Sociological Aspects
Sociological Aspects of Education
SOC 101
April 24, 2010
Sociological Aspects in Education
The growing diversity in our society has helped to broaden the scope of what and how we educate our children. The scientific study of social behavior and human groups, also known as sociology, has benefitted society with its impacts from different theories (Schaefer, 2009). Education is the foundation of any society and establishes the social and economic wealth for their future. We will explore education from the three major sociological viewpoints.
Functionalist approach “emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability” (Schaefer, 2007, p.14). The functionalism theory was influenced by French sociologist Émile Durkheim, who stated that “education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by inculcating in the child’s mind the fundamental relationships required by life in the community” (Hoenisch, 1996). A simplified characteristic of functionalism is to draw analogies between the biological organism and the social system, to view the societies as made up of component parts whose interrelation contributes to the maintenance of the whole, and to focus on the problem of order specifying forces that bring cohesion, integration and equilibrium to society. It leads to the belief that students should be taught so that they can work together, become interdependent on each other to obtain results as well as relying on each other to achieve growth, team oriented education and believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Functionalist feels that education performs two major objectives. One being a “secondary socialization, the process by which people acquire the values of society” (Stevens, 2002). This allows for more successful relationships within one’s secondary group as well. The second objective view of education from a functionalist approach is that it prepares one for the variety of roles they
SOC 101
April 24, 2010
Sociological Aspects in Education
The growing diversity in our society has helped to broaden the scope of what and how we educate our children. The scientific study of social behavior and human groups, also known as sociology, has benefitted society with its impacts from different theories (Schaefer, 2009). Education is the foundation of any society and establishes the social and economic wealth for their future. We will explore education from the three major sociological viewpoints.
Functionalist approach “emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability” (Schaefer, 2007, p.14). The functionalism theory was influenced by French sociologist Émile Durkheim, who stated that “education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by inculcating in the child’s mind the fundamental relationships required by life in the community” (Hoenisch, 1996). A simplified characteristic of functionalism is to draw analogies between the biological organism and the social system, to view the societies as made up of component parts whose interrelation contributes to the maintenance of the whole, and to focus on the problem of order specifying forces that bring cohesion, integration and equilibrium to society. It leads to the belief that students should be taught so that they can work together, become interdependent on each other to obtain results as well as relying on each other to achieve growth, team oriented education and believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
Functionalist feels that education performs two major objectives. One being a “secondary socialization, the process by which people acquire the values of society” (Stevens, 2002). This allows for more successful relationships within one’s secondary group as well. The second objective view of education from a functionalist approach is that it prepares one for the variety of roles they
References: CliffsNotes.com. Theories of Education. Retrieved April 15th, 2010 from . Hoenisch, S (1996) Durkheim and Educational Systems. Retrieved April 14th, 2010 from http://www.criticism.com/philosophy/durkheim-on-education.html Schaefer, R.T. (2009) Sociology: A brief introduction (8th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw Hill Stevens, W. (2002) Functional and Conflict Theory: A point of view. Retrieved April 15th, 2010 from http://www.helium.com/items/828440-functional-and-conflict-theory-a-point-of-view Todd, J (2002) Functional and Conflict Theory: A point of view. Retrieved April 15th, 2010 from http://www.helium.com/items/779460-functional-and-conflict-theory-a-point-of-view [pic][pic]