Course Syllabus

SOCY 3050

Sociology of Education

Dr. Rob Kadel -- rob.kadel@ucdenver.edu 

Click this link to download a copy of the syllabus: Syllabus for Sociology of Education E01.pdf 

UCD Course Catalog Description

Drawing from theories in the sociology of education, this course evaluates the relationship between race, ethnicity, gender, class, immigration status and educational experiences, aspirations, and outcomes. Topics include socialization, tracking, educational policy, college access, and educational equity. Prereq: sophomore standing or higher or permission of instructor.

Expanded Description

This course has been designed to provide learners with a sociological perspective on schooling and the American educational system. With the above topics as our guide, learners will gain an understanding of how education, as a social institution, affects and is affected by other social institutions, such as religion, economics, and politics. Lastly, this course will also compare education in the United States to education in other nations and cultures.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in This Course

It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well-served by this course, that students' learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that the students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. It is my intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender identity, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally, or for other students or student groups.

Important note: Given the sensitive and challenging nature of the material discussed in class, it is imperative that there be an atmosphere of trust and safety in the our discussion forums. It is critical that each class member show respect for all worldviews expressed in class. It is expected that some of the material in this course may evoke strong emotions, so please be respectful of others' emotions and be mindful of your own. Please let me know if something said or done in our discussions, by either myself or other students, is particularly troubling or causes discomfort or offense. While our intention may not be to cause discomfort or offense, the impact of what happens throughout the course is not to be ignored and is something that I consider to be very important and deserving of attention. If and when this occurs, there are several ways to alleviate some of the discomfort or hurt you may experience:

• Discuss the situation privately with me. I'm happy to set up a phone or Zoom call for one-on-one discussions. I am always open to listening to students' experiences and want to work with students to find acceptable ways to process and address the issue.
• Discuss the situation with the class, for example in our Virtual Office or Virtual Café. Chances are there is at least one other student in the class who had a similar response to the material. Discussion enhances the ability for all class participants to have a fuller understanding of context and the impact of course material and class discussions.
• Notify me of the issue through another source such as your academic advisor, a trusted faculty member, or a peer. If for any reason you do not feel comfortable discussing the issue directly with me, I encourage you to seek out another, more comfortable avenue to address the issue.

Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or who lacks a safe and stable place to live and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact me or visit the Health & Wellness page on Lynx Central. There, you will find many resources, including for food and affordable housing. 

In an effort to support individuals who may have been impacted by issues related to sexual misconduct and discrimination, the university established the Office of Equity (OE).The OE’s role is to ensure that students are aware of the broad range of supportive measures and resources available to them both on and off-campus. To this end, the Office of Equity serves the community by receiving reports of misconduct, learning more about the situation, discussing the options available to address the concern, and connecting people with resources. As a faculty member at CU Denver I am designated as a responsible employee. I am required to report disclosures of concerns related to the nondiscrimination policy and Sexual Misconduct, Intimate Partner Abuse and Stalking policy. If you have been impacted by these types of misconduct and have been included in a report to the OE, you are not required to engage with their office. If you would like to contact the office of equity independently, they can be reached at 303-315-2567, or via email at equity@ucdenver.edu, you may also fill out an online report by visiting their website https://www1.ucdenver.edu/offices/equity and then clicking “Submit a concern.”

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate the differences between the major theoretical perspectives sociologists use to understand education.
2. Describe the functions of major educational policies in shaping schooling in the U.S.
3. Describe the process of empirical research in describing the social world.
4. Describe the structures of educational systems both within the U.S. and around the world.
5. Evaluate and compare the effects of family, peers, and work experiences on educational aspirations.
6. Evaluate and contrast the differences in school experiences based on race/ethnicity, social class, and gender.
7. Evaluate what we teach in schools, including knowledge, politics and socialization.

Course Requirements and Grading

1) "Let's Talk" discussion forum participation in Canvas is required. Most of our Modules in Canvas will include a discussion forum where we will discuss the topic(s) of the week. I will start off each discussion with an overall thread for everyone to respond to, but you are welcome and encouraged to start new threads about the topic. Please note that you are required to post your initial response to each forum before you can see others' responses. All discussion comments must be posted by 11:59 P.M. on Sunday of each week. Specific due dates can be found in the Modules. Again, you must post your own response to the original question before you will be able to see and respond to others' posts.

Discussion forum posts are graded according to the following rubric:

A word of caution here: Do NOT use the reports and opinions of radio and TV talk/news hosts to support what you write. It doesn’t matter which end of the political spectrum you look at, most of these folks provide their opinions and put their own spin on the facts. A good rule of thumb is, if the show has a person’s name in it, don’t use it. (And don’t use Internet transcripts of their shows either.) For example, don’t cite “evidence” from Hannity or the Rachel Maddow Show.

2) "Check your knowledge” quizzes will be administered through Canvas each Module throughout the term. The quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, essay, and similar types of questions, and they will be open-book. Please bear in mind, though, that the questions may reference information that I provide in my own lecture notes or videocasts, so the book will not provide all the answers. Quiz questions will not include information from the discussion forums. Student collaboration on the quizzes is forbidden. Your answers must be your own, and I use plagiarism detection tools to check answers against your classmates and a database of essays-for-hire. (In short, don't even try to cheat.) All quiz responses must be posted by 11:59 P.M. on Sunday of each week. Specific due dates can be found in the Modules.

3) Two Research Projects Answering Questions of Importance in the Sociology of Education At the end of Modules 7 and 14, you will be required to submit a Research Paper to Canvas OR to present a video in Canvas (or attach or link to an external video file on the Assignment page).

Note: You can decide which type of assignment you'd like to submit over the course and change as you like. In other words, you could submit a paper for one assignment and a video for the second.

• Research papers must be at least 2,000 words long (that's the equivalent of about 8 pages of double-spaced text in a word processing document). Pick an available topic (from the list provided in each assignment) that is of interest to you, and write at least 2,000 words to answer it. Full credit will be given for responses that apply scientific and evidence-based proposals for solving problems. (HINT: Use information from our readings and external scholarly sources to craft your analysis. Papers based on idealism, relative morality, or religious ideology will not receive full credit.) The rubric below shows how these will be graded. Each paper is worth a maximum of 50 points.
• Video presentations can be recorded directly in Canvas, or you can use the software/Webware of your choice (YouTube, iMovie, etc.). Videos should be at least seven (7) minutes long. Pick an available topic (from the list provided in each assignment) that is of interest to you, and create a 7 - 9 minute video to answer it. These should be as polished as any paper you would write, so practice what you want to say before creating your video and edit as necessary. (HINT: Similar to the above use information from our readings and external scholarly sources to craft your video. Proposals based on idealism, relative morality, or religious ideology will not receive full credit.) The rubric below shows how these will be graded. Each Presentation is worth a maximum of 50 points.

Each essay or presentation will be graded according to the following rubric:

Grading

Your final grade is determined on a scale from 1 to 100 as follows:

Course & College Policies

1) Policy on Late Work: I will accept late work, however 10% will be deducted from your grade for EACH DAY that your work is turned in late. So, keep in mind, for example, that submitting a response to a discussion forum after the 9th late day is pointless. In such cases, you would lose 10 days X 10% per day = 100%. In other words, upon the 10th day that a discussion forum post, quiz, or essay is late, you will receive a zero.

2)Academic Disonesty will not be tolerated. See the College Policies and Grading sections of the syllabus for more information.

Plagiarism of any kind will result in a failing grade and a report of the specific offense to the dean.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas as if they were your own, whether spoken or in writing. Providing a quotation from another author is not plagiarism as long as you provide the correct citation (author’s name, publication information, and page number). However, keep quotes to a minimum and keep them short. Do not quote, for example, an entire 7-sentence paragraph; if your reader wants to read an original quote, he or she can look it up. In such a situation, please summarize the information provided by another author. AND, when you summarize, you still must provide the correct citation of where the information came from.

3) Disability Resources and Services: The University of Colorado Denver is committed to providing both physical accessibility and access to information resources and technologies to individuals with disabilities. Students seeking accommodations for a disability must have appropriate documentation. More information can be found at http://www.ucdenver.edu/student-services/resources/disability-resources-services/Pages/disability-resources-services.aspx 

4) Writing Styles and Standards: You have elected to participate in this course online. However, that does NOT mean that this is a typical online environment (like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter). This is an academic course, and academic standards are expected in your writing and course communication. Please write with full words and complete sentences. However, I DO allow and encourage you to use emojis if you believe that the text you have written might be taken the wrong way by a classmate. Sometimes sarcasm doesn't come across in written responses, for example. In such cases, feel free to add a smiley 😊 or a winky-smiley 😉 or other appropriate emojis as needed.  

If you have problems with your grammar, syntax, organization, or style when writing, please visit the Writing Center: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CLAS/Centers/writing/Pages/TheWritingCenter.aspx  

Let me be very clear on this: It is your (the student's) responsibility to be familiar with the UCD/CLAS policies and procedures, including the policy on academic honesty. I will tolerate NO PLAGIARISM in this course. And I mean it!

CLAS Academic Policies

For relevant university deadlines and procedures (such as the last day to withdraw from a course) as well as academic support sites, please see this website:

https://clas.ucdenver.edu/faculty-staff/sites/default/files/attached-files/student_services_and_calendar.pdf  (Links to an external site.) .

The academic calendar can be found here:

https://www.ucdenver.edu/student/registration-planning/academic-calendars 

Required Course Readings

There is one required course reader, plus some additional readings that are posted in Canvas. The course reader is a collection of articles that are written by a number of different sociologists (providing a breadth of perspectives):

Ballantine, Jean H., Spade, Joan Z., and Stuber, Jenny M. (2018). Schools and society: A sociological approach to education. Sixth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

ISBN 978-1506346977

Here are some links to where you can find the book (paperback and digital). Bear in mind that many of these sources allow you to rent the book at a significant discount.

• Auraria Bookstore
• SAGE (digital, buy or rent for Mac, PC, iPad)
• Amazon.com (new and used paperback, rentals and Kindle also)
• VitalSource (e-book rentals and purchases)

Course Schedule

Most modules will follow the same format -- readings, my videocast lecture, a discussion forum, and a quiz. Some modules do not have both a discussion forum and a quiz, so please be aware of that as you go through the schedule. The easiest way to know what you are responsible for each week is to click on the Calendar button in the dark left-hand menu in Canvas.

Each week runs from Monday to Sunday, so each week’s discussion forum posts and quiz responses are due by 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on Sunday. Please be aware of the policy on late work stated in the syllabus.

Reminder: the final, quiz, discussion forum, and essay/presentation are due by 11:59 P.M. ET on the Wednesday of finals week. The policy on late work does not apply here. There are NO exceptions for any reason whatsoever. Late work will not be accepted!