Download Sociology of education (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

EFD–408, Foundations of American Education
Iinstructor: Loucas Petronicolos
Sociology of education (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and individual experiences affect
educational processes and outcomes. By many in society, education is understood to be a means of
overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all. This
promising vision, however, does not unfold into reality. The reality, according to many sociologists, is
that education works towards a larger goal than that of the individual and its purpose is to maintain
social stability, through the reproduction of inequality. What the goal of this stability is differs
depending on which sociological perspective one uses to approach the issue.
Theoretical Perspectives – Education and Social Reproduction
Functionalism
Functionalists believe that society tends towards equilibrium and social order. They see society like a
human body, where key institutions work like the body’s organs to keep the society/body healthy and
well. Social health means the same as social order, and is guaranteed when everyone accepts the moral
values of their society. Functionalists believe the purpose of key institutions, such as education, is to
socialize young members of society as well as sort and rank individuals for placement in the labor
market.
Conflict Theory
The perspective of conflict theory, contrary to functionalist perspective, believes that society is full of
vying social groups who have different access to life chances and gain different social rewards. In
other words power is in the hands of a few who use it to maintain their position by arranging society to
their advantage. Relations in society are based on exploitation, oppression, domination and
subordination. Although this is a considerably more cynical picture of society, it is also more realistic
than the previous idea that most people accept continuing inequality. Conflict theorists believe
education is controlled by the state which is controlled by those with the power, and its purpose is to
reproduce the inequalities already existing in society as well as legitimize ‘acceptable’ ideas which
actually work to reinforce the privileged positions of the dominant group.
Interpretive Theory – Structure and Agency
This perspective is concerned with the dichotomy between the objective and subjective, or to put it
another way, between structure and agency. Are humans free to choose how to think and how to
behave or are there wider, deeper forces which influence their thoughts and behavior? This is the
central question with regard to structure and agency. Agency refers to the capacity of individual
humans to act independently and to make their own free choices. Structure refers to those factors such
as social class, gender, ethnicity which seem to limit or influence the opportunities that individuals
have. For interpretive theorists, objective structures (e.g., social class) play a large role in determining
the achievement of individuals at school. Often structures pose obstacles to individual achievements.
Yet, such structures allow for the exercise of an individual’s agency to overcome obstacles, although
this choice is not without its penalties.