13.14 Education and religion summary and review

 13: Education and Religion  

Summary and Review Education in Global Perspective

 13.1 Understand how education is related to the culture and economy of a nation, and compare education in Japan, Russia, and Egypt. 

What is a credential society, and how did it develop? 

A credential society is one in which employers use diplomas and degrees to determine who is eligible for a job. One reason that credentialism developed is that large, anonymous societies lack the personal knowledge common to smaller groups. Educational certification is taken as evidence of a person’s ability.

 How does education compare among the Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized Nations? 

Formal education reflects a nation’s economy and culture. Education is extensive in the Most Industrialized Nations, undergoing vast change in the Industrializing Nations, and spotty in the Least Industrialized Nations. Japan, Russia, and Egypt provide examples of education in countries at three levels of industrialization. The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits

 13.2 Apply the functional perspective by explaining the functions of education. 

What is the functionalist perspective on education? 

Among the functions of education are the teaching of knowledge and skills, providing credentials, cultural transmission of values, social integration, gatekeeping, and mainstreaming. Functionalists also note that education has replaced some traditional family functions. The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality 

13.3 Apply the conflict perspective by explaining how the educational system reproduces the social class structure.

 What is the conflict perspective on education? The basic view of conflict theorists is that education reproduces the social class structure. Through unequal funding and operating different schools for the elite and for the masses, education perpetuates a society’s basic social inequalities from one generation to the next. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Teacher Expectations 13.4 Apply the symbolic interactionist perspective by explaining the significance of teacher expectations. What is the symbolic interactionist perspective on education? Symbolic interactionists focus on face-to-face interaction. In examining what occurs in the classroom, they have found that student performance tends to conform to teacher expectations, whether they are high or low. Self-expectations also significantly influence student performance. Problems in U.S. Education—and Their Solutions 13.5 Discuss mediocrity in education, grade inflation, social promotion, rising standards, cheating by school officials, and violence in schools. What are the chief problems that face U.S. education? The major problems are mediocrity (low achievement as shown by standardized tests and SAT scores), grade inflation, social promotion, functional illiteracy, cheating by school officials, and violence. What are the potential solutions to these problems? To restore high educational standards, we must expect more of both students and teachers. School administrators can be required to use a single reporting measure based on objective, verifiable data. For an effective learning environment, we must provide basic security for students and teachers. Religion: Establishing Meaning 13.6 Explain what Durkheim meant by sacred and profane and discuss the three elements of religion. What is religion? Durkheim identified three essential characteristics of religion: beliefs that set the sacred apart from the profane, rituals, and a moral community (a church). The Functionalist Perspective 13.7 Apply the functionalist perspective to religion: functions and dysfunctions. What are the functions and dysfunctions of religion? Among the functions of religion are answering questions about ultimate meaning; providing emotional comfort, social solidarity, guidelines for everyday life, social control, and social change. Among the dysfunctions of religion are religious persecution and war and terrorism. 450 The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 13.8 Apply the symbolic interactionist perspective to religion: symbols, rituals, beliefs, and religious experience. What aspects of religion do symbolic interactionists study? Symbolic interactionists focus on the meanings of religion for its followers. They examine religious symbols, rituals, beliefs, and religious experiences. The Conflict Perspective 13.9 Apply the conflict perspective to religion: opium of the people and legitimating social inequalities. What aspects of religion do conflict theorists study? Conflict theorists examine the relationship of religion to social inequalities, especially how religion reinforces a society’s stratification system. Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism 13.10 Explain Weber’s analysis of how religion broke tradition and brought capitalism. What does the spirit of capitalism have to do with religion? Max Weber saw religion as a primary source of social change. He analyzed how Calvinism gave rise to the Protestant ethic, stimulating what he called the spirit of capitalism. The result was capitalism, which transformed society. Types of Religious Groups 13.11 Compare cult, sect, church, and ecclesia. What types of religious groups are there? Sociologists divide religious groups into cults, sects, churches, and ecclesias. All religions began as cults. Those that survive tend to develop into sects and eventually into churches. Sects, often led by charismatic leaders, are unstable. Some are perceived as threats and are persecuted by the state. Ecclesias, or state religions, are rare. Religion in the United States 13.12 Summarize the main features of religion in the United States. What are the main characteristics of religion in the United States? Membership varies by social class and race–ethnicity. Major characteristics are diversity, pluralism and freedom, tolerance, and the electronic church. The Future of Religion 13.13 Discuss the likely future of religion. What can we anticipate in the future? Because science cannot answer questions about ultimate meaning, the existence of God or an afterlife, or provide guidelines for morality, the need for religion will remain. In any foreseeable future, religion will prosper. The Internet is likely to have far-reaching consequences on religion. Key Terms View Flashcards Key Terms View Flashcards Thinking Critically about Chapter 13 How does education in the United States compare with education in Japan, Russia, and Egypt? How have your experiences in education (including teachers and assignments) influenced your goals, attitudes, and values? Be specific. Why do the functionalist, symbolic interactionist, and conflict perspectives produce such different pictures of religion? Why is religion likely to remain a strong feature of U.S. life—and remain strong in people’s lives around the globe?