sociology books about education

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Sociology of Education

Introduction, general overviews.

• US Supreme Court Cases
• Cultural Capital and Schooling
• Race and Ethnicity in Schools
• Social Class, Status Attainment, and Schooling
• Gender and Schooling
• Social Organization of Schools
• Explanations of the Black-White Test Score Gap
• Assessments, Accountability, and Standards
• School Choice

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• African American Racial Identity and Learning
• Alternative Schools
• Desegregation and Integration
• Ethnic Studies in the United States
• Gifted Education
• Inclusive Education
• Religion in Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States
• Social Justice

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

• Gender, Power, and Politics in the Academy
• Girls' Education in the Developing World
• Non-Formal & Informal Environmental Education
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Sociology of Education by Sheneka M. Williams LAST REVIEWED: 19 August 2020 LAST MODIFIED: 15 December 2011 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0065

The sociology of education refers to how individuals’ experiences shape the way they interact with schooling. More specifically, the sociology of education examines the ways in which individuals’ experiences affect their educational achievement and outcomes. Scholars and professionals who are interested in the interaction of education and society typically participate in this field. This field also includes education policy issues that arise from the social context of schools. The citations included in this bibliography guide users to works that primarily pertain to the structure of schooling. Certain citations have been included because of their significance to the discipline, in particular, and their influence on the overall field of education, in general.

The general works provided in this bibliography cover a range of topics in the sociology of education field. Arum, et al. 2011 , a composite of articles relating to the contemporary study of the sociology of education, provides a foundational basis for many articles contained in this work. These readings extend from theoretical viewpoints, such as status attainment and social mobility, to more racialized analyses that relate to the achievement gap and desegregation. To further gain insights on the theoretical underpinnings and beginnings of the sociology of education, readers should consult Becker 1975 , Bourdieu and Passeron 1974 , Coleman 1966 , and Schultz 1961 . More contemporary works, such as Coleman 1988 and Putnam 1995 , are included below. Alternative frameworks such as Durkheim 1956 and Bowles and Gintis 1976 also provide a basis for understanding the sociology of education. These works, published by economists as well as sociologists, provide a foundational basis for understanding the evolution of the sociology of education. Even today, the sociology of education field is influenced by economists and political scientists, as well as sociologists.

Arum, Richard, Irenee Beattie, and Karly Ford. 2011. The structure of schooling: Readings in the sociology of education . 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.

A collection of readings that explore traditional and contemporary sociological issues in education, as well as the myriad theoretical perspectives on studying schools and their impact on social development.

Becker, Gary S. 1975. Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

A seminal book that posits that education is a form of human capital that gives rise to better life opportunities.

Bourdieu, Pierre, and Jean-Claude Passeron. 1974. Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. Paper presented at the annual conference of the British Sociological Association, Univ. of Durham, 7–10 April 1970. In Knowledge, education and social change: Papers in the sociology of education . Edited by Richard Brown. Tavistock, UK: Tavistock.

The authors’ main focus was the structural reproduction of disadvantages and inequalities that are caused by cultural reproduction. According to the authors, inequalities are recycled through the education system and other social institutions.

Bowles, Samuel, and Herbert Gintis. 1976. Schooling in capitalist America: Educational reform and the contradictions of economic life . New York: Basic Books.

A groundbreaking work in the sociology of education, the Marxist economists argue that schools reproduce existing inequalities which are also represented in the American workforce.

Coleman, James S. 1966. Equality of educational opportunity . Washington, DC: US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education.

Seminal report that fueled debates on school effects and student achievement. The report found that funding has little effect on student achievement, whereas student background and socioeconomic status are much more important in determining academic outcomes for students.

Coleman, James S. 1988. Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology 94:S95–S120.

Argues that the concept of social capital is an avenue to infuse social structure as a “resource for action.” The author looks at three forms of social capital in the creation of human capital.

Durkheim, Émile. 1956. Education and sociology . New York: Free Press.

This seminal work merges education and sociology into one distinct discipline: sociology of education. For Durkheim, the key function of the education system was to socialize and integrate individuals into larger society.

Putnam, Robert D. 1995. Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy 6.1: 65–78.

DOI: 10.1353/jod.1995.0002

Discusses the decline in civic engagement and political involvement in America. The author argues that such decline in social capital began in 1950.

Schultz, Theodore W. 1961. Investment in human capital. American Economic Review 51.1: 1–17.

Introduces the theory of human capital and makes a direct link between an increase in investment in human capital and the overall increase in workers’ earnings.

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• About Education »
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• Academic Achievement
• Academic Audit for Universities
• Academic Freedom and Tenure in the United States
• Action Research in Education
• Adjuncts in Higher Education in the United States
• Administrator Preparation
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• Alaska Native Education
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• Animals in Environmental Education
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• Assessing School Leader Effectiveness
• Assessment, Behavioral
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• Assessment in Early Childhood Education
• Assistive Technology
• Augmented Reality in Education
• Beginning-Teacher Induction
• Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
• Black Undergraduate Women: Critical Race and Gender Perspe...
• Blended Learning
• Case Study in Education Research
• Changing Professional and Academic Identities
• Character Education
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• Children's Rights in Early Childhood Education
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• Classroom Learning Environments: Assessing and Investigati...
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• Coherent Instructional Systems at the School and School Sy...
• College Admissions in the United States
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• Community Relations
• Comparative Education
• Computer-Assisted Language Learning
• Computer-Based Testing
• Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Evaluating Improvement Net...
• Continuous Improvement and "High Leverage" Educational Pro...
• Counseling in Schools
• Critical Approaches to Gender in Higher Education
• Critical Perspectives on Educational Innovation and Improv...
• Critical Race Theory
• Crossborder and Transnational Higher Education
• Cross-National Research on Continuous Improvement
• Cross-Sector Research on Continuous Learning and Improveme...
• Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Education
• Culturally Responsive Leadership
• Culturally Responsive Pedagogies
• Culturally Responsive Teacher Education in the United Stat...
• Curriculum Design
• Data Collection in Educational Research
• Data-driven Decision Making in the United States
• Deaf Education
• Design Thinking and the Learning Sciences: Theoretical, Pr...
• Development, Moral
• Dialogic Pedagogy
• Digital Age Teacher, The
• Digital Citizenship
• Digital Divides
• Disabilities
• Distance Learning
• Distributed Leadership
• Doctoral Education and Training
• Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Denmark
• Early Childhood Education and Development in Mexico
• Early Childhood Education in Aotearoa New Zealand
• Early Childhood Education in Australia
• Early Childhood Education in China
• Early Childhood Education in Europe
• Early Childhood Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Early Childhood Education in Sweden
• Early Childhood Education Pedagogy
• Early Childhood Education Policy
• Early Childhood Education, The Arts in
• Early Childhood Mathematics
• Early Childhood Science
• Early Childhood Teacher Education
• Early Childhood Teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand
• Early Years Professionalism and Professionalization Polici...
• Economics of Education
• Education For Children with Autism
• Education for Sustainable Development
• Education Leadership, Empirical Perspectives in
• Education of Native Hawaiian Students
• Education Reform and School Change
• Educational Statistics for Longitudinal Research
• Educator Partnerships with Parents and Families with a Foc...
• Emotional and Affective Issues in Environmental and Sustai...
• Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
• Environmental and Science Education: Overlaps and Issues
• Environmental Education
• Environmental Education in Brazil
• Epistemic Beliefs
• Equity and Improvement: Engaging Communities in Educationa...
• Equity, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Excellence in Education
• Ethical Research with Young Children
• Ethics and Education
• Ethics of Teaching
• Ethnic Studies
• Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention
• Family and Community Partnerships in Education
• Family Day Care
• Federal Government Programs and Issues
• Feminization of Labor in Academia
• Finance, Education
• Financial Aid
• Formative Assessment
• Future-Focused Education
• Gender and Achievement
• Gender and Alternative Education
• Gender-Based Violence on University Campuses
• Global Mindedness and Global Citizenship Education
• Global University Rankings
• Governance, Education
• Grounded Theory
• Growth of Effective Mental Health Services in Schools in t...
• Higher Education and Globalization
• Higher Education and the Developing World
• Higher Education Faculty Characteristics and Trends in the...
• Higher Education Finance
• Higher Education Governance
• Higher Education Graduate Outcomes and Destinations
• Higher Education in Africa
• Higher Education in China
• Higher Education in Latin America
• Higher Education in the United States, Historical Evolutio...
• Higher Education, International Issues in
• Higher Education Management
• Higher Education Policy
• Higher Education Research
• Higher Education Student Assessment
• High-stakes Testing
• History of Early Childhood Education in the United States
• History of Education in the United States
• History of Technology Integration in Education
• Homeschooling
• Inclusion in Early Childhood: Difference, Disability, and ...
• Indigenous Education in a Global Context
• Indigenous Learning Environments
• Indigenous Students in Higher Education in the United Stat...
• Infant and Toddler Pedagogy
• Inservice Teacher Education
• Integrating Art across the Curriculum
• Intelligence
• Intensive Interventions for Children and Adolescents with ...
• International Perspectives on Academic Freedom
• Intersectionality and Education
• Knowledge Development in Early Childhood
• Leadership Development, Coaching and Feedback for
• Leadership in Early Childhood Education
• Leadership Training with an Emphasis on the United States
• Learning Analytics in Higher Education
• Learning Difficulties
• Learning, Lifelong
• Learning, Multimedia
• Learning Strategies
• Legal Matters and Education Law
• LGBT Youth in Schools
• Linguistic Diversity
• Linguistically Inclusive Pedagogy
• Literacy Development and Language Acquisition
• Literature Reviews
• Mathematics Identity
• Mathematics Instruction and Interventions for Students wit...
• Mathematics Teacher Education
• Measurement for Improvement in Education
• Measurement in Education in the United States
• Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis in Education
• Methodological Approaches for Impact Evaluation in Educati...
• Methodologies for Conducting Education Research
• Mindfulness, Learning, and Education
• Mixed Methods Research
• Motherscholars
• Multiliteracies in Early Childhood Education
• Multiple Documents Literacy: Theory, Research, and Applica...
• Multivariate Research Methodology
• Museums, Education, and Curriculum
• Music Education
• Narrative Research in Education
• Native American Studies
• Note-Taking
• Numeracy Education
• One-to-One Technology in the K-12 Classroom
• Online Education
• Open Education
• Organizing for Continuous Improvement in Education
• Organizing Schools for the Inclusion of Students with Disa...
• Outdoor Play and Learning
• Outdoor Play and Learning in Early Childhood Education
• Pedagogical Leadership
• Pedagogy of Teacher Education, A
• Performance Objectives and Measurement
• Performance-based Research Assessment in Higher Education
• Performance-based Research Funding
• Phenomenology in Educational Research
• Philosophy of Education
• Physical Education
• Podcasts in Education
• Policy Context of United States Educational Innovation and...
• Politics of Education
• Portable Technology Use in Special Education Programs and ...
• Post-humanism and Environmental Education
• Pre-Service Teacher Education
• Problem Solving
• Productivity and Higher Education
• Professional Development
• Professional Learning Communities
• Program Evaluation
• Programs and Services for Students with Emotional or Behav...
• Psychology Learning and Teaching
• Psychometric Issues in the Assessment of English Language ...
• Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques
• Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research Samp...
• Qualitative Research Design
• Quantitative Research Designs in Educational Research
• Queering the English Language Arts (ELA) Writing Classroom
• Race and Affirmative Action in Higher Education
• Reading Education
• Refugee and New Immigrant Learners
• Relational and Developmental Trauma and Schools
• Relational Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education
• Reliability in Educational Assessments
• Religion in Elementary and Secondary Education in the Unit...
• Researcher Development and Skills Training within the Cont...
• Research-Practice Partnerships in Education within the Uni...
• Response to Intervention
• Restorative Practices
• Risky Play in Early Childhood Education
• Scale and Sustainability of Education Innovation and Impro...
• Scaling Up Research-based Educational Practices
• School Accreditation
• School Culture
• School District Budgeting and Financial Management in the ...
• School Improvement through Inclusive Education
• School Reform
• Schools, Private and Independent
• School-Wide Positive Behavior Support
• Science Education
• Secondary to Postsecondary Transition Issues
• Self-Regulated Learning
• Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices
• Service-Learning
• Severe Disabilities
• Single Salary Schedule
• Single-sex Education
• Single-Subject Research Design
• Social Context of Education
• Social Network Analysis
• Social Pedagogy
• Social Science and Education Research
• Social Studies Education
• Sociology of Education
• Standards-Based Education
• Statistical Assumptions
• Student Access, Equity, and Diversity in Higher Education
• Student Assignment Policy
• Student Engagement in Tertiary Education
• Student Learning, Development, Engagement, and Motivation ...
• Student Participation
• Student Voice in Teacher Development
• Sustainability Education in Early Childhood Education
• Sustainability in Early Childhood Education
• Sustainability in Higher Education
• Teacher Beliefs and Epistemologies
• Teacher Collaboration in School Improvement
• Teacher Evaluation and Teacher Effectiveness
• Teacher Preparation
• Teacher Training and Development
• Teacher Unions and Associations
• Teacher-Student Relationships
• Teaching Critical Thinking
• Technologies, Teaching, and Learning in Higher Education
• Technology Education in Early Childhood
• Technology, Educational
• Technology-based Assessment
• The Bologna Process
• The Regulation of Standards in Higher Education
• Theories of Educational Leadership
• Three Conceptions of Literacy: Media, Narrative, and Gamin...
• Tracking and Detracking
• Traditions of Quality Improvement in Education
• Transformative Learning
• Transitions in Early Childhood Education
• Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities in the Unite...
• Understanding the Psycho-Social Dimensions of Schools and ...
• University Faculty Roles and Responsibilities in the Unite...
• Using Ethnography in Educational Research
• Value of Higher Education for Students and Other Stakehold...
• Virtual Learning Environments
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• Wellness and Well-Being in Education
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• Young Children and Spirituality
• Young Children's Learning Dispositions
• Young Children's Working Theories
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