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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
SOC D097B
Course Title (CB02)
Institutional Inequality - FYE, Puente and Umoja
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2021
Course Description
Analysis of social institutions in American society through a sociological perspective with an emphasis on education and its interaction with other institutions. Investigates the processes through which social institutions reproduce race, class and gender inequality in society.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This is a CSU transferable, stand-alone course. It was designed specifically for the First Year Experience, Puente and Umoja programs as part of the integrated curriculum of these student success learning communities.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to CSU only

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
1.0
Maximum Credit Units
1.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours1.02.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
12.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
12.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
24.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
24.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Student must also enroll in a designated First Year Experience, Puente or Umoja section of SOC D001.

Advisory(ies)

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion and problem solving performed in class

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Field observation and field trips

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Assignments

  1. Written reflections on assigned course readings
  2. A short photoessay that illustrates core sociological concepts about schooling and inequality
  3. A project in which students utilize a website of statewide statistics on schools to investigate inequality in their own local schools

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Written reflections will be evaluated based on the extent to which students apply the readings to their own personal experiences with schooling
  2. The photoessay will be evaluated based on the extent to which students use the photographs to summarize or illustrate ideas from the assigned readings
  3. The final project will require students to present and evaluate school data and create a data-based argument about educational inequality. Project formats may include a photo essay, poster session, power point presentation, or short film.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Alonso, G., N.S. Anderson, C. Su & J. Theoharis. 2009. Our Schools Suck: Students Talk Back to a Segregated Nation on the Failures of Urban Education. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Arum, R., I.R. Beattie, & K. Ford. 2010. The Structure of Schooling: Readings in the Sociology of Education. Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications.
Bourdieu, P. 1990. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Bowles, S. & H. Gintis. 2011. Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
Delpit, L. 2012. 'Multiplication Is for White People': Raising Expectations for Other People's Children. New York, NY: New Press.
Delpit, L. 2008. The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom. New York, NY: New Press.
Fine, M. & L. Weis. 2005. Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race and Gender in United States Schools. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Ed-Data. Education Data Partnership. Website: https://www.ed-data.org/
Gandara, P. 2010. The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kosciw, J.G., Greytak, E.A., Diaz, E.M. & M.J. Bartkiewicz. 2010. The 2009 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools. New York, NY: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
Kozol, J. 2006. Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
Lareau, A. 2011. Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race and Family Life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Lee, S.J. 2009. Unraveling the 'Model Minority' Stereotype: Listening to Asian American Youth. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Lee, S. J. 2005. Up against Whiteness: Race, School and Immigrant Youth. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Lew, J. & J. Anyon. 2003. Asian Americans in Class: Charting the Achievement Gap among Korean American Youth. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Macleod, J. 2008. Ain't No Makin It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Noguera, P.A. 2010. The Trouble with Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity and the Future of Public Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Oakes, J. 2005. Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Olsen, L. 2008. Made in America: Immigrant Students in our Public Schools. New York, NY: New Press.
Perez, W. 2009. We Are Americans: Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Sadker, D. & K. Zittleman. 2009. Still Failing at Fairness: How Gender Bias Cheats Boys and Girls in Schools and What We Can Do About it. New York, NY: Scribner.
Suarez-Orozco, C., M.M. Suarez-Orozco & I. Todorova. 2010. Learning in a New Land: Immigrant Students in American Society. Boston, MA: Belknap Press.
Valenzuela, A. 1999. Subtractive Schooling: U.S. Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Yosso, T. 2005. Critical Race Counterstories along the Chicano/Chicana Educational Pipeline. New York, NY: Routledge.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Investigate the latent functions of public schooling
  • Analyze the ways in which schooling contributes to racial inequality
  • Analyze the ways in which schooling contributes to class inequality
  • Analyze how schools contribute to gender inequality

CSLOs

  • Apply a sociological perspective to the study of social institutions.

  • Explain how inequality in education connects to inequality in other institutions.

  • Evaluate how race, class and gender operate to shape opportunities and chances within social institutions, particularly in education.

Outline

  1. Investigate the latent functions of public schooling
    1. Explicit versus hidden curriculum
    2. American achievement ideology about schooling as an equalizer
    3. Schooling and social reproduction theories
  2. Analyze the ways in which schooling contributes to racial inequality
    1. The history of segregated schooling in the U.S.
    2. Contemporary segregation in U.S. schools
    3. Race, language and tracking
  3. Analyze the ways in which schooling contributes to class inequality
    1. The correspondence principle
    2. Schools and cultural capital
    3. Class, tracking and standardized testing
  4. Analyze how schools contribute to gender inequality
    1. Masculinity, femininity and attitudes about intellectualism
    2. Homophobia, gay-baiting, harassment and their effects on students
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