EDUCATION
Barkan, Steve. Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Comprehensive
Edition.
Cliff Notes. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/education/theories-ofeducation
Haralambos, Michael et al. Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (Seventh Edition).
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. London (2008).
Mustapha, Nasser. Sociology for Caribbean Students (Second Edition). Ian Randle
Publishers. Jamaica (2013).
A Definition

Macionis (2003), defines education as a social
institution that guides a society’s transmission of
knowledge (its basic facts, job skills, and also
cultural norms and values) to its members.
Types of Education

There are two general types of education; formal education and
informal education:

The formal system of education comprises schools, colleges,
universities and others are legally sanctioned for the process of
deliberate instruction, and are governed by a standardized curriculum
which is delivered by trained professionals (teachers, lecturers,
professors).

Informal education constitutes the transmission of knowledge in an
unplanned and unstructured manner, without any fixed programme of
study or evaluation. This type of education usually takes place in
family settings, religious services and visits to places of interest, or
even by watching television. The transfer of knowledge takes place
through observation or social interaction.
Formal Education Expanded

Informal education was common in traditional societies
and usually involved the family, tribe or clan. As society
progressed and became more complex the family was no
longer able to perform this function of providing
specialized knowledge to socialize children to become
functional members of society with specialized careers.

Formal education seen as an integral institution in modern
society, as it reflects and transmits the values, norms and
culture of society. Individuals are prepared, through this
educational process, for assuming roles in society. This
can be seen by the incorporation of technical and
vocational training in addition to academic subjects.
Functions of Education
Functionalist View

Education serves several functions for society. These include:
1. Socialization
- If children need to learn the norms, values, and skills they
need to function in society, then education is a primary vehicle for such
learning.
2. Social
integration - For a society to work, functionalists say, people must
subscribe to a common set of beliefs and values. This leads to the creation
of what Durkheim referred to as ‘social solidarity’.
3. Social
placement - Depending on how they are identified, children are
taught at the level that is thought to suit them best so that they are
prepared in the most appropriate way possible for their station later in
life. Durkheim sees this as important to the industrial society and the
‘division of labour’ and ‘role allocation’.
4. Social
and cultural innovation - Our scientists cannot make important
scientific discoveries and our artists and thinkers cannot come up with
great works of art, poetry, and prose unless they have first been educated
in the many subjects they need to know for their chosen path.
Criticisms of Functionalist view

Societies are now multicultural therefore it is debatable whether or
not there is a single culture on which schools base their curriculum.

Marxists argue that educational institutions transmit the dominant
culture which serves the interests of the ruling class.

Modern societies are seen as emphasizing on the economic importance
of attaining an education and have downplayed the significance of
transmitting a shared culture.

Hargreaves (1982) suggests that education fails to transmit shared
values and encourage social solidarity, rather it emphasizes individual
competition though the exam system.
Conflict Perspective

Bowles & Gintis (1876) argue that the major role of education in
capitalist societies is the reproduction of labour power.

Education maintains a close “correspondence” between the social
relationships which govern personal interaction in the work place and
the social relationships of the education system. Bowles & Gintis call
this the ‘correspondence principle’.

Education helps to produce and maintain a hard-working, docile,
obedient and highly motivated workforce which is too divided and
fragmented to challenge the authority of management.

It helps to achieve these objectives through the ‘hidden curriculum’.
The Hidden Curriculum

The hidden curriculum consists of those things that pupils learn through the
experience of attending school, rather than the stated educational objectives
of such institutions. Bowles & Gintis suggest that the hidden curriculum
shapes the workforce in the following ways:
1.
It produces a subservient workforce of uncritical, passive and docile workers.
2.
It encourages an acceptance of the social hierarchy.
3.
At school, students learn to be motivated by external rewards just as the
workforce in a capitalist society is motivated by external rewards.
4.
Students have little control over their school involvement and get little
satisfaction from studying as learning is based on the ‘jug and mug principle’.
5.
The fragmentation of school subjects corresponds to the fragmentation of the
workforce.
Education and Capitalism

Bowles & Gintis argue that education has indirect benefits for
capitalism through ‘legitimation of inequality’ – by making society
appear fair and just, class consciousness does not develop and the
stability of society is not threatened.

They go on to add that education disguises the inequalities in society
with a ‘myth of meritocracy’ where those that are unsuccessful
blame themselves and not the system for their failure.

Their research showed a direct link between educational attainment
and family background. They reject individuals’ intelligence quotient
(IQ) as the major factor impacting on educational attainment and
occupational reward.
Criticisms of the Conflict Perspective

Hickox (1982) argues that there is no correlation between education
and economic development. He posits that compulsory education was
introduced in Britain long after the onset of industrialization.

Brown et al. (1997) argue that the nature of the workplace has
changed from bureaucratic control to the increased importance of
teamworking.

Willis (1977) countered Bowles & Gintis’ work by suggesting that
working class ‘lads’ learned to behave at school that were
contradictory to with capitalism’s need for a docile workforce.

Reynolds (1984) also criticized Bowles & Gintis by highlighting the fact
that they downplayed the influence of the formal curriculum. With a
subject like sociology, for example, being popular in Britain it could
hardly be seen that the hidden curriculum would encourage docility.
Criticisms of the Conflict Perspective (ctd.)

Hickox (1982) refers to a study where only 2.5% of English
workers were of the view that educational qualifications
were an important factor in determining class. Most of
them placed a greater emphasis on family background and
economic factors.

Reynolds (1984) has criticized Bowles & Gintis for failing
to explain adequately how the economy shapes the
education system. He goes on to say that “a large number
of radicals have been attracted to teaching” and because
of their independence they have not moulded education
to suit the needs of capitalism.
Interactionist Perspective

Symbolic interactionists limit their analysis of education to what they directly
observe happening in the classroom. They focus on how teacher expectations
influence student performance, perceptions, and attitudes.

Interactionists argue that a person’s ‘self-concept’ develops from interaction
with others. Therefore, interaction in the classroom, with teachers and
pupils, helps to shape a person’s self-concept and this can have a significant
effect on their educational attainment:
1.
Hargreaves et al (1975) analyse the ways in which students are ‘typed’ or
‘labelled’ in secondary schools.
2.
Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) conducted research to test the validity of the
‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in an elementary school.
3.
Keddie (1973) studied ‘streaming’ which is widely practiced in the Caribbean.
Typing or Labelling

Hargreaves distinguished between THREE stages of typing or classification:
1.
Speculation – where teachers make guesses (hypotheses) about the type of
pupils they are dealing with based on their appearance, level of discipline,
ability level, likeability, level of interaction, personality and level of
deviance.
2.
Elaboration – the hypotheses are tested and either confirmed or
contradicted, but either way the teacher becomes more confident in their
judgments as the typing is refined.
3.
Stabilization – by this time the teacher feels that he/she “knows” the pupil
and understands them; finds little difficulty in making sense of their acts and
is not puzzled or surprised by what the student says or does.
Self-fulfilling Prophecy

This theory argues that predictions made by the teachers about the future
success or failure of students will tend to come true because the prediction
has been made.

The teacher defines the pupil in ways such as ‘bright’ or ‘dunce’ and based on
these definitions the teacher makes predictions or prophecies about the
behaviour of the pupil – that they will get high or low grades.

The teacher’s interaction with pupils will be influenced by their definition of
the pupils and the pupils’ self-concepts will tend to be shaped by the
teacher’s definition. Their actions will be a reflection of what the teacher
expects of them.

In this way, the prophecy is fulfilled; the predictions made by the teacher
have come true.
Classroom Streaming

Keddie (1973) looked at streaming in a comprehensive school in
London and the classification and evaluation of students.

Keddie found that knowledge defined by the teachers as appropriate
to the particular course was considered worthwhile; and knowledge
from the students which didn’t fit into the teacher’s definition was
considered of little consequence.

He claimed that there was a relationship between perceived ability
and social class; there was a tendency for pupils from higher status to
be placed in the ‘A’ stream, and those from semi-skilled and unskilled
manual backgrounds in the ‘C’ stream.

Teachers then began to modify their methods of teaching and the
information they transmitted depending on which stream they were
teaching.
Pupil-Adaptation & Subcultures

Hargreaves (1967) found that pupils labelled as “troublemakers” were
placed in lower streams and those whose behaviour was more
acceptable were placed in higher streams.

Those with negative labels attached to them had been defined as
failures; first by being places in a modern secondary school which was
seen as a second-rate institution, and second, through the streaming
system.

Being unable to achieve a high status in the school, students labelled
as troublemakers sought out each other’s company and within their
group awarded high status to those who broke the school rules.

Two distinct sub-cultures emerged within the
‘conformists’ and the ‘non-conformist delinquents’.
school:
the
Criticisms of Interactionist View

Interactionists fail to take into consideration external
factors that affect students and their education such as
diet, parental interest, housing conditions, and other
similar factors that are equally as important for success.

What happens in school is merely education.