Chapter 7- Practices in Sociology of Education
Introduction to the Interdependence of School and Society
School and society exist in a state of interdependence where society establishes schools to provide education to its members. The functioning of these schools is dictated by the needs and cultural backgrounds of the society they serve. Schools act as agencies of social modification and social control, following the principle: 'as is the society, so is the school'.
Key roles of the school in society include:
Transmission of Culture: Schools serve as vehicles to pass on established cultures.
Transfer of Skills and Values: They provide the necessary abilities and moral frameworks for individuals.
Agents of Socialisation: Schools help individuals learn the norms of their social environment.
Reflection of Society: They mirror the qualities and values inherent in the broader society.
Execution of Societal Goals: Schools implement the methods and objectives decided upon by the dynamic entity of society.
Two-Way Engagement: Schools seek the co-operation of society by educating learners while also engaging in societal improvement, such as eradicating adult illiteracy or providing educational materials.
Reshaping Society: Schools modify and adapt social structures to align with the ever-changing societal environment.
The Nature and Function of Social Institutions
Social institutions are established sub-systems that satisfy the basic needs of society, define dominant social values, establish patterns of social behaviour, support the survival of society, and modify roles for individuals. They provide structure and decrease chaos, enabling social modification.
Characteristics of social institutions include:
Reciprocity: Institutions have a reciprocal impact on one another; fundamental changes in one major institution (e.g., the economy) will eventually affect others (e.g., the school).
Competition: Differences and similarities in responsibilities can lead to competition between institutions.
Lack of Permanency: Social institutions are not static; if one institution fails to fulfil a need, another must take the lead to address that requirement.
Hierarchy: In most societies, certain institutions are recognized as playing a superior role to others, though this hierarchy can shift over time.
The Five Prominent Social Institutions
The Family as a Social Institution
The family is the micro-unit of any social system and remains at the center of social life.
Functions and Identity: The family provides a home, a sense of belonging, and an identity. It is responsible for passing on generational traditions and maintaining ethnic culture and in-group cohesiveness.
Reproduction and Socialisation: A primary function is reproduction, ensuring children are born into a stable unit to be socialised into family values and societal needs.
Dual Role: The family acts as both a public institution and a private relationship.
Cultural Transmission: It has the responsibility of transmitting the society's way of life, beliefs, norms, and values () to younger members. Without this, it is believed society would face too much divergence from the norm, disrupting stability.
The School or Educational Institution as a Social Institution
After family socialisation, the school serves as the second major institution. Socialisation here is primarily formal, though peer groups provide an informal aspect. Education must contribute to the total development of the individual: intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, and moral.
Fundamental functions of the school according to Barkan ():
Socialisation: The process where children and adults learn from others. It involves providing skills and habits necessary for societal participation. While primary socialisation occurs in the family, secondary socialisation takes place in the school.
Social Integration: Encouraging togetherness, respecting differences, and maintaining diversity to engage in human development. Integration is believed to raise the academic achievements of minority groups, tap into the talent of low-income learners, and build social cohesion.
Social Placement: The use of education to improve social standing. Schools assess and classify (sort and grade) learners. They determine career paths through subject groupings and are viewed as vehicles for financial freedom and security.
Social and Cultural Innovation: Developing new strategies, concepts, and ideas through producing scientists, artists, and thinkers.
Religion as a Social Institution
Religion is a strong force offering a unified system of beliefs and practices pertaining to the supernatural and norms for living. Some sociologists view it more as a social phenomenon than a supernatural one.
Functions: Giving meaning and purpose, offering supreme values, finding moral identities, modifying behavior, and binding people together during crises.
The Economy as a Social Institution
The economy is a set of arrangements by which a society produces, distributes, and consumes goods and services. Modern society depends on the economy for survival.
Two dominant systems exist:
Capitalism: Private owners control the country's trade and industry. Critics argue it focuses on private profit and exploitation of labor.
Socialism: Means of production are owned and controlled by the government or the community collectively (collective ownership).
Governments and Political Structures as Social Institutions
Governments develop rules, manage relations with other societies, and exert power. Types include democratic, authoritarian, monarchical, and totalitarian. For example, South Africa's move to democracy in allowed all races to vote, with President Nelson Mandela becoming the first Black president, resulting in a government where freedom is entrenched in the Constitution.
Ecology of the School and Bronfenbrenner’s Systems Theory
School ecology (school climate or environment) is an interconnected force involving the values of the school and the society. A healthy ecology reflects a unique character and personality.
Urie Bronfenbrenner () proposed a conceptual framework dividing a person's environment into five levels:
Microsystem: A pattern of activities, social roles, and interpersonal relations in a face-to-face setting (e.g., family, school, peer group, workplace).
Mesosystem: The linkages and processes between two or more settings containing the developing person (e.g., the relationship between home and school).
Exosystem: Linkages between settings where at least one does not contain the developing person but influences their immediate environment (e.g., a child being influenced by the parent’s workplace).
Macrosystem: The overarching pattern of micro-, meso-, and exosystems of a culture, including belief systems, customs, and lifestyles.
Chronosystem: The dimension of time, encompassing change or consistency over the life course or historical time (e.g., changes in family structure or socio-economic status over time).
Organizational Characteristics of the School Ecology
The ecology is represented by structural, functional, and built environment features:
Structural Characteristics: Size of the school, number of levels offered, leadership support for pastoral care, resources, demographic shifts, and local/national policies.
Functional Characteristics: Clear and consistent behavioral expectations, teacher working conditions, student involvement in decisions, and participation in extra-curricular activities.
Built Environment: Quality and size of buildings, maintenance of facilities, seating availability, gardens, and open spaces.
Interaction dynamics:
Structural and built characteristics have a reciprocal relationship.
Interaction between community members and functional characteristics has a limited influence on the built environment.
The built environment significantly influences both structural and functional characteristics.
The Role of the School in Society: Foundational Concepts
The school is a societal instrument tasked with transferring knowledge, skills, and insight. The more modern and complex the society, the higher the demands on the school.
Socialisation and Culture: Socialisation involves a range of learning from birth that transmits society's culture (beliefs, norms, values). Individuals learn sex-role socialisations (e.g., pink/blue baby bracelets) early on.
Status Quo Maintenance: Schools confirm values taught by parents to maintain the status quo while serving as catalysts for stabilization where dynamism is required.
Comparison of Theoretical Perspectives on Schooling
The Functionalist Perspective
Functionalism draws insight from biology, viewing institutions like organs in a body that serve the whole social system to ensure survival and consensus.
Manifest Function: Serving the obvious purpose of teaching traditional subjects.
Latent Function: Producing individuals who share the shared norms, economic, and political practices of society.
Role Differentiation: Necessary for selection and training for specific tasks. In modern societies, schools replace parental status as the mechanism for selection.
Social Solidarity: Developing a shared value system to maintain unity.
Dreeben’s Essential Norms for Modern Society
Robert Dreeben () argued that learners must learn four essential norms in school to function in an industrial society:
Independence: Taking responsibility for actions and being accountable (preventing cheating/plagiarism).
Achievement: Realizing individuals are judged by performance, not effort/intentions.
Universalism: Learning to be treated as a member of a category (uniform treatment for all).
Specificity: Recognizing that exceptions can be made only on legitimate grounds (e.g., ability or maturity).
Key Functionalist Concepts
Assimilation: A cultural concept where a subordinate group takes on the attitudes and speech patterns of a dominant group.
Political Socialisation: Widening a person's loyalty from the local group to the nation and the democratic process.
Modernisation: Developing the meritocratic and individualistic forms of life associated with technological and economic development.
The Conflict Theory Perspective (Marxism)
Conflict theorists see schooling as a social practice utilized by those in power to maintain dominance. Schools are viewed as "social battlefields" where students struggle against teachers and the rich struggle against the poor.
Social Inequality: Education preserves the power of the elite and prepares the lower class to be obedient, compliant workers for a capitalist economy.
Critique of Sorting: While functionalists see sorting as merit-based, conflict theorists argue it is based on class and ethnic lines. IQ tests are seen as culturally biased rather than neutral.
Key Marxist Concepts
Class Consciousness: An awareness of membership in an economic group and the sharing of common interests (e.g., union organizing).
False Consciousness: A distorted perception where members of a class accept ideologies that run counter to their own interests.
Hegemony: Influence and authority expressed through ideologies and social structures where the dominant class exerts power over subordinates.
Neo-Marxism: Extends Marxism to explain modern political systems. It posits that schools legitimise inequality through the Hidden Curriculum—the unintended knowledge, values, and beliefs (like class awareness or gender difference) transmitted in classrooms.
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Meaning arises out of social interaction. This theory emphasizes that people have the ability to think, and their skills are shaped by social interaction and the learning of symbols.
Constructivist Learning: Humans construct knowledge from experiences; it is personally constructed but socially mediated.
Classroom Dynamics: Learners use existing knowledge to engage with peers. Their reactions are linked to the symbols they hold for objects in the environment.
Teacher Expectancy Effect: Achievement is influenced by teachers' expectations. The "self-fulfilling prophecy" suggests that lower expectations for struggling learners can disadvantage them throughout adulthood.
Case Study: The School Pledge ()
In , the South African government proposed a pledge to instil morality: "We the youth of South Africa, Recognising the injustices of our past, Honour those who suffered and sacrificed for justice and freedom… We sincerely declare that we shall uphold the rights and values of our Constitution…" This proposal was controversial and not implemented, illustrating schools' roles in trying to provide moral socialization via formal recitation.
Case Study: African Economic Systems
Analytical perspectives on Africa suggest that much of what is called "African socialism" is actually capitalism "wearing a socialist mask." Under capitalism, land and resources belong to private owners producing for profit, often leading to wages as low as possible and exploitation. Proponents argue socialism should mean the abolition of exploitation.