Enumerates ways in which university sociology departments can help students find out about career possibilities in the field of sociology. Suggestions include providing information on employment opportunities and graduate programs, identifying occupations of graduated sociology majors, advising students about employment and graduate school, and…

Examines the expectations that students bring to an introductory sociology course and analyzes how they affect general course evaluation items. Results show that students' gender, year in school, and grade point average are associated with different levels of expectancy and expectancy violation, affecting general course evaluation items.…

Describes the responsibilities and goals of the Director of Undergraduate Studies of the Sociology Department at the University of Kentucky. Emphasizes the importance of advising, liaison activities, curriculum development, and support of good teaching. Contends that the program is a successful approach to increasing enrollments and furthers the…

Explores current concerns about the quality of undergraduate education and examines three strategies for improving its quality: (1) providing more opportunities for faculty development, (2) modifying the culture of universities to encourage greater commitment to teaching, and (3) changing the norms of academic disciplines to enhance the status of…

Sociology resources housed in the campus library potentially offer valuable support for a department's instructional efforts. Provided is a strategy for (1) evaluating an existing library collection; (2) correcting extant deficiencies; and (3) maintaining the balance and quality of the collection on an ongoing basis. (Author/RM)

Describes a group project teaching technique that was used to teach a college-level social research methods course. Students, working in small groups, planned an original study, developed an instrument, and gathered data to test their hypotheses. Lectures and readings also comprised an important part of the course. (SR)

Provides an organizational format for students to use when writing an ethnographic essay. Uses an organizing structure enabling students to produce professional written work in sociology. Outlines and identifies tasks to be accomplished in each section of a research report. (Author/NL)

Suggests a method for translating graduate education in qualitative methods into undergraduate teaching. Focuses on intensive interviewing and its benefits for both graduate students and for undergraduate teaching as a means of bringing the subject into the real world. Discusses planning the interview assignment, developing interview questions,…

Urges professors to explain to graduate students the difference between undergraduate programs, which reproduce knowledge, and graduate programs, which are designed to produce knowledge and reproduce the faculty. Suggests that professional socialization be made explicit for students by encouraging them to use the informal curriculum. Recommends…