Topic: Final Project Review

The following Power Point is a template (a sample for you to follow) for the way your final presentation should be formatted. This is just one way to do it - please feel free to make yours much more colorful and technological than mine - this is just a bare- bones example for you to get a general idea of how to proceed and what to include.

Mr. Nelson- Final Presentation (template) Research Topic: Education My Research Question/s: 1.What, if any, difference in self-perception exist between A.P. and non-A.P. students? 2.Will there be any racial disparities in the A.P. student body versus the ‘regular’ one exist? 3.How much will parent education level impact a students likelihood of taking A.P. classes? My Hypothesis: There will be major sociological differences in all of the above categories between students who consistently take A.P. classes, and those who do not.

My Methodology: For my research I handed out a general, 13-question survey about education to 111 of my students and divided them into 2 categories based on their answers to question #10 (“Have you ever taken A.P. Courses?”). After that division I had the following groupings: 51 Non-A.P. students (34 males, 17 females) 60 A.P. students (25 males, 35 females) *Tip - if using multiple groups like I did, try to have comparable numbers for each group. So, if you’re surveying girls and guys about the same question, don’t interview 10 guys and 2 girls, keep the number close.

Races and Ethnicities Represented: Asian: the primary ethnic groups in this category are Indian and Pakistani Black: the primary ethnic groups are Jamaican and Haitian White: the primary ethnic groups are certain Hispanic groups, Irish and Italian *So remember, when you see the percentage of “white” students, this can also refer to people of Hispanic descent

Racial/Ethnic Differences: A.P. Students: 26 % Asian 18% Black 35% White 20% Mixed Races Non-A.P. Students: 15.6% Asian 33% Black 27% White 18% Mixed Race Conclusion:AP Classes more White and Asian, Non AP almost double amount of black kids

Discussion: Why do you think there is such a small percentage of black students in AP classes at this school, considering that (district-wide, I couldn’t find info for just our school), blacks make up approximately 27% of all Sewanhaka District students?

Sewanhaka: Diversity in the classroom - New York Times rollment/new-york/nassau/sewanhaka- central-high-school-districthttp://projects.nytimes.com/immigration/en rollment/new-york/nassau/sewanhaka- central-high-school-district

Asians in Public Schools (New York Times) m/2012/10/27/educat ion/a-grueling- admissions-test- highlights-a-racial- divide.html?hphttp:// m/2012/10/27/educat ion/a-grueling- admissions-test- highlights-a-racial- divide.html?hp

Self-Perceptions as Students: This is how students described themselves AP Students: 1.6% “Poor Students” 11% “AVERAGE” 86.6 % “ABOVE AVERAGE - BRILLIANT” Non-A.P. Students: 7.8% “Poor Students” 56% “AVERAGE” (19 males, 10 females) 31% “ABOVE AVERAGE to BRILLIANT” (10 males, 6 females) Conclusion: AP students perceive themselves as overwhelmingly better than the average student, and have an almost non-existent perception of themselves as being bad students.

Discussion Questions: 1.Why do you A.P. students perceive themselves as ‘above average students, despite whatever grades they get in AP classes? 2.Understanding that there is a scale of grades in AP (like any other class), which is the better student: A non-AP student with a 99 average, or an AP student with an 85? Why? 3.Why would one consider themselves a better student than another? Is this correct thinking, in your opinion?

Other Comparisons: Do you plan to go to college? AP = 98% Non-AP = 100% Vocational Program (beauty, auto, etc.) AP = 15% Non-AP = 18% ISS/OSS (at least 1 time): AP = 22% Non-AP= 43%

Parents with college degrees: Neither parent went to college: AP = 30% Non- AP = 33 % 1 parent went to college: AP = 40% Non-AP = 57% Both parents went to college: AP = 30% Non-AP = 10% Conclusion: The biggest disparities are with 1 parent going to college (+17% for Non-AP) and both parents having a college degree (+20% for AP) Discussion: To what extent does your parent’s education level have on your view of your own education? Explain.

On a scale of 1-10 (1 being ‘not very’), how important is school to you (#5) and your parents (#6): For question 5 (your opinion), mean score was: AP = 9% Non-AP = 7% For question 6 (your parents opinion), mean score: AP = 9.35% Non-AP = 9%

How This Relates to Class: This relates to our unit on Education. Specifically, it relates to the 3 sociological views of education: conflict theory, symbolic interactionist, and functionalist. This also relates to cultural values, sub-cultures, and the role of the family

My conclusions based on my research: AP students overall (in comparison to Non-AP students) are less likely to get into serious trouble and complete a vocational program. They are more likely to be Asian or White, consider education to be important, have had both parents go to college, and perceive themselves as above average students.

My Conclusions (part II): I believe that although differences clearly exist (as shown in the previous slides) I think that the reason for this has to do with the following: 1.Teacher Expectation and Interaction (symbolic interactionist view of education): Teachers expect more from, and generally treat AP students differently than they do others 2.Role of Family: Ethnicities that typically occupy higher socio-economic status and have the lowest statistical levels of divorce are more likely to value education, and be able to financially support children in college 3.Sub-Cultures & Values: AP students are a subculture of the general student body - their values place a higher emphasis on academic, rather than social achievement. On a social level, however, this binds the group together (like a sports team) because they are a small, intimate group who share a general outlook on the future and value system.