The Impact of Sociological Theories on Education - Essay Example

? Impact of Sociological Theories in Education Introduction Sociologists are particularly interested in studying education as a social institution. Education is considered a social institution as it involves teaching of formal knowledge such as writing and reading as well as teaching other things such as moral values. There are various sociological theories that impact the education system and they include functionalism, conflict and interactionism (Giddens, 1991). Theory of functionalism In contemporary philosophy, functionalism theory is the theory of the mind and was largely developed as an alternative to both theory of behaviorism and identity theory of mind. Functionalism theory is regarded as a social paradigm that sees the society as a system of subsystems that are interdependent. The existence of common symbols in a society is another aspect of this theory. This theory originated from the works of Emile Durkheim who was mainly interested in stability of the society. Though this theory has its advantages, it has been rejected by some philosophers that it is an insufficient account of the mind (Anderson and Taylor, 2009). Conflict theory This theory was derived by Karl Max, and they are sub-theories in the study of sociology. Marx divides the society into several groups that compete for the scarce resources available, and as such the theory shows the need of power dominance in society and political, social, and economic classes. Then dominance and power is of those with more resources in society. This desire to be powerful is what brings about sociological changes and growth hence opposing forces. For a theory to be conflicting it has to be associated with four different assumptions which include: competition among individuals of different social classes, structural inequality, wars to settle the conflict, and change which is revolutionary due to the satisfaction of having personal interests fulfilled (Giddens, 1991). Interactionism theory This theory was derived and developed by Joe Parker. It shows the behavior and actions of individuals with each other. The Interactionism theory is used to show the communication of animals one to another and their reactions and adaptations to society and its changes. The interaction sociologists seek to identify people's relationship light of different cultures, beliefs, and attitudes (Anderson and Taylor, 2009). This theory is elsewhere called the symbolic theory of sociology because if focuses on the symbols to life’s situations and their meaning. From this perception, the interactionists think that the society is made up of people’s thoughts and interpretation of what they see. This theory however, is criticized by the fact that if focuses on the small things rather than the real things that affect the society. Application in education and how they are similar and different In its application to education, theory of functionalism argues that as a social institution, education tends to serve many functions in the society. One of its applications in education is that it socializes children (students) who are prepared for life in the society eventually, and this is done by giving them formal knowledge which is book knowledge and informal knowledge which is life skills knowledge. Another application of this theory in education is that most if not all occupational training in industrialized societies are provided in schools. Most of the jobs today for example in the United States need at least a high school education qualification while most of the professional jobs require college or university education qualification. The final application of functionalism theory in education is that it helps in the regulation of deviant behavior through education. This is so because when young people get to school, they stay away from the streets and this also enables them to stay out of trouble. Conflict theory brings about education in society as a tool used to enhance social inequality, which is done by increasing the power of dominance. It is well illustrated by the master-servant relationship. In this case those who have education are the masters of high class, and those who are not learned are the obedient servants who possess the lower class in society (Anderson and Taylor, 2009). According to the conflict theorists, education is used to sort out people in a social setting by proving classes for training the working class. This difference is shown by those who are dominant in society having the best schools, with highly qualified teaching staff that attracts higher salaries. These schools are highly equipped and students who pass through this system of education have high chances of getting a college education and later landing respectable professions in the society. On the contrary, those who attend schools that are not well equipped may not have a college education hence vocational training which gives them blue-collar jobs and making them the minority in society. This difference is conspicuous because teachers are assumed to be treating students from the minority in society as underprivileged and incompetent. This is farther shown by the conflict theories that they are trained into subordination and not into individuals of authority. Conflict theories also argue that the kinds of tests given in schools are biased in the sense that they favor the affluent by testing their cultural exposure hence the results are dominated by the affluent people in society. In light of the views of conflicts theorists, education is a means of power maintenance that is used to bar forces of equality. In the sense of education, interactionism theory seeks to identify the results of the relationship between people in school. At times, the relationship changes people’s way of reasoning and also improves their IQ. The sociological theories have different views in relation to education. The interactionists view is different from the functionist’s view in the sense that, the functionist’s main point of focus is on how the centre of education relates to the society around while the interactionists seek to identify the relationship of people within the school. The functionist looks at how the school will execute its programs, if it has an intention of educating the whole society or if it will be choosy on how to benefit the society. The interactionist’s sociologist is concerned with how the students relate with the people around them in school, their mode of communication, and the impact of their relationship on each other. They are mainly interested in what roles other people around the student play. Interactionists are less concerned with the complexity of the school, the location and setting of the school, the financial status and even modernity of the school (Komblum, 2003). On the other hand, the functionalist sociologist seeks to identify how the school organizes it’s curriculum and what is incorporated in it. They also are interested in determining the relationship of the school with other societies around it. These two theories can relate together positively in the sense that they both seek to identify the importance of education in society and the positive changes associated with education in societies. The difference between the functionalist theory and conflict theory is that the functionalists see education as a contributing factor to the growth of society while the conflict theorists consider education as a tool to determine power, dominance and status of an individual in the society. The functionalist theorists determine that education helps in the sorting out process in school on a qualification basis while the conflict theorists claim that sorting is not done on merit but in relation to social class. These two theorists however, have a common ground where they agree that education helps in sorting out people in society. The conflict theory of sociology is different from the interaction or symbolic theory of sociology this is shown by the fact that the conflict theorist uses the social class difference to determine the quality of education while the symbolic sociologist’s main focus is the type of relationship the students are have in school and what the results of these relationships are. Unfortunately, these two theorists do not have any common grounds in relation to education (Komblum, 2003). Effect on views of individual who is part of the institution Functionalism theory has an effect on the views of students and teachers who are part of them institution. It makes them view education institution as a social place where they go to learn about not only book knowledge but also informal knowledge such as moral values, politics, religious beliefs and culture of different societies. The interactionism theory affects the views of the students and teachers in various ways concerning education as a social institution. Since it mainly dwells on the interactions between teachers and students and the outcomes of the interactions, the views of the students on education will essentially dwell on it as an interactive place other than a learning institution. On the other hand the views of the teachers will also be affected in the sense that they will view education institutions as an interactive board where they go to interact with the students instead of going to teach them. The conflict theory of sociology is mainly based on the difference in the social class of an individual and the power associated with this class. In view of education, the conflict theorists perceive education as a means of sorting out people according to the quantity of resources they own. This theory hence affects students in the affluent schools in that they consider themselves more powerful than those in the minority schools. This also is the case with their teachers who feel superior to those in poor schools. The teachers and students in minority schools view education as their means of surbodinance to the powerful people in the society. These students are affected by inferiority complex in one way and in another way they have the zeal to overcome this minority complex and gain dominance as well. Effects on the views of the society Functionalism theory has an effect on the views of the society about the education institution as a social institution. Due to education there is stability in the society since each part of the society becomes functional hence they depend on one another. In this case for example, the government provides children of various families with education which in turn is used to pay taxes for the state to continue running. The schools are depended upon by families to help their children grow up with knowledge so that they can have better jobs to take care of their families. The views of the society also is affected in that they view education institution as a social place where their children go to get prepared for life in the society as they are also taught about moral values. The views of the society on education institution can be affected by interactionism theory in the sense that the society will view the institution as a place where teachers and students go to interact with one another apart from going there to learn. The society will also view education institution as an area that brings together people of different backgrounds in the society through the interactive sessions of learning between teachers and students. The society may also view education institution in a negative way as a place that may bring rifts among members of the society especially between blacks and whites. This is so because the white teachers may interact more with the white students as compared to the black students. This can make the black students develop low self esteem, and negative attitude towards the white teachers and this may be extended to the society where they live. The conflict theory on the other hand, affects the society in that they find the education institution biased. This means that the system used for grading students varies in relation to the cultures in which they were brought up in and their financial status. This lack of equality is what brings about war in society in pursuit of revolution towards common grounds or even thirst for power and authority. Effect on social change within the institution Since functionalism theory mainly focuses on social stability, it may have some effects on social change within the education institution. For societal components in schools to achieve stability, they must adjust to the social changes in the institution. Disorganization in the system for example deviant behavior is one of the effects of the theory. When one of the systems in the education institution fails to work, it literally affects the other parts of the system leading to social problems hence social change (Komblum, 2003). The interactionism theory may affect the social change within the education institution. Since the interactions between teachers and students take pace during the process of schooling, the social behavior of both the student and the teacher may be affected. For example if the teacher is a white and students are a mixture of whites and blacks and the interaction is mainly between the white students and the teacher, their social behavior will be affected. The white students may look down upon the black students, and this will make the black students feel intimidated. The white students in the institutions will feel like heroes and may not want to interact with black students and black teachers in the institution. The views of the conflict theorists on education change the social aspects of the society in that there may arise social disorders like arrogance among the high class members of society. There may also arise discrimination in schools in the sense that there will be specific places for the rich and for the poor, schools for the blacks and whites and teachers may also start looking down upon those students from the minority group and they may judge them in relation to their social background (Komblum, 2003). Conclusion As a field, sociology of education mainly focuses on two major levels of analysis that are separate. The major levels of analysis include macro-level and micro-level. Sociologists mainly work to identify how various social forces such as economics and politics bring about variation in schools at macro-level. On the other hand, at the micro-level, the sociologists mainly focus on the identification of how school practices variation causes the differences in individual-level student outcomes. References Kornblum, W. (2003) Sociology in a Changing World. 6th ed. Belmont: Thompson. Giddens, A. (1991). Introduction to Sociology. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. Anderson, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Meighan, R. and Siraj-Blatchford, I. (1997). A Sociology of Educating (3rd Ed). Cassell: London Henry, M., Knight, J., Lingard, R. and Taylor, S. (1988) Understanding Schooling: An Introductory Sociology of Australian Education. Routledge: Sydney Read More