Centering Socialization in the Sociology of Education

• In Event: Higher Education, Mobility, and Stratification

Abstract

It is common for self-critiques written by sociologists of education to highlight the field’s narrow focus on issues of inequality and stratification. These critiques often acknowledge empirical progress in terms of data collection and statistical analysis but argue that the field has nonetheless lagged in developing theories of schooling and education. Taking a lesson from the evolution of social movement theory, this paper argues one way forward is for the sociology of education to shift from organizing around a common empirical phenomenon (formal schooling) and toward a common set of social processes, with socialization as one possible candidate for this role. Doing so, however, will require reconceptualizing socialization along three lines: domain specificity; bidirectionally; and the diversity of socialization projects.

Author

• David K. Diehl, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author