CHAPTER SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES and

Their IMPLICATIONS to EDUCATION

Intended Learning Outcome:

At the end of the Chapter, the students must be able to explain three social
science theories and their implications to education.

Introduction

Sociologists today employ three primary theoretical perspectives: the

functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective and the symbolic interactionist
perspective. These perspectives offer sociologists theoretical paradigms for explaining
how society influences people, and how people influences society. Each perspective
uniquely conceptualizes society, social forces, and human behaviour.

Three Social Theories

1. Structural-functional theory

Herbert Spencer, the proponent of structural-functional views society as “a system

of interconnected parts each with a unique function. The parts have to work together
for stability and balance of society.” Society is compared to the human body with
different but interrelated parts performing different functions. Just as the human body
has many parts, society has different but interrelated components such as family, the
state, the school, the Church, mass media, economics. These must coordinate and
collaborate for society to function well. If one part of the human body does not function
well, the whole body is affected. In the same way, when one component of society
does not do its part, society will not function well. The overall health of the organism
(society) depends upon the health of each structure.
This is exactly the message of the song, Dem Bone. The bones are
interconnected. Each has a unique function.
For instance, there is peace, stability, equilibrium and harmony in society if
family do their part bringing forth children, nurturing and socializing them; if education
or schools effectively transmit knowledge, skills and values; if politics governs citizens
well; if economic takes care of food production, distribution of goods and services and
if religion strengthens the moral fiber of the member of society. Failure of one social
institution to do its part means disruption of stability in society. For example, the rise
of single parent and dual earner families means families have less time or sometimes
no more time left for the supervision of children in their homework which may result to
an increase of non-performing students in school.
In high tech world, educational institution must teach adults the new skills to
relate to the tech-savvy young and the world and to be more effective in the workplace.
With more women in the workplace, policies against sexual harassment and
discrimination were formulated. The Cybercrime Act of 2012 came about to address
legal issues concerning online interactions and the internet in the Philippines.
The functionalist theory of education focuses on how education serves the need
of society through the development of skills encouraging social cohesion. The role of
schools is to prepare students for participation in the institution of society. Education
is concerned with transmission of core values for social control. Education is
concerned with socializing people by bringing together people from different
backgrounds. The functionalist theory is focused on social stability and solidarity.
Functionalists see education as a beneficial contribution to an ordered society.

Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing

their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead,
functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of
society will compensate naturally for any problems that may arise. For example,
schools can compensate for the lack of time and lack of parental advice from home.

Purposes of Schooling according to Functionalism

The purpose of schooling according to the functionalism theory are:
1. Intellectual purposes- acquisition of cognitive skills, inquiry skills.
2. Political purposes- educate future citizens; promote patriotism; promote
assimilation of immigrants; ensure order, public civility and conformity to laws.
3. Economic purposes- prepare students for late work roles; select and train the
labor force needed by society.
4. Social purposes- promote a sense of social and moral responsibility; serve as
a site for the solution or resolution of social problems; supplement the efforts of
other institution of socialization such as the family and the church.
An examination of the present curricula in basic and in tertiary education shows that
these 4 functions are given attention to.

2. Conflict Theory
According to this theory, there are always two opposing sides in a conflict
situation. People take sides between maintaining the status quo and introducing
change then arrive at an agreement. Conflict theory welcomes conflict for that
is the way to the establishment of new society. Conflict theorists find potential
conflict between any groups where inequality exists: racial, gender, religious,
political, economic, and so on. Conflict theorists note that unequal groups
usually have conflicting values and agendas, causing them to compete against
one another. This constant competition between groups forms the basis for the
ever-changing nature of society.
The factory workers want change better working conditions, higher
salaries. The factory owners naturally are opposed to such. The resolution of
the conflict, however, leads to a compromise, a change in the way the factory
is managed where both workers and owners are happy.

How Proponents of Conflict Theory Education

According to the conflict theory, education is not truly a social benefit or
opportunity as seen by the functionalists. Rather, education is a powerful
means of maintaining power structures and creating a docile work force for
capitalism. The purpose of education is to maintain social inequality and to
preserve the power of those who dominate society and teach those in the
working class to accept their position as a lower class worker of society. Conflict
 theorists call this the “hidden curriculum”. The “hidden” curriculum socializes
young people into obedience and conformity for them to be developed as docile
workers.
Functionalists disagree strongly. They assert that if schools teach
adherence to policies, obedience to rules, respect for persons including
authorities, punctuality and honesty, civil right it is because they are the very
principles dear to a democratic way of life. It is not because they want to make
the workers remain docile, unquestioning and subservient forever while those
in power remain in power.

3. The Symbolic Interactionist Theory Perspective

Three tenets of symbolic interactionist theory are:

1. An individual’s action depends on meaning. We act based on the

meaning we give to symbols. Symbols can be actions, objects or word. If a
student understands that teacher believes in his/her ability he/she tries
his/her best prove that indeed he/she is able. If a teacher does otherwise, a
student tends to behave in accordance with teacher’s poor perception.
2. Different people may give different meanings to the same thing. When
teachers are strict, some students see it as an expression of care. Others
may rebel because they perceive teacher’s behavior as limiting their moves
and desires. A businesswoman may look at a tree and starts estimating how
much money he can get if he has the tree cut down for lumber. A philosopher
or a poet may look at it with the thought, “they also serve who only stand
and wait” like John Milton’s from his poem “On his Blindness”.
3. Meanings change as individuals interact with one another. A negative
meaning that you used to associate with hospital when you went to a
hospital which looked more as a hotel than the usual hospital you know is
changed. After you have taught well, your first impression of teaching as
boring is changed to teaching is exciting.

Implication to Teaching
Let us continue to teach for meaning. Let us promote and create opportunities
for genuine interaction among our students, teachers, between students and teachers.
Interaction does not only mean dealing with warm bodies. Interaction includes reading,
listening, viewing. Other people’s views and meanings are conveyed in what they have
written, in speeches and lectures they have delivered.
Let us use positive symbols – in the form of gestures, words, actions, and
appearances – to express our trust, belief in our students’ abilities, an affirmation of
their being. In fact, our belief in our students also have positive effect in us. We find
ourselves more prepared in class, more caring, truly professional.
The symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic
interactionism, directs sociologist to consider the symbol and details of everyday life,
what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other.
As the term implies, symbolic interactionist theory states that people interact
with one another through symbols. Language is a predominant symbol among people.
According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to
symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these
symbols. Verbal conversation, in which spoken words serve as the predominant
symbols, make this subjective interpretation especially evident. The words have a
certain meaning for the “sender”, and, during effective communication, they hopefully
have the same meaning for the “receiver”. In other terms, words are not static “things”;
they require intention and interpretation. Conversation is an interaction of symbol
between individuals who constantly interpret the world around them. To ensure mutual
understanding, the sender of the symbol and the receiver of the symbol must give the
same meaning to the symbol or run the risk of misunderstanding.
Faulty communication can result from differences in the perception of the
same events and symbol. Did you experience this in your activity of giving
symbols of caring? While you looked at your symbol as something expressing
your love and care, your partner may have not understood it that way at all. This
happens in real life. It is important that our symbols are understood by others in the
way they were intended to be. Sometimes it happens in the language (which is a
symbol) we speak. Often we are misunderstood or we misunderstood others. So let’s
keep on communicating.

Weakness of Symbolic Interaction Theory

Critics claim that symbolic interactionism neglects the macro level of social
interpretation-the “big picture”.in other words, symbolic interactionists may miss the
larger issues of society by focusing too closely on the “trees” or by restricting
themselves to small or individual interactions.
Symbolic interactionism traces its origin to Max Weber’s assertion that
individuals act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world. However,
it was the American philosopher George H. Mead (1863-1931) who introduced this
perspective to American sociology in the 1920s.

TAKEAWAYS

• Functionalism is a theory of society that focuses on the structures that create

the society and on how the society is able to remain stable.
• Functionalists are for stability and a state of equilibrium in society.
• To maintain this state of stability, various institutions are expected to do their
part.
• For the functionalists, change is necessary only when things get unstable.
• Conflict theory welcomes conflict for conflict paves the way to change, to the
establishment of a new society.
• Symbolic-interactionist theory is focused on individuals who act based on
meaning which is based on individual’s experience. These meanings are not
permanent. They change over time as the individual continues to interact with
others and with symbols.