Notes on Educational Inequality and Social-Conflict Theory

Introduction

• Discussion of school complaints, particularly early start times (7 am).
• Overview of positive aspects of schooling from previous lecture.
• Introduction of not-so-good components in the educational system.

Social-Conflict Theory

• Helps understand inequalities in the US educational system.
• Schools can reinforce social inequalities instead of being equalizers.

Meritocracy in Education

• Education seen as a meritocracy: hard work and talent rewarded.
• Grades and SAT scores do not measure talents consistently.
• External factors (school quality, resources) influence educational success.

Class Gaps in Educational Attainment

• 83% of high-income students enroll in college vs. 63% of low-income students.
• School funding is local and based on property taxes.
  • Example: Fairfax County spends $13,700 per student; Scott County spends $7,900.
• Better-funded schools provide better education (teachers, resources, extracurriculars).
• Study: 10% increase in school funding leads to 7% higher adult incomes.

Limitations of Funding

• Simply increasing funding may not resolve educational disparities.
• Wealthy families provide additional cultural capital (time, knowledge, resources) beneficial to education.
  • Example: Children of professionals have more extensive vocabularies than working-class peers.

Cultural Capital

• Higher income parents engage more with children, impacting early literacy and vocabulary.
• Different expectations based on family background lead to disparities in college preparation.

Racial Inequalities in Education

• Persistent racial achievement gaps exacerbated by systemic advantages for white students.
• Historical segregation impacts neighborhood quality and school funding.
• Majority of teachers are white, influencing curriculum and student evaluation.

Tracking in Education

• Tracking assigns students to different educational programs based on perceived ability.
• Racial biases in tracking favor white and Asian students over Black and Hispanic students.
• Discipline issues disproportionately affect minority students, leading to higher suspension rates.
  • Black students are suspended three times more than white students.

School-to-Prison Pipeline

• Suspended students are at risk of engaging in risky behaviors, contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline.
• Minority students face escalated disciplinary actions, often leading to contact with the juvenile justice system.

Standardized Testing and Bias

• Standardized tests often reflect cultural biases against minorities.
• No Child Left Behind Act creates incentives leading to mislabeling students as learning disabled to ensure funding.
• Labels can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies affecting student outcomes.

Long-term Consequences of Tracking

• Tracking affects future opportunities for students (e.g., boys in math, girls in other fields).
• Structural biases in education perpetuate societal inequalities.

Conclusion

• Educational inequalities stem from systemic issues in funding, cultural capital, and biases in tracking and testing.
• Social conflict theory highlights deviations from meritocracy in the educational system.