Prof. Ed.

113 Social Dimensions of Education

MODULE I

I INSTRUCTION
1. Take time to read this module, follow directions and answer the provided
activities.
2. For queries, go to your group chat or send a private message.
3. Do not procrastinate. Pass this module on the scheduled date.

II OVERVIEW
This module will provide future educators an introduction about Social
Dimensions of Education. This will give them a deeper understanding on social
relationships and educators’ role in the society.

III LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. Describe in detail the different sociological theories
2. Discuss the importance of sociological theories in the field of education
3. Analyze particular social conditions in the field of education based on
sociological perspectives
4. Recognize their own capabilities as social being
5. Explain the importance of the social self
6. Reflect on some ways to maintain harmonious social relationships
7. Explain the UNESCO’s Five Pillars of Learning
8. Illustrate situations in which the Five Pillars of Learning can be applied
9. Identify possible teaching strategies and techniques to implement the Five
Pillars of Learning
 
IV DISCUSSION

The Origin of Sociology of Education

The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and individual
experiences affects education and its outcome. It is relatively a new branch and
two great sociologist Émile Durkheim and Max Weber were the father of
sociology of education. Émile Durkheim's work on moral education as a basis
for social solidarity is considered the beginning of sociology of education.

Sociologists see education as one of the major institutions that constitutes

society. While theories guide research and policy formulation in the sociology of
education, they also provide logical explanations for why things happen the
way they do. These theories help sociologists understand theories as related to
educational.
Sociology
The word Sociology originates from latin prefix :socius, "companion"; and the
suffix -ology, "the study of", from Greek lógos, "knowledge" .

Sociology is the systematic study of society. Sociology encompasses all the

elements of society ie social relation, social stratification, social interaction,
culture.
Society
People in general thought of as living together in organized communities with
shared laws, traditions, and values.
The people of a particular country, area, time, etc., thought of especially as an
organized community.

Education
Education is a broad concept, referring to all the experiences in which learners
can learn something .

It is a social endeavor designed to get the maximum from the ability of each of
the member of the society. Education is covers both the teaching, learning of
knowledge and values.

Education consists of systematic instruction, teaching and training by

professional teachers.
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
According to some sociologist; society has two faces; the face of consensus and
the face of conflict. Further, they emphasized that sociological theory should be
divided into two parts between the consensus theory and the conflict theory.

The proponents of consensus and conflict sociological and social theories are:
 Karl Marx
 Emile Durkheim
 Max Weber
 Talcott Parsons & Robert Merton
 Louis Althusser & Ralph Dahrendorf
 Herbert Mead & Herbert Blumer

Karl Marx Marx's class theory rests on the premise that "the history of all
hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." According to this
view, ever since human society emerged from its primitive and relatively
undifferentiated state it has remained fundamentally divided between classes
who clash in the pursuit of class interests.

Emile Durkheim discusses how modern society is held together by a division of

labor that makes individuals dependent upon one another because they
specialize in different types of work. Durkheim is particularly concerned about
how the division of labor changes the way that individuals feel they are part of
society as a whole.

Max Weber Max Weber believed that it was social actions that should be the
focus of study in sociology. To Weber, a “social action’” was an action carried
out by an individual to which an individual attached a meaning. Therefore, an
action that a person does not think about cannot be a social action.

Conflict Theory
Emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order. This
perspective is derived from the works of Karl Marx, who saw society as
fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources.
According to conflict theory, inequality exists because those in control of a
disproportionate share of society’s resources actively defend their advantages.
 The conflict mode is
concerned with the Social structures produce
stresses and conflicts patterns of inequality in the
that emerge in society distribution of scarce
because of competitions resources.
over scarce resources.
It focuses on the
inequalities that are Conflict
built into social
structures rather than
on those that emerge
because of personal Reorganize and Change
characteristics.

Consensus Theory
 Is a social theory that states that social change should occur in
institutions that are provided by a political or economic system, which is
fair. The theory also states that the absence of conflict within a society is
the state of equilibrium.
 It is being considered in these theories that the social order in society
should be maintained, based upon the accepted norms, values, roles or
regulations that are accepted by the society in general.

Consensus Theories Conflict Theories

See shared norms and values as Emphasize the dominance of some

fundamental to society social groups by others

Focus on social order based on tacit See social order as based on

agreements manipulation and control by
dominant groups

View social change as occurring in a View social change as occurring

slow and orderly fashion rapidly in a disorderly fashion as
subordinate groups overthrow
dominant groups
 Structural functionalism

Structural functionalism, especially in the work of Tacott Parsons, Robert

Merton, and their students and followers, was for many years the dominant
sociological theory. However, in the last three decades it has declined
dramatically in importance (Chrissn1995) and, in at least some senses, has
receded into the recent history of sociological theory.
Parsons’ structural functionalism has four functional imperatives for all
“actions” systems, embodied in his famous AGIL scheme. These
functional imperatives that are necessary for all systems are:
 1. 1. Adaptation – a system must cope with external situational
exigencies. It must adapt to its environment and adapt environment to
its needs. 
 2. Goal attainment- a system must define and achieve its primary goals. 
 3. Integration- a system must regulate the interrelationship of its
component parts. It must also manage the relationship among the other
three functional imperatives (A,G,L) 
 4. Latency (pattern maintenance)- a system must furnish, maintain and
renew both the motivation of individuals and the cultural patterns that
create and sustain the motivation.
Parsons designed AGIL scheme to be used at all levels in this theoretical
system. The behavioral organism is the action system that handles the
adaptation function by adjusting to and transforming the external world. The
personality system performs the goal-attainment function by defining system
goals and mobilizing resources to attain them. The social system copes with the
integration function by controlling its component parts. Finally, the cultural
system performs the latency function by providing actors with the norms and
values that motivate them for action (Ritzer, 2000). Parsons’ four action
systems are shown below.

Cultural System Social System

Action System Personality System

Structure of the General Action System (Source: Sociological Theory,

George Ritzer, 2000).

The heart of Parsons’ work is found in his four action systems. In the
assumptions that Parson made regarding his action systems we encounter the
problem of order which was his overwhelming concern and that has become a
major source of criticism of his work. Parsons found his answer to the problem
of order in structural functionalism, which operates in his view with the
following sets of assumptions:

1. Systems have the property of order and interdependence of parts.

2. Systems tend toward self-maintaining order, or equilibrium.
3. The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of change.
4. The nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that the
other parts can take.
5. Systems maintain boundaries with their environments.
6. Allocation and integration are two fundamental process necessary for a given
state of equilibrium of a system.
7. Systems tend toward self-maintenance involving the maintenance of the
relationships of parts to the whole, control of environmental variations, and
control of tendencies to change the system from within.

These assumptions led Parsons to make the analysis of the ordered

structure of society his priority.
Parsons’ conception of the social system begins at the micro level with
interaction between ego and alter ego, defied as the most elementary form of
the social system. He described a social system as something which consists of
a plurality of individual actors interacting with each other in a situation which
has at least a physical or environment aspect, actors who are motivated in
terms of a tendency to the “optimization of gratification” and whose relation to
their situations, including each other, is defined and mediated in terms of a
system of culturally structured and shared symbols.
In his analysis of the social system, Parsons was primarily interested in
its structural components. In addition to a concern with the status-role, he was
interested in such large-scale components of social systems as collectivities,
norms and values. Parsons was not simply a structuralist but also a
functionalist.

Functional Requisites of a Social System by Talcott Parsons

1. Social system must be structured so that they operate compatibly with other
systems.
2. To survive, the social system must have the requisite from other systems.
3. The system must meet a significant proportion of the needs of its actors.
4. The system must elicit adequate participation from its members.
5. It must have at least a minimum of control over potentially disruptive
behavior.
6. If conflict becomes sufficiently disruptive, it must be controlled.
7. Finally, a social system requires a language in order to survive.

The functionalist perspective is primarily concerned with why a society

assumes a particular form. This perspective assumes that any society takes its
particular form because that form works well for the society given its particular
situation.
Some societies have highly advanced technologies and they also differ in terms
of their interactions with other societies. Thus, what works for one society
cannot be expected to work for another.

In any society, however, the functionalist perspective makes one basic

argument. Whatever are the characteristics of a society, those characteristics
developed because they met the needs of that society in its particular situation.
The key principles of the functionalist perspective (Farley, 1990) include the
following:
I. interdependency. One of the most important principles of functionalist theory
is that society is made up of interdependent parts. This means that every part
of society is dependent to some extent on other parts of society, so that what
happens at one place in society has important effects elsewhere. For subject
and the students to learn it. Someone has to provide electricity to light the
room, and in order for that electricity to be provided, someone had to build a
dam or provide fuel to the power plant.
2. Functions of Social Structure and Culture. Closely related to
interdependency is the idea that each part of the social system exists because
it serves some function. This principle is applied by functionalists to both
social structure and culture. Social structure refers to the organization of
society, including its institutions, its social positions, and its distribution of
resources. Culture refers to a set of beliefs, language, rules, values, and
knowledge held in common by members of a society.
3. Consensus and cooperation. Another key principle in functionalist theory is
that society have a tendency toward consensus; that is to have certain basic
values that nearly everyone in the society agrees upon. For example, we all
believe in the principles of democracy and freedom. Societies tend toward
consensus in order to achieve cooperation. Functionalists believe that inability
to cooperate will paralyze the society, and people will devote more and more
effort to fighting one another rather than getting anything done.
4. Equilibrium. A final principle of functionalist theories is that of equilibrium.
This view holds that, once a society has achieved the form that is best adapted
to its situation, it has reached a state of balance or equilibrium, and it will
remain in that condition until is forced to change by some new condition. New
technology, a change in climate, or contact with an outside society are all
conditions to which a society might have to adapt. When such conditions
occur, social change will take place: society will change just enough to adapt to
the new situation. However, one that adaptation has been made, the society
has attained a new state of balance or equilibrium with its environment, and it
will not change again until some new situation requires further adaptation.

Social structures provide preset

patterns which evolve to meet
human needs

Stability, order, and harmony Maintenance of society

Figure 3. The Structural-Functional Model

(Source: Sociology Theory, George Ritzer, 2000)

The structural functional model addresses the question of social

organization and how it is maintained. This theoretical perspective is
the legacy of Durkheim and Spencer. It has its roots in natural science
 and the analogy between a society and an organization. In the analysis
of living organism, the scientist’s task is to identify the various parts
(structures) and determine how they work (function). In the study of society,
a sociologist with this perspective tries ton identify the structures of society
and how they function; hence the name structural functionalism (Javier et
al., 2002).
The component parts of a social structure are families, neighbors,
associations, schools, churches, banks, countries, and the like.
Functionalists maintain that social structures exist in society for the
functions they have to carry out (Panopio et. Al., 1994).
Functionalist sociologists begin with a picture of society that stresses the
interdependence of the social system; these researches often examine how
well parts are integrated with each other. Functionalists view society as a
kind of machine, where one part articulates with another to produce the
dynamic energy required to make society work. Most important,
functionalism stresses the processes that maintain social order by assessing
consensus and agreement. Although functionalists understand that change
is inevitable, they underscore the evolutionary nature of change. Further,
although they acknowledge that conflict between group exists, functionalists
argue that without a common bond to unite groups, society will disintegrate.
Thus functionalists examine the social processes necessary to the
establishment and maintenance of society is extracted from the internal
rules, norms, values, and regulations of these various ordered institutions.
Modern functionalist theories of education have their origin in the work
of Talcott Parsons. As cited by Ballantine and Spade (2004), Parsons believes
that education is a vital part of a modern society, a society that differs
considerably from all previous societies. From this perspective, schooling
performs an important function in the development and maintenance of a
modern, democratic society, especially with societies education becomes the
key institution in a meritocratic selection process.
In addition to its role in a meritocratic society, education plays a
significant function in the maintenance of the modern democratic and
technocratic society. In a political democracy, schools provide citizens with
the knowledge and dispositions to participate actively in civic life.
In an ever increasingly technical society, schools provide students with
the skills and dispositions to work in such a society. Although schools teach
specific work skills, they also teach students how to learn so they may adapt
to new work roles and requirements.

Interactionist Theories attempt to make the “commonplace strange” by

turning on their heads everyday taken-for-granted behaviors and interactions
between students and students and between students and teachers. It is
exactly what most people do not question that is most problematic to the
interactionist. For example, the processes by which students are labeled
“gifted” or “learning disabled” are, from an interactionist point of view,
important to analyze because such processes carry with them many implicit
assumptions about learning and children (Ballantine and Spade, 2004)
 Symbolic Interaction
Interaction theory has its origin in the social psychology of early
twentieth century George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Coley. Mead and
Cooley examined the ways in which the individual is related to society through
ongoing social interactions. This school of thought, known as symbolic
interactionism, views the self as socially constructed in relation to social forces
and structures and the product of ongoing negotiations of meanings. Thus, the
social self is an active product of human agency rather than a deterministic
product of social structure.
The basic idea is a result of interaction between individuals mediated by
symbols in particular, language. The distinctive attributes of human behavior
grow from people’s participation in varying types of social structure which
depend in turn, on the existence of language behavior.
Symbolic interactionists are, of course, interested not simply in
socialization but also in interaction in general, which is of “vital importance in
its own right.’ Interaction is the process in which the ability to think is both
developed and expressed. All types of interaction, not just interaction during
socialization process. In most interaction, actors must take others into
consideration and decide if and how to fit their activities to others. However,
not all interaction involves thinking.
 UNESCO’S FIVE PILLARS OF EDUCATION

How could we create educational environments that are able to provide

learning opportunities that are authentic, relevant, integrative, and more
relevant for the 21st Century?

UNESCO’S Education for Sustainable Development Initiative (2012) presented

a conceptual framework for ongoing, lifelong learning. This model
organizes learning into the following five pillars:
 1. Learning to Know – the development of skills and knowledge needed to
function in this world e.g. formal acquisition of literacy, numeracy,
critical thinking, and general knowledge.

2. Learning to DO – the acquisition of applied skills linked to professional

success.

3. Learning to Live Together – the development of social skills and values

such as respect and concern for others, and the appreciation of cultural
diversity.

4. Learning to BE – the learning that contributes to a person’s mind, body,

and spirit. Skills include creativity and personal discovery, acquired
through reading, the Internet, and activities such as sports and arts.

5. Learning to Transform Oneself and Society – when individuals and

groups gain knowledge, develop skills, and acquire new values as a
result of learning, they are equipped with tools and mindsets for creating
lasting change in organizations, communities, and societies.

These five pillars are linked together by a social constructivist approach to

individual learning and a social constructionist approach to the development of
learning communities that significantly influences how students learn and how
faculty and staff support their learning. According to a social constructivist
approach, learning is an active social process – an individual’s acquisition of
new knowledge and skills is heavily influenced and supported by the social
environment in which the learning occurs. Students make meaning from their
experiences by being actively engaged with others and the environment in
which they are situated rather than passively receiving information from their
professors or texts.

A social constructivist orientation includes the following key elements:

Self-Responsibility

Complex Problems

Collaborative Inquiry

Open Ended Learning Activities

Discussion and Reflection

People Learn in a Diversity of Ways

The ways in which my study program in OISE is designed, the courses are
developed and taught, and students are supported inspired the below teaching
philosophy:

• Demonstrate passion for learning

• Value students

• Focus on applied research-informed learning

• Share expertise
• Know how to use learning technologies

• View teaching and learning as critically reflective practices

• Create learning conditions that are respectful, welcoming, and inclusive

• Support lifelong transformative education

• Facilitate authentic, challenging, collaborative and engaging learning

experiences

• Model and encourage academic integrity

• Actively participate in the learning community

AI UNESCO'S FIVE PILLARS OF EDUCATION | Souham's Blog