Educating students about affirmative action: An analysts of university sociology texts

Affirmative action policy in the United States has recently come under inte nse political attack. Opponents have developed strategies to eliminate affi rmative action using stare referendums, often engaging in misleading public campaigns. in this political atmosphere, the role of education is signific ant. For many of our students, introductory sociology may be one of the few courses in which they are exposed to serious academic discussions about af firmative action. We examine the extent to which sociology texts accurately present affirmative action policy in the United States using a sample of i ntroductory texts published from 1994 through 1997. We critically examine w hether material presented either confronts or contributes to widespread myt hs about affirmative action policy. We conclude by offering practical sugge stions to strengthen affirmative action presentations in sociology texts, i ncluding drawing upon significant empirical and theoretical sociological li terature about affirmative action too often ignored by textbook authors.