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Ch a p t e r
TheSociological
Analysisof Education
IxrnooucrroN
Education is a vital part of our social existence.Whether it occurs in formal settings
rrr irr lessformal ways,education helps to shapeour personalitiesas well as our life
choices and chances.In many respects,all human experiencesare educative.\\re
.ontinually engagein processesof self-development,modif ing and recreatingthe
rr'orld through our everydayactivities.Both structured and unstructured forms of
..ducation are taking on greater significancein Canada and throughout the world
r''ithin what is commonly called the information society or knowledge economy in
r''hich knowledge and learning occupy centre stagein social relationshipsand economic activities. The central role education plays in our changing societieschallengesus to investigatethe implications of educationaltransformation, including an
Lrnderstandingof how and why education systemshave taken their present shape.
This chapter introduces severalof the main themespertinent to a critical examination of education.Its aim is to guide the development of a distinctly sociological
understanding,but this is alsoaugmentedwith insightsderivedfrom a variety of aca.lemic disciplinesand interdisciplinary perspectives.Following a brief introduction
to the discipline of sociologyand the core questionsand frameworks associatedwith
sociologicalunderstandings,the chapter identifies four critical approachesto the
.rnalysisof education-critical pedagogy,feminist pedagogy,anti-racism education,
.ind political economy-that inform the analysisemployed throughout the book.
THE SocrorocrcAL UNonnsrANDrNG
oF EDUCATIoNAL PRoBLEMS
L-suallywhen we think of education,we identifr it with formal institutions-schools,
colleges,universities,and other structured institutiond ffea-ming processes.
Vieu'ed
in these concreteterms, education tends to be associatedwith teachers,texts. and
tests;knowledge,skills,and values;credentials,opportunities, and rewards;and poli*', budget, and public representation.Consider the following questions:
'j How and why has formal schooling come to be associatedwith education?
'' Why are children and youth expectedto attend schoolsfor at least 10 r'earsand often much longer?
' Why do some people fail or drop out of school while others achieveslrc.c..
through post-secondaryeducation?
' Why do most schoolclassroomshavea readilyidentifiablecharactc'rth.rr .:.,
tinguishesthem from other socialsettings?
THE Socrolocy
or EpucnrroN
rN C,q.Naoe
bo:'
Which social groups arenservedby educational institutions, and with what
'
outcomes?
How does teaching compare with other types of work?
Why is Canadian education financed mostly by governments,and primarily by local, provincial, and territorial governments?
What do people rery learn at school, and how important is it for jobs and
life outside of school?
What impact do social,economic, and technologicalchangeshave on educational processesand achievementlevels?
.' Who decideswhat is in the curriculum and how is the curriculum translated into educationalpractice?
a
. t
a t
Each of these questions can be answeredin many different ways. Canadians
hold diverseopinions about many of them, as expressedin the high degreeof controversysurrounding contemporary educationalissues.Some answersinvolve historical facts or information that can be gathered through simple observation.
Responsesto other questions require more detailed data collected statistically,
through interviews,or by other methodologies.Nearly all questionsare subject to
competing interpretations.
Sociology is a discipline or field of inquiry that provides particular frameworks
through which we can make senseof questionslike those outlined aboveaswell as
of the diverseresponsesthat they generate.Sociologistsare interestedin education
becauseit is so central to human socialexperience,to our direct and indirect relations with other people. Education, in its various guises, conveys important
insights about particular kinds of societiesand the people within them. The analysis of educational structures,practices,and outcomes can help us to understand,
for example,what kinds of values,beliefs,and ideologiesprevail in a given society, how people come to learn about and become organizedwithin particular social
structures,and how open and democratic that societyis.
The purpose of this book is to analyze Canadian educational practices,struc,{
tures, and problems from a critical sociological framework. In many cases,international examples are employed to highlight the broader context within which
1,.; Canadian education is situated.Emphasisis on formal.edgcation or schooling, as
opposed to other types of education,since it is in its institutional forms that education has become most highly integrated into wider social,economic, and political organization. It also explores the changing boundaries between educational
institutions and other learning sites.Referenceis made to a variety of sociological
studies and perspectivesdeveloped within and beyond Canada to provide the
reader with a senseof how distinct researchtraditions have been employed to
understand schooling. The book adopts a critical orientation, which revealshow
education in Canada has been from the outset a complex, contested,and contradictory endeavour.The book is not intended as a manual or an exhaustivehistory
that detailsall aspectsof our education systems.Instead,it employs analyticaltools
Tne SocroLocIcAL ANnrysts or Eouclrror
Box1.1 Sociological
Interest
in the
GrowthandSocialSignificance
of Education
The growingsignificance
of educationfor Canadians
is illustratedin Figure1.l,
below,which demonstrates
how, over the past half-centurpthe shareof the
populationwith universitydegrees
hasovertakenthat portion of the population
with lessthan a Grade9 education.Sociologists
haveofferednumerousinterpretationsof this educationalgrowth,and havealsoexaminedits significance
for societyasa wholeand for differentsubgroupswithin the population.
Figure1.1 Proportions
Population,
of Canadian
15Yearsand0ver,
with University
Degrees
andLessThanGrade9 Education
degree
W llniuersity
Less
thanGrade
9
!
Sources: Data from Guppy and Davies (1998: l9); Statistics Canada, Census of Canadq various
years; and cANStMTable 2820004. This is an updated version based on a figure in Clarke (2000: 7).
derived from sociology and related disciplines in an effort to answer questions
about why education has developedas it has and how educationalissuesare interconnected with fundamental characteristicsof social organization and social life.
The remainder of this chapter examinesthe issuesand approachescentral to sociological analysis.The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of how these
insights can be applied to educational questions in such a way as to provide a
framework for the chapters to follow.
THr Socror,ocy or EnucarroN rN Celreon
Socrorocy AND Irs RETATToN
To OrsER DrscrpLrNES
Sociologyis the investigationof the relationshipsbetweenindividuals and society.
It examines how social structures (relatively enduring patterns of social organization) and social practices (ongoing social activity) both shape and are shapedby
human beings. It is a scientific discipline in thc scnsc that it is bascd on rcscarch
and theories that attemptG a systematicand organized manner, to describeand
explain important featuresof social reality. Sociologistsanalyzesuch institutions
as schools, families, economic and political organizations, religion, the mass
media, and the criminal justice system,as well as interpersonal relations, small
groups, informal social practices,and much broader and sometimes less visible
social forces,such as power and control.
In its scope and methods, sociology overlapswith and draws on severalother
disciplines and fields of inquiry. Sociology-or particular subfields of the discipline-can sharemuch in common with such other social sciencesas economics,
political science,psychology, and anthropology, as well as with studies in the
humanities such as history and philosophy,and with interdisciplinary approaches
in such areasas Native studies,women's studies,environmental studies,cultural
studies,and regional studies.Some sociologicalwork is influenced by and influencesother fields of inquiry, including geography,biology, medicine, demography,
policy studies,and administrativestudies.
Despite its complementaritv rvith various academic disciplines, sociology
developed from the vision of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century intellectuals,
I who wanted to construct a distinct scienceof societymodelled after physics,biolI ogy, and other natural sciences.In common with closelyrelatedsocialscienceslike
psychologyand economics,many of the tools that sociologistsemploy to examine
the socialworld involve principles of researchmethodology and theory construction shared with scientistswho study the natural world. However, the studies of
the social and natural worlds differ in crucial ways. Social reality, complex and
dynamic in nature, is not governed strictly by law-like regularities and it is not
readily amenableto definitive statementsabout causeand effectthat are the objective of much scientific inquiry. Socialstructuresand practicesare constantlybeing
reshapedand reinterpreted by human activity. Moreover, the sociologicalinvestigator, as part of the social world being studied, may have an impact on social
actions and how they are understood. Social researchinvolves an ethical dimension that raises questions about what kinds of research activities are socially
acceptableand what their consequencesare for social life. These problems are
sharedby other sciences,sinceall scientific activity involvesto some extent human
interpretation, phenomena that are subject to change,and ethical questions,but
they are much more evident within or central to sociology and other human sciencesthan in the scientific investigationof non-social phenomena.
With this wide arcayof influences, it might seem unusual that a discipline like
sociologyshould exist,sincemost questionslike the oneslisted earlier can be investigated through one or more of the other disciplines.TWo somewhat opposing
T H E S o c r o r , o c r c A LA x e r v s r s o r E o u c e r t o N
points can be made in responseto this concern. First, it is true that boundaries
between disciplinesare somewhat flexible, so that it may seem that the only clear
distinction between areasis evident in the field by which people identify themselves(e.g.,psychologists,educationaladministrators,and sociologistsmay all use
similar methods to conduct researchinto the question of why some studentsdrop
out of school). The secondpoint, however,involvesthe recognition that each discipline is constituted around core questions and approachesthat can clearly be
distinguishedfrom one another.In the examplenoted above,the psychologistmay
be most interestedin identifying the personality characteristicsof school dropouts
in comparison with students who stay in school; the researcherin educational
administration may be most concernedwith identif ing ways to keep students in
school longer; and the sociologist may be most interested in determining how
characteristicsof school organization contribute to the dropout phenomenon.
The distinguishing characteristicsof sociology are discussedbelow.
TnE Nnrunn oF SocroLocICAL INeuIRy
Sociology,like most social sciences,emerged relatively recently compared to the
humanities and physical sciences.A prolonged period of social, economic, and
political upheavalin Europe,particularly during and after the mid-eighteenth century, fostered an interest in sustainedinquiry into the nature of society and its
relationship to the individual. The rapid advancement of the Industrial
Revolution, combined with new social and political arrangements,led to serious
questioning about the nature and consequencesof social change. People'slife
experienceswere altered amid challengesto existing social conventions and institutions. Among the transformations was a growing emphasison democracy and
individual rights as opposedto more traditional, hierarchicalbasesof socialorder.
Out of these circumstancesemergedboth intellectual and pragmatic concernsto
the impact of the
understand the conditions that produced socialchange,to assess
changestaking place, and to consider the possibilities and prospects for future
social transformation.'Sociology',a term first used by the French writer Auguste
Comte in the nineteenth century to signifu the need for a scientific study of society, was developedin order to study theseissuesby examining the relative impact
of social stability and social changeon people'slives.
Although the thematic focus and methodological substanceof sociology have
taken on different forms since Comte's time, many of the issuesthat concerned
early sociologistsremain at the core of the discipline. Sociologyis both a scientific discipline and a moral or human undertaking in which theoretical analysisand
empirical researchare applied to an understanding of important social problems
and issuesin order to enhancethe world in which we live. The contemporary significanceof this historical vision for the discipline has been articulated in the rvork
of recent sociologists.Patricia Hill Collins (2007: II2), for instance,stressesthe
continuing inspiration offeredthrough the works of such classicalsocialtheori:t:
as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, Emile Durkheim, \\r.E.B. L)ul.'rri:..rir,.:
TnE SocroLocy or EoucerroN rN Ceueoa
others whom she characterizesas public sociologistsoffering a'commitment to
bring the tools of sociologyto bear on the irnportant issuesof their time.. .. So
much of what they did was on behalf of bettering the public.'Similarly,SteveFuller
(2006: 1) contends that,'The central aspiration of sociology-and the social sciences more generally-has been to make good on the eighteenth-century
Enlightenment promise of creating a "heaven on earth" [with an aim] to createa
world in which humans exercisedominion over nature without exercisingdominion over each other.'
As a discipline concerned to understand and build upon relations between
individuals and society,sociology has been guided by severalfundamental questions and debates,including the following:
1. At which level-individual or social-should analysisbegin?
2. To what extent are individuals the products or the producers of socialstructures?
3. Is sociallife characterizedmore by socialstability and consensusor by social
conflict?
4. How do we study the social world, and to what ends?Should the study of
society be guided by a searchfor observablefacts and laws (positivism) or
by human interpretations of the world?
Individual versusSociety
All sociologicalanalysisis concerned at some level r,vithrelations among individuals and societies.Sociologistsdo not study individuals in isolation from one
another, but focus instead on how people interact with each other either directly
(at a face-to-facelevel) or indiieit-lf (through internalized rules and expectations,
the products of human activity, consciousnessof others,and institutionalized patterns of behaviour). Different forms of sociologicalanalysisemergearound questions about which factor or set of factors is regardedas most important.
The debate concerning the relations between individuals and society can be
illustrated with referenceto two key sociologicaltheorists, Emile Durkheim and
Max Weber,whose works were instrumental in establishingsociology as a viable
academicdiscipline in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Durkheim
defined sociology as the study of 'social facts',referring to featuresof society (such
as ratesof marriage or death, religion, law, and economic systems)that existedin
their own right and had an influence on individuals'thoughts and actions.Society,
in theseterms, can be studied as if it is a real thing becauseit is presentbefore we
,rrr.born and after we die, and it affects the lives and character of each human
ircinS.\\'eber,by contrast,defined sociologyas the'interpretive understandingof
.,,-i.t1.rction',bi' which he meant that the discipline should emphasizehow people's
- . .,. .lcii'ions and behavioursare guided by interpretationor meaning.Unlike
. .-: "r :::. \\'cber argued that society has no independentexistenceoutside of
.' -. ::.,,..{ht:.nroti ves,and acti ons(al thoughhuman act ionsand cr eat ions
THE SocrolocrcAL
ANlrvsts
or Eoucarlox
have a powerful impact on our choices and actions). Posed in simpler ternrs,
Durkheim represents a version of sociology in which the study of relations
between individuals and societybegins with society,while Weber'sanalysisbegins
with individuals and proceedsfrom there to study social relations.Contemporarv
sociologistscontinue to look to these starting points, or some intermediate position, as the basisfor analyses.
"/"'J ov l''2;i
Human Agency versus structural
't^'i:"
Determination
An important question that accompaniesthe investigation of how individuals are
interrelated with society concerns the role that free choice plays in our lives.
Although we tend to think of ourselvesas unique individuals, we must also recognize that our thoughts, personalities,and actions are heavily influenced by our
social background and surroundings. Sociologistsdo not alwaysagreeabout the
extent to which individuals are shaped by social factors, and vice versa.One view,
that of human agency,assertsthat human beings are active'agents'whosebehaviour and thougtits-mike society possible. People are seen to be relatively free to
make senseof the world in such a way as to make decisions that guide their lives
and conduct. The world, according to this approach,is socially constructed-our
language,cultures,and institutions are created,maintained, and changedthrough
human activity.
A contrasting, structuralist, view emphasizesthat people are social products.
Social structures, or-relatively enduring patterns within society and social life,
give rise to orir personalitiesand thoughts, to the choiceswe face,and to the courseswe take in our lives.When we are born, existing socialstructuresdetermine limitations and opportunities dependent on such factors as gender,race, the wealth
and status of our parents, and so on. Our freedom, in other words, tends to be
highly constrainedby social rules and expectations.
Most sociologistsand other social thinkers take a position somewhere between
the two extremesof individual agenry and structural determination. As Karl Marx
(1963 15) observed,people'maketheir own history,but they do not make it just as
they please;they do not make it under circumstanceschosen by themselves,but
under circumstancesdirectly encountered,given and transmitted from the past.'A
more contemporary sociologist,Anthony Giddens (1987: 11), has expressedthe
samepoint through what he calls'the "double involvement" of individuals and institutions', in which'we createsociety at the sametime aswe are createdby it.'In other
words, whatever their starting points, most sociologistsagreethat society is something more than a collection of individuals such that it must be studied with sensitivity to the reciprocal impact of human beings and social structures on each other.
Stability versusConflict
As noted earlier,sociology emergedthrough systematicefforts to understand significant social changesoccurring in conjunction with the Industrial Revolution
and socialupheaval.Some early socialcommentators fearedthat the chanqesu'.'rc
THr Soclot-ocy or EpucnrroN
rN CeNaoe
destructiveof a social order that could never be retrieved while others welcomed
the changesas a mark of progressand hope for the future. Thesedual concerns,of
a searchfor socialstability and a desirefor socialchangeand improvement, remain
central to the discipline.
Sociologistscontinue to addresstheseissuesfrom different stances.Some sociologists, following the tradition of Auguste Comte, have attempted to uncover
laws governing social order and conditions for social change.Their assumption is
that stable social order, supported by consensusabout fundamental values,is the
normal state of a society.The development of sociology as a science,in these
terms, is to identify factors that foster socialharmony as opposedto those that are
sociallyharmful or destructive.Excessiveconflict and social changethat proceeds
too rapidly are deemedto threaten the long-term survival of a society.A contrasting approach to social analysisdepicts conflict and struggle as normal featuresof
societies.Societies,particularly if they are relatively complex in nature, are likely
to contain a diversity of different collectivitiesand subgroups,each with specific
needs and interests.Although overt conflict is not always present or apparent,
social changeis driven by the demands and actions of social groups to have their
interestsrepresentedand their needsmet. The task of sociology,in this view, is to
identify and analyzethe social circumstancesthat give rise to each set of interests.
PositivismversusInterpretativeAnalysis
There are different ways of looking at the world as well as of determining what
should be looked at. The task of social science,for some sociologists,is to replicate,as much as possible,the rigorous approachesassociatedwith physics,chemistry, and other scientific disciplines.The goal of science,unders_toodthis way,ls
to formulate laws and statementsabout regular patterns of causeand effect in the
"silcial
world, and to specifothe conditions under which thesecausalrelations will
occur.This approach,known aspositivism, emphasizesthat sciencemust concern
itself with phenomena that can be readily identified and measured.Like many scientistswho study the natural world, thesesociologistsassumethat the socialworld
has a definite structure of reality that can be observed,classified,and controlled as
we gain objectiveknowledge about each of its parts.
Other sociologists,by contrast, contend that positivism's claims to uncover
objective knowledge about laws that regulatesociety are false.They argue that all
human knowledge, including scientific observation, is based on particular interpretations of reality. Social realit5 moreover, is continually being shaped and
reshapedbecauseit is based on human actions. For interpretative sociologists,
therefore,the proper task of scienceis to identifz the social basesand meanings
attachedto particular phenomena,and to explore how those meanings are related
to people'ssocialactions.This assessment,
expressedin its most radical form within some postmodernist orientations, suggeststhat any scientific quest for universal truths or general laws is necessarilymisguided becauseit does not take into
accoLrntthe diversemeaningsand viewpointsthat are characteristicof human life.
T r r E S o c r o L o c r c A LA N e r y s r s o r E o u c e r r o x
' )ther interpretativesociologydoes not reiect the possibilityof science,but cau:.()ns that we must be aware of the limitations 4ssociatedwith scienceand th.'
-iaims or authority that it carrieswith it.
SocroroclcAL PnnspncrrvEs
.,''ciologists,likeanyoneelsewho investigates
nature or society,must make decisions
.,iroutwhat they study and how they study it. They require guidelinesto help them
:,';nr their observationsand make senseof what they see.In their most general
rr)rrrr,theseguidelinesare provided in the form of what are calledsociologicalper.:''cctives,or ways of looking at the socialworld. Perspectivespoint to what is impor:.rnt,basedon particular assumptionsabout socialreality and how to study it.
Sociology,it should be emphasized,is not unique in offering perspectivesto its
''r.rctitioners.All sciencesrely on specific assumptionsthat lead to different ways
'i conducting scientific investigation. In medical research,for example, some
::\earchersemphasizethe factors that causea certain disorder so that appropriate
-,rres or remediescan be prescribed,while others adopt a more holistic orientai:rrn that examineshealth in the context of a wide range of environmental condii.rrr15,which themselvesmust be modified before effectivehealing can take place.
. :r phy5igs,the study of quantifiable characteristicsof matter is contrastedwith the
,:r.ilvsisof unobservable,changing forces.In all disciplines,perspectivesidentifl'
,..lvsto addressthesekinds of issuesin a systematicmanner.
It should be emphasizedthat sociologistssharesome common goalsregardless
:'the perspectivesthey adopt. All theory is an attempt to enhanceour ability to
..rderstand aspectsof the social and natural worlds, and all researchis conducted
,. part of an effort to provide us with information that tells us something about
..hat those worlds are like. Scientific inquiry is unified by a searchfor knowledge
i:rd understanding,even though there are differencesover how that searchshould
'e conducted,what the ultimate aim of that searchshould be, and what should be
-rirng*i,h the information generated.
Sociologicalperspectivesare aligned around questions governed by debates
,itlined in the preceding sections.Although there are different ways of labelling
::rd organizing them, it is generallyagreedthat the discipline has been shapedbv
--rcr?l sociologicalperspectives,
in particular three identified here as structural
' ..rrctionalism,interpretative sociology,and critical orientations.
\ t ructural Functionalism
r::r-rcturalfunctionalist analysisexaminessocialinstitutions and other elementsof
. ';ietv in relation to the social system as a whole. It is sometimes knorvn as thc'
:Jc'r perspectivebecauseit is concerned with factors that ensure the mainte.:nceof social stability.As the name suggests,structural functionalism exanr:r.\ phenomenaby aski ngquesti onsabout w hat functi ons thev ser r '. xnsl lt , ir
' r c r . c o n t r i b u t et o t h e o r d e r l y o p e r a t i o no f t h e s o c i a ls y s t e m F
. o r r n a le d u c . r t : r ' : t
' : e\ampl e, servesthe soci alorder by transmi tti ng vi tal knon'ledge. r nr i . r , . . . : .
TnE Soclolocy
or EoucarroN
rN Ceueol
aptitudes to successivegenerationsand by sorting and selectingpeople for entrl
into roles or positions required by the social system.
Structurai functionalist analysis commonly employs an organic analogy in
which societiesare compared to living organisms.Each part of the social system
like each feature of the organism, has specific roles to play to keep the organism
alive and functioning properly. Some functions are more crucial than others to the
unit's overall health and existence,but with increasingspecialization,as the unit
becomesmore complex in nature, the system'ssurvival requires each element to
be integrated with the others in a unified way. Sociologicalanalysis,as with the
analysisof organic structures,proceedsto describetheseinterrelationshipsand to
identifr the conditions required for socialstability.The long-term survival of society, accordingto this analysis,requiresthat elements(whether individuals or institutional processes)that do not fit with the whole, or are not functioning properly
must be eliminated or modified, analogousto the Western medical treatment of a
diseasedbody.
Although the perspectiveis highly abstractthrough its concernwith generalfea
tures of social systems,researchconductedby structural functionaliststends to be
positivistic in nature. It seeksto outline regular relationshipsamong phenomena
through measurement of specific social dimensions, such as degreesof socio
economic inequaliry,pupil dropout rates,or racial categorrzations.In their assump
tions that the social world has a definite, observablestructure that can be made
known through scientificinvestigation,structural functionalists often attempt to give
sociology the statusof a more establishednatural sciencelike physicsor biology.
Structural functionalism was highly influential in the development of North
American socioiogicaltheory and researchthroughout much of the twentieth century. Its major contributions have been to demonstratethe impact of social structures on social groups and individuals and to point out how various components
of societiesare interrelated.Nonetheless,the limitations of structural functionalism are evident in a critical examination of many of its central assumptionsand
procedures.
A first major criticism is most apparent to sociologistswho adopt an interpretative orientation to socialanalysis.Structural functionalism, in its concern to'map
out' the social systemand its constituent structures,ignores much of the richnes
of everydaylife. It is frequently open to the charge that it portrays society in such a
mechanisticway that it has no place for the activitiesand realitiesof living humar
beings,who in fact are the producers (or agents)of societyand social change.
Critical sociologistshave pointed to a second main limitation of structura
functionalism: its emphasison social order and consensustends to undermine or
draw attention away from strugglesor tensions that operatewithin society.Manr
conflicts are more than merely transitional in nature; indeed, significant socia
divisions may be built into the structure of a given society.Therefore,inequalitiet
and porver strugglesmay be a normal rather than an abnormal occurrence.Socia
order, rvhen it is evident, may itself be the consequenceof political force rather
T n n S o c r o r , o c r c A LA N e r v s r s o r E o u c e r l o N
than an indicator of widespreadagreementabout socialgoals.The use of coercion
to achievesocialstability is most obvious in societiesruled by totalitarian regimes,
but it is a regular feature of life even in democratic societies.Thken together,these
major criticisms sometimesportray structural functionalism as an approach limited by its attempts to impose order and control arbitrarily onto social circumstancesrather than to subject them to sustainedanalytical inquiry.
InterpretativeAnalysis
Sociologistswho work within interpretativetraditions portray the social world as
produced and interpreted by human activity. As the name of one important
branch of interpretative sociology-syT|glrg. interactionism-denotes, the main
focal points for social analysisare social interactions and social symbols. People
develop and sharemeaningswith one another as they engagein social activity and
attempt to make senseof their activity within a social context.
Interpretative sociology,in contrast with structural functionalism, is concerned
with the analysisof social processesrather than social structures.Structures serveas
guidelinesfor interaction that comes into being, and can be changedor modified
through social activities. Individuals act, comprehend, and have motives; social
structuresdo not. The world, viewed this way, is seento be'socially constructed'
becausethe nature and meaning of social reality have no existenceindependent of
our relationswith other people,either at a face-to-facelevelor through the language,
beliefs,knowledge,and modes of communication createdand sharedby people.
Becausesociology and other scientific investigationsare forms of social activity, scientificdata and observations,likeother socialproducts,must be understood
in terms of how they are processedby the human mind. Science,therefore,is subject to varying interpretations, as are other forms of social interaction. These
insights do not mean that it is impossible to conduct scientific inquiry into the
socialworld. Rather,our understanding of science(whether we are studying society or the natural world) must take into account the importance of human values
and interpretations in shaping the world and how we seeit.
Interpretative analysis is sometimes called microsociolo-gl becauseit is concerned with patterns of interaction at an everyday,ini.tp.rco"al level, as opposed
to the broader, macrosociological orientation of structural functionalism and
much critical sociology.While it may seemthat the individualistic starting point is
not sociologicalbecauseit doesnot focus on socialstructures,it is important to recognize that interpretativeanalysisstudiesindividuals asparticipants in socialinteraction and shared meaning rather than as isolated units. The task of sociologr',
presentedthis way, is to help people developa clear awarenessof their own identities and subjectivity,their relationswith others,and their placewithin societr'.
lnterpretativesociologymakesa valuablecontribution to sociologicalan.rlr'.:by showingthe importanceof our interactionswith other people.It highiight. i '..
significanceof everydayencountersand situations,and emphasizesh orr'nr(.::'.. :' - arecreatedandsharedthroughsocialinteraction.Aso}rpOSedt().ll'...i..l.:.|
Tnn Socrolocy or EoucarroN rN Cnuen,q
of analysisthat emphasizesociety at more abstract levels,it placesactive humar
beings at the core of sociologicalinquiry,
Despiteits insights,interpretativesociologyoften fails to provide a comprehen
sive analysisof sociallife. The tendencywithin this approach to focus on immedi
ate social settings is more oriented to description than to explanation. Thi
ahistorical emphasismakes it relativelyunable to explain problems such as how i
is possiblefor enduring social inequalitiesto persistor how broad socialposition
and expectations may change. In the analysis of education, for example, ar
emphasison interactions within the classroom is often unconnected with sociE
structuresand practicesthat shapethe organization of the classroom,the curricu
lum, and the forcesthat condition the opportunities and experiencesof the edu
cational participants. Similarly, an acknowledgement that particular socia
circumstancesand definitions are socially constructed does not necessarilyindi
catewhose definitions are employed or what barriers stand in the way of attempt
to introduce new definitions and social constructions.
Critical Sociologies
Various forms of critical analysishave been posed as alternativesto the tradition
al variants of sociology representedby structural functionalism and interpretativ
analysis.Critical analysis,as the term suggests,engagesin a critique of socialstruc
tures and practicesby probing beyond descriptions of the status quo. The socia
world, as opposed to something neutral or mutually beneficial to all its members
is characterized by fundamental structural inequalities constituted in part b'
oppressionby dominant groups over subordinate social groups. Critical sociolo
-) gy, in this regard, is committed to social change as well as to social analysis.Thi
does not mean that the approachis unscientific.Instead,in common with inter
pretative approaches,it arguesthat scienceis a necessaryhuman activity uncover
ing aspectsof social reality that tend to be hidden from us in our everydaylives.
Thesecharacteristicscan be illustrated with referenceto two main brancheso
critical analysis,Marxism and feminism. Marxist analysisemphasizesthat clas
defined accordingto ownership and control of productive resources,is the funda
mental basisof socialinequality and oppression.Feminist analysisseespatriarchl
or male domination of personaland institutional life, asthe primary basisof socia
differentiation. From different starting points, both Marxist and feminis
approaches share the view that extensive analysis is required to uncover th,
dynamics and roots of socialoppressionand structured inequalities.Both theoret
ical stancesalso share a common commitment to changing repressivesocial con
ditions, although each contains varying assessmentsof the nature of, an(
strategiesto advance,social change.
Despitethis common ground, there are important differencesamong particula
forms of critical analysis.Evengeneralorientationsto analysissuch asMarxism anr
feminism contain sharply divergent approaches.Whereas radical feminism an<
orthodox Marxism, for example,disagreefundamentally about the origins of socia
Trln SocrolocrcAL
ANnrvsrs or Erucerlox
in theSociology
of Education
Box1.2 Research
0rientations
Research,particularly through the systematic collection and analysis of data,
is a fundamental part of any scientific discipline. Just as there are differences
in how sociologists understand and explain educational problems,
researchersin the sociology of education employ a wide range of research
approaches and methodologies in their work. This work has produced
important new knowledge and provided support or countervailing evidence
relatedto existing theoretical insights. Sociologicalresearchon education has
also introduced or popularized many significant methodological innovations. Emile Durkheim, whose work provided an explicit empirical and
methodological foundation for early social scientific research,explored educational issuesthroughout his career.
Major studies on the impact that schooling had on social inequality across
generations have introduced advanced statistical techniques into social science researchin North America, Europe, and other regions since the mid1950s,while researchbasedat the University of Chicago and other placeshas
provided a long tradition of innovative qualitative analysis of education.
Detailed records, reports, and massive statistical databases-collected and
maintained by national and provincial governments, international bodies
such as uNESCo,and other central agenciesinvolved in education-often serve
as rich data sourcesfor educational researchers.
However, these resourcescan have limited utiliry for researcherswho may
not be able to gain accessto them and who may require information collected
for different purposes and categorizedin different ways from those determined
by the sponsoring agencies.Recentemphasisin fields like education and health
care on the use of empirical researchevidencefor poliry and professional decision-making has provided an impetus for large-scaleinitiatives to co-ordinate
more systematicallyresearchinitiatives, databases,and findings. In the United
States,the implementation of federal legislation designatedthe'No Child Left
Behind Act'of 260I representsone of the most visible examples of evidencebaseddecision-m"kirg in education. On a more modest and lesscontroversial
scale,initiatives in Canada, such as the creation of the Canadian Council on
Learning in 2004, have provided new opportunities for researchers,policymakers, and other partners to co-ordinate research-relatedactivities focused
on key dimensions of education and lifelong learning.
Educational researcherstypically rely on data collected from a variety of
sources.While some specializein quantitative methodologies and techniques,
drawing upon data collected through secondarysourcesas well as survevsand
instruments they have developed through their own research,others emplc-x'
qualitativemethods suchasinterviews,focusgroups,observation,document.rr\
analysis,and narrative accounts.Many combine researchmethods in rrr.lcr i, '
L4
THE Socrolocy
on EoucerroN
rN CeNeoe
gain a richer understanding of educationalstructures, practices,and meanings.
Throughout the book, referencesare made to findings derived from studiesand
approachesthat representan extensiverange of thesediverseorientations.
oppressionand how best to conduct social research,Marxist feminism and socialist feminism arglrethat the two approachescan be highly compatible.
Critical educationaltheorieshavebeen subjectto recentchallengesboth internally and externally.Within critical analysis,proponents of various positions have
often dismissedor ignored possibilitiesfor sharedinsights such as an exploration
of how factors like class,gender,and race interact with one another or an assessment of strategiesfor effectiveeducational and social change.Shifting economic,
cultural, and political alignments, along with increasing attention to challenges
associatedwith globalization,new technologies,and environmental issues,have
also been accompaniedby new ways of thinking about the social world and relations betweenpeople and nature.
Several researchers,drawing on interpretative analysis, postmodernist critiques,and insightsdevelopedwithin other disciplines,havearguedthat no single
approach is sufficient to provide an adequateunderstanding either of education
or' rnore broadly, of human life in general (Davies, 1995; Kanpol, l9g2).
Postmodern thought, in particular, has emerged as a theoretical alternative suggesting that contemporary social life and personal experiencesare so rnultidimensional and fragmented that no unified theory or set of ideascan adequately
explain social reality. Despite these challenges,however,critical educational perspectivesare able to demonstrate their resiliency when they identiflz issuesand
presentanalyticaltools that not only advanceour understandingof socialproblems but also seekto find effectivesolutions to them.
EvrEncrNG DTRECTToNS rN THE cnrrrcAr.
Or EouCATIoN
ANALysrs
This book adopts a critical stancetowards the analysisof education, in particular
drawing on four interrelated forms of critical analysisthat have influenced recent
thinking about educational matters: critical pedagogy,ferninist pedagogy,,antiracism education, and political economy. They will be outlined briefly here, discussed more fully in Chapter 2, and integrated into the analysis employed in
subsequentchapters.
Critical Pedagogy
Critical pedagogy is influenced by severalcritical traditions and motivated by the
desireto integrateeducationaltheory and educationalpractice.Like Marxism and
terllirti.snt,
its advocatesemphasizethe deeplyrooted power imbalancesand social
inequalitiesthirt infuseschoolingstructuresand processes.
In common with interPrct.tti\e .ltlti po5llnodern arralysis,critical predagogyalso stressesthe symbolic
Tnr SocroLocICAL Arverysrs or Eoucerrc-rx
importance of knowledge,language,and social action within educationalprrx!.tices.Education has both cultural and economic significanceas a mechanisnt ti-rat
givesshapeand meaning to people'slife experiences,thereby reinforcing the prir'ilegesof advantagedgroups relativeto powerlesssegmentsof society.Educational
practices,accordingto critical pedagogy,must be restructuredto representthe
voices and experiencesof all social groups, not just those who have sufficient
resourcesand power to advancetheir own interests.
Feminist Pedagogy
Feminist pedagogy,like critical pedagogy,challengesthe common view that education is neutral, and commits itself to transform the education systemas a consequenceof the critique it offers. Feminist pedagogy argues that educational
theory and practice must take into account the differential experiences,life
chances,and ways of knowing that prevail for men and rvomen in society.As
teachers,mothers, and students,women tend to be excludedfrom key roles in educational decision-making and research,which thereby servesboth to reflect and to
perpetuate their socio-economic subordination relative to men. As a basis for
achieving the true function of education, which is the empowerment of human
beings,feminist pedagogyseeksto sensitizeeducators,students,and researchers
to
the ways in which gender structuresmen's and women's lives.
Anti-RacismEducation
Educationalapproachesinformed by anti-racism emphasizethe powerful social
impact of inequalitiesand ideologiesbasedon race.Anti-racism education aligns
itself with critical and feminist pedagogiesin its quest to empower marginalized
persons, while it shareswith political economy a critique of material circumstancesthat produce fundamentalsocialinequalities.Educationalinstitutionsand
the knowledge and practicesassociatedwith them are implicated in the production and legitimation of racial discrimination and other forms of racism.
However,schooling and post-secondaryeducation can play a crucial role in working to addresstheseproblems.
Political Economy
Political economy stressesthe interrelationshipsthat prevail among the various
segmentsof society,including the economic,political, and socialrealms.Like other
approaches,there are various strandswithin political economy,ranging from traditional and liberal thought to orthodox Marxist perspectives.This book is
informed by recent developmentsin critical political economy that examine the
interplay among class,race, gender,and other central factors that shape and are
shapedby people'slife experiences.
This approacharguesthat in order to make sense
of social reality,we must examine how people collectivelyproduce and reproduc.'
both the material and symbolic conditions of their social existence.Educatirrn.
viewed this way, has importance as a site in which people'spr'rsonalitic.'.rnJlj:i
o p tionstake shapethrough i nteracti onamong the characteri stic: . urc\
( l i, t r '. . '. . - -
t6
Tnn Socrolocy
or Eouc.c,TroNrN C,tNloA.
they bring with them into educational settings,the structures and practicestha
constitute education on an ongoing basis,and the linkagesbetweeneducation anr
the socio-economic context within which it operates.More recent political eco
nomic analysis,informed by practicesassociatedwith globalization,has shifted it
focus from education in specific national or regional settingsin order to under
stand linkageswith comparativeand international dimensions of education.
CoNcrusroN
The sociology of education, parallel to the educational realitiesit seeksto invest
gate and explain, is a multi-faceted and changing endeavour. It is essentialtr
maintain sufficient scopeand diversity in the analysisof education in order to cap
ture the richnessof education in its various forms. At the sametime, becauseedu
cational researchand theory can be used to guide policy and practice, we mus
ensure that our understanding of educational matters developsin a comprehen
sive way, basedas much as possibleon complete and accurateinformation that i
sensitiveto its potential impact on people'slives.
The task to develop a socially meaningful understanding of education is espe
cially daunting at a time when education facesseriouschallengesoften considere
to be of crisis proportions. Canada'sgrowing integration into new global econom
ic and political alignments is forcing a reassessment
of how education should bes
be employed for competitive advantage. Significant changes occurring acros
institutional spheresof contemporary life are accompaniedby transformations ir
how we engagewith and make senseof our identities and our relationswith socir
and natural environments. Educational reform and reorganization are furthe
promoted through changing government priorities and operations,importan
demographicand economictransformations,and strategiesdevelopedin respons
to issuesrelated to regional diversity,national unity, and shifting global relation:
Media attention and public outcries periodically focusedon real or imagined con
cerns such as declining educational standards, intolerable illiteracy and schoc
dropout rates,lack of discipline and respectfor authority, increasingcrime rate
among young offenders,and lack of moral guidanceand focus among youth hav
drawn attention to the limitations of existing educationalbureaucraciesand t,
desiresfor accountability and choice in schooling.Changing gender relations,ne\
patterns of immigration, and prospects for self-determination among Firs
Nations have forced educationalinstitutions to be increasinglyresponsiveto issue
of representation,cultural diversity, and equity. Shifting arrangements and ten
sions related to work, income, and family life, and transitions throughout the lif
coursehave carried over into schooling,creatingpressuresfor increasedflexibilit
and demands for new educationalsupports and servicesat the same time tha
budgetary needsfor public education and social servicesmust be justified in suc
a wav as to ensurethey do not fall behind other priorities.
Ir-r the chapters that follow historical and contemporary dimensions o
Canadian education,its structure and participants,and the challengesfacing i
are examined through critical sociologicalinquiry. Each chapter highlights
Tns SocrolocrcAr, ANerysrs oF Eouc,rr rox
i-
theme of particular importance within the sociology of education. Chapter i
providesan overviewof major theoreticalapproaghesand issues,contrastins,tr.rditional perspectiveswith more recent critical analysis.Chapter 3 is concernec-l
with the historical development of formal education in Canada, showing horv
divergent objectivesand contestation have shapededucational policies and practices. Chapter 4 examines the organization and dimensions of contemporarl'
education systemsin Canada and other nations. Chapter 5 examinesclassroom
interaction and educational practices, revealing how day-to-day educational
activities reflect the tension between the need to produce distinct educational
outcomes and less clearly deiineated elements of human social development.
Chapter 6 exploresthe nature and development of teaching, analyzinghow teachers' work is subject to many of the same forces,such as control by external managersand demands for increasedproductivity, as other occupation5-nf the same
time as its orientationsto educationaland socialprocesseslend it a unique professionalcharacter.Chapter 7 addressesthe relationship between education and
work, highlighting in particular the notion that, contrary to persistent demands
that schooling and work training should be more closelylinked, the nature and
purposesof formal educationalso are determinedby other competing priorities.
Chapter 8 highlights the ways in which educationcontributesto both socio-economic opportunity and the reproduction of structured inequalitiesamong various segmentsof the population. Chapter 9 draws together key themes coveredin
the previous chapters,focusing in particular on alternativevisions of educational reform framed through diverse social and economic vantage points in a context in which the composition of educationalparticipantsand expectationsabout
education'ssocial and economic roles are changing rapidly. The discussionlinks
contemporarydebatesover such issuesas educationalfinance,accountabilityand
choice,technologicalchange,and social inclusion to accommodatediverseeducational communities.Theserelateddebatesrevealthe importance of education
to fundamental socialand political choicesand directions.
ANuorarED Funrnpn RseorNGS
Apple, Michael W. 1999. Power, Meaning, and ldentity: Essaysin Critical Educational
Studies.New York: Peter Lang Publishing. This collection of papersby one of the most
influential critical analystsof education in North America offers perspectiveson issues,
practices,and developmentscentral to education systems.
Ballantine, |eanne H., and Ioan Z. Spade, eds. 2008. Schoolsand Society:A Sociologicnl
Approachto Education,3rdedn. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press.This collection draws together excerptsfrom severalclassiccontributions to the sociology of eciLrcation as well as more recent research contributions, particularly from the L-nitc..l
States.Core topics include school organizationand relationships,social and politii.rl
contexts of schooling, equity and inequality,higher education, educertionalr.'t,,r:::
and globalization.
Davies,Scott, and Neil Guppy. 2006. The SchooledSociety:An Introrlucti()n11,t/', r '.'
of Educatiort.Toronto: Oxford University Press.The authors offcr .ln : " : -'
::'.
to core themesand conceptsin the sociologicalanah'sisof .'cluc.rii,,:r
THs Socrolocy
or EoucerroN
rN C.c.NA.o,{
understand how schools are organized,and how they selectand socializestudents, in
order to fulfill social requirements associated.with the emergence of contemporary
knowledge-basedeconomies.
Dei, George ). Sefa,Irma Marcia fames, Leeno Luke Karumanchery, Sonia lames-Wilson,
and Jasmin Zine. 2000. Removing the Margins: The Challengesand Possibilitiesof
InclusiveSchooling.Toronto: Canadian Scholars'Press.
Drawing on varied accountsand
experienceswith Canadian schooling,the authors outline a framework for the creation
of inclusive educational practicesthat focus on how educational successmust be oriented to the needsof students from diversesocial and cultural backgrounds.
)enks,Chris, ed. 1998.CoreSociologicalDichotomies.London: Sage.The contributors to this
edited collection provide an introduction to sociology through an overview of the central debatesand themes the discipline is concerned with, including structure/agency,
fact/value,local/global,racelethnicity,and numerous others.
Lauder, Hugh, Phillip Brown, Jo-Anne Dillabough, and A.H. Halsey,eds. 2006. Education,
Globalization,and Social Change.Oxford: Oxford University Press.This is one of the
most comprehensive collections to analyze contemporary education systems from a
variety of perspectives,with contributions highlighting theoretical developments,substantiveissues,and researchfindings from leading researchersrepresentingdiversedisciplinary and national contexts.
Knv Tnnus
Agency Recognition that human beings act on the basis of various degreesof choice and
free will.
Anti-racism education An approach to educational theory and practice oriented to
identifying and changing attitudes, policies, and practicesthat discriminate on the
basisof race.
Critical pedagogy An approach oriented to progressiveeducational change by linking
educational practicesand experienceswith social critique and a vision of educational
alternatives.
Education The process by which human beings learn and develop capacitiesthrough
understanding of their social and natural environments,which takesplace in both formal and informal settings.
Feminist pedagogy An approach to educational analysisgrounded in a critique of gender
inequalitiesin education and the factors that give rise to them, and committed to practices to changethose inequalities.
Interpretative analysis An approach to understanding social life that emphasizesthe role
played by meanings and intersubjectiverelationshipsin social activity.
Political economy An approach that emphasizesthe interrelationships among social,
economic, and political factors in social life; critical political economy examines the
causesand consequencesof deep-rooted forms of social and economic inequality.
Positivism A philosophic approach that emphasizessensoryexperienceas the basisfor all
knowledge,applied as a scientific framework that seeksto derive and test laws basedon
empirical evidencefrom systematicobservation and measurement.
Schooling Education systems and processesorganized through formal educational
institutions.
T u p S o c r o r , o c r c A rA- u a r v s r s o r E o u c e r r o x
lq
Social structure Elements of social life that are relatively patterned, interconnected,ancl
enduring, often understood with referenceto the rules and boundaries associatedrvith
different forms of social action.
Sociology An academicdiscipline concernedwith the nature and organization of societies
and the relationshipsthat exist among individuals and societies.
Srurry QunsrroNs
l.
What is education? How does education differ from schooling and training?
2. Why is it important to examine education from different disciplines and perspectives?
3. Discuss the relationship between sociology and other disciplines with respectto
the analysis of educational issues.What distinct contributions can a sociological
analysis make to an understanding of education?
4. How important are educational credentials to social participation and advancement in contemporary societies?To what extent can, or should, factors other than
formal education be used to assessa person's employment prospects?
5. What major social and economic forces need to be taken into account for an adequate understanding of education?