Learning objectives
The course aims to introduce students to the analysis of school processes and educational worlds from a sociological approach. At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
-to know and understand the main concepts and research strands of the sociology of education, with special reference to the classic authors of the discipline;
-to apply the concepts and research studied to a critical analysis of the role of the educational worlds in the reproduction of social inequalities;
-to be able to independently analyse and interpret the political and non-neutral nature of formal education in the construction of school and social trajectories;
-to be able to communicate and make explicit in the sociological analysis of the educational worlds the field of conflict between groups belonging to different social classes and bearers of different interests, values and objectives;
-to apply the knowledge and interpretative methods learnt in the course to the professional contexts of reference, putting them at the service of one's own professional action in various possible fields of intervention.
Prerequisites
The course has no prerequisites
Course unit content
The course is an introduction to the Sociology of Education, presenting the main concepts, theories and research strands of the discipline. Texts by classical authors, such as Émile Durkheim, Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu, are foregrounded, as well as recent research on schooling paths and practices, in the analysis of the ambivalent relationship between merit and social equity and the effects of education in the processes of selection, assimilation and ratification of social status.
Full programme
The course first analyses the main concepts, theories and strands of research in the Sociology of Education, focusing on its definition and function (Durkheim), linked to functionalist theory, and then delving in particular into the role of power in formal education (Weber), theories of conflict and social reproduction. In this sense, the programme presents key concepts of Pierre Bourdieu's sociology in the analysis of educational worlds, such as the notions of ‘cultural capital’, ‘social capital’, ‘habitus’, or ‘symbolic violence’, also in relation to a biographical and performative analytical dimension. The course also analyses the relationship between school and the social context in which it operates and explores the school-family relationship, as well as school orientation practices; in fact, the theme of educational transition, towards secondary school and university, is analysed. In this last line, the concept of ‘first-generation students’ (the first in one's family to attend university) is explored, a category that is still little used in the Italian and European context, which crosses various dimensions of the social and university reality (social class, migratory origin, educational pathway, educational resources of the family context) and which lends itself well to examining its intertwining aspects. Some recent research is also presented on the processes of subaltern popular class schooling, as well as the processes of inclusion/exclusion of male and female students of migrant origin in multi-ethnic schools. The construction of stigma towards a certain type of student is analysed in the course through the lens of intersectionality, in which categories such as race, class and gender must necessarily be mobilised at the same time and analysed in a cross-cutting way.
Bibliography
Three mandatory essays:
Durkheim E. (1997) L’educazione, la sua natura, la sua funzione. In: Morgagni E. e Russo A. (a cura di) L’educazione in sociologia. Testi scelti. Bologna, Clueb: 3-23.
Weber M. (1997) Tipi di potere e tipi di educazione. In: Morgagni E. e Russo A. (a cura di) L’educazione in sociologia. Testi scelti. Bologna, Clueb: 47-55.
Bourdieu P. (1997) Le disuguaglianze di fronte alla scuola e alla cultura. In: Morgagni E. e Russo A. (a cura di) L’educazione in sociologia. Testi scelti. Bologna, Clueb: 107- 123.
One essay of your choice from a list of essays indicated at the beginning of the course and uploaded on Elly
One book of your choice from the following two:
Romito M. (2016) Una scuola di classe. Orientamento e disuguaglianza nelle transizioni scolastiche. Milano: Guerini e Associati.
Romito M. (2021) First-Generation Students. Essere i primi in famiglia a frequentare l'università. Roma: Carocci.
The programmes are the same for attending and non-attending students.
Teaching methods
The course favours an approach centred on participation and the co-production of knowledge, foreseeing the use and integration of different teaching methods: frontal lessons; dialectical and interactive lessons based on moments of discussion; workshop lessons linked to performance and theatrical practice; viewing of documentaries related to the topics in question and debate; seminar meetings with experts, members of associations or subjects of interest for the topics of the course.
Assessment methods and criteria
The examination is conducted by means of an oral interview, in which students will be able to demonstrate that they have acquired the main concepts and theories of the discipline, that they know how to analyse and argue the perspectives and results of the research of their choice, and that they have developed the ability to reason critically on the topics studied.
The assessment of the examination is based on the following indicators: knowledge and understanding of the syllabus content; critical ability to analyse, rework the content and argue the issues studied; ability to apply concepts and theories of the discipline to the research analysed and to one's own experience; ability to present the subject in a clear manner and with appropriate language.
The grade is awarded as follows:
- the insufficiency is determined by the lack of knowledge of the minimum contents of the teaching, as well as the absence of the other capacities made explicit by the assessment indicators;
- grades 18-22/30 correspond to barely sufficient/sufficient preparation;
- grades 23-26/30 correspond to more than sufficient preparation;
- grades 27-29/30 correspond to good/very good preparation;
- grades 30/30 and 30/30 cum laude correspond to excellent and exceptional preparation respectively.
Other information
All course materials, including pdf essays (both compulsory and choice essays) and the list of choice essays, can be found on the Elly Platform.
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
Goal 4: Quality education; Goal 10: Reduce inequalities
