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SED 2601 – SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATIONLEARNING UNIT 1, 2, 3, 4: WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION?
Learning outcomes:
Understand the concept of sociology in education
Determine the functions of sociology of education and explain the main premises of the theories.
Explain how schools are linked to social institutions/systems and social structures
Provide a broad explanation of three of the major sociology of education theories
Understand the theory of functionalism and its relationship to schooling
Apply some of the main ideas of functionalism to the family, school and broader society
Develop a critique (criticism) of the theory
Understand the main ideas of conflict theory
Identify the main proponents of conflict theory
Explain how inequalities exist in modern capitalist societies
Understand the main ideas of symbolic interactionism
Explain human agency
Refer to chapter 1: theories in sociology of education
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION?
o Sociology of education uses theoretical perspectives and research to provide insight into how schools
affect individuals and groups
o Sociology studies social groups and individuals and their interrelationships with social structures.
o It helps us to look at situations with fresh eyes and engage with a broader view of our lives
o Helps us to explain why we act the way we do and to question what we take for granted in our society and
what is natural in our everyday lives. (e.g. is it natural for girls and boys to line up separately at school)
o Sociologists want to know why things happen
o They also look at why societies are structured the way they are and how they change over time.
o The term sociology was first used by French philosopher Auguste Comte in 1843 (the father of sociology).
During a restructuring of methods of his subject, he believed sociology was a better term than social
physics.
o He was the first person to recognise a need for a distinct science of human society
,o He contributed to social reform by studying laws and social dynamics that regular relations between
people and social institutions
o Sociology was continued by Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim and others
o The word sociology is a combination of Latin word socius meaning companion and Greek work logos
meaning the study of
o Sociology is the study of human behaviours as they are affected by social interactions
o It also involves the study of social factors, such as ideas and feelings
o Durkheim emphasised that sociology is a study of systems that should be investigated as a whole. Ideas,
values and beliefs can be found throughout a society and persist for long periods of time
o Education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of
reasoning and judgement, and preparing individuals intellectually for mature life
o Education is a dynamic, constantly changing process
o Education serves as a form of socialisation
o It is the means through which knowledge and learning skills are acquired for servicing society and
maintaining order
o Education originates from Latin word educere, which means to bring out what is within
o It focuses on bringing out human values
o Sociology of education is the learning of educational structures, processes and practices from a
sociological perspective. It is a core field within sociology
o Sociology of education is the scientific analysis of the social processes and social patterns involved in the
educational system. This means it is used to increase the understanding of the relationship between
educational institutions and society, at micro and macro levels
o At micro levels, researchers look to identify how variation in school practices (such as different teaching
methods) leads to differences in student performance.
o At macro levels, sociologists work to identify how various social forces, such as politics and culture, create
variation in schools as organisations
o The formal study of sociology of education began with the work of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber
o They developed the theoretical framework and focused on the role of education is society.
o Durkheim considered education to be social. He believed the theory of education relates more to
sociology than any other science.
o What is different about sociology of education is that it approaches education at a level of abstraction that
is concerned with the social institutions of education from peer groups to class, to schools, to the system
of education, addressing institutional structures, procedures, ideologies and functions
o Despite criticism that sociology of education affects the autonomy of the science of education by labelling
education as only an extension of sociology and aspires to prescribe to educators on the content taught
and educative practices, Reid views the subject matter of sociology of education as providing a unique
picture and questioning analysis of education
o Its main contribution is its insistence on viewing schools and education as social
,MICRO AND MACRO SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES
o Micro-sociological approaches focus on small, everyday situations and incorporate face-to-face
interactions with others. Interactions are found in all social institutions
o Macro-sociological approaches focus on long-term processes within society, such as development of
modern, urban, industrialised societies. Sociological theory that focus on large social systems, such as the
economy or political system.
o Micro and macro approaches are interrelated
o To understand face-to-face interactions in the classroom, we need to understand the bigger, institutional
background of people’s lives.
THE FUNCTIONS OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
o Generally, the acquisition of knowledge and development of the personality of an individual are seen as
the main function of education
o It is assumed these functions occur without effort, however, form a sociological viewpoint, education also
has the following functions:
- The assimilation and transmission of culture and traditions
- Development of new social patterns
- Activation of constructive and creative forces
- Create individuals who are able to contribute to development of their society
- Produce citizens who understand and appreciate democracy and live according to its principles
- Create people who make good use of leisure time
- Teach students to adapt, prepare or initiate change in society
- Develop individuals who are open to others by teaching them mutual understanding and the value of
peace
- Promote knowledge of socially acceptable moral practices and ethical standards
- Develop people who understanding human relations and motivations
THREE THEORIES OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION: FUNCTIONALISM, CONFLICT THEORY AND SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM
FUNCTIONALISM
o Also called structural functionalism
o The most important approaches within sociology of education come from the writings of Durkheim and
Parsons
o Functionalism dominated sociological about education until the late 1960s or early 1970s
o The theory of functionalism is grounded within natural and physical sciences, specifically homeostasis
o This theory focuses on the functional contribution that societies sub-systems make to each other and the
maintenance of these parts for the sake of the stability and equilibrium for society as a whole
o However, society is more than the sum of its parts, and the parts are interdependent on each other
o These parts, which represent institutions in society, are structured to fulfil different needs, each of which
has consequences for the shape of society
o This approach achieved its greatest popularity by American sociologists during the 1940s and 50s. They
focused on discovering the functions of human behaviour, while European functionalists focused on
explaining the inner workings of social order
o American functionalist sociologist Robert Merton classified human functions into 2 types: manifest
functions and latent functions:
- Manifest functions are intentional and obvious, such as attending church as part of a religious
community
- Latent functions are unintentional and not obvious. Latent functions help members learn to distinguish
personal values from institutional values. For example schools not only educate, they also provide
mass entertainment.
, o According to Durkheim, the latent role of education constitutes the socialisation of people into
mainstream society. Through this moral education as he called it, people from diverse backgrounds are
brought together into a more cohesive social structure
o Functionalists also point to other latent roles of education, such as transmission of core values and social
control
o Functionalism has 2 levels of focus
o At the micro level the theory addresses the ways universal education serves the needs of society
o At the macro level the social solidarity, value consensus, cohesion or order in society, focusing on social
stability and shared public values. Members of this society should agree on values and work together to
achieve them
o From this perspective, disorganisation in the system, such as deviant behaviour, leads to change because
societal components adjust to achieve stability.
o Durkheim suggested that social consensus impacts solidarity, which takes the form of one of two forms of
solidarity:
- Mechanical solidarity: a form of social cohesion where people in a society maintain similar values and
beliefs and engage in similar types of work. E.g. found in traditional simple societies such as farming
communities
- Organic solidarity: a form of social cohesion where people in a society are interdependent but
subscribe to a range of values and beliefs and engage in different types of work. E.g. in industrialised
complex societies, such as New York.
o Functionalism plays an important role in instilling in members of society the solidarity and value consensus
that modern society requires for maintenance and stability
o As the basic integrating principle in society, value consensus ensures shared goals, rules and norms for
appropriate behaviour.
DURKHEIM, PARSONS AND FUNCTIONALISM
o Durkheim:
- Durkheim is considered the first person to recommend a sociological approach to education.
- His work focuses on how social order is possible and how society can remain stable despite influences
that could destabilise social order
- The question he focused on was how we can ensure the kind of moral regulation and social integration
that is appropriate for a modern society
- He was born in 1858, 70 years after the French revolution. The theme of the French revolution was
individual freedom in contrast with the rapidly growing nationalism and extreme conservatism that
developed before the first world war around 1918. The war raised nationalists and in a climate of
nationalism there was no space for individualism to question the wisdom of government policies.
- His theory was an attempt to defend the rights of individuals as expressed in the ideals of the French
revolution. However his theory also warned against dangers of unchecked individualism where the
rights of individuals outweigh the collective interests of society
- Educational institutions have a responsibility to help achieve equilibrium between the rights of the
individual and the interests of society.
- Education can be defined as the influence exercised by the adult generation on those who are not yet
ready for social life
- For the child to live up to demands of society they need physical, intellectual and moral development
- Haralambos and Holborn expand on what Durkheim expects education to be. They maintain education
should: live up to a certain amount of specialisation. One of the functions of education is to prepare
people for their destiny. Since everyone is subjected to school, education will build up the necessary
consensus for society to continue. Education must provide norms and values, a cognitive framework.
This involves creating a stable and structural environment in which these things are defined clearly
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