LU 1: Education & Sociology Flashcards
What is the sociology of education?
The SYSTEMATIC study of the formal learning institutions and the INTERRELATIONSHIP between these institutions from a sociological viewpoint.
This field examines how societal factors influence education and vice versa.
What impact does society have on schools?
Cultural norms, values, and socioeconomic factors.
This impact can shape educational policies, curricula, and the overall school environment.
What is the focus of Sociology and Education?
The focus is on how institutions such as economics, politics, and religion influence and mold the education system.
What role does education play in society?
- Education prepares young people for participation in society.
- Powerful agent of socialisation.
What basic factors influence a learner?
Consider the influence of various institutions and social factors on a learner’s development.
What is the relationship between education and the labour market?
Education plays a crucial role in preparing individuals for the labour market.
What are the two streams of thought in sociology regarding education?
- education as imparting science
- serving broader social functions.
How do some view the function of education?
Education serves broader social functions beyond just imparting knowledge.
What does the Positive Perspective by Durkheim focus on?
It focuses on how education equips children for their positions in later life.
What are the roots of Durkheim’s Positive Perspective?
It has roots in the functionalist approach.
How does Durkheim compare society?
He compares society to a human body.
What analogy has Durkheim used to understand society?
He has always used the popular analogy of the human body.
What does the Positivist Perspective focus on?
It focuses on how education equips children for their positions in later life.
What approach does the Positivist Perspective have roots in?
It has roots in the functionalist approach.
How does Durkheim use the analogy of the human body?
He uses it to understand society.
What role does education play in society according to Durkheim?
Education makes up one part of the system in society.
How are the different institutions in society related?
They are interconnected and interdependent on one another.
What is the goal of the institutions in society?
They work towards maintaining social order.
What does Durkheim focus on in his analysis?
Durkheim focuses on the POSITION of values in society and the FUNCTION of schools in transferring those values to learners.
What relationships did Durkheim analyze?
- schools and other public institutions
- interplay between education and social change
- schools and the function of a social system.
What is the importance of society according to Durkheim?
The importance of society is over the individual.
How is moral order created in society?
Moral order is created by members of society to guide our actions.
What is the nature of society’s authority according to Durkheim?
- Society commands us because it is exterior and superior to us.
- The moral distance between it and us makes it an authority before which our wills defer.
Can we separate education from society?
No, schools are a social system that promotes social order and stability in society.
What does the educational system transmit?
The educational system transmits traditions, rules, values, and skills from one generation to another.
What role does education play in culture?
Education maintains the ‘accepted’ culture.
What is the purpose of knowledge in education?
Knowledge must work toward ‘solidarity and integration rather than pluralism and differentiation.’
What is the role of teachers in education?
Teachers are ‘agents of legitimate knowledge transmission.’
What does education prepare learners for?
Education prepares learners for work roles in adult life.
What skills and values does education teach?
- punctuality
- cooperation
- conformity.
What behavior does education encourage?
- socially appropriate behavior
- acceptance of authority and academic ability.
What is a criticism of functionalism in education?
The criticism of functionalism is that it ignores the allocation of adult roles and the gap between societal expectations of schools and actual school performance.
What does the functionalist perspective emphasize?
- value consensus
- integration
- stability to keep society in balance.
What does the functionalist perspective tend to ignore?
- ignore the diversity of interests
- thoughts
- ideologies
- opposing interest groups in society.
What does the conflict perspective highlight?
the tensions in society due to competition for resources.
What are the two main groups identified in the conflict perspective?
- dominant (have’s)
- subordinate groups (have nots).