Exploring Unequal Achievement in the Schools: The Social Construction of Failure » (New Edition)

For over a half century, educational sociologists have struggled to explain the cause of differential academic achievement in the school. This book attempts to offer an explanation by examining the role played by ascribed characteristics of students (race, gender, and class) and educational practices and structures of schools (testing, tracking, and teacher expectations) as they combine to create a self-fulfilling prophesy of behavior and belief.

Preface ix

Part I Introduction

1 Perplexing Problems in American Schooling 3

Schools in Crisis 3

The Need for Educational Sociology 17

Applying Sociological Theory to Education 18

The Development of American Schooling 28

Does Schooling Really Matter? 31

Part II Previous Explanations for Unequal Achievement

2 Explaining Unequal Achievement 37

The Problem of Unequal Achievement 37

Employing Sociological Theory to Explain Unequal Achievement 40

Three Explanations of Unequal Achievement 41

Conclusions 59

Part III The Role of Family

3 Explaining Unequal Achievement: The Family 63

The Importance of Family Background 63

The Concept of Cultural Capital 65

The Concept of Social Capital 68

Family Characteristics and Academic Achievement 69

Parental Involvement and Academic Achievement 93

Part IV The Role of the School

4 Exploring Unequal Achievement: Differences Between Schools 101

The Fundamental Belief in American Schooling 101

The Challenge to Excellence and Access 102

Differences Between Schools and Academic Achievement 106

Contextual Issues-School and Class Size, Racial and SES Context of the School, Single Gender Schools and Classes 117

5 Explaining Unequal Achievement: Within-School Differences 129

The Significance of Within-School Differences 129

Tracking: A Prime Factor in Unequal Achievement 131

Getting on Track: Is Achievement Related to Specific Track Structure? 135

Tracking Outcomes 139

The Legality of Tracking 147

Conclusions/Implications for Educational Policy 149

Part V A Theoretical Synthesis

6 Explaining Unequal Achievement in School: A Theoretical Synthesis 157

Previous Explanations ofUnequal Achievement 157

Toward a Theoretical Synthesis 161

The Social Construction of Reality 165

Labeling Theory 167

Teacher Expectations 171

The Process of Becoming an Underachiever 182

Part VI Conclusions and Discussion

7 Where Do We Go From Here? Discussion and Policy Implications 187

Solving the Problem of Unequal Achievement 187

What Can Schools Do? Effective Schools Research 189

What Can Families Do? 205

What Can Governments Do? 206

Conclusion 207

Glossary 209

Bibliography 217

Index 241