Tracking (or streaming) students into curriculum groups. This
refers to the practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the
basis of intelligence test scores and other criteria. Tracking begins very early,
often during the first grade and puts children from low-income families at a
disadvantage.
Differential access to higher education and tracking are evident in many
nations around the world. In the view of conflict theorists, the educational
inequalities resulting from funding disparities and tracking are designed to meet
the needs of modern capitalist societies.
In George Bernard Shaw's play «Pygmalion» the flower girl Eliza
Doolittle is transformed into a «lady» by Professor Henry Higgins. He changes
her manner of speech and teaches her the etiquette of «high society». But is it
actually possible to change anyone's behaviour simply by treating the person
differently? Researchers who view education from interactionist perspective
have been particularly interested in this question. They suggest that if we treat
people in particular ways, they may fulfill our expectations. The authors of the
book «Pygmalion in the Classroom» prove that teacher's expectations about a
student's performance can sometimes have an impact on the student's actual
achievements.
Clearly, education has become a vast and complex social institution
throughout the world. It prepares citizens for the various roles demanded by
other social institutions, such as the family, government, and the economy. In
many respects, today's educational institutions, when viewed as formal
organizations, are similar to factories, hospitals, and business firms.