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Understanding Inequality in Schools: The Contribution of Interpretative Studies

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Handbuch Bildungs- und Erziehungssoziologie

Part of the book series: Bildung und Gesellschaft ((BILDUNGUG))

Abstract

Research in the sociology of education reflects the distinction between “macro” and “micro” that has dominated the field of sociology more generally (see, for example, Alexander et al. 1987; R. Collins 1981a, 1981b; Giddens 1984; Knorr-Cetina and Cicourel 1981). In studies of education, the macro includes structural forces conceptualized at the societal level, including economic constraints and capitalist demands, while the micro includes individual or group actions and responses to constraints imposed on social actors. I am not content with this distinction because it perpetuates a false dichotomy, reifies social structure, and relegates social interaction to a residual status.

Erstveröffentlichung in: Sociology of Education 1992, Vol. 65 (January): 1–20.

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  1. Hugh Mehan
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    Ullrich Bauer

  2. Freiburg i. Br., Deutschland

    Uwe H. Bittlingmayer  & Albert Scherr  & 

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Mehan, H. (2012). Understanding Inequality in Schools: The Contribution of Interpretative Studies. In: Bauer, U., Bittlingmayer, U.H., Scherr, A. (eds) Handbuch Bildungs- und Erziehungssoziologie. Bildung und Gesellschaft. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-18944-4_17

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