SOC 463/663
Social
Psychology of Education
********* Updated
Instructor:
Office: Mack
Social Sciences 304
Email: markusk@unr.edu (best way to contact me!)
Phone: (775)
784-1287
Times: MWF
Location: Mack
Social Sciences 216
Office
hours: Mondays
Course description
This course provides a social-psychological approach
to education. This field is equally
rooted in three academic disciplines: sociology, psychology and education;
hence, the readings and theoretical approaches covered in this course equally
draw on these three disciplines. The
primary focus of this course is on social psychological questions and processes
that occur in educational contexts, whether that includes kindergarten,
elementary school, secondary school or higher education.
This course meets the university’s general CAPSTONE requirement for undergraduate students, and as such it is best suited for undergraduate students who are approaching the end of their college career. The present course also includes graduate student participants. Given their more advanced academic standing, some of the assignments for graduate students will be more demanding and grading criteria will be applied more rigorously.
Regrettably, there exists no viable textbook on the
social psychology of education; thus, course readings are primarily composed of
chapters, articles, and book excerpts from a variety of different sources. With the exception of two books (see below),
all readings are available via the library’s electronic reserves. (
Books:
Stevenson, H. W.,
& Stigler, J. W. (1992). The learning
gap: Why our schools are failing and what we can learn from Japanese and
Chinese education.
Thernstrom, A., & Thernstrom, S.
(2003). No excuses: Closing the racial gap in learning.
The above books are not available at the UNR bookstore because you can purchase them substantially cheaper via the internet, new or used (e.g., alibris.com, amazon.com, bn.com, ecampus.com). Both books will also be available on reserve at the library along with two movies that we will be watching in this course.
Exams
There will be three exams: two
50-minute midterm exams, and one 2-hour final exam. All exams consist of essay questions with the
occasional inclusion of short answer questions.
The mid term exams are not cumulative; however, the final exam will
refer to material from the entire course. The exams mainly test your understanding of
and your ability to think critically about the course material, and to apply it
to new situations. The exams are based
on the readings and the material presented in class, including lectures, discussions,
handouts, demonstrations, activities, and audio-visual materials.
Term paper
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: You are required to write a 10-15-page final paper on a topic of your choice. The task is for you to generate an essay on a comprehensive treatment of a topic with the main restriction that the topic should fall within the purview of the social psychology of education. (If you decide to choose a different topic, be sure to get approval from your instructor first.) As such, the paper should incorporate material from the readings as well as include material from other scholarly sources. The goals for this paper include for you
a) to demonstrate comprehensive knowledge in a particular area of the social psychology of education;
b) to find, understand and integrate pertinent literature;
c) to draw well-reasoned conclusions from the material you review
Grading will reflect how well your paper achieves the above goals. Later in the semester you will receive a handout with further details.
GRADUATE STUDENTS: You are required
to generate a 15-20 page research proposal on a topic of your choice. The
proposed research should be empirical in nature, reflect either a quantitative
or qualitative approach, with the only restriction being that the topic falls
within the purview of the social psychology of education. Because the research proposal should help you
advance your own research agenda, you are encouraged to meet with me outside of
class and discuss the nature of your interests. In the ideal case, the research
proposal generated in this class can serve as a blueprint for research you
might actually want to do.
The format of a proposal should resemble the introduction and methods section of an article in the empirical social sciences. The research proposals will be graded based on
a) quality of review of relevant literature;
b) quality of your own analysis and integration of the literature;
c) originality of your research question/hypothesis and/or research approach;
d)
quality of writing.
Later in the semester you will receive a handout with further details.
Format. The
expected length is 15 pages of text for undergraduate students, 15-25 pages of
text for graduate students. Full details
of the paper will be announced later in the semester. In order to be accepted, the paper must be
a)
typed or word-processed;
b)
be double-spaced;
c)
use a standard format for professional papers in
sociology, psychology or education (i.e. ASA style, APA style,
d) use 12-point font and 1¼” or1” margins
e)
include a cover page and a reference section
(not to be counted toward page requirement).
Draft of term paper/research proposal. Because feedback is critical for learning, you will have a chance to turn in a first draft or an exposé of your paper before the deadline. This draft/ exposé will not be graded, but you will receive plenty of feedback to help you improve. It is up to you how developed your first draft is, but I require at least 3 pages text (same format rules as for final papers). Remember, the more you give me and the more developed your draft is, the more useful the feedback I can provide, and the more you can improve your paper. It’s up to you! However, I will not accept any drafts/ exposé after the deadline listed in the course schedule.
My late policy. For every
day that your paper is late, I will deduct one
third of a letter grade from your final grade (i.e. an A- will become a B+
etc.).
“Extra credit” assignment
You have the opportunity to try to improve your grade by reading an additional paper that is pertinent to a particular topic and give a 10 minute presentation on the paper when the topic is discussed in class. For your presentation you should also write a summary/report on this paper (2 pages, 500-800 words) which is distributed to all other members of the class via WebCT on the day of your presentation. Your grade will be based (1) on the quality of your in-class presentation and (2) on the effectiveness of your brief paper in communicating the content of the paper(s) succinctly and understandably.
You are encouraged to pair up with another person to present two competing aspects on the same topic by selecting two papers that present diverging views. Whether you want to present a paper alone or a pair of papers together with a classmate, the instructor will help you to identify a suitable (set of) paper(s). (See also supplemental materials on the web).
Note that this is not a typical extra credit assignment, in which, say, a certain number of points are automatically added to your overall course grade, regardless of how well you do on the extra-credit assignment. Rather, this assignment is graded like any other assignment, and integrated with your other grades, such that it is worth 10% of an expanded final grade (see below).
|
|
w/o extra assign. |
w/ extra assign. |
|
Midterm exam #1 |
15% |
15% |
|
Midterm exam #2 |
15% |
15% |
|
Final exam |
30% |
30% |
|
Term paper/Research proposal |
30% |
30% |
|
In-class participation |
10% |
10% |
|
“Extra credit”
assignment |
-- |
10% |
Total
|
100% |
110% |
Unless noted otherwise, the grading
scale will be 90-100% = A range, 80-90% = B range, 70-80% = C range, 60-70% = D
range.
Assistance
If
you require any particular arrangements, please inform me immediately. It is your responsibility to seek assistance
when you are having difficulty understanding the course material. Please ask
questions during class if the material is unclear and/or see me during office
hours (or set up an appointment) to receive assistance outside of class. If I
can help you, I will but you first need to let me know. However, you cannot necessarily expect to
receive assistance on the day of the exam or on the due date for the assignment.
In
order to improve your writing assignments, I recommend visit the
Website/WebCT
This course uses Web Course Tools (WebCT), an online system that allows you access to additional course material and monitor your grades in this course. To get access to WebCT, go to http://webct.unr.edu. If you have used WebCT before, you already have a username and password. If you have never used it, go to http://webct.unr.edu, click on “Student Resources” and then on “Logon Instructions.” There you will find detailed in instructions regarding how to log-on, how to change your password etc. There is also info on how to use the system, but it is pretty self-explanatory. Check WebCT regularly as announcements, instructions for assignments, practice questions etc. will be posted there. (If there is any change, I will contact you via email).
Participation & Attendance
Your active
participation in discussions and activities is critically important for the
success of this class. Naturally, this
includes that you have done the reading for the day.) Whether you come to class or not is your
personal decision, as there will be no formal record of your attendance. It is clear, though, that you cannot actively
participate when you are not physically present. Further, given that the content of class
presentations, demonstrations and discussions is exam-relevant, it is your
responsibility to make sure that you have all relevant course notes.
Emergencies
If there is an
emergency that does not allow you to complete assignments or take exams, please
contact me as soon as possible. For
example, should a family emergency require that you leave town, be sure to
contact me before you leave, not
afterwards.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic
dishonesty (e.g., cheating on exams, plagiarism) is a serious offense. All work
that you submit in this class must be your own.
Each student is responsible for being familiar with UNR's policies on
academic dishonesty. Any student
engaging in academic dishonesty in this course will receive an F on the
exam/assignment. In more severe cases,
e.g., extensive plagiarism of other people’s work, the case may be turned over
for prosecution by the proper university authorities.
Disputes
In the unlikely case that there is a disagreement between the instructor and a student concerning any part of this course, including grading, and the conflict cannot be resolved in a conference between student and instructor, it is the student’s obligation to follow the grievance/appeal procedures as outlined in the University of Nevada Catalog.
Course schedule & Reading List
|
August 23 M |
Introduction to the course Jordan, C. H., & Zanna, M. P. (2003). Appendix: How to read a journal article in social psychology. In A. W. Kruglanski & E. Tory Higgins (Eds.), Social psychology: A general reader (pp. 617-626). |
|
August 25 W |
Macro approaches: The societal context of
education Sadovnik, A. R.
(2001). Theories in the sociology of education (pp. 15-27, 30-34). In J. H.
Ballantine & J. Z. Spade (Eds.), Schools
and society: A sociological approach to education. |
|
August 27 F |
Micro approaches: Education as a context Bar-Tal, Y., & Bar-Tal, D. (1986). Social
psychological analysis of classroom interactions. In R. S. Feldman (Ed.), The social psychology of education:
Current research and theory (pp. 132-149). Inzlicht, M., & Ben-Zeev, T. (2000). A threatening intellectual environment: Why females are susceptible to experiencing problem-solving deficits in the presence of males. Psychological Science, 11, 365-371. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
August 30 M |
Stratification and mobility in education Kerckhoff, A. C. (1995). Social stratification and
mobility processes. In K. S. Cook, G. A. Fine, & J. S. House (Eds.), Sociological perspectives on social
psychology (pp. 476-496). |
|
September 1 W |
Stratification and organizational
dynamics Oakes, J., & Guiton, G. (1995). Matchmaking: The dynamics of high school tracking decisions. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 3-33. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Useem, E. L. (1992). Middle schools and math groups: Parents' involvement in Children's Placement. Sociology of Education, 65, 263-279. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 3 F |
Tracking and
achievement Hallinan, M. T., & Kubitschek, W. N. (1999). Curriculum differentiation and high school achievement. Social Psychology of Education, 3, 41-62. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 6 M |
LABOR DAY |
|
September 8 W |
Evaluation of student achievement Farkas, G., Sheehan, D., & Grobe, R. P. (1990). Coursework mastery and school success: Gender, ethnicity, and poverty groups within an urban school district. American Educational Research Journal, 27, 807-827. [available via www.library.unr.edu] van Laar, C., Sidanius,
J., Rabinowitz, J. L., & Sinclair, S. (1999). The three Rs of academic
achievement: GRADS:
DiMaggio, P. (1982). Cultural capital and school success: The impact of
status culture participation on the grades of |
|
September 10 F |
The academic
self-concept Schunk, D. H. (1991). Self-efficacy and academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 26, 207-231. [available via www.library.unr.edu] Grads: Chemers, M. M., Hu, L., & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first year student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 55-64. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 13 M |
Attribution & motivation Graham, S. (1991). A review of attribution theory in achievement contexts. Educational Psychology Review, 3, 5-39. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Weiner, B. (1994). Ability versus effort revisited: The moral determinants of achievement evaluation and achievement as a moral system. Educational Psychologist, 29, 163-172. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 15 W |
Making sense of oneself and others Reyna, C. (2000). Lazy, dumb, or industrious: When stereotypes convey attribution information in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 85-110. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 17 F |
Movie “Stand and Deliver”
(Part 1) (Instructor out of town) Escalante, J., & Dirmann, J. (1990). The Jaime Escalante, Math Program. Journal of Negro Education, 59, 407-423. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 20 M |
Excuses in the name of self-esteem |
|
September 22 W |
The pursuit of self-esteem Crocker, J. (2002). The cost of seeking self-esteem. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 597-615. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Van Laar, C. (2000). The paradox of low academic achievement but high self-esteem in African American students: An attributional account. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 33-61. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
September 24 F |
Movie “Stand and
Deliver” (Part 2) Thernstrom, A., & Thernstrom, S. (2003). No excuses: Closing the racial gap in learning. |
|
September 27 M |
Beliefs about ability: Implicit theories
of intelligence and effort Dweck, C. S. (2002). Messages that motivate: How praise molds students’
beliefs, motivation and performance (in surprising ways). In J. Aronson
(Ed.), Improving academic achievement (pp.
37-60). |
|
September 29 W |
Teacher-student interaction: Expectancy
effects Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1966). Teachers’
expectancies: Determinants of pupils’ IQ gains. Psychological Reports, 19, 115-118. Babad, E. (1998). Preferential affect: The crux of the teacher expectancy issue. Advances in Research on Teaching, 7, 183-214. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Jussim, L. (1989). Teacher expectations: Self-fulfilling
prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 57, 469-480. [available
via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
October 1 F |
Mentoring and feedback giving Cohen, G. L., & Steele, C. M. (2002). A barrier to mistrust: How
negative stereotypes affect cross-race mentoring. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Improving academic achievement (pp.
303-327). GRADS: Harber, K. D. (1998). Feedback to minorities: Evidence of a positive bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 622-628. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
October 4 M |
MIDTERM EXAM #1 |
|
October 6 W |
Race/ethnicity and achievement Jencks, C., & Phillips, M. (1998).
The Black-White test score gap: An introduction. In C. Jencks & M.
Phillips (Eds.), The Black-White test
score gap (pp. 1-29, 42-51). GRADS: Ogbu, J.
U. (1986). The consequences of the American Caste system. In U. Neisser (Ed.), The school achievement
of minority children: New perspectives (pp. 19-56). |
|
October 8 F |
Race/ethnicity and achievement Thernstrom, A., & Thernstrom, S. (2003). No excuses: Closing the racial gap in learning. |
|
October 11 M |
Stereotyping and
prejudice Dovidio, J. F., Gaertner, S. E., Kawakami, K., & Hodson, G. (2002). Why can't we just get along? Interpersonal biases and interracial distrust. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8, 88-102. [available via www.library.unr.edu] Wolfe, C. T.,
& Spencer, S. J. (1996). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their overt and
subtle influences in the classroom. American
Behavioral Scientist, 40, 176-185. [available
via www.library.unr.edu] |
October 13 W |
Academic
disengagement Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J.
U. (1986). Black students’ school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting
white’”. The Urban Review, 18,
176-206. GRADS: Cook, P. J., &
Ludwig, J. (1998). The burden of "acting White": Do Black
adolescents disparage academic achievement? In C. Jencks & M. Phillips
(Eds.), The Black-White test score gap (pp. 375-400). |
|
October 15 F |
Stigmatized
identities & interaction Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape
intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Major, B.,
& Crocker, J. (1993). Social stigma: The consequences of attributional
ambiguity. In D. M. Mackie, & D. L. Hamilton (Eds.), Affect, cognition, and stereotyping: Interactive processes in group
perception (pp. 345-370). |
|
October 18 M |
Social class in educational settings Tokarczyk, M. M. (2004). Promises to keep: Working class
students in higher education. In M. Zweig (Ed.), What's class got to do with it? (pp. 161-167). Lott, B. (2001). Low income parents and the public
schools. Journal of Social Issues, 57,
247-259. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
October 20 W & October 22 F |
Affirmative Action Voices in favor Crosby, F. J., Iyer, A., Clayton, S.,
& Downing, R. A. (2003). Affirmative action: Psychological data and the
policy debates. American Psychologist,
58, 93-115. [available via www.library.unr.edu] Crosby, F. J., Ferdman, B., & Wingate,
B. R. (2001). Addressing and redressing discrimination: Affirmative action in
social psychological perspective. In R. Brown & S. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of social psychology:
Intergroup processes (pp. 495-513). Voices against Steele,
S. (1990). Affirmative action: The price of preference. In The content of our character: A new vision
of race in Thernstrom, S.,
& Thernstrom, A. (1997). |
|
October 25 M |
Thernstrom, A., & Thernstrom, S. (2003). No excuses: Closing the racial gap in learning. Sue, S., & Okakazi,
S. (1990). Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of
an explanation. American Psychologist,
45, 913-920. [available
via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
October 27 W |
Intergroup relations and cooperative
learning Schofield, J. W., &
Eurich-Fulcer, R. (2001). When and how school desegregation improves
intergroup relations. In R.
Brown & S. Gaertner (Eds.), Blackwell
handbook of social psychology: Intergroup processes (pp. 475-494). Slavin, R. E. (1995).
Cooperative learning and intergroup relations. In J. A. Banks & C. A.
McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of
research on multicultural education (628-634). |
|
October 29 F |
|
|
November 1 M |
Diversity in
education Gurin, P., Nagda, B. A., & Lopez, G. E. (2004). The benefits of diversity in education for democratic citizenship. Journal of Social Issues, 60, 17-34. [available via www.library.unr.edu] Ogbu, J. U.
(1992). Understanding cultural diversity and learning. Educational
Researcher, 21, 5-14. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
November 3 W |
Gender I Spade, J. Z. (2001).
Gender and education in the GRADS: Jacobs, J. A. (1996). Gender
inequality in higher education. Annual
Review of Sociology, 22, 153-185. [available
via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
November 5 F |
Gender II Correll, S. J. (2001). Gender and the career choice process: The role of biased self-assessments. American Journal of Sociology, 106, 1691-1730. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Halpern, D. F., & LaMay, M. L. (2000). The smarter sex: A critical review of sex differences in intelligence. Educational Psychology Review, 12, 229-246. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
November 8 M |
MIDTERM EXAM #2 |
Updated
Syllabus
|
November 10 W |
The “hidden curriculum” Gracey, H. (2001). Learning the student role: Kindergarten
as academic boot camp. In J. H. Ballantine & J. Z. Spade (Eds.), Schools and society: A sociological
approach to education (pp. 95-100). Fine, M., & Rosenberg, P. (1983). Dropping out of high school: The ideology of school and work. Journal of Education, 165, 257-272. |
|
November 12 F |
Peer groups and socialization Guimond, S.,
Begin, G., Palmer, D. L. (1989). Education and causal attributions: The
development of “person-blame” and “system-blame” ideology. Social Psychology Quarterly, 52,
126-140. [available via www.library.unr.edu] Newcomb, T. M. (1958). Attitude development as a function
of reference groups: The Bennington study. In E. E. Maccoby, T. M. Newcomb,
& E. L. Hartley (Eds.), GRADS: Guimond, S. (1999). Attitude change during college: Normative or informational social influence. Social Psychology of Education, 2, 237-261. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
November 15 M |
Culture and
education I: Movie “The Heart of the Nation” (Instructor out of town) Stevenson, H. W., & Stigler, J. W.
(1992). The learning gap: Why our schools are failing and what we
can learn from Japanese and Chinese education (pp. 28-71). Deadline for draft/exposé of term paper |
|
November 17 W |
Culture and education II Stevenson, H. W., & Stigler, J. W.
(1992). The learning gap: Why our schools are failing and what we
can learn from Japanese and Chinese education (pp. 72-112). |
November 19 F |
Culture and education III Stevenson, H.
W., & Stigler, J. W. (1992). The learning gap: Why our schools are
failing and what we can learn from Japanese and Chinese education (pp.
113-155). GRADS: Lewis,
C. C. (1995). Educating hearts and minds: Rethinking the roots of
Japanese educational achievement (pp. 124-148).
|
|
November 22 M |
The culture of college Karp, D. A., & Yoels, W. C. (1976). The college classroom: Some observations on the meanings of student participation. Sociology and Social Research, 60, 421-439. Jensen, B. (2004). Across the great divide: Crossing
classes and crashing cultures. In M. Zweig (Ed.), What's class got to do with
it? (pp. 168-183). |
|
November 24 W |
Negotiating
identity Kinney, D. A. (1993). From nerds to normals: The
recovery of identity among adolescents from middle school to high school. Sociology of Education, 66, 21-40. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
November 26 |
THANKSGIVING/FAMILY
DAY |
|
November 29 M |
Participation outside of the classroom Eccles, J. S.,
Barber, B. L., Stone, M., & Hunt, J. (2003). Extracurricular activities
and adolescent development. Journal of
Social Issues, 59, 865-889. [available via
www.library.unr.edu] Deadline for term paper |
|
December 1 W |
Deviant behavior: Cheating and other problem behaviors Jensen, L. A., Arnett, J. J., Feldman, S. S., & Cauffman, E. (2002). It's wrong, but everybody does it: Academic dishonesty among high school and college students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27, 209-228. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Prentice, D. A., & Miller, D. T. (1993). Pluralistic ignorance and alcohol use on campus: Some consequences of misperceiving the social norm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 243-256. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
December 3 F |
Evaluating instructors Babad, E., Avni-Babad, D., &
Rosenthal, R. (2004). Prediction of students' evaluations from brief
instances of professors' nonverbal behavior in defined instructional
situations. Social Psychology of
Education, 7, 3-33. [available via www.library.unr.edu] GRADS: Eiszler, C. F. (2002). College students' evaluations of teaching and grade inflation. Research in Higher Education, 43, 483-501. [available via www.library.unr.edu] |
|
December 6 M |
REVIEW SESSION (Instructor out of town) |
|
December 10 |
FINAL EXAM |