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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

Diversities in Educational Experiences & Sociological Perspectives on the Functions of

Schools and Education

Author’s Name

Master of Education, University of the People

EDUC 5010: Education in Context

Dr. Michelle Davis

October 7th, 2021

  
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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

The Assignment

Around the world, many children do not have access to education for a variety of reasons
including race, gender, and economic status. 

 Explain the diversity of educational experiences children have in your context.

 How does that fit with the idea of schooling having a sociological function? 
 What should the function and purpose of school and education be? 

Introduction to Diversities in Educational Experiences

Among some of the factors that affect access to education as highlighted by Education

Around the World (n.d.) are financial resources, the value placed on education, distribution of

educational resources, and universal access for those abled differently. In this respect, Education

Around the World (n.d.) notes that “Countries that do not have such basic amenities as running

water are unable to support robust education systems or, in many cases, any formal schooling at

all. The result of this worldwide educational inequality is a social concern for many countries”

(n.p).

In most parts of the world, those from underprivileged socio-economic echelons are more

likely to be excluded from education due to lack of financial resources required to enroll and

maintain children in school. In my milieu, where poverty index is very high, the need for

immediate necessities like food and basic health care and sanitation excludes quite a good

number of children from education. Besides the lack of financial resources required to keep

children in schools, in extreme cases the value that such families attach to education is

diminished and therefore they often opt to have all family members engaged in wage earning

activities or tilling the land for subsistence farming rather than ‘waste time’ in schools. Even
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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

where children from such families get enrolled in schools, their performance is often

compromised due to inability to secure learning materials as well as poor nutrition. This situation

entrenches disparities in social statuses in society since those from privileged backgrounds

manage to get everything required to be able to perform well and go on to secure top roles.

There are also some retrogressive cultural beliefs that create gender related obstacles, which

disadvantage particularly girls from acquiring education. Such practices range from biased

interaction between teachers and learners in the classroom, which often is biased towards boys

thus excluding girls from STEM disciplines, to early marriages that lead to girls dropping out of

school. The education in my milieu is set on the background of a tradition that gives boys

preferential treatment compared to girls. Even though these traditional beliefs are now dying and

affirmative regulations in place, such prejudices have perpetuated false beliefs that boys are more

suited for STEM related careers than girls leading to a situation where some professions are

dominated by men at the expense of girls.

Experiences also greatly differ between children in urban areas and rural villages due to

disparities in resources like teachers, books, desks, chairs, classrooms, electricity and internet

which disadvantage the rural folks. Similarly, even with urban areas, private schools which are

better funded by the high fee they charge parents are better equipped compared to public schools.

This sets up their learners to perform better than those in public schools. More recently, the

covid-19 pandemic exposed glaring disparities in the education system in my milieu where the

disadvantaged public schools which are underfunded lack basic tools necessary for online

learning compared to private schools.

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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

Sociological Functions of Education

The sociological theory of functionalism considers the main functions of education to be

socialization, social integration, social placement, and social and cultural innovation

(Sociological Perspectives on Education, 2010). There are also ancillary functions of education

which include child care during the time spent in school, the establishment of peer relationships,

and lowering of unemployment by keeping high school students out of the full-time labor force.

On the other hand, the sociological theory of conflict is of the view that education promotes

social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing. As earlier noted on

financial constraints affecting access to education, schools differ widely in their funding and

learning conditions, a situation which creates inequalities that lead to learning disparities which

reinforce social inequality. The third branch of sociological theory of education, symbolic

interactionism, is based on the idea that social interactions in the classroom, on the playground,

and in other school venues affects the development of gender roles and that teachers’

expectations of pupils’ intellectual abilities affect how much pupils learn.

Socialization aspect aims at creating solidarity in the society by presenting children with

the opportunity to learn the norms, values, and skills they need to function in society. In my

milieu, some of the norms and values are learnt through school/class rules such as respect for

authority, patriotism (and there was a loyalty pledge that all schools had to recite during specific

days alongside hoisting of the flag), punctuality, individualism, and competition. With regard to

the last two values, learners start competing for grades right at entry level through to the
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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

university. One of the educational goals in my country that matches this function is that which

aims to promote patriotism and foster nationalism and national unity among the different peoples

of Kenya who belong to different religions, ethnic groups and races to interact and live as

Kenyans.

Social integration on the other hand is based on the idea that for a society to work people

must subscribe to a common set of attitudes, beliefs and values that help prepare them for the

workforce as well as integrate them into the society. One of the educational goals in my milieu

aims at promoting religious and sound moral values by providing for the development of skills,

knowledge and attitudes that increases the acquisition of sound moral values and helps learners

to grow up into integrated citizens who are self-reliant and self-disciplined.

While there is no official program on school tracking, the practice of standardized testing

in my milieu still serves the purpose of social placement. Learners are encouraged to select

subjects based on their standardized test scores which eventually lead to the placement of

students in either humanities or STEM subjects.

Lastly, social and cultural innovation aspect is based on the idea that those in sciences

cannot make important scientific discoveries and those in the arts 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. The practice in my milieu is that students learn

all the subjects from early primary through to junior high school then start specializing in

subjects relevant to their chosen careers as they transition in to senior high school through to the

university.
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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

Function and Purpose of School and Education

From a sociological perspective, education means the entire learning experience provided

deliberately or more haphazardly within the culture. Informally, education entails information

handed down through family and other community structures from generation to generation.

Formal education on the other hand is the deliberate intervention intended to affect the learning

experience of learners through a systematic and structured process. Some examples of formal

education according to Anderson-Levitt (2005) are apprenticeship, initiation, and lectures,

sermons and scolding as well as schooling.

The main purpose of education is socialization of children in preparation for their

introduction to the adult world. And the purpose of the school is to help children learn; expose

them to literacy in a national or world language. In my milieu, children begin learning in mother

tongue before being introduced to Kiswahili which is the national language and English which is

the official language. Anderson-Levitt (2005) observes that in many countries a world language

is an important entry requirement to urban jobs ranging from the civil service to driving a taxi.

Through the school, learners also get exposed to books which introduce them to new definitions

of authoritative knowledge apart from what they learn in the family and community structures.

Learners also start developing citizenship consciousness through schooling such that

irrespective of their linguistic and religious ties to local and any other groups, they know that

first and foremost they belong to their nation. Similarly, it is through schools that children learn

about global issues.

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EDUC 5010 UNIT FIVE: SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

Anderson-Levitt (2005) notes that schools have become the official mechanism for social

reproduction and social mobility. In this respect, another of schools’ function is to sort children

into the statuses they will hold as adults. The school therefore offers hope to the child living in

difficult circumstances of a slim chance of succeeding. This in effect supplants alternative routes

for reproducing social statuses besides the direct inheritance of wealth. As a result, every child's

future fate depends at least in part on effort made and success achieved in school.

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References

Anderson-Levitt, K. M. (2005). The schoolyard gate: Schooling and childhood in global

perspective. Journal of Social History, 38(4),

987. http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A133934741/AONE?

u=lirn17237&sid=AONE&xid=c28ffaf8

Education around the world. (n.d.). In introduction to sociology.

Openstax.  https://cnx.org/contents/r-QzKsl_@7.23:voB0kEEh@6/Education-around-

the-World

Sociological perspectives on education.(2010). In Sociology: understanding and changing

the social world. Libraries Publisihing. http://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/16-2-

sociological-perspectives-on-education/ licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.