Inequality in Education - OEBXO2410Z

• Title: Inequality in Education
• Guaranteed by: Katedra občanské výchovy a filosofie (41-KOVF)
• Faculty: Faculty of Education
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: both
• E-Credits: 3
• Hours per week, examination: 0/1, MC [HT]
• Capacity: winter:unknown / 10 (15); summer:unknown / unknown (15)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: enabled for web enrollment; you can enroll for the course in winter and in summer semester
• Guarantor: Mgr. Zuzana Terry, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): Mgr. Zuzana Terry, Ph.D.

Annotation

The course explores reasons for unequal access to educational opportunities and outcomes based on a variety of social and cultural factors, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, different kinds of handicaps and others. The course will give you a greater understanding of inequalities in education and make you more sensitive to these situations. You will be able to understand the system’s patterns in education. You will be able to recognise the influence of social factors in education that contribute to inequalities. This will help you to understand the broader context of the need for well-being in schools. The course is open to all students from different fields and requires no previous knowledge of social studies, anthropology or social inequality.

Last update: Terry Zuzana, Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Aim of the course

The aim of the course is to acquire the skills of analysing systemic patterns of inequality and recognising their effects on educational opportunities and outcomes. The course also fosters sensitivity to these issues and highlights the importance of supporting well-being in schools.

Last update: Terry Zuzana, Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Course completion requirements

Minimum attendance 70%

Activity in class

Reading

Final essay about a chosen aspect of social inequality or any education system in the world, and its advantages and disadvantages, with the use of texts used in the seminar.

Last update: Terry Zuzana, Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Literature

Bourdieu, P. (2018). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In Knowledge, education, and cultural change (pp. 71-112). Routledge.

da Conceição Rego, M., Vieira, C., & Vieira, I. (2019). Educational Choices, Family Background, and Social Mobility: Education and Social Mobility. In Global Campaigning Initiatives for Socio-Economic Development (pp. 128-146). IGI Global.

Langhout, R. D., & Mitchell, C. A. (2008). Engaging contexts: Drawing the link between student and teacher experiences of the hidden curriculum. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 18(6), 593-614.

Straková, J. (2015). Strong vocational education–a safe way to the labour market? A case study of the Czech Republic. Educational Research, 57(2), 168-181.

Wentzel, K. R. (1991). Relations between social competence and academic achievement in early adolescence. Child development, 62(5), 1066-1078.

Willis, P. E. (1977). Learning to labour: how working class kids get working class jobs. ASHGATE.

Wright, E. O. (1979). Class structure and income determination (Vol. 2). New York: Academic Press.

Last update: Terry Zuzana, Mgr., Ph.D. (09.09.2025)

Learning resources

Please connect to Moodle: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=18606

Last update: Terry Zuzana, Mgr., Ph.D. (24.10.2025)