Teaching Affirmative Action: An Opportunity to Apply, Integrate, and Reinforce Sociological Concepts

Affirmative action, a controversial topic about which students have many misconceptions, lends itself especially well to a sociological analysis. This paper describes an approach to teaching that: 1) informs students of different affirmative action programs; 2) gives them the opportunity to apply an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Teaching Sociology 2007-10, Vol.35 (4), p.334-349
Main Authors: Bohmer, Susanne, Oka, Kayleen U.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action
Admissions policies
Affirmative Action
College instruction
College students
Community Colleges
Concept Teaching
Concepts
Controversial Issues (Course Content)
Course Descriptions
Debate
Educational Strategies
Employment
Ethnicity
Gender Discrimination
Hiring
History and organization of sociology
History, theory and methodology
Ideology
Inequality
Instructional Design
Integrative approach
Minority & ethnic groups
Misconceptions
Mythology
Opportunities
Opportunity
Organization of profession, research and teaching. Deontology. Sociology of sociology. Epistemology
Positive discrimination
Posttests
Race
Science Materials
Sexual orientation
Social Class
Social discrimination
Social inequality
Social problems and social policy. Social work
Social Stratification
Sociology
Standardized Tests
Students
Teaching
Teaching Methods
Teaching Models
Textbooks
Topics
Units of Study
Womens Studies
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Description
Summary:Affirmative action, a controversial topic about which students have many misconceptions, lends itself especially well to a sociological analysis. This paper describes an approach to teaching that: 1) informs students of different affirmative action programs; 2) gives them the opportunity to apply and integrate a variety of concepts and research findings covered in our sociology courses; 3) allows us to assess how well students understand affirmative action and to what degree they retain myths about the programs; and 4) covers an emotionally charged topic with enough depth to go beyond surface reactions. We find that this integrated approach dispels some of the most common myths, leads students to become more thoughtful and analytical, and gives them a good foundation from which to examine affirmative action in the future.
ISSN:0092-055X
1939-862X
DOI:10.1177/0092055X0703500403