Contemporary educational institutions are undergoing simultaneous and contradictory transformations in decentralization and standardization. Such change should force us to step back from the schoolhouse doors, examine the institution of education more broadly, and delineate the ways in which it intersects with other institutional domains. Neo-liberal logics are pushing politicians and educators to embrace “local control” of schooling in the form of charter schools and homeschooling. Conversely, standardization in curriculum and teaching to the test are rampant. In this article, I highlight these contradictory educational pulls and call for scholars across specialty areas to collect pertinent data, generate new and synthetic theoretical frameworks, and embed our understanding of education in broader institutional, organizational, and political concerns.
ArumRichard. 2000. “Schools and Communities: Ecological and Institutional Dimensions.” Annual Review of Sociology26:395–418.
2.
AuriniJaniceDaviesScott. 2005. “Choice without Markets: Homeschooling in the Context of Private Education.” British Journal of Sociology of Education26: 461–74.
3.
BidwellCharles. 1965. “The School as a Formal Organization.” Pp. 972–1022 in Handbook of Organizations, edited by MarchJames G.Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
4.
BinderAmy J.2009. Contentious Curricula: Afrocentrism and Creationism in American Public Schools. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
5.
BlauPeterDuncanOtis Dudley. 1967. The American Occupational Structure. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
6.
BourdieuPierre. 1979. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. Translated by NiceRichard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7.
BowlesSamuelGintisHerbert. 1976. Schooling in Capitalist America. New York: Basic Books.
8.
BrintSteven. 2013. “The ‘Collective Mind’ at Work: A Decade in the Life of U.S. Sociology of Education.” Sociology of Education86:273–79.
9.
CooperBruce S.SureauJohn. 2007. “The Politics of Homeschooling: New Developments, New Challenges.” Educational Policy21:110–31.
10.
DowneyDouglas B.von HippelPaul T.BrohBeckett. 2004. “Are Schools the Great Equalizer?” American Sociological Review69:613–35.
11.
DworkinA. G.2005. “The No Child Left Behind Act: Accountability, High-stakes Testing, and Roles for Sociologists.” Sociology of Education78:170–74.
12.
FieldsJessica. 2008. Risky Lessons: Sex Education and Social Inequality. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
13.
GaitherMilton. 2008. Homeschool: An American History. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
14.
HallettT.2010. “The Myth Incarnate: Recoupling Processes, Turmoil, and Inhabited Institutions in an Urban Elementary School.” American Sociological Review75:52-74.
15.
KohnMelvin L.SchoolerCarmi. 1969. “Class, Occupation, and Orientation.” American Sociological Review34:659–78.
16.
LareauAnnette. 2002. “Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Childrearing in Black Families and White Families.” American Sociological Review67:747–76.
17.
LounsburyMichaelHirschPaul Morris. 2010. Markets on Trial: The Economic Sociology of the U.S. Financial Crisis. Bingley, England: Emerald Group Publishing.
18.
LubienskiChristopher. 2004. “Charter School Innovation in Theory and Practice: Autonomy, R&D, and Curricular Conformity.” Pp. 72–92 in Taking Account of Charter Schools, edited by BulkleyKatrina E.WohlstetterPriscilla. New York: Teachers College Press.
19.
MeyerJohn W.RamirezFrancisco O.SoysalYasemin Nuhoglu. 1992. “World Expansion of Mass Education, 1870-1980.” Sociology of Education65:128–49.
20.
MeyerJohn W.RowanBrian. 1977. “Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony.” American Journal of Sociology83:340–63.
21.
NancarrowSusan A.BorthwickAlan M.2005. “Dynamic Professional Boundaries in the Healthcare Workforce.” Sociology of Health & Illness27:897–919.
PainoMariaRenzulliLindaBoylanRebecca L.BradleyChristen L.2013. “For Grades or Money? Charter School Failure in North Carolina.” Educational Administration Quarterly. Published electronically November7. doi:10.1177/0013161X13505289
24.
ReardonSean F.YunJohn T.2001. “Suburban Racial Change and Suburban School Segregation, 1987-95.” Sociology of Education74:79–101.
25.
RenzulliLinda A.2005a. “District Segregation, Race Legislation, and Black Enrollment in Charter Schools.” Social Science Quarterly82:618–37.
26.
RenzulliLinda A.2005b. “Organizational Environments and the Emergence of Charter Schools in the U.S.” Sociology of Education78:1–26.
27.
RenzulliLinda A.EvansLorraine. 2005. “School Choice, Charter Schools, and White Flight.” Social Problems52:398–418.
28.
RenzulliLinda A.Macpherson-ParrottHeatherBeattieIrenee R.2007. Racial Mismatch and Organizational Structure: The Case of Teacher Satisfaction and Retention. New York: American Sociological Association.
29.
RenzulliLinda A.RoscignoVincent. J.2005. “Charter School Policy, Implementation, and Diffusion in the U.S.” Sociology of Education78:344–65.
30.
RenzulliLinda A.RoscignoVincent J.2007. “Charter Schools, Achievement, and the Public Good.” Contexts9:16–21.
31.
RubinsonRichard. 1986. “Class Formation, Politics, and Institutions: Schooling in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology92:519–48.
32.
RubinsonRichardRalphJohn. 1984. “Technical Change and the Expansion of Schooling in the United States, 1890–1970.” Sociology of Education57:134–52.
33.
SaporitoSalvatoreLareauAnnette. 1999. “School Selection as Process: The Multiple Dimensions of Race in Framing Educational Choice.” Social Problems46:418–39.
34.
SassTim R.2006. “Charter Schools and Student Achievement in Florida.” Education Finance and Policy1:91–122.
35.
SchnaiberLynn. 2000. “Charter Schools: Choice, Diversity may be at odds.” Education Week19:1.
36.
StevensonDavid Lee.BakerDavid P.1991. "State Control of the Curriculum and Classroom Instruction.” Sociology of Education64:1–10.
