Subjectivity in Social Sciences - Coursework Example

Subjectivity INTRODUCTION In the regular education system, besides formal education and its regular curriculum sports is being recognised as one of the most important requirements. In the present age education and the need for physical fitness is being given equal importance to. According to the observations of Shilton and Naughton (2001) physical fitness makes the body fit. When the body is fit it makes the mind alert and enable the individual to concentrate more on the work that they are engaged to. Godbey and Mowen (2010) also points out the fact that when an individual is under regular exercises and physical activity to remain fit it helps the individual to remain out of the reach of diseases or sickness, it helps them to be disease free. When an individual is free from diseases the individual has more power of concentration and the ability to take on any task. It makes them agile and ready for the challenges. It is especially beneficial for the students who need to manage a number of activities owing to the growing pressure of competition. It is so because with the changing times it is not good enough to be competent and meritorious in studied but also in extracurricular activities and a number of related activities. This needs a great deal of concentration, fitness and energy to study, do the extracurricular activities and at the same time do them with excellence. Blair et al, (2001) makes an observation that in the present time the student are burdened with the pressure of the elders to work more, to study more and to do everything more to get the top position. They are pushing the pupil to the verge of extreme competition and in the due course taking them away from the normal life that a child must live in. In the extreme age of competition and the increasing desire to achieve more than one’s permissible extent one stretches the ability to great extent and in the due course outs a lot of stress on the individuals, in this case the students. So, they should inevitably make provisions for activity. The Physical Education makes them aware f the needs and requirements of one’s body. It also stresses on the need and benefits of physical exercises to keep the human body agile and free from diseases or keep it fit. According to the observations of Haskell et al, (2009) a health body makes way for a healthy mind. The provisions for physical fitness and physical education for the students will in the long run enable them to observe more, learn more and most importantly pay undivided attention to the task at hand. Concentration is of utmost importance for the human being and especially the student who would get the new lessons, activities and everything new registered into their system or brain. It is very much important for the students to concentrate. So the researcher has decided on this paper which deals with the importance and incorporation of sports education, and athletic challenges in the curriculum of the schools. The primary schools are very important for initiating any form of activity that will go a long way to serve the better tomorrow for the children. It is so because the primary classes have the students who are in their tender years and it would be ideal for introducing the change to ensure that the students catch up with the change and it gets into the regular system of their growing up process. The researcher would like to relate subjectivity with this paper to make it more relevant and effective. For this very purpose the researcher would define the meaning and relevance of subjectivity in Social Science, define objectivity and its relevance in Social Science, and explain the ground theory to explain the reality, state the ontology and epistemology position. The thrust area of this paper is the subjectivity and its relevance to this paper. So, the researcher would elucidate subjectivity and its relation to the project and at the same time explain why objectivity is not related to the project in a detailed manner so as to leave no room for confusion. The researcher would then make a critique of subjectivity from the perspective of what subjectivity allows the researcher to do and what it does not allows the researcher to do. Based on the study it will make a conclusion. SUBJECTIVITY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE Vessuri (2002) in the observation of his study stated that social science is one of the branches of study which is concerned with the study of the society and its relationship with the individuals in the society. The ambit of social science encompasses a wide number of fields such as anthropology, psychology, economics, political science, sociology and in wider aspects it might also include humanities even. Social science and its relevant study form a basic understanding of the different nuances of the society and its related components. The components being talked about are the components of the society which play some active and vital roles in shaping up the lives of the individuals who are an indispensible part of the society. The importance of Physical Education is a greater part of sociology because it is the long term effect of the physical education and exercises which would affect the society. The Physical Education and exercises is very much related to discipline which guides an individual through the entire life. The regular form of physical exercises makes it a part of the regular activity and embodies one’s life into influencing discipline. Rosaldo (2010) stated that for making a complete and comprehensive study it is very important to make a subjective study of the matter. The author further explains that subjectivity is the state of being a subject. The state of being a subject is further explained as being able to have some perspective, belief regarding a particular matter which is being caused by experiences. Subjectivity also could be the feelings, beliefs and desires and even power. It is better explained as a reason which informs and influences the judgments about the truth or the reality. The personal experience of the influence of some powerful sources works out greatly in case of subjectivity. As social science deals with the components of the society and their related contribution on a particular matter so subjectivity is very essential for the study of social science. OBJECTIVITY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE Myrdal (1969) stated that one of the chief features of social science is to look for the objective truth. Nozick (2001) stated in his observation that objectivity is the chore philosophical concept of any research pr study. The author states that it is the reality and truth based on a number of references of the definitions by a number of sources. It is devoid of any inferences made on the basis of perceptions, feelings, beliefs or any non-measurable variants. Instead it is the ability to make any judgments free from the influences of any external factors such as pre-conceived notions, feelings, thoughts and others. Objectivity is completely dependent on the logical reasoning and factual truth. Objectivity is also preferred by a number of sources because of the ethical values. When guided by facts and nothing but the truth it is undoubtedly high on ethics. This makes the inferences drawn out of an objective study highly trust worthy and reliable. It could be used for drawing out logical conclusions and contribute towards the successful completion of the concerned papers. Rorty (2010) stated that objectivity is beneficial but it falls short of contributing sufficiently to the sociological subjects. Social science is such a matter which is very much dependent on a number of related factors and subjects. It is because it encompasses a number of subjects and it is highly dependent of them. The sociological factors are dependent on the feelings, perceptions, thoughts, beliefs and a number of psychological factors. Social science and the study of the factors of social sciences cannot be defined in a single line of quantitatively, it need a profound understanding of the matter and a detailed analysis based on the psychological perceptions of the researcher or any other individuals associated with the research. Thus, in social science objectivity has little role to play or to contribute to the successful completion of the paper. GROUNDED THEORY The study of social science or any matter dealing with the social science is dependent on a number of theories and principles. The Grounded Theory is one of the many theories which are being used for the study of the sociological concepts and subjects in an all pervasive manner. According to the observations of Faggiolani (2011) is one of the methodologies which are used in the study of social sciences and for the subjects related to social sciences. It is extremely beneficial for forming a profound understanding of the subject which is being dealt with. The Grounded Theory was discovered by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss while conducting a research on the dying patients in a particular hospital. They conducted constant comparative methods for reaching to the conclusion of their research. This particular method later came to be known as Grounded Theory. The Grounded Theory does not follow the traditional methods of the research papers or the previous research works. Instead this form of the research method implements a newer form of research where the researchers begin the research not from by introducing the subject or the extensive study of the subject but by directly forming a hypothesis, collecting data on the relevant subject through a number of processes. Later, the obtained data the key points are selected and marked with a series of codes. Then the codes which were marked by the researcher are put into several groups with concepts similar to the one, for making the obtained data more workable. Categories are formed from these concepts which form the basis for the creation of a theory. With the changing society and its functioning it is increasingly becoming important to modify the methodologies for conducting a research or for making it time saving and effective at the same time. This theory is being used by the researcher for this very project because of the increasing relevance of the method and its effectiveness in concluding the importance of Physical Education in regular curriculum. ONTOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY POSITION Krieger (2011) stated that ontology is a form of philosophical study which makes considerations for the study of the being, becoming, one’s existence, or reality. It is also concerned with the basic forms of beings and their relations between each other. The author says that ontology is even mentioned as a part of the major branch of philosophy which is metaphysics. Ontology deals with questions which speaks about the existence of different types of entities and which are believed to exist for and it even tends to speak about how much the entities can be grouped into several groups related with a hierarchy and which can also be catagorised based on the similarities and differences. The need of Physical Education and athletic challenges and its need to be incorporated into the curriculum form a part of the ontology. This helps the researcher in identifying the group of students who are in urgent need for the physical education and who can be put under the system at a later stage. It helps the researcher in identifying the priorities. Raskin (2002) stated that epistemology is the particular branch of philosophy which deals with the nature and scope of knowledge. Epistemology is also commonly said to be “theory of knowledge”. This particular branch of philosophy deals with the actual meaning of knowledge, the ways through which one can gather or garner knowledge in a way that would be evaluative and cover the wider implications of knowledge, or help the individuals in finding the qualitative aspect of knowledge. Feast (2012) states that it deals with finding the wider implications of knowledge in terms of its relation to the idea of truth, belief, and justification. Physical Education is even a part of the study that enables in understanding the body of the individuals, the factors that would harm or protect the body from external sources, or which would even help it improve. Thus, in a greater way it helps in forming the knowledge about oneself. THE RELATION OF SUBJECTIVITY TO THE PAPER Rosaldo (2010) stated that for making a complete and comprehensive study it is very important to make a subjective study of the matter. The author further explains that subjectivity is the state of being a subject. The state of being a subject is further explained as being able to have some perspective, belief regarding a particular matter which is being caused by experiences. Subjectivity also could be the feelings, beliefs and desires and even power. This paper deals with the issue of integrating sports education and athletics challenges into the regular curriculum of the students of the primary level in the Kuwait schools. This needs a profound understanding of the subject, the idea behind introducing sports education and the athletic challenges and its wider implications to the pupil of the school and its system. The subjective study enables in studying the issue in light of the other relevant factors and beliefs which will consider the idea of implementing sports education and athletics challenge into the regular curriculum of the school. Sports makes one physically fit and thus assists in performing well in the studies also. Besides this, being into regular sports builds up the sportsman spirit inside the students which encourages them to win despite the failure. It is very important for the psyche of an individual. If students are raised under such conditions from a very tender age they would be incorporated with the right set of beliefs and values for the greater good. Thus this paper is highly subjective otherwise it would not have contributed the successful completion of the aims and objectives. It is not objective because it does not entirely depend on the chore philosophy and the truth but is highly influences by beliefs, thoughts and ideas. CRITICISM OF SUBJECTIVITY MacKellar (2010) states that subjectivity enables in understanding of the subject of the paper and its related elements in an all pervasive manner. It is important for its unique contributions but on the other hand it exposes the paper of being studied under biasness. When a particular subject is being studied with the considerations of the beliefs, thoughts, a set of notions it is studies under a pre-conceived idea. It is this very influence of the beliefs, thoughts and notions that make the prospects of the paper into doubts. Subjectivity allows a researcher to form a qualitative analysis of the concept and idea; it helps in ascertaining the wider implications of the idea. On the other hand it falls short of the confidence of success and negated the silent factors which could affect the equation and alter the outcome. CONCLUSION Thus, subjectivity helps in reaching for solution that would be helpful not on in the nearer future but also in the days to come. Moreover, social science is a subject that would be helpful and purposeful when studied under the light and consideration of a number of elements or factors because it is dependent on a number of elements and very much a part of the society. Any change or modification would also have impact of the related elements so it is better studied subjectively. References: Blair, Steven N.; Cheng, Y; and Holder, S J. (2001) "Is Physical Activity or Physical Fitness More Important in Defining Health Benefits", The Cooper Institute, Beiser,F C. (2002). German Idealism: The Struggle Against Subjectivism, 1781-1801. Harvard University Press. Block, N; Flanagan, J.; & Gzeldere, G (2010) The Nature of Consciousness: Philosophical Debates. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Bowie, (1990). Aesthetics and Subjectivity : From Kant to Nietzsche. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Dallmayr, W R (1981). Twilight of Subjectivity: Contributions to a Post-Individualist Theory Politics. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. Ellis, C. & Flaherty, M. (1992). Investigating Subjectivity: Research on Lived Experience. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Faggiolani, C. (2011). "Perceived Identity: applying Grounded Theory in Libraries". 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