Sociology Of Education And The Role Of Education In Society - Case Study Example

Sociology Of Education And The Role Of Education In Society Outlines 1. Introduction a) Definition of sociology b) Definition of education c) Sociology of education & educational sociology. 2. The social and individual aspects in education a) Liberalist b) Progressive education 3. Importance of social aspect 4. Sociological theories of education a) Periods of theories of education in Europe. b) The Functionalist Theory c) The Conflict theory d) The Interactionist theory e) Discussion about the three theories f) Figures summarizing the theories and their directions 5. Globalization a)discussion of various socio-economic issues b) Need of world peace in the post 9/11 world. c) Figure showing issues of globalization 6. Limitations of sociological theories a) Room for further research in sociological theories of education. 7. Conclusion. 8. References. The Sociological Theories Of Education & The Role of Education in Society. A survey of various sociological theories of education will be presented in this essay followed by a comparison and appreciation of these theories. First of all, definitions of ‘sociology’ and ‘education’ from will be presented in order to define and describe the relation between the two. Then, a study of the forces and causes behind the theories will be made in order to have a better understanding of the theories. Then, a discussion of various prevailing sociological theories of education will be presented. A discussion of the role of education as discussed in the sociological theories and its role in the global village with new international issues besetting the world will be given towards the end of the essay. According to Alan Barcan(1993), the word ‘sociology’ has come from the Latin word ‘socii’ meaning ‘groups’ or ‘allies’. This means that sociology is the study of social groups .The word ‘sociology’ was first used by Auguste Comte in 1837 and it was roughly during the days of Comte, it has been explained by Craig J. Calhoun, & Joseph Gerteis(2007) that theories began to be sociological .Theories began to focus on social life as an object of study. This new perspective of social side of human existence developed, argue Craig. J. et al (2007), due to the rise of science, individualism, modern states, large scale capitalistic markets, modern industry and European explorations and colonization. Thus, as man’s life expanded beyond his town or village, he began to study to, to use the words of The British Sociological Association (BSA) ‘how society is organized and how we experience life’. Let us see the definition given by American Sociological Association (ASA) and find out where we can place education in the domain of sociology: ‘Sociology is: the study of society a social science involving the study of the social lives of people, groups, and societies the study of our behavior as social beings, covering everything from the analysis of short contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social processes the scientific study of social aggregations, the entities through which humans move throughout their lives' An overarching unification of all studies of humankind, including history, psychology, and economics’. This definition, especially its last point, tells us how sociology is related to education, since it is a unification of all studies of mankind. Thus ‘sociology of education’ and ‘educational sociology’ are the sub-disciplines of sociology and education. Education of an individual is not only confined to an individual’s life but it is also a social phenomenon in reciprocal terms. An individual is influenced by society when he gets education and, in turn, he may influence society after getting education. All the people of great genius like Aristotle, Confucius, Homer, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and others in different fields, influenced society. All these people were moving institutes in their respective fields, their influences in society moved like ripples in water and merged with the society. Moreover, the very theorists of education and sociology have influenced society and the concerned disciplines with their theories. Even those theorists, who overlook the social aspect in education, actually influence the society and the field of education with their views. The examples are theorists like John Dewey who emphasized on education in relation to the individual rather than to society. As John Grote (1862) emphasized that education aims at the betterment of an individual. ‘Education is the placing of the growing human creature in such circumstances of direction and restraint, as shall make the most of him, or enable him to make the most of himself.’(American Journal of Education.1862, pp18). In such views, then , we see that the theorist are doing the thing which the negate, ie influencing the society. However, such a view is not a sociological view of education. It is a liberal view of education. Therefore, it lies outside the domain of the present work. Haralambos and Holborn(n.d) explain that progressive or child-centered education seems to be a form of liberal education. In progressive education each child is held to be unique, and education is designed to foster equally the talents of each unique individual. (pp730) In addition to the liberalist, there are those who give a broader definition of education. As G.E.Partridge (2009, pp3) gives a general definition of education which encompasses the whole life as a school or learning experience: He defines education as ‘the whole effect of environment. The individual is in some way affected by everything with which he comes into contact, from the first moment of life until the end’ .This definition depicts society as a school for an individual. Hence, it underlines the importance of the influence of society in educating an individual. W.Whewell (1862, pp, 11) explains that etymologically education means ‘drawing out of the faculties of mind’ and that ‘education is the process of making individual men participators in the best attainments of the human mind in general; namely in that which is most rational, true, beautiful and good’. He believes that education raises in man a consciousness for humanity of which he is only a part. He likens education to ‘several steps by which man is admitted, from the sphere of his narrow individuality, into the great sphere of humanity’ Thus, as we see in this definition of Whewell, through education an individual moves from his narrow sphere of individuality to the vast universal existence of humanity. Therefore, education of an individual is a social matter and therefore of interests for sociologists. The role of education in society has been explained in various sociological theories of education. According to Alan Barcan (1993), Western civilization has ‘witnessed three great epochs in educational theory in all of which humanism was strong: 1)The Gaeco-Roman( Socrates, Plato,Xenophen, Aristotle, Plutarch, Cicero, and Quintilian) 2)The classical renaissance( Vergerio, Erasmus, Comenius and Locke) 3) The 19th Century Renaisance from the 1780s to 1940(Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Herbart, Dewey)’(pp 5). Our discussion focuses on the third stage which is the 19th Century Renaissance from the 1780s to 1940 and in this stage; we see three major sociological theories of education. 1. Functionalist Theory 2. The Conflict Theory 3. The Interactionist Theory Functionalist Theory: This theory sees education as a utilitarian activity or process. Through which man realizes his personal and social needs and that the education of an individual is beneficial to society as well. Emily Durkheim, is one of the pioneers of sociology of education .He had a functionalist approach to education. He holds that ‘Man is double. There are two beings in him: an individual being… and a social being.’ . He explained that in ‘so far as he belongs to society, the individual transcends himself, both when he thinks and when he acts." (from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life qtd at Emile Durkheim - Quotes ) This presence of ‘two beings’ in a human being necessitated the education of the both. Ignoring the either could result in loss. W. S. F. Pickering. (2006) explains that the purpose of education for Durkheim is to help society in it survival by imparting the common morality and ideals of society to its younger members. It should not be, explains Pickering, for ‘aesthetic pursuits or to bolster the ego by accumulating knowledge’. It is for the occupational, vocational and moral ‘needs of real life’. In short ‘by education society guarantees its own survival’ (pp108). Talking about the aim of education Durkheim argued that ‘Education is the influence exercised by adult generations on those that are not yet ready for social life. Its object is to develop in the child a certain number of physical, intellectual and moral states which are demanded of him by both the political society as a whole and the special milieu for which he is specifically destined. (Cited in Speak out ‘Education by Emile Durkheim’ 2008 Archana Narayan) This element of the influence exercised by adults on the younger people for the sake of making the younger people conform to the accepted norms of society was taken skeptically be some sociological theorists . In this aspect of educating people to accept common norms of society, there was room for suppression and exploitation of the lower classes. This realization gave birth to another theory which tried to focus on this danger. Social Reproduction Theory or Conflict Theory: As its name suggests, it refers to the production of something social (phenomenon or class) again. If the power in society belongs to oppressors, they might exploit education to prolong their oppressive ways through making the oppressed internalize and get used to the existing system. Explaining this theory Zang and Thomas observe that this theory highlights ‘the interaction between the class and education’. It suggests that the ‘distribution of educational credentials is largely determined by one’s socioeconomic class and institutions such as high quality colleges help preserve and reproduce the existing social structure’(pp 262-263) They explain that Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) who were among the earliest exponents of this theory, held that education allowed the dominant class to maintain its status and helped in ‘the intergenerational transmission of social inequality’. Zhang and Thomas point to Mcleod, Cookson and Persell (1985) who explored how class was socially produced through education in American society. According to Michael W. Apple (1982) Bourdieu and Passeron stress the role of ‘cultural capital’ which different social classes bring to education. On the basis of this cultural capital children at school in France were sorted out during the days of Bourdieu and on this basis students’ future would be determined. Explaining the conflict perspective, Mooney, Knox and Schacht (2007, 297) point out that the ‘socialization function of education is really indoctrination into Capitalist ideology. Such indoctrination begins in kindergarten. Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1972, cited in Mooney, Knox and Schacht) coined the term ‘organized child’ to refer to the nursery school child who is most comfortable with adult control(pp 297). In this way this theory stresses the importance of removing those forces which could use education as a tool of continuing suppression. This is what Haralambos and Holborn (n.d) argue while explaining this theory that though ‘education is organized in contemporary societies, some people will benefit from it more than others. This does not mean that conflict sociologists deny that education could be improved, but it does mean that many of them believe that significant improvements can only be achieved if they are accompanied by wider social changes.’(pp735). Both the theories discussed above focus on aspects which are related to life outside an educational institute. The next theory focuses on sociological aspects of education within the educational institute. The Interactionist Perspective. This perspective, which finds its basis in the thought of George H. Mead ,according to Mooney, Knox and Schacht (2007) deals with micro level issues while the other two theories deal with macro level issues. In this theory, the ways in which teacher and student relate to each other and view each other are examined. Small group issues such as teacher-student interactions and self-fulfilling prophecy are addressed. This concept of self-fulfilling prophecy refers to; explain Mooney, Knox and Schacht ‘the tendency of people to act in a manner consistent with the expectations of others’.(pp297) For example, if certain students are graded as slow learners by the teachers, the learners may work slower and perform at a lower level, as a result of the teachers’ behavior. The interactionist theory seems to focus on an important cause behind students’ performance in the educational institute. It does not focus on the reasons for poor performance outside the campus. The other two theories see education playing its role in the society outside campus. The Functionalist theory sees it as a source of survival of the society and the conflict theory sees it as a tool for maintaining the undesirable class division in the society. We sum up this discussion of the theories in the following table: Name of Theory Key thinkers and authors Evidence of your reading Functionalist Theory Emily Durkheim Instruction Socialization Society generates itself through education of accepted norms Social Reproduction Theory Bourdieu and Passeron Education as a tool for marinating inequality The Integrationist Perspective George H. Mead How do teachers and students view each other and how do they interact with each other The three theories discussed above try to explain the role of education is society. Education can be used to satisfy individual as well as social needs of individuals. I can help individual develop necessary vocational and professional skills and it can also help in realizing the dream of collective welfare or help society in its survival , in producing better social attitudes among people, as the Durkheim theorized. But at the same time, there is a danger of education going in the hands of the oppressors who can exploit education for their own ends. It can be used be used to internalize falsehood as truth and injustice as justice in the minds of young people as pointed out in the conflict theory. The internalization of such attitudes and thoughts can be detrimental not only for a particular community but also for international world, in the form of warlike jingoism with which human history is fraught. However, it remains to be pointed out those sometime students from poor families dominate their field and students from rich families, vice versa .This is because life is too dynamic and vast, to be totally controlled by oppressing regimes. While these are the macro issues concerned with social life outside campus, there are social issues which exist on micro level, within educational campus and deal with students’ performance, as discussed by the interactionist theory. A study of these issues necessitates that teachers educational administrators should have motivational and encouraging attitudes towards students of all classes and categorizing them as poor may affect their performance. There seems to be little conflict among these theories. We can not take them as opposing theories. In fact, they describe the various aspects of the role of education in society and its power to influence the individuals. The directions and issues followed by these theories have been summarized in the form of the following figure 2 Figure 2 Though we have discussed the main aspects of the three major sociological theories, the game is not over. There is still one very important aspect about the role of education in society left. According to Stephen J. Ball (2000, Intro) there are three main sociological theories or theoretical influences from sociology on education. 1) Theories of the State 2) Theories of subjectivity 3) Globalization theories. The first two theories have been discussed by us. Let us see the third one. Globalization: Nelly P. Stromquist (2002,) explains that globalization is a ‘multidomain and multilevel phenomenon’ (pp 1) and that globalization gives particular ‘visibility to education’. It gives us a new notion of ‘knowledge Society’, as the world in the past was not as much educated as it is today. Therefore, globalization emphasizes ‘knowledge and skills over natural resources, material endowments and capital. Moreover, globalization has done a thing which we don’t find in the past. It has taken education systems ‘out of the state monopoly and into the marketplace’. ‘It reorders fields of study according to the needs of the market, increasingly substantiating those needs for the traditional search for truth. (pp 15-16). These rapid changes have brought us at a place which remains ‘ terra incognita’, or an ‘uncharted continent’ to use the words of Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco and Desirée Qin-Hilliard(2004, pp1) or as Barcan observes, ‘today we have reached a hiatus , or a gap—or a plurality of pathways.’ In this state of hiatus argue Suárez-Orozco and Qin-Hilliard (pp2) the countries and educational institutions continue to mimic and copy each other and borrow curricula, teaching methods and assessment tests. This may not help our children who will encounter a different world. The concerns expressed by Suárez-Orozco and Qin-Hilliard appear to be true to the changing scenario especially when we consider the post 9/11 world. There is a need for specific type of education to instruct people for peaceful co-existence. As Tolliver, Denise E & Tisdell, Elizabeth J (2005)talk about the importance of a new view of education demanded by people in the post 9/11 world. ‘They all speak to the important role that adult educators and learners have to contribute to a greater understanding of our collective place in the global community.’ Here there is a global need for international peace. How education does addresses this need of the whole humanity on which the survival of the world depends? The modern conditions then seem to force us to borrow some of the functionalistic, sociological ideas from the vision of education given by Emily Durkheim because the need of the hour is to equip the generation not only with necessary technical skills but also with certain moral values regarding international peace. Without necessary technical and practical skills our children may not be able to do well in the practical world and without the requisite moral values their very existence might be at risk. Such policies should be devised by the policy makers as may prepare the youth to tackle the problems of daily life. Day by day new challenges are coming forth. It is the need of hour that the youth should be instructed in such way as may make them an initiated denizen of this modern world. Sociological theories of education have been propounded to brood on the problems of humanity and to carve out a practicable philosophy to address contemporary issues in a more effective way. The following figure summarizes some of the issues of globalization faced by education today. Figure 3 After discussing the major sociological theories of education, it seems important to make it clear that a social theory does not contain only answers to questions. It may contain new questions, argue Craig J Calhoun et al, ‘it is always under development responding to changes in our social lives’ and bringing ‘improvement in our social knowledge’. ‘Like all of science, therefore it is a process’. In short, ‘theory is our most developed way of organizing the knowledge we have, but that knowledge is never complete’.(Intro pp 1) To conclude we can say that the importance of social aspect in education can not be overlooked. Education has to address the needs of an individual as well as the society at large Human knowledge is never complete. There is always room for improvement; therefore, social theories of education are always under development corresponding to changes in the world. Education has to be in accordance with the needs of an age. There are human educational needs which are of universal nature but there are needs which are of temporal nature and today’s greatest need is the achievement of world peace, saving the world from further annihilation. Education can be instrumental in sowing seeds of a better future for the whole humanity. How does education help us sow these seeds? How does education help us get out of this quagmire of chaos? Today’s sociological approach to education must answer this question in order to help the future generation live peacefully and happily in a world of true development. Note:Harvard Rerferencing 2009 by the University of Wolverhampton available at its website has been followed. References Alan Barcan (1993), Sociological Theory and Educational Reality: Education and Society in Australia since 1949, Australia:New South Wales UP. American Sociological Association (ASA) . ‘What is Sociology?’, viewed 11 Dec 09. http://www.asanet.org/sociology.cfm Archana Narayan(2008),‘Education by Emile Durkheim’ Speak Out, viewed on 11 Dec 09, British Sociological Association (BSA) ‘What is Sociology?’ viewed on 11 Dec 09, Craig J. Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis(2007),Classical sociological theor,. Malden:  Blackwell Publishing. ‘Emile Durkheim’ – Quotes. Viewed on 10 Dec 09, Haralambos and Holborn.(n.d) ‘Sociology:Themes and Perspectives’ , fourth edn , viewed on 11 Dec 09, John Grote(1862), Henry Bernard L.L.D(edit) American journal of Education vol. 11,University of Michigan.USA. Linda A. Mooney, David Knox, Caroline Schacht (2007),Understanding Social Problems, 6th edn, Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, Wadsworth. Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco, Desirée Qin-Hilliard(2004),Globalization: culture and education in the New Millennium, California:University of California Press, California. Michael W. Apple (1982),Cultural and economic reproduction in education: essays on class, ideology, London:Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd ,London. Nelly P. Stromquist. (2002),Education in a globalized world: the connectivity of economic power, Technology and Knowledge, Maryland:Rowman and Littlefield Publishers,Inc.   Partridge.G.E,(2009),Genetic Philsophy of Education, Bibliolife, L.L.C. Paul Stephens, Andrew Leach Stanley(1998),Think Sociology,Thomes Publishers. Stephen J. Ball.(2000), Sociology of Education: Major Themes, London:Routledge Falmer, . Tolliver, Denise E &Tisdell, Elizabeth J(2002), ‘Adult Education in the Post9/11World:Reflections one Year Later’, IUPUI Scholar Work, viewed 11 Dec,09, . W. S. F. Pickering ,(2006), Emily Durkheim: Selected Writings on Education,vo. 1,Durkheim: Essays on Morals and Education, Oxon.:Routledge, Oxon. W.Whewell (1862), Henry Bernard L.L.D (edit) American journal of Education, vol. 11,University of Michigan, USA. Zang and Thomas(2005), ‘Investments in Human Capital.’Higher education: handbook of theory and research,John C. Smart (edit)vol.xx, Dordechi.:  Springer, Dordechi.   Read More