Sociology and Education Research Guide

Conducting Your Search

Our library catalog, Educat+ can show you results for both physical and ebooks in our collection.

When you have found a resource you are interested in, select the link “Available at Gottesman Libraries" to learn more about the item’s location, and the number of copies available in the library’s holdings. The item's location will appear as a call number (i.e. LB 1570 N49 1978) that can help you locate the item within the library in our open stacks. Collection directories are available at the Services Desk. The call number of the item you are looking for will correspond to a certain floor and level within the stacks. Resources from any of the following collections can be pulled from the shelf and checked out at the Services Desk: Cafe, Curriculum, Juvenile, New Faculty, New TC Press, Oversize, and Stacks.

**Materials on Course Reserves can be requested at the services desk. Items located in the Closed Stacks can be requested through placing a hold in Educat+.

Placing a Hold

Items in Educat+ listed as “Not Available” (these items are currently checked out of the library) and items listed as “Available at Gottesman Libraries Closed Stacks” can be requested and placed on hold.

Select the link “Not Available” or “Available at Gottesman Libraries Closed Stacks.” Then, login and complete the form to request a hold.

For more information about navigating Educat+ please refer to A Guide to Educat+ on the library blog.

Using an E-Book

Searching Educat+ will also display results for ebooks that are available. We are a digital first library, meaning we choose to acquire materials in their digital format first before considering a physical copy. You can access the ebook copies of our materials by clicking the link that appears under the heading "Full Text Availability".

Can't find a Book? Try CLIO!

While Gottesman Libraries provides access to books on topics related to our programs in Education, Health, Psychology, and leadership, we also have access to all books throughout the Columbia Libraries System. Search CLIO, Columbia Libraries catalog, to find both physical and ebooks. Results will appear in the first panel for the catalog, but some ebooks will also appear under the panel Articles+.

Print Resources

Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia (2002)

International Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Education (1997)

E-Resources

Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology (CU) - This dictionary, published in 2008, features "entries, from concise definitions to discursive essays, written by leading international academics, the Dictionary offers a truly global perspective, examining both American and European traditions and approaches. Entries cover schools, theories, theorists and debates, with substantial articles on all key topics in the field."

Encyclopedia of Education (2nd Edition) - The 2003 version of the classic resource in education and related fields.

Encyclopedia of Sociology Research (CU) - In this 2012 resource, topics discussed include "social capital, entrepreneurial capital and economic growth; disruption of social development in children with autism spectrum disorders; children's social interactions in cultural context; everyday theorizing and the construction of knowledge; participation, pedagogy and practice in design education; community participation in formulating sustainable forest policy; increasing the economic sustainability of online communities and a comparison between theoretical and naive definitions of community."

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (CU) - This key reference work comprises 4,000 articles, commissioned by 52 Section Editors, and includes 90,000 bibliographic references as well as comprehensive name and subject indexes.

Sociology of Education: An A-to-Z Guide (CU) - This resource, published in 2013, "introduces students to the social constructions of our educational systems and their many players, including students and their peers, teachers, parents, the broader community, politicians and policy makers. The roles of schools, the social processes governing schooling, and impacts on society are all critically explored." Includes 335 signed entries by experts in the field.

Print Resources

Handbook of the Sociology of Education (2000) (see also e-version below)

The Routledge International Handbook of the Sociology of Education (2010) (see also e-version below)

E-Resources

Handbook of the Sociology of Education (CU) - "The aim of the Handbook of Sociology of Education [published in 2000] is to present the most theoretically grounded and empirically rigorous sociological analyses of schools to date. The authors are distinguished researchers in the field. Their contributions to the Handbook offer major theoretical perspectives on the schooling process and describe significant empirical studies of schools and their effects on individuals and society."

Handbook of the Sociology of Education in the 21st Century (CU) - This work comprises 25 chapters, authored by experts in the field, divided into the following five sections: Families, Schools, and Educational Opportunities; The Changing Demographics of Social Inequality; The Social Organization of Schooling and Opportunities for Learning; Educational Opportunities and the Transition into Adulthood; and Sociological Perspectives on Accountablity and Evaluation.

The Routledge International Handbook of the Sociology of Education - This handbook, published in 2010, "brings together many of the world's leading sociologists of education to explore and address key issues and concerns within the discipline. The thirty-seven newly commissioned chapters draw upon theory and research to provide new accounts of contemporary educational processes, global trends, and changing and enduring forms of social conflict and social inequality."

Annual Reviews (CU) - Reviews of topics in biomedical, physical, and social sciences published as annual journals; see series for Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, and many others.

Review of Educational Research - A publication of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the RER publishes quarterly critical, integrative reviews of research literature bearing on education, including conceptualizations, interpretations, and syntheses of scholarly work.

Review of Research in Education - A publication of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the RRE provides an annual overview and descriptive analysis of selected topics of relevant research literature through critical and synthesizing essays.