This article describes one approach to flipping an introductory sociology course. To encourage students to practice 'doing' sociology, we designed a flipped classroom that included a 'pay to play' model, small group work and an emphasis on active learning during class time. With this course design, we linked in-class active learning with outside…

This article offers an example of a global approach to teaching the sociology of religion, a course that typically focuses on American religious phenomena. It builds on three interventions in the movement for a global sociology: connecting the local and global, moving beyond methodological nationalism, and developing an ethical orientation toward…

Assessment plays a central role in evaluating and strengthening student learning in higher education, and sociology departments, in particular, have increasingly become interested in engaging in assessment activities to better understand students' learning. This qualitative study builds on previous research on assessment by asking what students in…

In this interpretative qualitative study, the researchers investigated the beliefs and practices of six high school sociology teachers in relation to the teaching of gender. Using a feminist lens, this study employed mixed methods, analyzing teacher interviews, observations, and classroom artifacts. The results showed that the teachers viewed…

Between 1950 and 1980 surveys of academic sociologists revealed a major shift in the relative ratings of the top six Sociology departments. Wisconsin rose from a distant sixth to being rated first or second. Harvard and Columbia dropped from first and second the rankings to as low as sixth seventh. Underlying these trajectories were a variety of…

"The Sociological Imagination" is among the most recognized books in the history of American Sociology. Yet, the sociological imagination as such, a radical form of self-consciousness, is not commonly well understood nor easily acquired. This essay examines the challenges thus faced by instructors who seek to accurately impart what Mills…

This article describes a departmental initiative designed to integrate the teaching of graduate and undergraduate sociology through research methodology and the completion of actual research projects. The goal was to develop a multilevel team approach within which faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates would view their work as part of a…

This article explores how racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity are addressed in secondary English curriculum policy in Massachusetts, U.S.A. Data are analyzed through theories of the sociology of knowledge and the myth of the United States melting pot. Analysis revealed that curriculum policy privileged Eurocentric literature and the English…

Higher education is in crisis, especially in the public sector. Over the past few years, tuition at state universities across the country has increased dramatically, their budgets have been slashed and federal funding for need-based financial aid has been reduced. The results are increased class sizes, fewer course offerings, more adjunct faculty…

This article extends and expands the existing literature on critical thinking (CT) by both establishing the need for more student-centered research on the topic and reporting on the findings of a CT research project with two central, related goals: 1) To record and analyze undergraduate students' definition of CT and 2) To create an easy-to-use…

This paper describes a campus survey designed to enhance student learning while generating high-quality data for research and evaluation. Students enrolled in a research methods course pretest a draft interview schedule and interview randomly selected students; then, drawing on their interview experience, they write a paper that addresses…

There has been a long-standing controversy concerning success values in American society. While one position maintains that success values are more or less uniformly distributed throughout the class structure, another position holds that the amount or kind of success to which people aspire shows a consistent and positive relationship to their…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ISOLATE THE ROLE CONFLICTS TO WHICH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS ARE EXPOSED, THE METHODS USED TO RESOLVE THEM, AND THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH THEY OCCUR. THE SOCIAL MATRIX OF ROLE CONFLICT IS BASED ON DIFFERING EXPECTATIONS OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERPRETATIONS. THUS, WHEN PARENTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS, OTHER ADMINISTRATORS, AND…

To seek resolution of problems in providing education for youth and adults oriented toward the world of work, the Massachusetts Advisory Council on Education (MACE) undertook a study of vocational-technical education as a major project. This publication contains the major papers and prepared reactions to these papers, which were presented at a…

Much of the research conducted within the black community served primarily to promote the interests and personal gain of the researchers rather than the community. Consequently, the research proved more harmful than helpful, thereby providing no visible or appreciable payoff or benefits to the black community. Moreover, the perspectives of the…