SZ6621 Social Pathology in Secondary Education

Faculty of Education
Spring 2024

The course is not taught in Spring 2024

Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Kateřina Lojdová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Kateřina Lojdová, Ph.D.
Department of Education – Faculty of Education
Supplier department: Department of Education – Faculty of Education
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! NOWANY ( SZ6613 Drama Education in Teaching Practice , SZ6614 Global Development Education in Teachers Training , SZ6615 Cross-curricular Subjects in the National Framework Programme , SZ6616 Methods of Respecting Education Training , SZ6617 Multicultural Lectures at Secondary Education , SZ6618 Personal and Social Education , SZ6619 Support of Student's Self-development through Coaching Techniques , SZ6620 Education of Students with Different Mother Tongue , SZ6622 Values Education in Teaching Practice , SZ6623 Education of Talented Students , SZ6624 Education in Teaching Practice , SZ6625 Analysis and Interpretation of Educational Situations in Schools )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the subject is to provide students with a critical framework for understanding socially pathological phenomena that can be seen at their pupils and students. This critical framework is based on theories of social deviation in the complex bio-psycho-social model and on fidings from international research. The seminars are taught interactively on the basis of research data analysis (especially qualitatively focused research), stories taken from media (e.g. life story of a terrorist) and one’s own experience (e.g. a narrative on the topic of my drunk story). Individual topics are illustrated on examples of real stories that are critically interpreted in the seminar. The seminar puts emphasis on interdisciplinarity; and it is based on sociological, philosophical, psychological, and anthropological findings, which are put into the pedagogical context. Preparation for the seminar includes reading of original research in English. Complex and crticial reflection of socially pathological phenonema is a precondition for prevention and solution of socially pathological phenomena by the subject participant in both curricular and extracurricular environment.
Learning outcomes:
• understanding of theories of social deviation: a student understands causes of social deviations in biological, psychological, and social fields and their interrelation;
• ability to apply theories of social deviations on explanation of their rise, process and social assessment of socially pathological phenomena;
• understanding of pupils and readiness to solve pupils’ problems connected with socially pathological phenomena in cooperation with other school professionals (school consultation office) and outside school (Educational Care Centre, Educational and Psychological Counselling, facilities for institutional and protective education);
• students are able to competently (based on theories and research) and critically discuss about questions set in the subject syllabus.
Syllabus
  • 1. What is normal, what is deviant and what is socially pathological? How can a social norm be defined? How is a social norm changed in space and time? Can social deviations be positive? Normality, deviation and social pathology in a school institution. What is a role of social reaction to normal and deviant behaviour? Who is a hidden deviant and who is false-labelled? Who labels? A teacher as a social control agent and power connected with process of labelling and secondary deviation. A labelled pupil’s life story.
  • 2. Where does a deviant come from? Are criminals born like that? Are some pupils predisposed to deviant career? (biological, psychological, structural, subcultural, conflict, control, interactive, sociological, situational theories of social deviations). Pupil’s story of deviant career. What interesting findings has research of social deviation brought? From the Chicago School to the CCCS (The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, Birmingham). Why are some pupils socialised into deviant gangs and subcultures? When did some British skinheads become rasists and why? What happened to Czech skinheads from the 90’s? What are gender aspects in socialization into deviant subcultures? What do girls in biker gangs (Angela McRobbie) do? Stories of subculture members.
  • 3. Why do pupils use addictive substances? Is consummation of addictive substances addiction? What differences are there in ways to addiction in case of children and teenagers? How to recognize an addicted person? Alcohol and its consummation by children and teenagers. Stories of alcohol consummation: drunk stories. The myth of alcohol in teenagers’ life, analysis of drunk stories in a study group.
  • 4. Illegal drugs in children’s and teenagers’ life. How to recognize a pupil influenced by opiates, stimulants, volatile substances, and cannabis drugs, etc.? How to deal with a pupil influenced by addictive substances?
  • 5. Aggressivity in school. Fights as a cultural form (Bittnerová). Is aggressive behaviour normal for teenagers? And when is it bullying? What are forms of bullying? Why does a bully do it? And what does bullying mean to the victim? What is the mutual relationship between a bully and victim? Who are performers of bullying? How to examine bullying in school? How to solve it? Analysis of an interview with a victim and bully.
  • 6. Cyberbullying. What is the relation between bullying and cyberbullying? How easy is it to become a victim or bully in online environment? What are means of cyberbullying? A story of Megan Mayer. Prevention of cyberbullying, an example of a project http://www.e-bezpeci.cz/.
  • 7. Aggressivity outside school. Football hooligans. Expriencing deviant behaviour in a group. What is attractive in vandalism? Vandalism as a group social deviation. Why graffiti? Do sprayers want to destroy or create? Possibilities of vandalism prevention. Stories of sprayers. Can children commit suicide? Why? Sucidality of children and teenagers, suicidal attempts, and demonstrative suicides. Profiles of teenager suicides. A continual model of suicidal behaviour and possibility of pedagogue’s intervention in each phase. Self-harming (parasuicidum) – why do they cut themselves? A connection to the emo subculture?
  • 8. Racism and ethnicity in school. What is a race? Are there races nowadays? A race as a taboo in social sciences? What does research on race related to academical achievement of children say? Academical achievement as a “white” culture feature (an example of research by Fordham and Ogbu)? How to manage ethnical variety in school and prevent socially pathological phenomena? (research by Jarkovská)
  • 9. Children’s and teenagers’ extremism? Why do children have more radical opinions than adults? What are features of right wing and left wing extremism? What are the similarities? Socialisation into extremist subcultures.
  • 10. Terrorism in school. Why does somebody shoot a teacher and classmates? Analysis of a school massacre case. Terrorism in society. Analysis of a terrorist’s life story (a current terrorist attack). Approaches to a phenomenon analysis, terrorist’s motivation, and dynamics of a terrorist group, characteristics of a terrorist profile, forms. Why can women be more dangerous terrorists than men? Gender aspects of terrorism – e.g. a story of Ulrike Meinhoff. Other forms of terrorism and examples of terrorist organizations: ultra-left wing terrorism, ultra-right wing terrorism, ethnical terrorism, religious terrorism, environmental terrorism, single-issue terrorism;
  • 11. What are forms of commercial sexual child abuse? Child trafficking (intrafamiliar x extrafamiliar), child prostitution, child pornography. Children and teenagers as pedophile’s victims. An analysis of pedophile’s strategies to attract victims.
  • 12. Prevention of socially pathological phenomena, institutional framework of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of Special Police Unit. Prevention and solution of socially pathological phenomena in school. Prevention and solution of socially pathological phenomena in school consultation facilities. Inclusive school and socially pathological phenomena.
Literature
  • Campbell, A. (2006). The search for authenticity: An exploration of an online skinhead newsgroup. New Media & Society, 8(2), 269–294.
  • Blackman, S. (2005). Youth subcultural theory: A critical engagement with the concept, its origins and politics, from the Chicago school to postmodernism. Journal of Youth studies, 8(1), 1–20.
  • Harnett, R., Thom, B., Herring, R., & Kelly, M. (2000). 'Alcohol in transition: Towards a model of young men's drinking styles'. Journal of Youth Studies, 3(1), 61–77.
  • Arnold, D. (1970). The sociology of subcultures. Santa Barbara: University of California.
  • Robinson, C. (2000). Creating space, creating self: street-frequenting youth in the city and suburbs. Journal of Youth studies, 4(3), 429–443.
  • Anahatia, S. (2006). Blogging the borders: Virtual skinheads, hypermasculinity, and heteronormativity. Journal of Political & Military Sociology, 34(1), 143–164.
  • Fordham S., & Ogbu, J. (1986). Black students' school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting white’”. The Urban Review, 18(3), 176–206.
  • Blazak, R. (2001). White boys to terrorist men target recruitment of Nazi skinheads. American Behavioral Scientist, 44(6), 982–1000.
  • Fordham S., & Ogbu, J. (1986). Black students' school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting white’”. The Urban Review, 18(3), 176–206.
  • Wolcott, H. (1987). The teacher as an enemy. In G. Spindler (Ed.), Education and cultural process: Anthropological approaches (s. 136−150). Prospect Heighs: Waveland press.
  • Tutenges, S., & Rod, M. H. (2009). ‘We got incredibly drunk… it was damned fun’: Drinking stories among Danish youth. Journal of youth studies, 12(4), 355–370.
  • Hall, S., & Jefferson, T. (2006). Resistance through rituals: youth subcultures in postwar Britain. New York: Routledge
  • Cohen, A. (1966). Devinace and control. New Yersey: Prentice Hall.
Teaching methods
class discussion, group projects
Assessment methods
1) active participation in seminars, 2) preparation for seminars – theses submission (study of research, video/film), 3) analysis of a case and possibilities of solution in teacher’s/pedagogue assistant’s role.
Language of instruction
English
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/spring2024/SZ6621