Ch. 17 Government and Politics: Supplemental Review Slides
Voting and Political Knowledge: Data Collection Guide
Module 7- Institutions: Education, Government and Politics
Overview
Text, slides, and classroom activities related to education and government. Primary text: OpenStax Introduction to Sociology 2e
Institutions- Education, Government and Politics: Learning Objectives
Distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate exercises of power
Compare and contrast Weber’s ideal types of authority
Identify patterns in voting behavior (U.S.) and describe the relationship between social factors and political participation
Compare and contrast functionalist (pluralism) and conflict (power elite) perspectives on political power
Describe the relationship between education and industrialization
Identify manifest and latent functions of formal education (functionalist perspective)
Explain the role of the educational system in maintaining and reproducing inequality (conflict perspective)
Institutions- Education, Government and Politics: Readings
Institutions- Education, Government and Politics: Supplemental Review Slides
The attached slides provide a useful review of concepts from chapters 16 and 17 in your textbook.
Institutions- Education, Government and Politics: Class Activities
Activity 18: Design an Educational System
Learning Objectives: Identify and think critically about issues associated with ensuring equal access to educational opportunities, recognize challenges and opportunities within the educational system
CSSS: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication
Instructions: Your group has been charged with creating an educational system for the newly-independent country of Xelportem, an island nation with a similar size and demographic profile as the DFW Metroplex. You may structure this system any way that you choose in order to reach your goal of ensuring that all Xelportemi youth have the knowledge and skills necessary in contemporary society.
On a separate sheet of paper, create a proposal for a new system by answering the following questions:
- What is the purpose of education in Xelportem? What values and goals are most important?
- Curriculum (what subjects will be taught, why?)
- What ages (and/or grades) will be included? Why?
- Will participation be mandatory or voluntary? Why?
- How will schools be funded? (Note: 25% of Xelportmenis are poor and pay no property taxes, the wealthiest 5% of citizens pay property taxes but generally hire private tutors, the shrinking middle class have concerns about school quality and tax rates.)
- How will you ensure that all students have an equal education? (Note: Roughly 10% of Xelportemi youth have significant social and emotional issues related to the country’s long civil war. These students require extra additional resources, but can be successful. Nodistani immigrants account for 10% [and growing] of the population. Bilingual education for these students requires additional funds.)
- What educational requirements will you have for teachers?
- How will you evaluate teacher effectiveness?
- How will you evaluate student progress? Will you use standardized tests? Why or why not?
- How will you address issues such as discipline, cheating, bullying, and violence?
Activity 19: Voting and Political Knowledge
Learning Objectives: Apply the scientific method/research process to uncover political behavior in the local environment
CSSS: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Organization
Instructions: Conduct a mini-research project examining voting behaviors and political knowledge at <Insert College>. Follow these steps (in this order!) to create your report:
Step 1: Generate Hypotheses—what do you expect to find and why?
Step 2: Data Collection—using the attached form as a guide, collect basic demographic information and ask at least 8 people whether they voted in the last state or local election and how many of the listed officials they can correctly identify: the current Governor, at least one Senator (TX), and at least one County Commissioner.
Step 3: Analyze and Interpret Data—compare your results with your hypotheses and information from the text. Are your findings similar or different? How? Why? What are some possible explanations for these results?
Step 4: Present Findings—create two graphs: (1.) Voting by Gender, and (2.) Knowledge of Elected Officials