Edmgt 307 : Educational Sociology Phil.

Setting
MARIFE C. GUANZON 

Reaction Paper
PART TWO : EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ACTION: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
Social bond, Order and Action

The theoretical threads that weave through the field of the sociology of
education today are structural functionalist, conflict and interaction theories.
Structural functionalist theory originated with the contributions of Emile Durkheim,
who emphasized the need for individuals to share similar values to maintain cohesive
society. Conflict theory, which grew out of the work of Karl Marx focuses on the
struggle of social classes to maintain dominance and power in social systems. The
interaction theory attempts to understand the deeper meanings individuals give to their
participation in and relationships with schools. The interactionist theory has its origin
in the work of George Mead. There are also several recent theories that, although
grounded in these earlier frameworks, provide important explanations that bridge the
gap between macro- and micro level theories;, Bourdieu’s description of cultural
capital. Parsons established action theory in order to integrate the study of social order
with the structural and voluntaristic aspects of macro and micro factors. In other words it
may be described as an attempt to maintain the scientific rigour of positivism, while
acknowledging the necessity of the "subjective dimension" of human action
incorporated in hermeneutic types of sociological theorizing.

I. Karl Marx

Marx's theories about society, economics and politics, which are collectively known as
Marxism, argue that all society progresses through the dialectic of class struggle. He
was heavily critical of the current socio-economic form of society, capitalism, which he
called the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie," believing it to be run by the wealthy middle
and upper classes purely for their own benefit, and predicted that it would inevitably
produce internal tensions which would lead to its self-destruction and replacement by a
new system, socialism. Under socialism, he argued that society would be governed by
the working class in what he called the "dictatorship of the proletariat."….

The Conflict theory, which grew out of the work of Karl Marx focuses on the struggle of
social classes to maintain dominance and power in social systems. The interaction
theory attempts to understand the deeper meanings individuals give to their
participation in and relationships with schools.

“Does class impact education and a child’s chance of success ? Research by the BBC
found that: Children from working class backgrounds are more likely to be placed into a lower
set due to their class rather than their educational achievement. A test at 168 schools
suggested that middle class pupils were more likely to be placed into higher sets regardless of
their ability. 10,000 pupils were studied, half of which were placed into sets according to their
ability. The other half was placed into sets according to their social class or ethnicity. This
means that pupil is more likely to obtain lower GCSE results since those in the lower sets are
usually entered for a lower exam paper.”
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/karl_marx_education.htm

Viewing this kind idea, it is not applicable in the Philippine setting. Filipinos have
the equal rights to education.- the right to show his talent and skills to excel in his/her
own strength , the right to choose his/her own school depending upon the parents’
capacity to spend/ support the child’s financial needs. Each has the freedom to choose
the course that a student wants to choose and the employment that he/she wants to
have. The role of educators/mentors are only to guide or assess their individual skills
acquired which would be of help in choosing a course.

II. Emile Durkheim has made such monumental and foundational contributions through
study and research that would take volumes to thoroughly discuss his Traditions.
Durkheim is best known for his development of an holistic and functionalist approach in
sociology. Holism is an approach which stresses that sociology should focus on and
study large social processes and institutions.

Functionalism is an approach which aims to discover the roles these institutions

and processes play in maintaining a social order. .
 " He looked at society as being a "whole living organism" where social phenomena
maintained an ongoing social system; it was not stationary or stagnant By observing the whole, and
the functions of the 'parts' or groups sepaprately, Durkheim could show how they naturally worked
towards the better good of the entire organism, and this was the Structural/Functionist Theory. This
principle is in direct opposition to the preceding Marxist era which stated that society consisted of
specific, organized segments which remained in competition with each other and they would always
be in that state. http://www.nccu.edu/~huang/ch2101a.htm .

In this theory , one can simply say that in the 21 st Century educational approach
in the Philippines , it’s relatively of the same objective to develop the individual
holistically. Through this , the institution has the big role to provide the needs of the
students to become a competent person.

For him , any “thing” or activity within the category of the sacred has to be
valued. The individuals may choose affiliations in each society and the total group is
referred to as a moral consciousness.

III. Mead's Theory Of The Self:

George Herbert Mead is well-known for his theory of the social self, which is based on
the central argument that the self is a social emergent. The social conception of the self
entails that individual selves are the products of social interaction and not the logical or
biological preconditions of that interaction. It is not initially there at birth, but arises in the
process of social experience and activity.

“According to Mead, there are three activities through which the self is developed: Language,
play, and game. Language allows individuals to take on the “role of the other” and allows people
to respond to his or her own gestures in terms of the symbolized attitudes of others. During play,
individuals take on the roles of other people and pretend to be those other people in order to
express the expectations of significant others. This process of role-playing is key to the
generation of self-consciousness .”

http://sociology.about.com/od/Profiles/p/George-Herbert-Mead.htm

The concept of “self’ is being felt by an individual as one interacts with others. As
one interacts, he/she uses language and gestures to be understood thus, message is
being sent through speaking and listening activities. One can understand individual’s
strengths and weaknesses by just showing gestures and words. Language plays an
important role in actualizing self consciousness of an individual. The very nature of this
conversation of gestures requires that the attitude of the other is changed through the
attitude of the individual to the other's stimulus. In the conversation of gestures of the
lower forms the play back and forth is noticeable, since the individual not only adjusts
himself to the attitude of others, but also changes the attitudes of the others. The
reaction of the individual in this conversation of gestures is one that in some degree is
continually modifying the social process itself. It is this modification of the process which
is of greatest interest in the experience of the individual . The relation of mind and body
is that lying between the organization of the self in its behavior as a member of the
rational community and the bodily organism as a physical thing.

IV. Talcott Parsons

Parsons sees motives as part of our actions. Therefore, he thought that social science
must consider ends, purposes and ideals when looking at actions. Parsons first major work, The
Structure of Social Action (1937)[3] where he discussed the methodological and meta-theoretical
premises for his general theory, contained among others an argument for the necessity for an
action theory to be based on a voluntaristic foundation and why both a sheer positivistic-
utilitarian approach as well as a sheer "idealistic" approach will not satisfy the necessary
prerequisites for the foundation of an action-theory (within the realm of the social sciences).

http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/007234962x/student_view0/chapter3/chapter_overview.htm

A human being is an individual with mind and body and an individual who is able to
exercise some form of action. Every time a person acts, there’s always reason or a
purpose. By identifying an end, this identifies the process as in time and resulting in
some particular state of affairs and imply conscious action. The act is initiated by the
actor within a certain situation. The “why” word must always used as a magic word to
check if one is doing the right way according his/ her purpose of doing something.
Analysis always comes first before doing an action. At times there are constraints within
which the actor makes choices. Every action is just secondary move as a result of
planning or motives. It must be in accordance with what is acceptable by the norms of
society.
V. Alfred Schutz.

Schutz was a phenomenologist who studied sociological aspects of the mind and
consciousness. In his study of everyday life, Schutz introduced the concept of
intersubjectivity. Intersubjectivity is the process by which people mutually visualize and
act upon what is taking place in the consciousnesses of one another. Intersubjectivity
serves as the basis for everyday relations. Schutz believed that intersubjective relations
take place in the lifeworld. This is a place in everyday life where people take the world
of intersubjective relations and their assumptions about those relations for granted.
Schutz referred to this taken-for-grantednesss as the natural attitude.

“In this world of everyday life, "people both create social reality and are constrained by the
preexisting social and cultural structures created by their predecessors." [9] Within this world,
relationships between the social and natural world are what come into doubt. There is this
existence of meaning which comes into play yet most people simply accept the world how it is
and never second guess the concept or problem of meaning. [10] Schütz delves even more into
specific relationships such as the difference between intimate face-to-face relationships and
distant and impersonal relationships. Schutz divided the social world into four realms, the most
important of which are the direct and indirect experience of social reality. Direct experiences of social
reality are called we-relations. In we-relations, we experience people in face-to-face intersubjectivity.
Indirect experiences of social reality are called they-relations. In they-relations we relate to abstract
types of people rather than to people themselves.
ighered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007234962x/student_view0/chapter3/chapter_overview.html

This theory seemed to be in connection with past ,present and future worlds of
realities in life. One has to respect beings because they had been part of ones past,
the people around whom everybody has to encounter with and the supernatural beings
whom people believe as part of Christian faith . People live everyday with strong faith
to work and do everything in accordance with ones cultures and beliefs . In our natural
world, people believe of rewards or blessings from above without any doubt. That’s
why people are prayerful and always hopeful of good fate. It is in ones consciousness
to do good things with others.
 The role of human awareness plays in the production of social action, social
situations and social worlds. In the essence, it is the belief that society is a human
construction. Sociology and education helps understand the respective logics behind
the various sociological approaches to education, their assumptions and their limits. It
clarifies the role ascribed to human reason in social action. Through out the work, the
theoretical grounding of contemporary approaches would be grasps by the readers.

References:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/karl_marx_education.htm

http://sociology.about.com/od/Profiles/p/George-Herbert-Mead.htm

http://www.nccu.edu/~huang/ch2101a.htm .

http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/007234962x/student_view0/chapter3/chapter_overview.htm

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007234962x/student_view0/chapter3/chapter_overview.html