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Gender and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Educational Outcomes: Examining Patterns, Explanations, and New Directions for Research

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Handbook of the Sociology of Education in the 21st Century

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

Gender and race/ethnicity function as major axes of social stratification in the United States, and males and those from White backgrounds have historically occupied a position of advantage within the educational system. Although there has been progress towards decreasing inequality in recent decades, gender disparities and, to a much greater extent, racial/ethnic disparities remain in educational outcomes. This chapter reviews the empirical patterns and discusses the major theoretical explanations behind these patterns, focusing on K–16 education within the U.S. Additionally, some of the limitations of prior research are discussed. In closing, the authors also outline three key areas where more empirical sociological research is needed, and highlight recent research that provides compelling examples of where the field of sociology of education should be headed in order to better understand and disrupt educational inequality.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The College Board reports annually on the AP program in its Report to the Nation. Note that this report includes the number of students taking exams in subject fields rather than the number of students enrolled in courses designated as AP.

  2. 2.

    We note here that while research typically views females’ higher social-behavioral skills as a mediating variable to explain higher performance, it is arguable that such skills are an important educational outcome in their own right. We return to this point in Part 3 of this chapter.

  3. 3.

    As space constraints limit us from including a thorough review of disparities between Asian students and their White peers, as well as their Black and Hispanic peers, we recommend that readers see recent work by Pang et al. (2011), Pong et al. (2005), and Lee and Kumashiro (2005) among others.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Catherine Riegle-Crumb, Sarah Blanchard Kyte & Karisma Morton

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  1. Catherine Riegle-Crumb
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  2. Sarah Blanchard Kyte
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  3. Karisma Morton
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Correspondence to Catherine Riegle-Crumb .

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  1. College of Education, Department of Sociology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Barbara Schneider

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Riegle-Crumb, C., Kyte, S.B., Morton, K. (2018). Gender and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Educational Outcomes: Examining Patterns, Explanations, and New Directions for Research. In: Schneider, B. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Education in the 21st Century. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76694-2_6

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