Sociology and High School Teaching

Abstract

Teaching opportunities for sociolgy majors have traditionally been oriented to the college or university. There is, however, a clear need for qualified sociolgy teachers at the high school level. Such teachers could generate interest in the sociological imagination among pre-college students. By doing so these teachers could provide skiUs for those students entering the workforce and encourage enrollments among those students opting to attend college. The American Sociological Association is aware of this opportunity and has addressed it in a variety of ways over the past thirty years. There has been renewed commitment by the ASA in the 1900s to develop programs that can enhance high school sociolgy. This article suggest that the state sociological association may be in a strategic position to assess the needs of high school sociolgy teachers, to address their resource needs as well as the concerns of teacher certification and competency.What employment opportunities are available for sociology majors? According to Danzger (1988:41): "In the past, sociology was not vocationally oriented... training was directed toward preparing students to be professional sociologists--that is, to teach sociology on the college level." For sociology majors this meant preparation beyond a bachelor's degree and socialization into the "academic mode" with its emphasis on scholarship and specialized teaching interests. In the last two decades, however, employment opportunities for academic socioloJan Rienerth is professor of sociology as Appalacian State University. Her teaching interests are in women's issues, applied sociology, and experiential learning. Her research has focused on women and the elderly in prison. Paul Lindsay is professor of sociolgy at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His most recent teaching and research interests are in the areas of the sociology of education, educational policy and conflict resolution. Michael Wise is professor of sociology at Appalachian State University. His recent teaching and research is in the area of deviant behavior. Trina Seitz is currently pursuing doctoral studies at VPI. 64The

“Apathetic, active, or antagonistic”: A history of the American Sociological Association’s involvement in high school sociology

“…The little empirical research that has been published over the past twenty years has been conducted by individual scholars. Taken as a whole, this small body of work has reported interesting results about what teachers want and need, and how the ASA and other professional organizations might help (DeCesare, 2004;Dennick-Brecht, 2000;Lashbrook, 2001;Rienerth et al, 1998). The ASA itself should sponsor and carry out similar research efforts.…”

A Textbook Approach to Teaching: Structural Uniformity among American High School Sociology Courses

“…All of them found that students had retained very little. Yet subsequent studies, aside from two recent exceptions, have focused exclusively on the backgrounds and experiences of high school sociology teachers, to the neglect of the courses themselves (cf., DeCesare 2006DeCesare , 2005aRienerth et al 1998;Short et al 1986). …”

Understanding the World of High School Sociology: Views from an Insider

“…Research by Reinerth et al (1998) and DeCesare (2002) alluded to "the need to improve the training of those that teach [sociology]." However, teachers might be teaching sociology or a sociology related course with less than minimum training, due the loophole of being "broad area" certified.…”

“…But as one scholar suggested, "as teachers careers progress, it becomes more likely that they will seek out resources to enhance that teaching" (Reinerth et al 1998). That was completely correct.…”

“…According to an associate within the American Psychological Association, the Pre-college Psychology Programs Officer (Leary 2007) Upon request by the ASA, in 1998, I presented a workshop entitled, "Effective Collaboration with K-12 Teachers in Your Community," at the American Sociological Association meeting in San Francisco (Greene 1998). Sociologist Jeff Lashbrook (SUNY-Stony Brook) attended the session and his work, along with Reinerth et al (1998) and DeCesare (2002, 2004, began the next wave of research on high school sociology. But these studies as my own were based mostly on the content of material taught in the high school classroom.…”