to making it easier. I will definitely be recommending this to all my students.’ Kevin Brain, Programme Leader, Education Studies, Leeds Trinity University This textbook explains the basic principles of sociology and relates these concepts to today’s society and education system in order to deepen your understanding of how these issues affect our lives and the world we live in, encouraging you to think critically and to develop a ‘sociological imagination’. Coverage includes: the wider political and economic context for education in the UK, including an analysis of the reforms of the 2010 coalition government childhood, schooling and pupil voice non-traditional consideration of critical pedagogy, ‘race’ and gender the role of education in a multicultural society inequalities in educational opportunity in terms of class, ethnicity and disability. This is essential reading for students on undergraduate Education Studies degrees, and for sociology courses covering educational issues.

This handbook unifies access and opportunity, two key concepts of sociology of education, throughout its 25 chapters. It explores today’s populations rarely noticed, such as undocumented students, first generation college students, and LGBTQs; and emphasizing the intersectionality of gender, race, ethnicity and social class. Sociologists often center their work on the sources and consequences of inequality. This handbook, while reviewing many of these explanations, takes a different approach, concentrating instead on what needs to be accomplished to reduce inequality. A special section is devoted to new methodological work for studying social systems, including network analyses and school and teacher effects. Additionally, the book explores the changing landscape of higher education institutions, their respective populations, and how labor market opportunities are enhanced or impeded by differing postsecondary education pathways. Written by leading sociologists and rising stars in the field, each of the chapters is embedded in theory, but contemporary and futuristic in its implications. This Handbook serves as a blueprint for identifying new work for sociologists of education and other scholars and policymakers trying to understand many of the problems of inequality in education and what is needed to address them.

“Outstanding . . . it presents a comprehensive state of the field, and it explores the role of sociological research in guiding higher education practice.” —Choice In this volume, Patricia Gumport and other leading scholars examine the sociology of higher education as it has evolved since the publication of Burton Clark’s foundational article in 1973. They trace diverse conceptual and empirical developments along several major lines of specialization and analyze the ways in which wider societal and institutional changes in higher education have influenced this vital field of study. In her own chapters, Gumport identifies the factors that constrain or facilitate the field’s development, including different intellectual legacies and professional contexts for faculty in sociology and in education. She also considers prospects for the future legitimacy and vitality of the field. Featuring extensive reviews of the literature, this volume will be invaluable for scholars and students of sociology and higher education.

Drawing on current scholarship, Education and Society takes students on a journey through the many roles that education plays in contemporary societies. Addressing students’ own experience of education before expanding to larger sociological conversations, Education and Society helps readers understand and engage with such topics as peer groups, gender and identity, social class, the racialization of achievement, the treatment of immigrant children, special education, school choice, accountability, discipline, global perspectives, and schooling as a social institution. The book prompts students to evaluate how schools organize our society and how society organizes our schools. Moving from students to schooling to social forces, Education and Society provides a lively and engaging introduction to theory and research and will serve as a cornerstone for courses such as sociology of education, foundations of education, critical issues in education, and school and society.

Some of the most prominent sociologists working in education today have collaborated to address a wide range of empirical and theoretical issues. Adopting an international perspective, this book foregrounds cutting-edge research that highlights both the diversity and complexity of understanding education in society.