Module 2 Sociology of Education

SOCIOLOGY OF
EDUCATION
CONCEPT AND ORIGIN
 Sociology of education is the study of how social
institutions and individual experiences affects education and
its outcome and vice versa
 Education is It is concerned with all forms of education ie
formal and informal education systems of modern industrial
societies.
 Émile Durkheim and Max Weber were the acknowledged
father of sociology of education.
 Émile Durkheim's work on moral education as a basis for
social solidarity is considered the beginning of sociology of
CONCEPT AND ORIGIN
 After the second world war Sociology of Education gained
entity as separate subject of knowledge.
 Technological advancement and engagement of human
capital(work force) in industrialization America and Europe

gave rise to the social mobility or moving up to the upper
strata of society.
 Sociologists, particularly Durkheim and Weber, began to
think that education promotes social mobility and undermines

the class stratification.
CONCEPT AND ORIGIN
 Field research across numerous societies showed a persistent link
between an individual's social class and achievement, and
suggested that education could only achieve limited social
mobility .
 Sociological studies showed how schooling patterns reflected,
rather than challenged, class stratification and racial and sexual
discrimination .
 Sociology of education is a branch of study and very helpful in
finding the relation between sociology and education
CONCEPT AND ORIGIN
 By many, education is understood to be a means of overcoming
handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and
status for all (Sargent 1994).
 Education is perceived as a place where children can develop
according to their unique needs and potentialities.
MEANING OF SOCIOLOGY
 Sociology originates from latin prefix :socius, "companion"; and the
suffix -ology, "the study of", from Greek lógos, "knowledge“
 Sociology is the systematic study of society.
 Sociology encompasses all the elements of society ie social relation,
social stratification, social interaction, culture.
 Scope of sociology ranges from the analysis of interaction of two
anonymous persons to the global social interaction in global institution
(ie. UNESCO UN).
MEANING OF EDUCATION
 Education is a broad concept, referring to all the experiences in which learners
can learn something.
 Education is covers both the teaching and learning of knowledge, values. It thus
focuses on the cultivation of skills(communication, intellectual, specialized
skills), advancement of knowledge and spreading of secular view(values).
 Formal education consists of systematic instruction, teaching and training by

professional teachers.
FUNCTIONALISM THEORY
 Structural Functionalism is a sociological theory that

attempts to explain why society functions the way it does
by focusing on the relationships between the various
social institutions that make up society (e.g., government,
law, education, religion,etc).
 The functionalist perspective is based largely on the works of
Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert
Merton. According to functionalism, society is a system of
interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a
state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole.
 Many of these ideas go back to Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), the
great French sociologist whose writings form the basis for
functionalist theory (see Durkheim 1915, 1964); Durkheim was
himself one of the first sociologists to make use of scientific and
statistical techniques in sociological research (1951).
 A functionalist’s perspective on education is to have a consensus perspective:
examine society in terms of how it is maintained for the common good.
 A functionalist will put an emphasis on positive aspects of schools such as
socialisation: the learning of skills and attitudes in school.
 Education helps maintain society by socialising young people into values of
achievement, competition and equality of opportunity.
 Skills provision is also important: education teaches the skills for the economy.
For example, literacy, numeracy and IT for particular occupations.
 Role allocation is all part of this: education allocates people to the most
appropriate jobs for their talents, using examinations and qualifications.
FUNCTIONALISM THEORY –Emile
Durkheim
 Education as an entity creating social solidarity: community, cooperation.
 Education transmits culture: shared beliefs and values. Schools are a miniature
society: cooperation, interaction, rules – universalistic standards. Specialist

skills: division of labour – schools teach specialist knowledge and skills.
 Education transmits culture: shared beliefs and values. Schools are a miniature
society: cooperation, interaction, rules – universalistic standards. Specialist

skills: division of labour – schools teach specialist knowledge and skills.
 People are schooled to accept society. They are educated to create or recreate
one.
FUNCTIONALISM THEORY – Parson
 Education as being part of a meritocracy.
 Education is a secondary agent of socialisation – bridge between family and
society.
 Education instils values of competition, equality and individualism.
 In a meritocracy everyone is given equality of opportunity. Achievements and
rewards are based on effort and ability – achieved status.
 Parsons is supported in these views by Duncan and Blau who believe that a
modern economy depends for its prosperity on using human capital – its workers
and skills. A meritocratic education system does this best.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION
THEORY
 Symbolic Interactionism, formulated by
Blumer (1969) is the process of interaction in
the formation of meanings for individuals. The
inspiration for this theory came from Dewey
(1981), which believed that human beings are
best understood in a practical, interactive
relation to their environment.
THEORY
 These perspectives or theories provide a
framework for understanding observations on
topics such as deviance. The symbolic
interactionist perspective of sociology views
society as a product of everyday social
interactions of individuals. Symbolic
interactionists also study how people use
symbols to create meaning.
THEORY
 Insociology, interactionism is a theoretical
perspective that derives social processes (such
as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from
human interaction. It is the study of how
individuals act within society.
THEORY
The main principles of symbolic interactionism are:
 Human beings act toward things on the basis of the
meanings that things have for them.

 These meanings arise out of social interaction.
 Social action results from a fitting together of individual
lines of action.
THEORY
 Symbolic interactionists limit their analysis of
education to what they directly observe
happening in the classroom.
 The focus is on how teacher expectations
influence student performance, perceptions, and
attitudes.
THEORY
Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson conducted the landmark study for this
approach in 1968. First, they examined a group of students with standard IQ
tests. The researchers then identified a number of students who they said would
likely show a sharp increase in abilities over the coming year. They informed
the teachers of the results, and asked them to watch and see if this increase did
occur. When the researchers repeated the IQ tests at the end of the year, the
students identified by the researchers did indeed show higher IQ scores. The
significance of this study lies in the fact that the researchers had randomly
selected a number of average students. The researchers found that when the
teachers expected a particular performance or growth, it occurred. This
phenomenon, where a false assumption actually occurs because someone
predicted it, is called a self‐fulfilling prophesy.
THEORY
 Ray Rist conducted research similar to the Rosenthal ‐Jacobson study in
1970. In a kindergarten classroom where both students and teacher were
African American, the teacher assigned students to tables based on
ability; the “better” students sat at a table closer to her, the “average”
students sat at the next table, and the “weakest” students sat at the
farthest table. Rist discovered that the teacher assigned the students to a
table based on the teacher's perception of the students' skill levels on the
eighth day of class, without any form of testing to verify the placement.
Rist also found that the students the teacher perceived as “better” learners
came from higher social classes, while the “weak” students were from
lower social classes.
THEORY
Monitoring the students through the year, Rist found
that the students closer to the teacher received the
most attention and performed better. The farther from
the teacher a student sat, the weaker that student
performed. Rist continued the study through the next
several years and found that the labels assigned to the
students on the eighth day of kindergarten followed
them throughout their schooling.
CONFLICT THEORY
 Conflict theory sees the purpose of education as

maintaining social inequality and preserving the
power of those who dominate society.
 Conflict theorists see the educational system as
perpetuating the status quo by dulling the lower

classes into being obedient workers.
CONFLICT THEORY
 Functionalists claim that schools sort based upon

merit; conflict theorists argue that schools sort
along distinct class and ethnic lines.
 According to conflict theorists, schools train those
in the working classes to accept their position as a

lower‐class member of society. Conflict theorists
call this role of education the “hidden curriculum.”
CONFLICT THEORY
 Students who attend elite schools gain substantial

advantages into higher‐paying professions
 Conflict theorists contend that not only do the
economics favor the affluent, but so does school

testing—particularly IQ testing, which schools
can use to sort students.
CONFLICT THEORY
 Conflict theorists see education not as a social

benefit or opportunity, but as a powerful means of
maintaining power structures and creating a docile
work force for capitalism.

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SOCIOLOGY OF

capital(work force) in industrialization America and Europe

think that education promotes social mobility and undermines

 Formal education consists of systematic instruction, teaching and training by

 Structural Functionalism is a sociological theory that

society: cooperation, interaction, rules – universalistic standards. Specialist

society: cooperation, interaction, rules – universalistic standards. Specialist

meanings that things have for them.

 Social action results from a fitting together of individual

 Conflict theory sees the purpose of education as

perpetuating the status quo by dulling the lower

 Functionalists claim that schools sort based upon

in the working classes to accept their position as a

 Students who attend elite schools gain substantial

economics favor the affluent, but so does school

 Conflict theorists see education not as a social

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