Download What is Theory

Theory and Institutions
Educational Data and Policy Making
What is Theory
Conceptual Framework to think about things
 Empirically testable
 Enables same hypothesis to take on different meanings
 Grand, middle range, and sub theory – depends on social
institution and approach
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Social Institutions
Have Functions in Society
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Theory provides framework how we view each?
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Economy
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Education
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Marriage
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Work
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Criminal justice
Theoretical approaches to social institutions can be positivistic,
psychological, social-psychological, sociological with sub-theories under
each
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Aggregating Sociological Theory
Education
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Complex system to transform knowledge and create citizens
Basic education – reading, writing, math
Teaches and provides:
Empathy
Socialization – social skills and norms (norms, beliefs, attitudes, values
and behaviors)
Training for future roles in work, as a citizen, as parents
Socials bonds/identity
Custodial function 5-18 year olds
Educational Research
1960-70, The Coleman Report
 Recruited by the Dept or Education after 1964 Civil Rights act
to study the impact of segregation on equal education
opportunities
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The Study
Research Question: inequity: how is it defined? Resources,
levels of achievement
 Method: surveys, recruitment, refusal, response rate and bias
 Variables: SES, parents education, reading at home, # siblings,
race, future outlook
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Findings
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Variations in achievement more to do with fellow students economic status
than race
Little to do with school facilities and resources
Dept of Ed hoped the report would prove to be an assault on inequities,
but instead it outlines that school and achievement will not improve with
more resources
What helped was SES diversity (not just race)
Result busing (white flight/tracking)
Lessons for Social Research
Unintended findings
 Control of their construction once released
 Findings are circumvented
 Social conditions can change by time findings are made public
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