Education

Education

Why Do You Study?

  • Socialization: A process of learning attitudes, values, and behaviors expected of individuals as members of society.

Ways to Educate and Train the Young Population

  • Formal Education:
    • Major means used by the state to educate the majority of the population.
    • Takes place inside classrooms, where students study following a prescribed curriculum.
  • Non-Formal Education:
    • Occurs when young people interact with adults or parents, learning culture from their group.
  • Informal Education:
    • A lifelong process of learning through daily experiences.
    • Acquisition of values, skills, and knowledge from society.
    • Discussed by Coombs et al. (1973).

What Are These Education Systems Really For?

Sociological Analysis of Education

  • Two Functions:
    1. Manifest Function:
    • Open, obvious, stated purpose.
    • Transmits knowledge from one generation to another (e.g., reading, writing, speaking).
    • Enhances personal status.
    1. Latent Function:
    • Hidden functions of education.
    • Includes:
      • Transmission of culture.
      • Promotion of social and political integration.
      • Maintenance of social control.
      • Serving as an agent of change.

Functions of Education

  • Transmission of Culture:
    • Schools serve as a social institution for cultural transmission.
  • Promotion of Social and Political Integration:
    • Education promotes unity and cooperation among diverse societal members, often through a national language (Schaefer, 1995).
  • Maintenance of Social Control:
    • Society requires rules and regulations to maintain order, introduced initially within families.
  • Serving as an Agent of Change:
    • Acknowledged as instrumental in social change and development by modeling acceptable societal behaviors.

Conflict Perspective of Education

  • Credentialism:
    • Promotes social and income inequality.
    • Credentials necessary for promotions and higher earnings.
  • Bestowed of Status:
    • Education confers social status.
    • People invest time, effort, and money for diplomas to secure status.

How Does Education Affect the Lives of People in Society?

Education as a Human Right

  • Basic Human Right:
    • Right to education is essential for exercising other rights (e.g., right to work, freedom of expression).
    • UNESCO and the UN promote legal obligations for this right.

Quotes on Education

  • Nelson Mandela (2003):
    • "Education is the most powerful weapon which one can use to change the world."
    • A tool for individuals to uplift themselves from economic oppression and engage politically.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948)

  • Key points highlighting the importance of education:
    1. Everyone has the right to education.
    2. Education should aid full development and respect for human rights.
    3. Parents have the right to choose the type of education for their children.