Sociological Theories, Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism - Coursework Example

Sociological Theories Task: Sociological Theories The world we are living in is incredibly dynamic and uncertain. One obtainswhat he or she bargain for and not want you want. Sociological study shows that the life is a complete exercise of gambling events. Sometime life depends on efforts put, while sometime chances. However, through the study of sociological phenomena, we can predict actions, gesture, words, behaviours and other aspect socialization. This document will look into the three sociological theories and their significance to education. In as much as the three theories were advanced by different scholars with differing point of views, they complement each other and in their ultimate goal to brings a better understanding of the societal phenomena. This knowledge can be utilized to improve education system. Sociology is the study of patterns in human behaviour. It enables us to understand better the social world because it deals with how people within a given social institution interact with one another in various circumstances (Giddens, 2010). Sociological theories explain social happening. A theory is a statement that show how two concepts are related. There are three major sociological theories namely: functionalism, conflict, and interactionalism. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective American sociologist, George Herbert mead, Charles Horton Cooley, and Herbert Blumer advanced symbolic interaction. It focus on how people in the society interact and learn from the interaction. The major concern is the question of experience, interpretation, influence and response to words and action by parties within the society. People make meaning out of symbols then act according to the interpretation of the symbols. During verbal communication, the spoken words are the symbol. During conversation, both the sender and the recipient attach meaning to the words they use. People gain skills and experience by associating with their fellows or colleagues. During this process of observation and evaluation an individual learn to attach meaning to various things they encounter. People concern themselves with the facial expression, actions, appearances, motives, and words of the one they are interacting with. This, in turn, can help them to decide to continue doing what they were doing or to adjust their actions, words, motives or appearances (Ferrante, 2010) People interpret others’ actions, words and gestures before responding to them. The response depends on the interpretation made (Blumer, 1962). Social interaction, therefore, is dependent on shared symbols. A symbol can be a word, an object, an action, a gesture or any other physical phenomena with a meaning. There are three pillars on which interactionist build their idea. The first pillar is that human beings actions towards things are a derivative of the meaning they derive from them. Second pillar is that the meaning derived, owe its source on the process of interaction between people. The meaning of anything arises from the way people associate with a person in relation to that thing (Blumer, 1986). The third pillar states, the way these meanings are dealt with and modified is a subject of personal interpretation. Once the meaning is obtained, the person involved goes through the process of self-interaction before establishing course of action. Social interaction plays a major role in determining human action. The aim of educational institution is to socialize children. According to symbol interactionalism, society is made up of people with actions. People are ever struggling to define themselves and the world around them and then share the definition with one another. This depends on interaction one has with the people around him (Ball, 2000). Schools play important roles in determining how individual view the reality and themselves. If during school interaction, students are made to feel that they are academically capable, these students perform highly. Conversely, if they are made to feel that they are under achievers, they perform poorly. Expectation made on learners will tend to come true. Labelling theory can shape a learner’s self. If a student is labelled a poor performer they conform to the label. They create a self-perception that they are stupid. Such students do not work hard after the label (Goode, 1997). Children labelled as deviant forms antisocial behaviours in self-fulfilling prophecy (Kendall, 2003). Negative label has negative impact on student’s behaviour. Guardians are advised to use positive compliment on learners to cultivate positive behaviours. Language is symbol used in class for interaction. Therefore teachers should use an acceptable language which is understood by all learners. In addition the teacher should put in consideration the level of the learners when using a given language. This is to make them understand and be active in class. The learning content should have relevance to the learner’s interest and cultural background. This is because learning is based on symbols and interpretation of the meaning is derived from prior social interactions. Education major role is to transmit society’s norms and values (Durkheim, 1910). Education aligns the learner toward social expectation. This is done by inculcating in him acceptable social behaviours. This brings social solidarity. Schools provide a ground for socialization and the acquisition of fundamental social skills. When a learner interacts with his peers, he develops necessary skills required in outside world. This includes skills such as turn taking, effective communication skills, self-restraint, communication skills, leadership skills and others. When learners interact with deviant groups, they view reality through the eye of such groups. Antisocial activities such as crime can be learned in school if a learner associates with a group with such behaviour. In schools learner forms groups and if such groups engage in deviant activities, they are likely to influence all its members into embracing and applying them in life. Education can also make learners to stop antisocial behaviours. When learners are involved in juvenile delinquency, they are punished. The punishment should be strictly enforced. Through this measure, the learner is likely to drop such behaviour in order to avoid punishment. Learners are influenced by their teachers, parents, peers, and the community around them (Johnson 1995). Teachers in particular should be good role model as the learners are likely to understand the world through interaction with them. Teachers should expose students to constructive knowledge and skills to prepare an individual for occupation after school. Education provides a ground for equal opportunities. It also encourages learners to strive to attain high academic achievement. This is done by rewarding those who perform well. These qualities are essential in the society as they foster development. Education is a mechanism through which individuals are selected for different position outside the schools. Through exams, individual abilities, skills, knowledge and interest are determined. This in turn determine the occupations to be occupied by an individual in the cooperate world. With this view, learners understand a school as a learning ground. Learners with this view are likely to interact more with peers and teacher so as to derive more meaning of life from their interaction. They consider learning as a tool through which they will be able to derive meaning of the outside world. This creates positive attitude towards education. Social Conflict Theory Karl Marx (1818-1883) advanced this theory. The theory is based on the fact that within the society, there are two groups of people; the reach and the poor. The reach uses their position of power to exploit the poor and to maintain the status quo. This creates a conflict and rivalry between these groups. Conflict theory explains how conflict begins, how it is propagated and its consequences on the society. The core concern of conflict theory is the issue of unfair distribution of scarce resources and power. Resources can be grouped into class, status, and power (weber 1864-1920). The person with power is likely to use it to accomplish his desires. Education is used to propagate social injustice as it protects the interest of people with power. This is through denying learners equal opportunities in education. Individuals’ access to quality education depends on factors such as gender, economic background, race and area of residence. Unequal distribution of quality education has witnessed a creation conflicting groups. For example, children from reach families, attend schools with a high standard of education. These schools are equipped with all necessary facilities needed in education. Learners from these schools are likely to perform well and join better courses. This will ultimately make them secure well paying jobs. In comparison, children from poor families are taken to local schools with inadequate facilities, this preventing them from unleashing their full potential in education. This makes them score lowly and ending up working for their counter parts from rich families. This maintains the status quo. Conflict theorist perspective is that all problems encountered in the society, are because of privileged group’s exploitation of less privileged one. They consider unfairness within the society as wrong and advocate exterminating it. Education perpetrates social stratification. This is because it divide individual according to abilities, race, economic backgrounds, and gender to mention a few. Children from poor background report to school with little entry behaviour. Teacher interprets this as a sign of incompetence. These children are kept in their own classes where they are trained on blue-collar jobs (Merton, 1968). Learners from economically well off families come with a lot of exposure. They are considered to be bright and hence get trained for white collar jobs. The poor continue being poorer and the rich wealthier. In addition, language can be used to bring about unfairness. The use of English language as a medium of communication in schools, give the English speakers an edge over their counterparts who speak other languages. This enhances the dominance of English speaker over others. This theory can make some learners to be withdrawn. This is because they feel the role of education is to facilitate social injustice, to propagate unfairness and to maintain the status quo. This knowledge can make learners not to conform to social expectations, and make them find comfort in deviant activities such as crime. Functionalism Theory Founded by Emile Durkheim, the theory states that each component of the society is dependent on one another and contributes to the well being of the entire society. A good example is the interdependence between the government and the family. Government provide free education for the children from the families. At schools, these children are trained to become good citizen. Positive attitudes and behaviours are inculcated into them. They are taught to be obedient, respectful, hard working and spiritual. These qualities are required by the families for effective coexistence. The government also gain from educating these children because they end up paying tax; they occupy various occupational positions, which enable the state to progress economically. The learners emerge as law abiding citizen who ensure there is peace, patriotism and harmony. Functionalist asserts that the society is like an organism. It has different organs which play different role for the survival of the whole organism. Education system is one of the major organs of the society. Through education, learners get to acquire skills, knowledge, values, norms and culture of the society. Education system prepare individual to play their assigned role in different capacity within the society. The school is like a small society where learners learn how to socialize for adulthood responsibilities. Schools equip individuals with skills required in various societal fields. Education also selects people for various positions according to their potential. One weakness of this theory is that it pays no particular attention to individuals in the society. It implies that an individual cannot determine his or her destiny. The bigger society determine individual’s destiny. With reference to education system, this perspective can make learners to be reluctant toward working to achieve their desired goals. This is because they believe they do not have control over their destiny. Conclusion The three sociological perspectives discussed above help scholars in understanding better social phenomena. In functionalist perspective, the society is viewed as a system of highly interrelated structures that operates together harmoniously. In conflict theory, the society is viewed as dynamic in response to social inequalities and conflict. The Interactionist perspective, deal with how individuals understand and relate with the immediate world. In as much as the three outlined theories clarify social phenomena, it is should be noted that for comprehensive understanding of occurrences within the society, one has to borrow knowledge from each one of them. The combined knowledge can help to resolve problems experienced in education sector and the society. References Ball, J.B. (2000). Sociology of Education. London, LDN: Routledge Publisher. Blumer, H. (1986). Perspective and Method. London, LDN: University of California Press. Ferrante, J. (2010). A global Perspective. Belmont, CA: Cengage learning publisher. Giddens, A. (2010). Introductory readings. Malden, MA: Polity press. Merton, R. K. (1968). Social Theory and Social Structure. New York, NY: Free Pres. Read More