Sociology Curriculum Research Articles

Unsettling Sociology Curriculum: Indigenous Content in Introductory Sociology Textbooks

Teaching introductory sociology is one of the primary means by which sociologists mobilize knowledge. Ongoing critical reflection on the content of sociology textbooks is therefore an important disciplinary enterprise. The current critical moment in which many nations, institutions, and publics face a reckoning with their historic and current relationships with Indigenous peoples presents sociologists with the opportunity to examine how Indigenous peoples, histories, and perspectives are to be found in these pedagogical materials. Drawing on Critical Indigenous scholarship that “disrupts the certainty of disciplinary knowledges[’]” concept of “connected sociologies,” we examine the state of inclusion of Indigenous content in introductory sociology curriculum. To achieve this, we conducted a content analysis of 10 of the top-selling English-language Canadian introductory sociology textbooks, and we drew directly from interviews with Indigenous scholars. By introducing the literature on solidarity and allyship in the final section, we conclude with teaching and learning actions to incorporate in sociology courses.

“A Change Is Gonna Come”: Pedagogical Shifts in a Post-COVID World

Background/Context: COVID-19 changed how students learn, the challenges they face both in and out of the classroom, and the ways they access and engage with higher education. COVID-19 also highlighted inequalities in higher education. In response, faculty have also had to change their pedagogical approaches. Purpose/Focus of Study: This article presents ideas to address some of the challenges that COVID-19 has brought to the community college classroom. The focus of these strategies and pedagogical changes is to create a more equitable and successful environment for all students. Research Design: The author’s praxis used Paulo Freire’s 1970 work, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, as a guide to critically examine pedagogical practices and choices for sociological curriculum development at a medium-sized, urban, Hispanic-serving community college. Changes were evaluated through final grade analysis and student feedback. Findings: Ten changes were implemented: making the course mobile phone/tablet accessible, incorporating audio transcripts for all, using additional video formats, engaging families/children, addressing student anxieties, incorporating more assignment choices, using Open Educational Resources for reduced costs, allowing more flexibility in assignments, extending submission times, and varying course length. These changes have reduced barriers, decreased student anxiety, and increased student success. Conclusions: The pedagogical changes made seemed to help students be more successful in their courses.

The socialcultural context of the formation and implementation of the sociological education models in Russia

The article considers historical aspects of the formation and implementation of the sociological education models in Russia. The model developed by N.I. Kareev and M.M. Kovalevsky at the end of the 19th century was to teach sociology to students of all areas of university training. In 1901, sociologization of social sciences started at the Russian School of Higher Social Sciences in Paris, and in 1908 it was improved at the departments of sociology of the V.M. Bekhterev Psychoneurological Institute and A.L. Shanyavsky Moscow City People’s University. In 1918, P.A. Sorokin developed a professional model for training sociologists; until 1921 this model was implemented at the faculties of social sciences of the Moscow, Petrograd and Yaroslavl State Universities. In 1922, the implementation of both models was suspended due to the introduction of centralized plans to teach the basics of MarxismLeninism to students. The creative potential of two historical models became in demand during perestroika , in the late 1980s - early 1990s, and new versions of the educational and professional models were introduced in the higher education in favorable conditions for the reinstitutionalization of sociology. However, since 2010, there has been a gradual reduction in the number of sociological departments and faculties in Bachelor’s-Master’s programs. Today educational and professional models are unevenly represented in the Russian higher education; their implementation remains questionable due to the idea of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to return to training students on the basis of the enlarged groups of specialties, i.e. sociology curriculum will have to be coordinated with curricula for regional studies, international relations, tourism and political science.

Sociological Animal Studies Courses Are More Effective Than Human-Centered Sociology Courses in Enhancing Empathy

Sociology plays a key role in empathy development, which is central to addressing complex social problems. However, little is known about what types of courses work best to enhance empathy. In parallel, sociological animal studies (SAS) has evolved as a relatively new subfield focused on assessing human and animal relationships. SAS research suggests that our interactions with animals enhance empathy development. Combining these literatures, we assess if SAS compared to non-SAS courses impact affective and cognitive empathy for humans and animals differently. Findings reveal that students who take SAS courses demonstrate greater postcourse human and animal empathy even when controlling for precourse levels of empathy and other factors that drive empathy development. Although SAS remains on the periphery of the discipline, this study suggests that it should be a central component of the sociological curriculum.

Deepening Learning and Addressing Inequalities: A Psychosocial Approach to Improving Statistical Literacy Throughout Sociology Curricula

Statistical literacy is critical for all sociology students because it facilitates academic and professional success, high-paying jobs, and informed citizenship. Most students, however, lack adequate statistical literacy to engage with sociological research. Within that general deficit, there are gender, racial, and social-class differences, with students from historically marginalized groups starting and staying behind. In this conversation, we argue that to deepen statistical literacy and reduce inequalities, instructors must be willing to sacrifice breadth of content to attend to students’ psychosocial needs throughout sociology curricula, especially in courses where quantitative methodology is not the core focus. We synthesize prior literature into a holistic psychosocial approach for teaching quantitative sociology content at all course levels: build interest and motivation, foster a growth mindset, develop statistical efficacy, encourage belonging, and challenge stereotypes.

Figures and Charts and Tables, Oh My!: A Content Analysis of Textbook Data Visualizations

Textbooks offer instructors an opportunity to promote data visualization and statistical literacy throughout the sociology curriculum. In this study, we examined 463 data visualizations from 27 textbooks for Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, and intermediate elective courses to illuminate the range of data visualizations and their use of statistical data and numerical variables. We find that textbooks rely on a narrow range of data visualizations (e.g., bar/column charts and tables), statistical data (e.g., percentages), and numerical variables (e.g., age). Introduction to Sociology textbooks used more data visualizations, and Social Problems textbooks incorporated more types of statistics. In contrast, intermediate-level textbooks presented more measures of central tendency. Overall, our results suggest textbooks could better integrate a broader range of figures, statistical data, and numerical variables. We conclude with resources for integrating data visualization in instruction.

The Importance of Merdeka Curriculum in Sociology and Anthropology Learning

The Merdeka Curriculum is of utmost importance in revolutionizing the study of sociology and anthropology in Indonesia. This research addresses key concerns in the 21st century, specifically emphasizing the critical need for the Merdeka Curriculum in the fields of sociology and anthropology. The urgency of the Merdeka Curriculum was explored using a qualitative research method that employed a descriptive approach. Data for the study was collected through an extensive literature examination. The research findings suggest that the Merdeka Curriculum is crucial in incorporating sociology and anthropology education to address social and cultural transformations, while also fostering creativity, innovation, and inclusiveness. Students are given the authority and ability to become engaged and discerning participants in the learning process, as they investigate their individual capabilities. This curriculum further enriches the significance of educational resources by integrating both local and global perspectives, while also molding students' character with a strong focus on professional ethics and moral principles. To summarize, the Merdeka Curriculum serves as both an educational framework and a tool for developing individuals who are equipped to navigate the complexities of contemporary society. Applying this approach in the field of sociology and anthropology education yields a notably beneficial outcome, fostering a learning environment that is flexible, all-encompassing, and pertinent to contemporary demands

Towards Decolonising Peace and Conflict Issues in the Nigerian Sociology Curriculum

Towards Decolonising Peace and Conflict Issues in the Nigerian Sociology Curriculum

Teaching the Abstract: An Evaluation of “Social Structure” in Introductory Textbooks

There is general agreement among sociologists that teaching social structure is a core component of a sociological curriculum. Despite this agreement, there are few guides for instructors on how to teach this key concept. Using the sociological literacy framework, this research examines the most popular undergraduate Introduction to Sociology textbooks and their supplemental resources. Most texts offer a basic definition, but beyond that, there were few additional resources for helping to clarify the concept. With this in mind, additional resources for supplementing the textbooks are offered.

Scaffolding & Fading: Enhancing Literacy Skills across a Curriculum to Achieve Mastery

This paper discusses the use of paragraph frames in a formative assessment activity within an introductory sociology course. The paragraph frame scaffolding allows the student to be a more informed and engaged learner in lower level courses and feel success with their introductory summary writing. This self-confidence allows the student to move forward into no longer being reliant upon paragraph frames or others (peers/instructors). The Sociology in the News activity incorporates scaffolding and fading via the use of a similar activity across the curriculum. The use of the paragraph frames focuses on mastery of information literacy, and accommodates student needs through effective instruction (using paragraph frames). This allows for retention, progression, and matriculation of students. The sociology curriculum is discussed via the use of scaffolding and fading based on Vygotsky’s scaffolding concepts within the student’s zone of proximal development, using paragraph frames across a curriculum, using the concept of IRMA level of ability (Introduce, Reinforce, Mastery, and Assessment) in formative assessments. As universities are focusing general education assessment of students, particularly Post-Covid19, information literacy is a skill that is can be assessed using IRMA level of ability. Literacy skills are particularly important in moving the students toward life-long learning and understanding how information is situated from a social situated perspective as well as the production from a scholarly standpoint. Keywords: IRMA Level of Ability, Paragraph Frames, Literacy, Vygotsky, Scaffolding DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-3-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2023

Counting Tents: Pedagogical Reflections on Faculty–Student Collaboration in a Real-World Project on Homelessness

This teaching note describes the design and implementation of an undergraduate research team project to conduct a tent census. Previous studies highlight the importance of real-world research as a part of sociology curriculum. Tents, as a visible sign of homelessness, represent one such contemporary social problem. Our undergraduate research team documented and geolocated tents in the city of Seattle between 2019 and 2020. This project integrated elements of active learning, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. The strengths of our student research team were experiential learning, greater awareness and engagement in homelessness, and development of research and problem-solving skills. We offer some generalizable “lessons learned” from our assessment of the successes and challenges of a unique tent census project for student learning and engagement. This article concludes with the challenges of these kinds of real-world projects as well as recommendations for future faculty–student collaborations on important sociological issues.

Fag, anti-fascist and non-banking teaching

In view of Paulo Freire's centennial this article was constructed with the aim of presenting contributions of Freirian pedagogy in the LGBTQI struggle for an anti-fascist and non-banking education, where the logic of oppression that interdicts the issues of this community in the production of knowledge intended by the school is no longer admitted. Thus, through the exploration of a memory of homophonic violence experienced in my teaching career as a teacher in high school classes in public basic education, I reflect on how the curriculum prescription system makes the production of a non-banking education unfeasible and interested in the immediate reality of the subjects of the pedagogical act, thus neglecting the production of a moral and ethical life in the sense of caring for the differences present in the school context. This produces a silencing in relation to gender and sexuality violence in pedagogical situations. On the occasion of this violence I was denounced to the police station under accusation of gender indoctrination, which supposedly deviated from what was prescribed in the sociology curriculum. The (auto)biography is then the methodological ground where the understandings present in this work are developed Keywords: Paulo Freire. LGBTQI. Anti-fascism.

Research on the Path of Sports Sociology Curriculum from the Interdisciplinary Perspective

Under the premise of emphasizing interdisciplinary learning and reference, the sociology of sports course from an interdisciplinary perspective needs to trace the historical trajectory of the interactive development of the sociology of sports course and other disciplines and grasp the law of the cross-development of the sociology of sports course and other disciplines. This study uses an interdisciplinary approach to demonstrate the need for interdisciplinary research in sports science in China, based on the overall concept of complexity of sports, completeness of sports science, the intersection of sports science research, and interdisciplinary needs of sports scientific research innovation. The innovation ability is taken as the research object, and the important influencing aspects of sports scientific research innovation ability are investigated. An index system of sports scientific research innovation ability is developed, and qualitative research is applied to examine the impact of interdisciplinary research on sports scientific research innovation. The impact of ability is exposed by quantitative analysis to explore the association between the relevant factors in scientific research innovation ability and carefully understand the important role of interdisciplinary research in Chinese sports scientific research innovation.

How Do Sociologists Know What They Know? An Examination of Sociology Textbooks for Evidence of Sociological and Scientific Thinking

The American Sociological Association recommends that instructors and departments infuse research methods instruction throughout the curriculum (i.e., beyond research methods courses). Sociology textbooks are widely used instructional components and are essential to examine how research instruction extends beyond chapters and courses on research methods. The author uses qualitative content analysis of 27 textbooks for introductory courses ( n = 19) and intermediate elective courses ( n = 8) to uncover how textbooks illuminate the process of how sociologists know what they know (i.e., do research). Overall, textbooks model asociological and unscientific thinking by using false equivalence practices, reinforcing commonsense explanations, and relying on shortcuts to scientific credibility, among other means. Textbooks describe society using basic descriptive statistical data but provide little explanation of how scholars gather or analyze data or draw conclusions about data. These results suggest that textbooks have gaps in their ability to support research methods instruction throughout the sociology curriculum.

Resistance, Rage, Paralysis, and Paralysis by Proxy: Reflecting on Reactions to Contentious Content in the Classroom

Sociology curricula often house a variety of “hot button” or contentious topics (e.g., race relations, crime and deviance, personal freedoms/choice, gender). While departments may be giving more attention to ensuring that these topics are included in their curriculum, here I argue that we also need to engage students in reflection about their gut reaction to these divisive topics. How students take in the material will affect their ability to successfully meet the learning outcomes throughout their program. This research was guided by past work categorizing student reactions into three categories: resistance, paralysis, and rage. Preliminary results are presented, and a fourth reaction, paralysis by proxy, is also proposed. Last is a discussion of how we as educators can integrate research on student reactions into course design/implementation, thus setting students up for success.

O poder disciplinar produz, a sociologia problematiza e o PIBID- direitos humanos resiste

PIBID’s one of the most important projects implemented in Higher Education with regard to teacher training and bringing the University closer to Basic Education. Understood as a subproject, PIBID-Human Rights was inserted in a public high school in Blumenau, between 2016 and 2017, linked to the Sociology curriculum component. For about two years, the PIBID undergraduates promoted actions aimed at raising students' awareness about the importance of an education committed to Human Rights; for this, rethinking traditional teaching and creating methodological alternatives to reflect the school and its paradigms became an imperative. Conceived as a disciplinary institution, the school produces bodies, scales time and controls knowledge. Would it be possible for the PIBID-Human Rights and the Sociology curricular component to be a space of resistance to this model so deeply rooted in Education? The present work aims to understand the challenges found by the PIBID-Human Rights and the Sociology curricular component in problematizing the school paradigms and traditional methodologies. In our analyses we’ll resort to reports of PIBID- Human Rights (2016; 2017), scholars of Sociology and Education, Mills (1965) and Freire (1998;2003). The conceptual approach to school disciplining is based on Michel Foucault.

From Doers to Donors:Sociology Students’ Perceptions of Experiential Philanthropy

ABSTRACT Service learning is a well-established part of the sociology curriculum in many American universities and colleges. Less well known is student-led philanthropy (also known as experiential philanthropy), a form of service learning that encourages students to donate money to the community partners they are serving. Underwritten by national foundations or regional Campus Compacts, student-led philanthropy (SLP) positions undergraduates as donors as well as doers. In this paper, we ask how sociology students perceive the role of donor and how it enhances or detracts from their volunteer experiences with community partners. To answer this question, we draw on qualitative and quantitative data from 24 SLP students enrolled in an Honors Social Problems course. We find that students overwhelmingly welcome the shift from doer to donor in so much as it affords them a greater perceived sense of purpose and impact, enriching their relationships with community partners. Students lament being donors, however, when they have to collectively decide which organizations “deserve” funding. The award process is especially fraught when organizations become maligned and deemed unworthy by a subset of students. We conclude with a discussion of how SLP can be integrated into the sociology classroom and how instructors might pursue this form of service learning when resources for philanthropic giving are limited.

North Central Sociological Association 2020 John F. Schnabel Lecture Missed Opportunities: Developing Undergraduate Students Sociological Research Skills Throughout the Curriculum

ABSTRACT Undergraduate sociology students need more opportunities to develop their research skills while earning their degree. However, a common reaction to this assertion is that there simply is not enough time to provide students with hands-on experience doing sociology while also ensuring that “all the material” is covered in elective courses. Therefore, much of the burden of helping students develop their sociological research skills occurs in isolated methods and statistical courses. Students then reach their senior year with underdeveloped sociological research skills and lack the confidence to conduct a research project with data collection. I encountered this challenge when I began teaching our Senior Seminar course. When I turned to the literature for insight, I quickly realized that my experience was not unique nor new. In this address, I describe the challenge I faced and the scholarship I have undertaken to illuminate where challenges lie and the missed opportunities for methods instruction and practice throughout the undergraduate sociology curriculum. Helping students develop their sociological research skills is just as important as helping students develop a sociological perspective.

Fronts Matter: The Effectiveness of an “Edited Book” Project in Classical Theory

The instruction of classical sociological theory at Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) underwent significant transformation to make it more activity-based and better aligned with departmental learning goals. The article focuses on the effectiveness of an “edited book” project that came of this endeavor, where students become editors and curate “chapters” on a topic by identifying journal articles from specific sociological traditions to then write the “book’s introduction.” In addition to situating the project within the sociology curriculum and scholarship on sociological literacy, the article presents assessment results that revealed improvement in learning outcomes. The latter suggests that discipline-specific writing and literacy activities can be as effective as informal assignments even in anxiety-inducing courses like theory. This is encouraging given Lehman College’s role as a commuter campus, which makes the instructional strategy applicable in a wide range of programs.

O ENSINO DE SOCIOLOGIA EM PERSPECTIVA COMPARADA

O ensino de sociologia na educação básica assume diferentes contornos nos distintos contextos nacionais, o que se relaciona com a forma como a educação básica estrutura-se em cada país, e também com as tradições nacionais das ciências sociais. Na realidade escolar, a sociologia é recontextualizada através das propostas curriculares, que tanto podem ser nacionais como locais. Neste artigo são analisadas as propostas de currículo de sociologia para o ensino médio na província de Santa Fé, Argentina, e no estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Observam-se desafios semelhantes em ambos os contextos em termos pedagógicos e epistemológicos, ao mesmo tempo em que há substanciais diferenças que se originam, principalmente, nas distintas organizações dos sistemas de ensino argentino e brasileiro.