Deck 13: Education and Work

Question 1

Which aspect of schooling would a functionalist study?

A) how the educational system fits into the larger society
B) how classmates interact with one another during gym
C) how property taxes pay for instruction and books
D) how schools perpetuate inequalities within society

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Emile Durkheim believed schools teach children the central beliefs and values of society. He referred to this as

A) moral education.
B) the hidden curriculum.
C) childcare.
D) occupational sorting.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements does NOT accurately describe current patterns in worldwide literacy?

A) Adult literacy is nearly universal in developed areas of the world.
B) Literacy has increased in developing countries in recent decades.
C) Adult literacy rates are higher in developed than in developing nations.
D) Literacy rates have declined in developing nations in recent decades.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Kevin's family moves and he attends a new high school. His new school stresses fitting in with the school environment, which includes creativity, close relationships between students and teachers, and respect for others. Kevin's new teachers comment on how well he is fitting in. What type of conformity is being rewarded in this scenario?

A) moral conformity
B) cultural conformity
C) behavioral conformity
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 5

Lincoln High School tracks some students into college preparatory classes. Those students will eventually end up in professional careers. Others are in job-training programs and will enter the workforce after graduation. Lincoln High School is demonstrating which of the following functions of schooling?

A) childcare
B) occupational sorting
C) social integration
D) change and innovation

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a way that socialization occurs in schools, according to Brint and his colleagues?

A) teacher-initiated interactions with students
B) everyday classroom routines
C) socialization textbooks
D) visual displays in public spaces

Question 7

Which of the following lessons would be an example of the hidden curriculum present within schools?

A) algebraic equations
B) obedience to authority
C) chemistry formulas
D) sociological theories

Question 8

What is literacy?

A) the ability to read
B) the ability to understand
C) the ability to write
D) the ability to read and write

Question 9

Dr. Inscoe, a biology professor at a university, spends time teaching but also performs research with students. Recently, he and his students discovered a new classification of lizard. This discovery illustrates which of the following functions of schooling?

A) occupational sorting
B) socialization
C) change and innovation
D) social integration

Question 10

Which social institution teaches not only knowledge and skills but also cultural norms and values?

A) politics
B) economy
C) education
D) religion

Question 11

How does schooling differ from education?

A) Education is the process of instruction, whereas schooling is the social institution.
B) Education refers to skill acquisition, whereas schooling refers to knowledge.
C) Schooling is the process of instruction, whereas education is the social institution.
D) Education refers to advanced grades, whereas schooling refers to elementary school.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a function of schools in which sociologists have been interested?

A) job preparation
B) social integration
C) entertainment for kids
D) transfer of knowledge

Question 13

James is a student at an elementary school. In addition to learning math and reading, James's teachers also make sure to stress the value of hard work, honesty, and respect for their elders. The idea that James is learning societal values in addition to subject matter illustrates

A) Durkheim's moral education.
B) the transfer of knowledge function of schools.
C) Brint's behavioral conformity.
D) Bourdieu's cultural capital.

Question 14

Which of the following would NOT indicate a commitment to education within a particular country?

A) The country's government decides to divest from education and turn it over to the private sector.
B) Most young people spend a good portion of their lives in school settings.
C) The education system requires a substantial investment from the country's government.
D) The education system is a major employer for adults within the country.

Question 15

Jamal waits his turn before speaking in class, and in his school records, his teachers note he is polite. What kind of conformity has Jamal exhibited, according to Brint?

A) religious
B) moral
C) behavioral
D) cultural

Question 16

When students internalize values and morals in school, what kind of conformity are they exhibiting?

A) patriotic
B) moral
C) behavioral
D) cultural

Question 17

How do schools act as an occupational sorter?

A) Through different programs, schools prepare people for various occupational roles.
B) Schools use a quota system to determine which students take a particular occupational route.
C) Schools use the same curriculum to prepare everyone for college-required jobs.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 18

What does the hidden curriculum do?

A) It teaches students the central values and beliefs of society.
B) It teaches students basic subjects like math and reading.
C) It teaches students to be engaged in activism.
D) It teaches students to "think outside the box."

Question 19

Which of the following is a mode of conformity, identified by Brint and his colleagues, regarding how schools evaluate students?

A) cultural
B) moral
C) behavior
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 20

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the historical development of schooling in the United States?

A) Public schools in the U.S. have always been open to all groups.
B) Until the late 1800s, most children did not attend school.
C) Early school expansion was, in part, a way to socialize new immigrants.
D) High school attendance became more common in the first half of the 1900s.

Question 21

A professional group has a monopoly over a prestigious occupation. The group retains control over this occupation because, in order to enter the occupation or perform any of its job duties, a person has to have a certain degree and pass a licensing exam. This is an example of

A) credentialing.
B) cultural capital.
C) social capital.
D) social reproduction.

Question 22

What did the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision find?

A) Racial separation in schooling was unconstitutional.
B) Racial separation in schooling was constitutional.
C) School busing programs are unconstitutional.
D) Schools have to spend equally per student, regardless of race.

Question 23

Which of the following is an example of cultural capital?

A) appreciation of music and ballet
B) money and financial resources
C) the networks someone can access
D) the ability to pay for college

Question 24

Why would schools with poorer or working-class student bodies tend to stress obedience and authority?

A) Children from these classes tend to be unruly and schools need to give them structure.
B) They are preparing students for their eventual lower-level jobs, where obedience is essential.
C) Such schools are public, and public schools mandate discipline and deference to authority.
D) Working-class kids crave authority and obedience, since their home lives tend to be lax.

Question 25

Glynn grows up in a lower-income family that does not have the financial means to do things like go to the opera, buy many books, or travel much. Glynn works hard in school but does not do as well based on his efforts. How could Glynn's cultural capital be hurting his performance?

A) His cultural capital does not align with that of the school or his teachers.
B) He lacks the cultural capital to afford tutors and lessons.
C) His cultural capital lacks the connections to help him in school.
D) His cultural capital does not allow him to afford college.

Question 26

Prior to the Brown v. Board of Education decision, a high school outside a major southern city was a school for African American students exclusively. After the decision, the school integrated racially, but more recently it has resegregated. What may have caused this?

A) a decrease in residential segregation
B) an influx of white families into the area
C) an increase in residential segregation
D) a decrease in school choice programs

Question 27

How do elite schools, such as affluent boarding schools, help students to succeed?

A) The schools offer many resources to students, often including state-of-the-art facilities.
B) Such schools encourage students to see themselves as future leaders.
C) While at these schools, students develop beneficial social relationships.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 28

Ernest lives in a low-income area and his school is severely underfunded and lacks college prep courses and guidance counselors. Ernest, despite his aptitude, is not able to attend college. He ends up in a low-wage job similar to those of his parents. Ernest's experience supports which sociological idea?

A) hidden curriculum
B) moral education
C) social reproduction
D) cultural capital

Question 29

________ is the idea that individuals with advanced educational degrees monopolize access to the most rewarding jobs within a society.

A) Cultural capital
B) Social reproduction
C) Socialization
D) Credentialing

Question 30

William and José go to the same high school. Based on their aptitudes, career desires, and prior academic performance, William and José were placed in very different classes. José is in college prep courses and William takes vocational classes. Their divergent classes represent what school process?

A) credentialing
B) tracking
C) cultural capital
D) shopfloor culture

Question 31

What is one way that schools perpetuate inequality?

A) They use standardized tests to sort students based on their aptitudes and skill.
B) They instill in students the idea that inequality is actually good for society and families.
C) They discourage parents from engendering very high expectations of upward mobility in their children.
D) They prepare students for various jobs, which have varying levels of income and prestige.

Question 32

What is the term for the various types of knowledge, skills, and other cultural resources someone possesses?

A) economic capital
B) social capital
C) social reproduction
D) cultural capital

Question 33

Why do students in well-off areas tend to have public schools with more resources?

A) Public schools are funded by local property taxes.
B) The federal government rewards rich areas with more money.
C) Parents in well-off areas value school more than other parents.
D) Public schools in well-off areas actually are not better funded.

Question 34

A sociologist interested in social reproduction would be most likely to study how schools

A) teach moral values.
B) function as childcare.
C) approach inequality.
D) transmit knowledge.

Question 35

How does middle-class students' cultural capital benefit them in school?

A) They are able to ace all of their music appreciation and other arts-related classes.
B) Their cultural capital aligns with that of the school.
C) They are able to afford tutors and computers.
D) They have better social connections with teachers.

Question 36

Social reproduction theorists would argue that ________ is a major contributor to social reproduction.

A) students choosing not to excel in school
B) kids spending time playing video games and not studying
C) unequal access to financial resources across schools
D) parents being generally uninterested in education

Question 37

What would happen if everyone suddenly had a college degree?

A) Advanced degrees would become less necessary.
B) The value of a college education would skyrocket.
C) All people would have white-collar and professional jobs.
D) The value of a college education would plummet.

Question 38

Which of the following accurately describes the connection between education and income level?

A) Education and income are linked, but only for those who go to college.
B) In today's economy, education does not influence one's income chances.
C) The link between income and educational level is weak at best.
D) In general, more education is linked to higher average incomes.

Question 39

Which of the following would a school whose students are middle or upper class be most likely to do?

A) stress innovation and creativity
B) emphasize obedience and authority
C) stress working-class values
D) steer children away from exploration

Question 40

Social reproduction theories examine how schools

A) battle inequality.
B) perpetuate inequality.
C) instill patriotism.
D) socialize students.

Question 41

What have sociologists concluded about the relationship between occupational prestige and job satisfaction?

A) A high-status job does not guarantee job satisfaction.
B) Those in high-status jobs are the most satisfied.
C) Workers in low-status jobs are the most satisfied.
D) Those in professional jobs are the least satisfied.

Question 42

The process by which people come to occupy a level within a social hierarchy is

A) status hierarchy.
B) achieved status.
C) status attainment.
D) status obtainment.

Question 43

The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was to

A) make the states more accountable for student performance.
B) take responsibility away from schools in terms of instruction.
C) make schools more accountable for student performance.
D) make schools less accountable for student performance.

Question 44

Why were historically black colleges and universities founded?

A) because African American students wanted more college options
B) to celebrate the multiracial history of the United States
C) to serve African American students who were excluded from other colleges
D) to give all students more choice about what college to attend

Question 45

How does tracking limit social mobility?

A) It allows lower-tracked students to achieve.
B) It locks students in lower tracks into a path early on.
C) It limits the ability of higher-tracked students to achieve.
D) It is used to keep only remedial students in lower tracks.

Question 46

What have researchers concluded about the quality of minority segregated schools, on average, in terms of student outcomes?

A) They are better than non-minority schools.
B) They are worse than non-minority schools.
C) They are on par with non-minority schools.
D) They are better than private schools.

Question 47

________ education is when students receive instruction in both their native language and a second language.

A) Moral
B) Hidden
C) Bilingual
D) Cultural

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT an accurate description of charter schools?

A) They are essentially private schools because of who runs them.
B) They are public but are exempt from some rules that govern public schools.
C) They are public schools, but they are run by independent organizations.
D) They have expanded dramatically since the 1990s.

Question 49

Online higher education

A) makes college more accessible for a wider range of students.
B) is not growing in popularity; enrollments are shrinking.
C) is only popular in rural areas where there are fewer colleges.
D) may eventually become popular, but at this time it is only marginally utilized.

Question 50

Sociologists have found that educational outcomes are better in

A) smaller schools with a communal structure.
B) larger schools with a communal structure.
C) smaller schools with a bureaucratic structure.
D) larger schools with a bureaucratic structure.

Question 51

What was the primary way that the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) evaluated student performance?

A) through extensive standardized testing
B) through interviews with students
C) through classroom observation
D) through teacher comments

Question 52

What are the goals of school choice programs?

A) to give families options for deciding where to send their children to school
B) to give communities more control over where local children go to school
C) to take away all educational oversight from governments
D) to give teachers more influence in school policy

Question 53

What is tracking?

A) placing students into different curricular paths by ability level
B) placing all students into the same ability group
C) placing students into different grades by age
D) placing students into different subject areas that are equivalent in academic level

Question 54

From a sociological perspective, which of the following is NOT a major contributor in determining where people end up in terms of their adult status and job?

A) individual merit
B) race and ethnicity
C) community of residence
D) parents' educational level

Question 55

Which of the following factors has NOT contributed to resegregation in American schools?

A) persistent residential segregation
B) rise of school choice programs
C) white parents taking children out of multiracial neighborhoods
D) minority parents choosing to send their children to segregated schools

Question 56

Anisa and her parents moved to the United States. When Anisa enrolled in school she was placed into a program where she was taught in both her native language and English. What type of educational program does this illustrate?

A) school choice
B) online education
C) bilingual education
D) charter school

Question 57

Who runs charter schools?

A) parents of students attending the schools
B) local governments
C) organizations that are independent of local school districts
D) students attending the charter schools

Question 58

Occupational prestige measures indicate

A) how long workers, on average, remain in an occupation.
B) how people feel about their jobs.
C) how much money, on average, an occupation pays.
D) collective attitudes about various jobs in terms of status.

Question 59

Which of the following shows the influence of occupational status on interpersonal interactions?

A) A woman waits patiently for an appointment with her doctor, who is running late, but she becomes irritated later in the day when she is kept waiting for her manicure appointment.
B) A young man decides to switch his major from sociology to political science because he thinks he may have greater employment opportunities.
C) A boss decides what pay increase a new accountant should receive by reviewing her work performance and attendance record.
D) The president of the United States decides that the country needs to increase jobs and decides to increase funding in low-income areas for more teaching positions.

Question 60

How do students in charter schools compare to students in traditional public schools?

A) Charter school students outperform public school students.
B) Public school students outperform charter school students.
C) There is mixed evidence for which group of students perform better.
D) Public and charter school students perform equally.

Question 61

________ is the distinctive set of norms that shape daily behavior and interactions on the job.

A) Workplace structure
B) Shopfloor culture
C) Schoolroom culture
D) Organizational environment

Question 62

Emotional labor is when

A) a person's "labor" is primarily comprised of thinking and creativity.
B) work requires someone to project an image to a client despite what they are feeling.
C) work requires workers to project only their true feelings to coworkers and customers.
D) workers have to "unwind" at the end of the day from an emotionally draining day at work.

Question 63

How does managers' workplace power compare to professionals' workplace power?

A) Managers' power comes from control over daily routines, whereas professionals possess highly specialized skills.
B) Neither has much power in the workplace; almost all power resides in the owner of the firm.
C) Both derive power from the fact that they control the finances of a firm; money equates with power.
D) Professionals' power comes from control over daily routines, whereas managers possess highly specialized skills.

Question 64

Omid and many of his coworkers are upset about their jobs at the factory where they work, especially their wages. They decide to form a union to engage in collective bargaining. What does collective bargaining allow workers to do?

A) better follow the rules of their employees as outlined in the employee handbook
B) increase social networks to help find new jobs in the same industry
C) collectively negotiate with their employer for better working conditions
D) have greater input in the shopfloor culture of their employer

Question 65

Why do sociologists care about occupational satisfaction?

A) It is thought to be a big part of how happy people are in their lives overall.
B) Occupational satisfaction determines how much money people earn.
C) Satisfied workers answer more positively on occupational prestige surveys.
D) People who are satisfied at work tend to be less satisfied in their personal lives.

Question 66

What is one consequence of the gender division of labor?

A) Women and men generally earn about the same in high-status jobs.
B) Men have greater access to higher paying jobs.
C) Women have greater access to higher status jobs.
D) The majority of women feel that careers are less important for them than for men.

Question 67

How does collective bargaining benefit workers?

A) It is a way for workers to have representation in employer negotiations.
B) It gives them access to union benefits, such as good health insurance.
C) It allows workers to come together to discuss their money issues.
D) It gives them access to credit unions that offer better interest rates.

Question 68

Which of the following is a way that an individual employee could exert power at work?

A) agreeing with bosses and company rules
B) not following rules, such as when to start work
C) not saying anything when he or she does not agree with a superior
D) complaining to his or her spouse about work

Question 69

How does allocative discrimination contribute to the gender wage gap?

A) Employers devalue occupations dominated by women.
B) Women earn less money than men for performing the same job.
C) Hiring and promotion processes place women in lower-paying jobs.
D) Socialization patterns encourage women to choose lower-paying jobs.

Question 70

Which of the following illustrates the concept of emotional labor?

A) a salesman smiling after earning a huge commission
B) a teacher who loves his job and is happy while at work
C) a server at a restaurant becoming irate at a customer for spilling a drink
D) a receptionist forcing a smile with a client who is being rude

Question 71

How do professionals generally derive power in the workplace?

A) by being owners and making the "big decisions"
B) by being productive and working longer hours than others
C) by possessing credentials and highly specialized skills needed in the workplace
D) by controlling the purse strings of the company for which they work

Question 72

Which of the following is NOT a factor that sociologists believe contributes to the gender wage gap?

A) the gender division of labor, which limits women's access to top-paying jobs
B) gender socialization, which steers women toward lower-paying occupations
C) women being more likely to leave the workforce for childcare responsibilities
D) men forbidding their wives from earning more money than they earn

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT true about the gender wage gap?

A) The wage gap has narrowed in recent decades.
B) Currently, women earn approximately 77 percent of what men earn.
C) There a gender gap in pay among highly trained workers.
D) For low-wage workers there is no gender gap in pay.

Question 74

The phrase "gender division of labor" refers to gender differences in

A) access to education.
B) job satisfaction.
C) domestic roles.
D) access to jobs.

Question 75

The goal of comparable worth is to

A) guarantee that all workers, despite their job or occupation, earn the same average wage.
B) avoid hiring women in low-income jobs so they are forced into higher paying areas.
C) ensure that women earn less than men so they will meet their domestic responsibilities.
D) set salaries for occupations independent of the traditional gender composition of the occupation.

Question 76

A sociologist asks 100 people which jobs they find to be the most prestigious within society. He then ranks the jobs based on the responses from the 100 people he interviewed. What type of scale is the sociologist constructing?

A) income ranking
B) social structure
C) occupational attainment
D) occupational prestige

Question 77

________ is when managers study workflows and develop work practices that focus on increasing efficiency.

A) Comparable worth
B) Scientific management
C) Valuative discrimination
D) Allocation discrimination

Question 78

Why are unions created?

A) They are a way for employers to keep tabs on their employees.
B) They are just a natural feature of most workplaces.
C) Professionals use them to dominate lower-level employees.
D) They are a way for employees to have a collective voice.

Question 79

How do business owners typically exhibit power in the workplace?

A) by making broad decisions regarding how the business runs
B) by being constantly present at their place of business
C) by making decisions regarding day-to-day activities
D) by siding with their employees against their managers

Question 80

A city's leadership decides to restructure the city's pay scale. The leaders decide to evaluate jobs based on managerial responsibility, education required, and special skills needs. They decide that jobs that men typically perform will receive a bonus because they are generally the primary breadwinners in a family. This goes against what principal?

A) gender gap in pay
B) comparable worth
C) managerial power
D) allocative discrimination