Social Dimensions of Education This is an introduction to social science theory and research as they relate to education.

It covers various sociological perspectives (structural-functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism) and their relation to education. Explanations for differential educational attainments of social groups were looked into and emphasis was placed on understanding the role of the family and schooling in the socialization of the individual. Course Content: I. Introduction a. Social Dimension of Education, defined b. Social Terminologies Defined: i. Society ii. theory c. Social Theories and their relation to education i. Structural-Functionalism ii. Conflict Theory iii. Symbolic Interactions d. Education, its relevance to Society Education and Society a. The nature of Society b. Concept of Group c. Kinds of Group d. Education and Social Stratification Education and Socialization a. The Socialization process b. The Role of Family in socialization c. The School and Socialization d. Status and Role as Key to Socialization e. Social Order and Social Control f. How Social Control is Achieved Culture and Education a. Nature and Meaning of Culture b. Importance of Culture on Human Development c. Influence of Culture on Educational Traditions d. Influence of Culture on Teaching, Learning, and other Educational Practices Education and the Filipino Cultural Values a. Phil Cultural Values i. Non-rationalism ii. Social Acceptance iii. Closeness and Security in the Family iv. Economic and Social Improvement b. Achieving Cultural Synthesis

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Introduction Social Dimensions of Education These are social perspectives and theories and their relation to education. It refers to the different social elements and their role in the socialization of an individual. Man cannot live outside a collective life. We have the need to bond and live collectively, help one another, and eventually build a community with a common interests. We are social beings by nature. Education refers to the different social processes that brings a person into life in a culture. It prepares young people for entry into society and is thus a form of socialization. The term education is derived from the Latin educare which literally means to bring up and is connected with the verb educarewhich means to bring forth. Emile Durkheim conceives education as the socialization of the younger generation. He further states that it is a continuous effort to impose on the child ways of seeing, feeling and acting which he could not have arrived at spontaneously. Sumner defined education as the attempt to transmit to the child the mores of the group so that he can learn what conduct is approved and what disapproved.. How he ought to behave in all kind of cases: what he ought to believe and reject. A.W Green writes: Historically education has meant the conscious training of the young for the later adoption of adult roles. By modern convention however education has come to mean formal training by specialists within the formal organization of the school. The main function of the educative process is to pass down knowledge from generation to generation- a process that is essential to the development of culture. Education is a social institution. It includes: - Schooling - Child rearing practices - Home and family training - Television, magazines and other media of communication (radio, internet) Also - Behavior, attitudes, and values learned o Friends o Church o Political parties o Social groups o Work groups Schooling is ONLY a part of education In its broader view, the community itself is the great school We are all teachers and learners. Our attitudes, values, habits, traditions, behavior are derived from our interrelationships with one another. Our education is a mirror of ourselves as a people. So, social dimensions of educations, refers to those transformation or education that takes place in a group life. Social Terminologies Society: It is an autonomous grouping of people who inhabit a common territory, have a common culture, and are linked to one another through routinized social interactions and interdependent statuses and roles.

A society can be small such as a tribal community (i.e. negrito society), or large such as a nation with million of members (i.e. Filipino society). However, one may have a society of people who share a common culture without sharing a common habitat or geographical territory. These may be professional organizations like an international organization of doctors, or religious organization, etc. What are the main elements of Society? 1. A System of social relationship. According to Maclver Society is "a web of social relationship". Social relationship is the basis of Society. The family alone is said to have as many as fifteen relationships based on age, sex and generation. Outside the family there is no limit to the number of possible relationships. Reutor says" Just as life is not a things but a process of living, so society is not a thing but a process of associating". The meaning of social relationship shall be clearer if we draw a distinction between physical and social relation. The relationship between pen and ink, earth and sun, a book and bookshelf, fire and wood is physical relationship because these physical objects do not have any reciprocal awareness what so ever. On the other hand, the social relations exist between the mother and the child, the teacher and the thought are determined by reciprocal awareness. Without this awareness, there can be no social relationship, and therefore no society. Likeness Likeness is an essential prerequisite of society. Maclver Says," Society means likeness". It exists among the like beings, like-bodied and like-minded". It is likeness or similarity, which provides for understanding each by the other. An understanding of this sort lies at the root of our friendship, intimacy, association, institution and any such other type of social relationship. In the primitive society, the sense of likeness was focused on kinship that is real or supposed blood relationships. But the scope of likeness has broadened in modern societies. People establish similar social relationships in a society on account of similar traditions, folkways, mores etc. Thus, similarity or likeness is the basis of society.

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Difference: Society also implies difference. If individuals are exactly alike, their social relationship would be very much limited. There would be little reciprocity, little give and take Family, for example, rests on biological difference of sexes. People differ from one another in their attitude ability, talent; personality etc. people peruse different activities because of these differences. 4. Inter-dependence: Interdependence is another essential element of society. Family, for example, is based on the biological interdependence of sexes. One depends upon the other for the satisfaction of one's needs. Today not only countries but also continents depend upon one another.

Co-Operation and Conflict: Society is based on co-operation. It is the very basis of social life. Unless people cooperate with each other they cannot lead a happy and comfortable life. No society can be healthy and prosperous without co-operation. Family rests on co-operation with one another to live happily. In the words of P.Gisbert co-operation is the most elementary process of social life without which society is impossible. Co-operation avoids mutual destructiveness and results in economy. Along with co-operation, there is conflict in society. It is the cause of evolution. It makes us think of the process of struggle through which all things have come into existence. Maclver says that "Society is co-operation crossed by conflict". 6. man. It includes our attitude, moral values beliefs, ideas, ideologies, our institutions, political, legal economic, our sciences and philosophies. The member of a society shares a common culture. 7. Society is abstract Society is an organization marked by division of labour of some kind or other. It consists of social relations, customs, laws and mores etc. These social relations are abstract and intangible. It cannot be seen or touched. It can only be realized. In this way, abstractness is an element of society Culture Every Society is unique because it has its own culture. Culture is a thing which only human beings possess. It refers to the social heritage of

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Theory These are statements that provide explanation how and why events happen and how they are related. Activity 1: Whom to Leave Behind Learning Objective After successfully completing this activity, students will be able to: Identify their own bias towards favoring one group over another Core Student Success Skills Addressed: Critical Thinking, Self Assessment, Collaboration Course Topic Link: Social Interaction and Social Groups Instructions 1. Have students organize into groups and solve the dilemma described below (see Appendix B for student handout). 2. The twelve persons listed below have been selected as passengers on a space ship for a flight to another planet because tomorrow the planet Earth is doomed for destruction. 3. Due to changes in space limitations, it has now been determined that only eight persons may go. Any eight qualify. 4. Their task is to select the FOUR passengers who WILL NOT GO on the flight. 5. They must also decide the order in which the passengers should be removed from the list. Students place the number 1 by the person who should be removed first from the list of passengers; the number two by the person who should be removed second and so on.

6. The students may choose only four. These are the four who will not make the trip. They are to be left behind. 7. Have students deliberate on why they want to keep certain people and remove others. Original passenger list: An accountant The accountants pregnant wife A liberal art coed A professional basketball player A female movie star An orphaned 12 year old boy A medical student A famous novelist A 55 year old university administrator A clergyman An armed police officer A bank manager

Assessment/Reflection: Give points to students who can successfully articulate their reasoning on why they decided to leave some passengers behind. Major Sociological Theories of Education Like any other topic in sociology, the three major theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction theory) each have different views on education. The functionalist perspective argues that education serves many important functions in society. First, it socializes children and prepares them for life in society. This is not only done by teaching book knowledge, but also teaching the societys culture , including moral values, ethics, politics, religious beliefs, habits, and norms. Second, education provides occupational training, especially in industrialized societies such as the United States. Unlike in less complex societies or in the United States prior to 1900 when most jobs and training were passed on from father to son, most jobs in the United States today require at least a high school education, and many professions require a college or post-graduate degree. The third function that education serves, according to functionalist theorists, is social control, or the regulation of deviant behavior. By requiring young people to attend school, this keeps them off the streets and out of trouble. The symbolic interaction view of education focuses on interactions during the schooling process and the outcomes of those interactions. For instance, interactions between students and teachers can create expectations on both parts. The teacher begins to expect certain behaviors from students, which in turn can actually create that very behavior. This is called the teacher expectancy effect. For example, if a White teacher expects a black student to perform below average on a math test when compared to White students, over time the teacher may act in ways that encourage the black students to get below average math scores. Conflict theory looks at the disintegrative and disruptive aspects of education. These theorists argue that education is unequally distributed through society and is used to separate groups (based on class, gender, or race). Educational level is therefore a mechanism for producing and reproducing inequality in our society. Educational level, according to conflict theorists, can also be used as a tool for discrimination, such as when potential employers require certain educational credentials that may or may not be important for the job. It discriminates against minorities, working-class people, and women those who are often less educated and least likely to have credentials because of discriminatory practices within the educational system.

References 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.

Society: - Society is a group of people living together in a definite territory, exhibiting a common culture. - Why do we become part of a society? o It is because of the desire or tendency of people to want to be with other people, particularly of their own kind. This is known as the consciousness of kind o The need for companionship, sympathy and understanding is very important as is the need for approval of the group to which we belong. Concept of Group - It is a unit of interacting personalities with an interdependence of roles and status existing between the members. - They interrelate with one another with common shared attitudes, sentiments, aspirations and goals Kinds 1. Primary group: Basic universal relationship Intimate, face to face relationships This is called the nursery of human nature (Cooley) There is fusion of personalities Three most primary groups in the education process are: a. Family Greatest agent in the socialization and learning process Initial knowledge, behavior, and values are acquired b. The neighborhood group - Reinforces or strengthens those which we learned in the family - Produces confusion and conflict c. The School - Exerts a direct influence on the development of the childs personality - Must perform functions which the family has to do - It operates on certain formal structure and learning becomes purposive and direct The Secondary Group - Characterized by impersonal, business-like, contractual, formal and causal relationships - Large in size - Short in duration - E.g. Work Group o Variety of individuals (some you may not like) o We engage in this interaction because we need to or because we have certain obligations to them

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Other Classifications: 1. In group 2. Out-group

3. Peer group 4. Reference Group 5. Voluntary Associations In group - Identifies oneself - sense of belonging -can be small(family) or big (nation) -use of me or we -characterized by feeling of solidarity and protective attitude towards each member Out-group The out-group is seen as different, abnormal, and often times less human than those of the ingroup. Members of the out-group are the stereotyped by the in-group, and are the major victims of social -isms and discrimination. peer whose members have interests, social positions, and age in common, have an influence on the socialization of group members. Can be formal or informal Informal groups include Reference Sociologists call any group that individuals use as a standard for evaluating themselves and their own behavior a reference group. comparison theory argues that individuals use comparisons - with P others to gain l accurate self-evaluations a and y learn how to define the self. A reference g group is a r concept referring o to a group u to which anp individual or - another G group is compared. a n Reference groups g provide the s benchmarks - and C contrast needed l for comparison i and evaluation q of group u and personal e characteristics. For example, an individual in the U.S. with an annual income of $80,000, may consider himself affluent if he compares himself to those in the middle of the income strata, who earn Voluntary A voluntary association is a group or organization that people may join or leave freely, that is free of external control, and whose purpose, goals, and methods are up to the members to determine. Sociologically, voluntary associations are often seen as crucial to the functioning of democracy, especially by providing a way for individuals to become involved in public life beyond the privacy of home and family.

An example of In-Group versus OutGroup is heterosexuals versus homosexuals. Heterosexuals see themselves as "normal" and are the majority, making them the in-group. Homosexuals, on the other hand, are seen as abnormal and unacceptable, which makes them members of the out-group. The members of the ingroup stereotype all homosexuals, regardless of their personality or other individual qualities. Many

Functions of Peer Groups 1. Allows youth to free himself from too much dependen ce on parents 2. Importan

heterosexuals are heterosexist (prejudiced agains homosexuals and bisexuals), and discriminate against these members of the out-group.

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t in the learning and developm ent of social roles Provides status feelings and relations hip for their members For social mobility (by associati on, he may learn to achieve social mobility) Bearers of group subcultu res Generate conflict with the subcultu res of adults.

roughly $32,000 a year. If, however, the same person considers the relevant reference group to be those in the top 0.1% of households in the U.S., those making $1.6 million or more, then the individual's income of $80,000 would make him or her seem rather poor.

How are the structural functionalism and symbolic interactionism related to education? Structural functionalism stretched that the society is composed of various institutions that are dependents with each other. Structural functionalism is dealing with the cultural, social, personality and actions system of every society. [PARSON] Cultural system of a society provides pattern maintenance or harmony within the community. Social system of every society refers to the interaction, cooperation, social gathering of information towards the completion or attainment of goals. Personality and the action system are the behavioral and the fortitude organism that performs the actions of every society in a community. The basic unit of the society is the FAMILY where love, cooperation, integrity, faith and knowledge begin. The society cannot exist without a family; hence family is the heart of society. The second most important part of society is the SCHOOL. School performs an important function in building the society and the nation as a whole. School serves as an institution which provides intellect, knowledge and competitive education and skills of human resources as the product of the school-institution. Therefore structural functionalism is related to education.

Symbolic interaction sees our selves as an engrave elements in social forces and social structures. Thus, the social self is an active part of society as a whole. Therefore symbolic interactionism deals with socialization and interaction of everyone which is the main core of social dynamic fundamentals. Symbolic interactionism states that human beings are endowed with a capacity for thinking and is shaped by social interaction that can be able to learn the meanings and the symbols that allow them to comprehend and interpret their actions and interactions. These tangled patterns of actions and interactions make up groups and society. Indeed, symbolic interactionism is related to the process of education because every one of us had been engrave and part of the formed society of intellect-the school. 2. How would you distinguish consensus and conflict? Consensus and conflict theories are can easily be distinguish through the table below: Table 1 Consensus versus conflict Consensus Society Parameter Social Structure Social Behavior State of Society Social Change Conflict

General agreement among members. Clash between ideas, principle and people. Social order, stability and social regulation. Maintenance or continuation of social order in society. Shared norms and values as fundamental to society Equilibrium Occurring in a slow and orderly fashion Serves as an institution which provides intellect, knowledgeable and competitive education and skills of human resources as the product of the school-institution. Resistance of social classes to maintain dominance and power. Inequality in the distribution of resources. Best understood in terms of tensions between the competing groups. Heterogeneous

Occurring rapidly and in a disorderly fashion School can contribute to the unequal distribution of people into jobs in society so that more powerful members of society maintain the best position and the less powerful groups allocated to lower ranks in society.

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Religion

Religion as an institution of believers Religion is the opium of the people. [Karl which promotes unity and peace. Marx]

What are the influences on the conflict and consensus theories in the work as a teacher? The influences on the consensus theory in the work as a teacher are the following: order, stability and teaching regulation within the class premise. agreement among students, parents and other faculties in the school. Maintenance and continuation of strategically, technically and high-quality teaching. Shared norms and values as fundamental to school practices. While the influences on the conflict theory in the work as a teacher, are the following:

Clashing of ideas in other faculty and students. Different principles compared in other faculty and students. Resistance of students. Personal interest. Pressure between the competing groups of students. discrimination in the teaching of the subject (or teaching-terrorism). Inequality of giving fair grades (or favoritism).

According to Dahrendorf that "a society can not exist without both conflict and consensus, which are prerequisites for each other;" indeed, our-self as part of the society, also have conflict and consensus persuade within the dimensions of our ego. Functionalist Theories of Education Theorists Discussed Below: Parsons, Davies and Moore, Durkheim, Michael Young, Ronald Fletcher, Concepts Meritocracy, manifest and latent functions, instrumental and expressive functions, equality of opportunity, roll allocation (sifting and sorting), individual achievement, core curriculum, fit between education and economy, hidden curriculum, myth of meritocracy, links with educational policy. Education - Functionalist perspectives: Functionalists ask. What are the functions of education for society as a whole? Think back to the biological analogy of Society - how would functionalists see the role of education in society today and the contribution that it makes to social life. What are the other institutions of society? As the functionalist analysis in general, the functionalist view of education tends to focus on the positive contributions education makes to the maintenance of the social system.

Durkheim - Education and social solidarity Writing at the turn of the last century, the French sociologist Emile Durkheim saw the major function of education as the transmission of society's norms and values. He maintained: "Society can survive only if there exists amongst its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity; education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child from the beginning the essential similarities which collective life demands. "

(Homogeneity comes from the word homogeneous meaning: Of the same or similar nature or kind: "a tight-knit, homogeneous society ; Uniform in structure or composition throughout.) So Durkheim was saying that society is only able to survive if we agree to be similar or the samei.e agree to the same basic principles in life) Without these essential similarities, corporation, social solidarity, and therefore social life itself would be impossible. Thinking Point: What do YOU think about this statement? Do you agree with what Durkheim is saying about the role of education? A vital task of all societies is the welding of a mass of individuals into a united whole, in other words, the creation of social solidarity. This involves a commitment to society, a sense of belonging, and a feeling that the social unit is more important than the individual. Durkheim argued: "to become attached to society, the child must feel in it something that is real, alive and powerful, which dominates the person and to which he also owns the best part of himself. education, and in particular the teaching of history, provides this link between the individual and society. If the history of their society is brought to life to children, they will come to see that they are part of something larger than themselves: they will develop a sense of

commitment to the social group." Education and social rules Durkheim argued that, in complex industrial societies, the school serves a function which cannot be provided by either the family or by the peer group. Membership of the family is based on kinship relationships; membership of the peer group on personal choice. The ownership of society as a whole is based on neither of these principles. Individuals must learn to co-operate with those who are neither their kin nor their friends. The school provides a context where these skills can be learned. As such, it is society in miniature, and model of the social system. In school, the child must interact with other members of the school community in terms of a fixed set of rules. The experience prepares him or her for interacting with members of society as a whole in terms of society's rules. Durkheim believes a school rule should be strictly enforced. Punishments should reflect the seriousness of the damaged onto the social group by the offence, and it should be made clear to transgressors why they were being punished. In this way pupils would come to learn that it was wrong to act against the interests of the social group as a whole. They would learn to exercise self-discipline, not just because they wanted to avoid punishment, but they also would come to see that misbehaviour damaged society as a whole. Criticisms of Durkheim: 1) Durkheim assumed societies have a shared culture which can be transmitted through the education system. Countries such as Britain are now multicultural and it is therefore debatable whether there is a single culture of which schools could base their curriculum. It is not just the fact that the United Kingdom is a multicultural society: think about subcultures that seem to reject mainstream cultures. 2) Marxists argue that educational institutions tend to transmit a dominant culture which serves the interests of the ruling class, (another word for ruling class is Bourgeoisie- this will really impress the examiners!) rather than those of society as a whole. 3) In recent decades both New Right and New Labour (right and left wing) perspectives on education have tended to emphasise the economic importance of education and have downplayed the significance of transmitting a shared culture. 4) Some researchers questioned whether in practice schools to act in the way Durkheim describes. On the basis of a study of comprehensive schools, David Hargreaves (1982) argues that education in modern Britain often fails to transmit shared values, promote self-discipline, or cement social solidarity. Hargreaves believes that in reality British education emphasises individual competition through the exam system, rather than encouraging social solidarity.

Talcott Parsons: Education and Universalistic values The American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1961) outlined what has become the accepted functionalist view of education. Parsons argued that, after primary socialisation within the family the school takes over as the focal socialising agency; school acts as a bridge between the family and society as a whole, preparing children for their adult role. Within the family, the child is judged and treated largely in terms of particularistic standards. Parents treat the child as their particular child rather than judging her or him in terms of the standards that can be applied to every individual. Your parents are generally going to think that the sun shines from your rear and perfume is emitted from your ear blah blah. They understand you and your rather weird ways. They know what you been through in your life. Shall I go on or do you get it? So you are judged by Particularistic standards.

However, in wider society the individual is treated and charged in terms of universalistic

standards, which are applied to all members, regardless of kinship ties. In College I dont care about your particular situation in lifeand your strange ways I will judge you in the same way I judge everyone else- by your dress, how you behave, the quality of your work and attitude (bringing me lots of chocolates over the course of the year may result in exceptional marks awarded in your homework- hint hint!). So school/ college is the same as society. Your boss wont care if your goldfish died the night before if you lose him business or turn up really late for a meeting thus in society and in education you are judged by Universalistic

standards. Within the family, the child's status is ascribed: it is fixed by birth. However, in advanced industrial society, status in adult life is largely achieved: example, individuals achieve their occupational status. So you can go from living in a shabby home (like in EastEnders) to having a better crib than Missy Elliot (have you seen her house?)! So the child must move from particularistic standards and ascribed status of the family to the universalistic standards and achieved status of adult society. The school prepares young people for this transition. It establishes universalistic standards, in terms of which all pupils achieve their status. Their conduct is assessed against the yardstick of school rules; their achievement is measured by performance in examinations. The same standards are applied to all students regardless of ascribed characteristics such as race, sex, family background or class of origin. Schools operate on meritocratic principles: statuses achieved on the basis of merit or worth

Thinking Point: Do we REALLY believe this? What do you think?

Parsons also believes that school values have an important functions and society as a whole. Advanced industrial society requires a highly motivated, achievement orientated workforce. This necessitates differential reward for differential achievement, a principle which has been established in schools. Both the winners (high achievers) and the losers (low achievers) will see the education system as just and fair, since statuses achieved in a situation where all have an equal chance. Again the principles that operate in wider society on mirrored by those of the school. Role allocation

Roll allocation?!!!! Ha ha! Parsons saw the educational system as an important mechanism for the selection of individuals for their future role in society. In his words, it functions to allocate these human resources within the role structure of adult society. Thus schools, by testing and evaluating students, match their talents, skills and capacity to the jobs for which they are best suited. The school is therefore seen as the major mechanism for role allocation.

Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E..Moore - Education and role allocation Like Parsons, Davis and Moore 1967 saw education as a means of role allocation, but they linked the education system more directly with the system of social stratification. Davis and Moore saw social stratification as a mechanism for ensuring that the most talented and able members of society are allocated to those positions that are functionally more important in society. High rewards, which act as incentives, attached to those positions. This means, in theory, that all will compete with them and the most talented will win through. Thus the education system sifts, sorts and grades individuals in terms of their talents and abilities. It rewards the most talented with high qualifications, which in turn provide entry to those occupations that are functionally most important to society. Criticisms:

1) The relationship between academic credentials and occupational reward is not particularly close. In particular, income is only weakly linked to educational attainment. 2) There is considerable doubt about the proposition that the educational system greats people in terms of ability. In particular, it has been argued that intelligence has little effect upon educational attainment. Can you think of other factors that may have a considerable bearing on educational achievement? List them here. 3) There is considerable evidence to suggest that the influence of social stratification largely prevents the educational system from efficiency grading individuals in terms of ability. 4) Some researchers argued that the traditional functions of education are becoming increasingly inappropriate and / or impractical as globalisation progresses. They claimed that the transmission of a common national culture is no longer possible in the multicultural societies of a globalised world. The cultures of today's societies are too fragmented and diverse to weld into a national identity based on shared norms and values. So this is basically saying that the Internet and communications and the media mean that we have access to lots of information and cultures and ways of living therefore we can no longer really 'share' the same 'culture' and values any more... FUNCTIONALIST: Robert K Merton

What is the manifest function? The manifest function (an obvious function) of a pattern of behavior is the effect or result that is apparent to the members of the society. We can ask people why they do a certain thing; they will give the reason the manifest function of that behavior the agreed upon value of action, the ideal as opposed to the real. So in the Education system, an obvious function of education is to teach children the curriculum; e.g maths, English etc to prepare them for the world of work.

What is the latent function? The latent function of the behavior is the effect or result that is not apparent to the members of the society who engage in it. So a latent function of education is the Hidden Curriculum. This is the curriculum that is not formally taught but is expected of you; e.g Punctuality, homework, politeness listening to the teacher (I like that one!).