| (a) General requirements. Students shall be awarded one-half unit of credit for successful completion of this course. (b) Introduction. (1) Sociology, an elective course, is an introductory study in social behavior and organization of human society. This course will describe the development of the field as a social science by identifying methods and strategies of research leading to an understanding of how the individual relates to society and the ever changing world. Students will also learn the importance and role of culture, social structure, socialization, and social change in today's society. (2) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples. (3) Students identify the role of the free enterprise system within the parameters of this course and understand that this system may also be referenced as capitalism or the free market system. (4) Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the constitution. (5) State and federal laws mandate a variety of celebrations and observances, including Celebrate Freedom Week. (A) Each social studies class shall include, during Celebrate Freedom Week as provided under the Texas Education Code, §29.907, or during another full school week as determined by the board of trustees of a school district, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. The study of the Declaration of Independence must include the study of the relationship of the ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the U.S. Constitution, and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and the women's suffrage movement. (B) Each school district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week or other week of instruction prescribed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, students in Grades 3-12 study and recite the following text: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed." (6) Students identify and discuss how the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding documents. (c) Knowledge and skills. (1) Foundations of sociology. The student understands the theoretical perspectives of the historical interpretations of human social development. The student is expected to: (A) describe the development of the field of sociology; (B) identify leading sociologists in the field of social science, including Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Herbert Spencer, Max Weber, and Karl Marx, and interpret their contributions to the foundation of sociology; and (C) identify sociologists such as W. E. B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Robert E. Park, Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, Robert Nisbet, and Julian Samora and interpret their contributions to the field. (2) Foundations of sociology. The student understands how society evolves and cause and effect of social and institutional change. The student is expected to: (A) differentiate types of societies such as hunting and gathering, agrarian, pastoral, industrial, and post-industrial; (B) identify and describe the types of societies that exist in the world today; (C) examine changes in U.S. institutions and society resulting from industrialization, urbanization, and immigrant assimilation; and (D) analyze information about cultural life in the United States and other countries over time. (3) Culture and social structure. The student examines world cultures. The student is expected to: (A) identify the elements of culture to include language, symbols, norms, and values; (B) explain how the elements of culture form a whole culture; and (C) give examples of subcultures and describe what makes them unique. (4) Culture and social structure. The student understands types of groups and their functions. The student is expected to: (A) describe models of primary, secondary, formal, informal, and reference groups and e-communities; and (B) analyze groups in terms of membership roles, status, values, mores, role conflicts, and methods of resolution. (5) Culture and social structure. The student differentiates and recognizes examples of subculture and counterculture. The student is expected to: (A) compare cultural norms such as ethnicity, national origin, age, socioeconomic status, and gender among various U.S. subculture groups; (B) describe stereotypes of various U.S. subcultures; (C) analyze social problems in selected U.S. subcultures; and (D) examine counterculture movements and analyze their impact on society as a whole. (6) Individual and society. The student understands the process of socialization. The student is expected to: (A) define socialization and describe how the process of socialization is culturally determined; (B) differentiate the agents of socialization and evaluate their functions and roles; and (C) trace socialization as a lifelong process. (7) Individual and society. The student understands the concept of adolescence and its characteristics. The student is expected to: (A) explain how education, exclusion from the labor force, and the juvenile justice system led to the development of adolescence as a distinct stage of the life cycle; (B) identify and interpret the five characteristics of adolescence: biological growth and development, an undefined status, increased decision making, increased pressures, and the search for self; (C) identify issues and concerns facing contemporary adolescents such as dating, dating violence, sexuality, teen parenting, drug use, suicide, and eating disorders; and (D) identify and discuss the skills adolescents need to make responsible life choices. (8) Individual and society. The student understands the life stage of adulthood and its characteristics. The student is expected to: (A) identify the stages of adult development and compare the differences between male and female development; (B) analyze the traditional roles of work and how the composition of the labor force has changed in the United States; and (C) analyze the characteristics of late adulthood and changes on the individual and society such as retirement, physical and mental functioning, dependency on others, and death. (9) Individual and society. The student will explain the nature and social function of deviance. The student is expected to: (A) compare theories of deviance such as the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives; (B) interpret differences in crime and arrest rates by social categories such as ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and age, including cross-reference with the National Crime Victimization Survey; and (C) analyze the criminal justice system in the United States in relation to deviant behavior. (10) Social inequality. The student understands the nature of social stratification in society. The student is expected to: (A) analyze the characteristics and components of caste and class systems and social mobility and how motivation affects each; (B) define poverty and its components and analyze poverty's impact on the individual and society; (C) contrast theories of social stratification; and (D) recognize and examine global stratification and inequality. (11) Social inequality. The student understands the impact of race and ethnicity on society. The student is expected to: (A) define race and ethnicity and differentiate among the distinguishing characteristics of minority groups; (B) contrast the terms discrimination, prejudice, and bias; (C) discuss the ramifications of stereotyping; Cont'd... |
