This chapter will help you to:

11.1 Describe why an educated citizenry is important for a nation’s economy.

11.2 Compare rational choice and symbolic interaction explanations for why students succeed—or don’t—in school.

11.3 Illustrate the bureaucratization of education.

11.4 Describe how schools contribute to the reproduction of social class.

11.5 Provide examples of how society’s culture influences educational policy.