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11: Education

  • Page ID
    397836
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    • 11.1: Introduction
      This page discusses the importance and challenges of education in the U.S., focusing on the rising expectations for college degrees alongside increasing costs and student debt. It highlights the typical income advantages of college graduates but questions the value of degrees due to debt and varying returns. Additionally, it emphasizes education's role in broadening worldviews and cultural capital, underlining its significance for sociologists, policymakers, employers, and families.
    • 11.2: Education around the World
      Education is a social institution through which a society’s children are taught basic academic knowledge, learning skills, and cultural norms. Every nation in the world is equipped with some form of education system, though those systems vary greatly. The major factors that affect education systems are the resources and money that are utilized to support those systems in different nations.
    • 11.3: Theoretical Perspectives on Education
      This page examines various sociological perspectives on education, detailing both functionalist views on its societal roles and conflict theorists' critiques of its role in reinforcing inequalities. It highlights feminist concerns regarding gender disparities and ongoing sexism, particularly in terms of historical exclusions and wage gaps.
    • 11.4: Issues in Education
      This page explores significant historical and contemporary educational issues, focusing on landmark rulings like Brown v. Board of Education and ongoing challenges of educational equality influenced by socio-economic disparities. It examines government actions such as the No Child Left Behind Act and their mixed results for students with disabilities, and discusses the concept of school choice.
    • 11.5: Key Terms
    • 11.6: Section Summary
    • 11.7: Section Quiz
    • 11.8: Short Answer
    • 11.9: Further Research
    • 11.10: References

    Thumbnail: A crowd of college students at the 2007 Pittsburgh University Commencement (CC BY 2.0; Kit)


    This page titled 11: Education was last modified on Mon, 24 Aug 2026 02:57:55 GMT and is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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