Purpose of the Project:
The purpose of this project is to examine important issues in the study of education. Education affects everyone regardless of their social background. Americans recognize the important roles that education plays, yet disagree vehemently with one another about what roles should school plays and who should decide. More importantly, Americans disagree on whether educational opportunities are equal for everyone despite a “free” public education. As a result of completing this project, you will gain some knowledge of sociological approach to the study of education. In addition, you will develop critical thinking skills using logic and evidence and the ability to research and assess the reliability of a source. Finally, this project asks you to demonstrate your knowledge of educational opportunity and equality in the form of a formal report (with an introduction, conclusion, citations, etc.). You may think that the ability to write a formal report only helps you get good grades in college, but the ability to present a clear and well-organized argument is another important skill that will serve you well in almost any occupation.
The Tasks – How should you approach this project?
All students are required to complete a research report of five to six pages and typed. The research project is designed for students to assess issues related to educational opportunities and inequality in the United States. Students are expected to choose a topic of their interest with the assistance of the instructor, who would work with students to identify the research question and thesis, and help students use scholarly studies as evidence to support their thesis. Students are required to use a minimum of three scholarly sources to complete this research.
Introduce your research topic, research question, and explain what you expect from your research (thesis), and what you will do in this report, such as paper structure.
Use reliable sources as evidence to explain your research topic. For example, student loan debt creates social inequality despite educational opportunity in higher education.
Analysis of your research topic using scholarly sources. For example, analyze how studies show the connection of student loan debt and social inequality.
Conclusion: write a conclusion about what your research findings mean about educational opportunity and inequality. For example, why is it important to address the issue of student loan debt, and what should be done to address the social inequality created by student loan debt?