Unit 9 Seminar Our final seminar together…

Announcements  This is our last seminar – no Unit 10 seminar  Final project – Due by midnight tomorrow (Tuesday)  Unit 10 – Time for reflection; no assignments required – but I encourage you to post your reflections in the Unit 10 discussion board.

FINAL PROJECT INFO  In this project you will choose one social problem to explain in depth.  Part I: Begin your final paper with a discussion of the social problem you have chosen and explain why you have chosen this particular social problem.  Part II: Choose two of the three sociological perspectives discussed in your text. Discuss how these two perspectives would view the social problem you are discussing.

FINAL PROJECT INFO  Part III: Conclude your project with two ideas that can be implemented by human services professionals that would help to eliminate or at least lessen the effects of your social problem.  Read and follow the project description/ instructions very carefully  Read the Final Project grading rubrics posted in the syllabus

FINAL PROJECT INFO  Your project should be between 800 and 1000 words, double spaced, not including your title and reference page.  While no points will be deducted if APA formatting is incorrect, points can be deducted if there is no attempt to cite references.  Please use the Research, Citation, and Plagiarism document found in Doc Sharing to help you with formatting your project.  Project is due by midnight on Tuesday, August 10.

Education, Science and Technology Chapter 15 Education, Science and Technology

Myth or Fact?  People need more education today than in former times because today’s jobs are more complicated and the technology more sophisticated.  A recent report argued that U.S. schools are more racially segregated than they were 30 years ago, due largely to persisting segregation in housing. MythFact

Growth of Education and Technology  Modernization  is the economic, social, and cultural changes that occur when a pre-industrial society makes the transition to an advanced industrial society.  Two parts of society that play a key role in the process of modernization  Educational institutions  Science and technology

FIGURE 15.2 Median Income of Family Based on Educational Attainment of the Head of the Household, United States, 2003

Problems in Education  Most of the problems in education have to do with the tendency of the educational system to protect the advantaged while not providing opportunities for the disadvantaged, thus contributing to social reproduction.

13  Rising Tide of Mediocrity  Cheating on SATs  Grade Inflation, Social Promotion, Functional Illiteracy  The Influence of Peer Groups  Violence in Schools Problems in U.S. Education

Problems in Education  The Credentials Race  Occurs because some groups have vested interest in placing greater emphasis on the importance of educational degrees  Tracking (ability grouping)  Is often done on the basis of stereotypes about social class and race; racism may influence the outcome  Effectiveness, Low Performance and Dropouts  U.S. performance on standardized tests has dropped and the U.S. has an unacceptably large high school dropout rate

Problems in Education  Segregation  Schools in the U.S. tend to be highly segregated along the lines of social class and race, despite efforts to integrate.  Factors that lead to segregated schools  Segregated housing patterns  Court decisions that have freed school districts from desegregation orders  A public that is indifferent to the desirability of integrated schools  Affluent families are more likely to move in order to find a good school for their children or to send them to private schools

Problems in Education  Segregation is being addressed with re- districting plans to some degree  Violence in schools  A product of youthful exuberance and routine conflicts as adolescents deal with maturation  Reflect the larger society which experiences high levels of crime, drugs and gun possession

Problems in Science and Technology Technological developments have led to fears and problems  Unemployment  Alienation  Loss of control  Loss of privacy

The Case of Genetic Engineering  Biotechnology  The use of organisms or parts of organisms to make products or carry out tasks  Based on the identification of DNA  genetic engineering  gene splicing  Problems with Biotechnology  Potentially unpredictable consequences  Cloning and altering genes

Future Prospects for Education  A number of reforms have been proposed for schools  parental choice and charter schools  back to basics curricula  early childhood interventions  school integration  better communities and families

Future Prospects for Science and Technology  How can we live with and control the negative consequences of technology?  Legal protections  Appropriate technology  Technology assessment  Futurology: The study or forecasting of potential developments, as in science, technology, and society, using current conditions and trends as a point of departure

Discussions  Science and technological advances may be linked to alienation and feelings of loss of control. Why might individuals experience these feelings? How has technology changed the way we interact (positive and negative)?  Final course reflections…If you had to name one thing you learned in this class, what stands out in your mind?

A fond farewell…  You have all been wonderful. Thank you so much for your hard work and your thoughtful contributions. I have learned a lot myself from your insight and experiences and I am so glad to have had you all in my class. I hope to see you again in the future.  Best, best wishes to you all!