{"id":1602,"date":"2016-05-23T21:28:55","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T21:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontosociology-waymaker\/?post_type=chapter&p=1602"},"modified":"2024-04-25T15:46:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T15:46:00","slug":"contemporary-issues-in-education","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-introductiontosociology\/chapter\/contemporary-issues-in-education\/","title":{"raw":"Contemporary Issues in Education","rendered":"Contemporary Issues in Education"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n
\r\n

Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Examine teacher training, affirmative action, and the cost of education as contemporary issues in education<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n

    Teacher Training<\/h2>\r\n

    Schools face the difficult issue of measuring teacher effectiveness. For example, most high school teachers perceive students as being prepared for college, while most college professors do not see those same students as prepared for the rigors of collegiate study. Some feel that this is due to primary and secondary-level (i.e., high school) teachers being unprepared to teach, as many\u00a0teachers in the United States teach subjects that are\u00a0outside their own field of study. This is not the case in many European and Asian countries. Only eight percent of United States fourth-grade math teachers majored or minored in math, compared with 48 percent of math teachers\u00a0in Singapore. Further, students in disadvantaged American schools are 77 percent more likely to be educated by a teacher who didn\u2019t specialize in the subject matter than students who attend schools in affluent neighborhoods (Holt, McGrath, and Seastrom 2006).\u00a0Consequently, there are two broad structural problems in regards to teacher training in the United States: first, teachers are, according to some, underprepared to teach students due to a discrepancy between their academic preparation and their professional expectations; second, better-prepared teachers are more likely to be found in wealthier neighborhoods, further contributing to already existing educational inequality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/section>

    \r\n

    Social Promotion<\/h2>\r\n

    Social promotion is another issue identified by sociologists. This is the concept of passing students to the next grade regardless of whether they've met the standards for that grade. Critics of this practice argue that students should never move to the next grade if they have not mastered the skills required to \u201cgraduate\u201d from the previous grade. Proponents of the practice question what a school is to do with a student who is three to four years older than other students in his or her grade, saying this creates more pressing issues than the practice of social promotion.\u00a0Others are more concerned about the social consequences of holding students back, and about the social development of older students who would be surrounded by younger students.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/section>

    \r\n

    Affirmative Action<\/h2>\r\n

    Affirmative action has been a subject of debate, primarily as it relates to the admittance of college students. Opponents suggest that, under affirmative action, minority students are given greater weighted priorities for admittance. Supporters of affirmative action point to the way in which it grants opportunities to students who are traditionally done a disservice in the college admission process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    WATCH IT<\/h3>\r\nAffirmative action seeks to address racial\/ethnic inequality in higher education, and is a heavily contested topic in education debates.\r\n\r\n