education and inequality in US, sociology homework help

User Generated

kkkkw

Humanities

Description

social inequality

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Social Inequality, Spring 2017, Paper Assignment and Guidelines Paper Due: April 21, 5pm. Hardcopy to Dr. Kane’s office, N1056. Slip under door. Education and Inequality “Education was historically considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults. But a body of recently published scholarship suggests that the achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening, a development that threatens to dilute education’s leveling effects.” (NYT, 2-92012) This quote is from one of the New York Times articles examining numerous issues related to educational achievement and social inequality in the United States. The first two articles discuss education and jobs and the growing education gap; the bulk of the articles look at factors presenting obstacles to equal opportunity in k-12 education in the whole nation and Texas. The articles provide evidence in the form of data, statistics, interviews, and analyses by experts. The paper assignment is to use the articles from the New York Times and what you have learned in this class (from lectures and readings) to analyze specific factors and/or causes of the “education gap” in the United States and consequences for social inequality. More specifically, the assignment is to focus on a particular issue, to formulate a “research question” about it, and analyze it in-depth using the articles and the material covered in this course. Here are a few examples of research questions. 1. What institutional barriers (“institutional discrimination”) still prevent educational equality in k-12 education, and how do those barriers impact educational achievement? Some of the possible barriers to consider and explain: policies and processes in schools, families (structure, income), government policies. 2. Research indicates that income inequality is the major factor in current educational inequality. 4. How do other factors such as race, gender, and/ student disabilities contribute to unequal educational opportunities? These are just a few examples of questions and issues that are raised the NYT articles on education. There are many more research questions that can be constructed for analysis. I am looking to see how you use your critical thinking skills to identify and analyze a sociological problem(s) presented by these articles, and how you apply what you’ve learned in this course to discuss and explain these problems. Your analysis must include a theoretical framework, drawn from the theories/concepts of inequality studied in this course. The theory or theories might be from a theorist(s) studied at the beginning of the course (e.g., Smith, Marx, Weber, etc.), or a contemporary theory more directly related to a particular issue, such as economic inequality. Which theories and theoretical concepts you use will depend on what issues you focus on. I am looking to see that you understand and can employ theoretical concepts and frameworks to analyze a sociological problem. 1 You should be able to complete this assignment using the material from this course – the packet of articles, BB readings, and lectures. I am interested to see how well you are able to use these sources (also demonstrates that you’ve read them). However, you may use extra-curriculum sources of information. For example, you might want to find and read more articles (newspaper, academic journals) about certain aspects of educational inequality, either those addressed in the articles I’ve provided, or aspects not covered. If you do use outside sources, you must cite them properly in the paper, and include them in your reference/bibliography page. That said, outside research and reading is not required. You can write your paper using the distributed articles and course materials. In fact, the majority of your sources should be class materials. You must use course materials (BB readings and lectures) as part of your theoretical framework and analysis. Note: some of the articles have web addresses that take you to reports mentioned in the article, where you can find more information. I encourage you check these out, and use when appropriate. Paper Organization It is very important for your paper to be well organized. If it is not, it is difficult for the reader (me) to follow. Don’t make the reader work hard to figure out what you are saying and arguing. If reader can not follow the logic of the paper and argument, it will be difficult to assess (and grade well). Your paper should consist of the following Three Components: 1. An Introduction in which you discuss the problem(s) presented by the articles, and how you will analyze the problem – what you will focus on, what theories or theoretical concepts you will use and why. You might also include a “thesis statement” if you have formulated a strong explanation about the problems at TYC, or some specific aspect. For example, “I will argue that the increase of children being thrown into poverty will increase education inequality and decrease social mobility for the next few generations.” 2. The main part of the paper, Body, including (a) theoretical framework and (b) analysis. a. You should first explicate and discuss the theoretical framework (including important and relevant concepts) you are using. b. Following this, apply your theoretical framework to the issue at hand – your specific research question. Of course, your analysis will be more than just theoretically based; it will include information from course material and supporting evidence from the newspaper articles. In other words, you are analyzing empirical information/data using a theoretical framework. 3. Conclusion. This can be (but not limited to the following): a summary of your analysis and/or argument; suggestions for further research that might be done to better understand the problem of educational inequality; what you think should be done (by the government, the public, etc.) to alleviate educational and social inequality. If you have any opinions, the conclusion is the appropriate place to articulate them. However, they should be in line with the argument you’ve presented in the main text of your analysis. 2 Grading of Paper The following criteria will be the basis of the grade: 1. Identification of sociological problem/research question in a clear introduction. 2. Development of theoretical framework for analyzing problem, including explanation of major concepts. Use and citation of theories studied in course. 3. Application of theory to empirical evidence, including how well the empirical data (newspaper articles) are used. 4. Strength of analysis. 5. Conclusion – clear summary. 6. How well the paper is written – including paper organization, grammatical conventions (grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax), complete and proper citations. Style Guidelines/Mechanics for Paper 1. Any style (MLA, APA, etc.) is fine, as long as consistency is maintained including citations, foot or endnotes, bibliography or reference page. Websites you might use: www.aresearchguide.com, http://www.uhd.edu/library/guides/citingwriting.html 2. Font size: 12 3. Length: 5-8 pages. 4. Bibliography/Reference page not included as part of this length. 5. Citations. Any work or author mentioned must be cited including name, year of publication, page number (especially if quoting, see below #8). For example (Brown, 1997, pp.23-25) 6. Though I discourage it (especially since it often leads to plagiarism, either intentional or unintentional) use of websites must be cited. Again, use of websites other than the New York Times should be limited, and I will check for plagiarism. 7. Refer to style manuals if unclear about citations, or other style issues. See number 1 above. 8. Quotations: you may use quotes from either newspaper articles or readings. These should be rather short quotes, and must include the appropriate citation. I encourage quotes, as they can be very good support for analysis and argument; however, quotes should not dominate your paper. Furthermore, quotes don’t “speak for themselves.” The writer (you) must put the quote in context, and explain how the quote is evidence or supports your argument. 9. Paper must have either bibliography (includes full citations of all works used in paper), or Reference page (includes full citations of works/authors mentioned in paper). 10. Pages must be numbered. 11. Title page: with paper title, student name, course name, and day and time of class. 12. Check for typos, misspellings, incomplete sentences and improper grammar. I will deduct points for these. All word processing programs contain a Spell and Grammar Check, so there is no excuse. 13. Edit paper. Do not turn in first draft. Read, edit, and revise as needed. Extra Credit Points: I encourage you do use the UHD Writing Center for help at any stage of writing your paper, from planning to editing and revising. They are very helpful, and will also notify me that you have visited them (think extra points). Don’t wait until the last minute, as the Center gets busy at the end of the semester. 5 points for each visit. Please stable visit confirmation slip(s) to your paper. 3 Plagiarism is when you use the work or ideas of someone else in your own work without giving credit to the original source. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ If you buy, steal, or borrow a paper and turn it in as your own. If you hire someone to write a paper for you, then turn it in as your own. If you “cut and paste” from websites. If you use a source too closely when you are doing a paraphrase. If you build on someone’s ideas without citing or giving proper credit. If you copy from another source without proper credit. Note that teachers and administrators do not distinguish between accidental and intentional plagiarism. Both types are unacceptable. Any form of plagiarism will result in course failure (F) and will go on your academic record. Please see below for information on plagiarism. Please refer to Academic Honesty Policy (PS 03.A.19) in the UHD Student Handbook for information on consequences of cheating and plagiarism. For more information and guidance: http://www.uhd.edu/library/guides/citingwriting.html http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/ Paper Due: April 21, 5pm. Hardcopy to Dr. Kane’s office, N1056. Slip under door. This is the absolute deadline; any papers turned in later will be penalized or not read at all. If you think your paper will be late for a valid reason, please notify me beforehand for permission. 4
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Thank you for working with me.

Running head: SOCIAL AND EDUCATION INEQUALITY IN THE US

Social and Education Inequality in the US
Name:
Institutional affiliation

1

SOCIAL AND EDUCATION INEQUALITY IN THE US

2

Social and Education Inequality in the US
Introduction
Education is one of the economic tools that were used to overcome inequalities in the
society. It was believed that through education, an individual is equipped with the required
knowledge and skills required in the labor market. But this is not always the case as there are
increased cases of educational inequalities in the United States of America which make it hard
for children from a humble background not to have access to quality education. The cost of
education and lack of adequate learning resources are some of the factors that lead to this
inequality. Education inequality causes a gap between the rich and the poor hence income
inequality that affects economic growth of a nation. The study will, therefore, use different
inequality theories to analyze effects of education inequality. Furthermore, the study will analyze
empirical studies by other scholars in assessing effect created by education inequality. The study
will provide an argument on how the increased poverty level leads to educational inequality
which negatively impacts on the growth of the economy.
Theories and Concepts of Educational Inequality
There are a number of theories that are used to explain the concept of education
inequality. According to Adam Smith in his theory of laissez-faire capitalism, he advocates that
for a nation to be considered economically stable there must be an equal distribution of resources
to the people. Smith was the idea that concentrating resources in the hands a few individuals in
the economy is encouraging inequalities. In his theory, Smith recommends that those people who
have more should share with those who are poor. In his book The Theory of Moral Sentiments,

SOCIAL AND EDUCATION INEQUALITY IN THE US
Smith explains that the rich are more likely to be appreciated and accepted by the society and
majority of the people will want to associate with the rich as opposed to the poor. This may be
witnessed in any social gathering or function where the rich are given opportunities to the ...


Anonymous
Excellent resource! Really helped me get the gist of things.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags