ERIC Number: EJ1124275
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Jan
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-055X
EISSN: N/A
2016 Hans O. Mauksch Address: Are Introduction to Sociology and Social Problems Morphing into Each Other? What Syllabi Can Tell Us
Lowney, Kathleen S.; Price, Anne M.; Gonzalez Guittar, Stephanie
Teaching Sociology, v45 n1 p1-13 Jan 2017
Given that so many college students take Introduction to Sociology or Social Problems or both, we wondered about the amount of content overlap in these courses. We designed a study that used content analysis of syllabi from these courses in order to measure the amount of convergence between the two classes. In our sample, nearly 70 percent of the content was similar. More worrisome, some significant concepts, such as research methods and symbolic interactionism, were barely mentioned in either course. Given the new political economy of general education and more specifically higher education, we raise questions about the implications of such course content convergence and encourage the discipline to begin to address these issues.
Descriptors: College Students, Sociology, Introductory Courses, Social Problems, Content Analysis, Course Descriptions, General Education, Core Curriculum, Research Methodology, Coding, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A