SA 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Panopticon, Egerton Ryerson, Jeremy Bentham
8 Jun 2018
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Chapter 12: Education
Introduction
• Most important institutions
• Influences socialization, status, social orders and economic productivity
• In relationships with institutions, there can be a disconnect
Anomie and Education
• Emile Durkheim
• A state of confusion caused when the bond between individuals and social
institutions breakdown
• A prevalent modern state
The Rise of Public Education in Canada
• Before the Industrial revolution, there was no education for the masses
• It was in the interests of the ruling elite to keep population illiterate so its
authority could not be challenged
• The Industrial Revolution demanded a more disciplined (and knowledgeable)
literate workforce, consequently, industrialization and public education became
interdependent
• As early as 1846, education was seen as a way of achieving economic
modernization
• Egerton Ryerson promoted the idea of a school system that would be
universal, compulsory, and free
• Education not only upheld social order but also maintained social control by
stifling the discontent of Irish Catholics and assimilating them into the dominant
Protestant culture of Canada
Post World War II: Education
• The Canadian economy after WW2 required a workforce that was better
educated than it had ever been before
• This fueled the expansion of colleges and universities across Canada to
match the economic boom
• Including our own Simon Fraser University, created in 1965
Human capital Thesis
• The perceived relationship between the expansion of education and
economic growth is part of the human capital thesis
• human capital thesis: just as industrial societies invest in factories and
equipment to attain greater efficiency, so they invest in schools to enhance the
knowledge and skills of our workers
The Assimilation Model
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• The assimilation model is a monocultural model that sees white Protestant
values as the natural culture to which others must “fit in” to
• Canada has been viewed as a white Protestant nation that emphasizes
assimilation of minority groups into the dominant culture
• However, this model rarely recognizes the racial bias this includes. It is based
on monoculturalism, or the promotion of one dominate ideology above all others
Multicultural Education
• Multiculturalism was officially implemented by the Canadian federal
government in 1971 to preserve and promote cultural diversity while removing the
barriers that denied certain groups full participation within Canadian society
• Tends to focus on the ‘exotic’ aspects of different cultures, as opposed to the
more fundamental aspects that shape cultural identity
• Three fundamental assumptions of multicultural education
1. Learning about one’s culture will improve educational achievement
2. Learning about one’s culture will promote equality of opportunity
3. Learning about other cultures will reduce prejudice and discrimination
Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Education
• Recognized that racism is systemic in Canada
• Anti-racist and anti-oppression education seeks to expose and eliminate the
institutional and individual barriers to equity
• This model is intended to create a classroom environment that will:
• Expose stereotypes and racist ideas
• Examine sources of information
• Equip students to look critically at the accuracy of the information they
receive
• Provide alternative and missing information so the reasons for the continued
unequal social status of different groupings can be explored
Pierre Bordieu and Cultural Capital
• Cultural capital refers to the way class divisions are reproduced through
differences in consumption patterns and taste (in the arts, fashion, food, etc.)
• According to Bordieu, the symbolic culture/taste culture of the upper classes
gives them advantages in education that benefit them in their subsequent careers
• Patterns of consumption that break across social barriers. Tastes are learned
and often classed
Discipline
• Discipline is a large part of the education system
• In primary school, discipline is focused on the body
• Children must learn to sit still, to line up, to raise their hands, to get used to
being confined in their desks or in specific areas of the classroom
• In secondary school, there is still continued disciplining of the body, although
disciplining of the mind comes in at this stage too
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Document Summary
Influences socialization, status, social orders and economic productivity. In relationships with institutions, there can be a disconnect. A state of confusion caused when the bond between individuals and social institutions breakdown. The industrial revolution demanded a more disciplined (and knowledgeable) Before the industrial revolution, there was no education for the masses. It was in the interests of the ruling elite to keep population illiterate so its. The rise of public education in canada authority could not be challenged literate workforce, consequently, industrialization and public education became interdependent modernization universal, compulsory, and free stifling the discontent of irish catholics and assimilating them into the dominant. As early as 1846, education was seen as a way of achieving economic. Egerton ryerson promoted the idea of a school system that would be. Education not only upheld social order but also maintained social control by. Post world war ii: education educated than it had ever been before match the economic boom.
