Sociology Of Education As A Social Institution

Sociology is the study of social life and the change and consequences of human behavior. Human behavior is social in nature, the topic of sociology ranges from divisions of race, gender and sociology of work and sports. In my opinion, sociology is one of the few fields which have such a broad scope and relevance for breadth, depth and application.

Sociology is the study of how social forces influence individuals living within a society. Any society is made of norms, values and beliefs that have the effect of constraining individuals’ thoughts and behaviors. Through understanding and sociological imagination, individuals can remove or at least lessen the social forces’ impacts that are causing the constraints.

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010), Sociology is referred to as “.the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings” (para. 1); however, the transformable qualities of this science are not represented by this definition, as they should be. To best understand these changes, we must first consider changes within people as study objects; for as previously stated, Sociology changes in ways which are commensurate to changes in the world around it.

Sociology is the scientific study of human society. It examines the development of social structures, and the interaction between these structures and human behaviour. Sociologists aim to provide tools of understanding the process of socialisation, and investigate the causes and consequences of things such as labels, belief systems, bureaucracy, gender roles, relationships, and inequality. Becker and Horowitz (1972) claimed that "good sociology is sociological work that

Sociology is a social science that enables people to understand the structure and dynamics of society. By using a scientific approach, and by critically analysing society using qualitative and quantitative methods, sociologists can find patterns and connections within human behaviour to provide explanations of how society affects people. Sociological views are based on theories that have been tested through unbiased research and attempt to take all values into account. Common sense theories are generally individualistic and naturalistic assumptions that are based on opinions than can vary depending on an individuals

The role of education is to educate individuals within society and to prepare and qualify them for work in the economy as well as helping to integrate individuals into society and teach them the norms, values and morals of society. Yet there are three sociological theories that differ greatly between them on the role of education. These are Functionalism, Marxism and Liberalism.

Sociology to me after taking this class means many things. Sociology is the study of human behavior and how humans development from the moment they are born. It is the study of how our upbringing, family, race, religion, and status effect us from the moment we step onto this earth. It is how other people see us and treat us in different ways. It’s about how people from different backgrounds all have different behaviors and different ways they effect society.

Social, cultural and political changes have immense influences on the education sector. This has been witnessed from the onset African and Asian immigration into the United States from 1954 till present times. During the last quarter of the 20th century, immigrants to the US were denied education and those who received education did so under great threats. The dominant view of society about immigrants during this period was extremely negative and rejecting; thereby not deserving of an education. Currently, the education has been made affordable to everybody due to changing atmosphere of unprecedented social change. In education, this change resulted in the legal dismantling of segregated education for African American children (Collins, 2008). As African American children integrated the schools in the United States, they came to school with the stigma of slavery and the negative attitudes held by the agents of the educational institution. Attitudes and held perceptions were the catalyst for constructions such as biased assessment and the retardation paradigm. From these constructions emerged practices in special education that held large numbers of African American students captive in not only the educational milieu, but also limited their work potential. For this reason, the sociopolitical landscape as a context for curriculum, instruction, and assessment has continued to play a significant role in the education

The sociology of education is a condition of human survival. This means education is a social institution through which a community of people and people in the world teach children the basic related to school and learning. The knowledge, learning skills,normal and accepted behavior or beliefs in a group of people. Every nation has some form of teaching though their individual systems with the major factors affecting the useful valuable supplies and money that are used to support those systems in different Émile Durkheim and Max Weber were known as the fathers of education in sociology. Émile Durkheim a French sociologist, social psychologist and philosopher, who started the academic discipline and the principal of modern social science. Durkheim was also known as the father of sociology. Max Weber a German sociologist, philosopher, jurist, and political economist. His ideas profoundly influenced social theory and social research. This was considered the beginning of sociology of education.

. According to John Dewey education plays a large role in the development of an individual and it is an element that separates humans from other animals. It is important to try to comprehend what Dewey means by this and in order to do so the following must be done. First, one must understand the role education plays in an individual and Dewey’s notions of education in the areas of growth, direction and social function. Second, after comprehending Dewey’s notions of education in the areas of growth, direction, and social function, one must be able to grasp the distinction between education as a social function and the simple notion of training and what sets these two apart. Third, after being able to comprehend the notions of education and the distinction between education as a social function and training, the idea of why education is distinctive of human life will be further developed.

Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. In sociology we have various schools of thoughts or theories and each of these have their own view on the impact of sociology on “life chances”

According to author Newman Sociology is defined as an “systematic study of human societies” (Newman, 2010, p. 6). Sociology comprises of a set of complex theses that not only construct the textbook, but will guide the reader towards a complete understanding of Sociology as a whole. “Our thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions, interactions, and so on” (Newman, 2010, p. 6) the above list produce a complex relationship between society as a whole and the forces of which are inflicted upon the personal character. Sociology focus on the study of all the unique characteristics that constitute an individual to fully undated an individual we just understand “the interpersonal, historical, cultural, technological, organizational, and global environment

When understanding education there are many different ways which the purpose of education may be applied and defined. My personal philosophy of education is, 'educators must nurture/guide students within the academic field, to that the aims, goals and results during this task of educating or being educated are achieved '. This philosophy is used to understand that both teachers and students play an integral role in education. Academic performance, classroom methods/practices and also meeting the requirements of both the senior secondary Australian Curriculum Framework and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Framework are examples of these roles. This essay will discuss in detail how my personal philosophy of education, reflects on the role of teachers and learners, the aim of education and the methods and practices used in the classroom. Jean Jacques Rousseau, Paulo Freire, Locke, and Plato/Socrates are the four theorists that shall be used within this essay, to support claims and justify statements regarding this philosophy. John Dewey and A.S Neil are two non-supporting theorists that shall be used in contrast to justify this philosophy.

Sociology is a social science that seeks to explain human social activity. It focuses on the political, economic, educational and religious structures within societies and analyses the ways in which they develop and function. Robbins (2003) points out that sociological research into the development and functions of work structures within societies, and especially the way these have affected the behaviour of individuals and groups in these societies, has been extremely important in the development of organisational behaviour.

Social stratification refers to a system by which categories of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy. This hierarchy then shapes people’s identity and experiences, their relations with others, as well as their access to resources and opportunities. Social stratification is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people. In the primitive societies, hunting and gathering societies, for example, little was produced so only rudimentary social stratification could exist. In more technologically advanced societies where people produce a surplus over and above their basic needs, however, social resources are unequally distributed to various social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities. Social stratification persists over generations. It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next. A person’s social position is ascribed. Children assume the social positions of their parents. For example, within the caste system, birth determines occupational opportunities. A Dalit is likely to be confined to traditional occupations such as agricultural labour, scavenging, or leather work, with little chance of being able to get high-paying white-collar or professional work. Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or