Running head: DIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE 1

Diversity of Educational experience

University of The People

EDUC-5010

Week#5-Written assignment

Sociological Foundations of Education

17th, December, 2019

Joy Meness, Instructor

Table of content

Abstract .....................................................................................................................................3
 DIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE 2

Introduction...............................................................................................................................4

1. Educational philosophy of Myanmar…….............................................................................4

2. The diversity of educational experience according to sociology…......................................5

3.Conclusion ............................................................................................................................7

References..................................................................................................................................8

Abstract

Every one of us must repeatedly express the idea that “Education” is extremely important in our

life. From the writer’s perspectives, education is important because it is the door which opens

unlimited and ultimate source of knowledge. And that knowledge in turns develops in us as a

perspective of looking at life from various dimensions for a better survival. From the
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perspectives of this modern world, good education is an eligibility indicator a wide variety of

career opportunities. Education is something that doesn’t stand in isolation and every aspects of

education is linked with social context. Sociology has a critical impact in the society building

and also the creation of the future generation of the world.

Introduction

“Education is a social institution through which a society’s children are taught basic academic

knowledge, learning skills, and cultural norms.”( Education around the world, n.d.) Different

nations around the world are equipped with different education system; however, every system

differs immensely. The success of the educational system of a country is connected to its

political, social, cultural and technological advancement of a nation. The factors affecting the
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education system of the writer’s milieu are more of political issues. However, this paper

discusses the impact of sociology and the diversity of education experience learners have from

the perspectives of the write’s milieu.

DIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

1. Educational philosophy of Myanmar

Education has been highly prioritized in Myanmar since the ancient era. Like every other

nation, Myanmar holds a strong vision and mission towards the education of the citizens. The

purpose of the education is “creating a system that will generate a learning society capable of

facing the challenges of the Knowledge Age” (Education for All: Access to and Quality of

Education in Myanmar,n.d.). Myanmar education system was one of the top tiers in Asia, before

the military government in1962. During the military regime, it is highly neglected by the policies

of the military rules which last for a half-century, and it has affected the system tremendously.

After the military regime and since the new democratic government from 2012, the

nation is in great effort in improving the quality of education. Recently it has made some

positive, progressive move towards a better education, yet many children are under privileges

and challenges. The nation is also facing many challenges uplifting the rooted traditional

curriculum that can be regarded as outdated for this new century. However, social, economic and

cultural influences also create education inequity among citizens. The lack of adequate funding

also hinders the government from a prominent educational change; therefore, the government

failed to cover the societal needs of the citizens. As a result, many private and international

schools emerges across the nations which worsen the education inequality as a study writes

“Myanmar, a country in which state education does not cover minimum societal needs and in
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which civil society and private businesses have had to develop roles as alternatives/” (Lall

M,2008)

The emergence of private and international schools creates a high level of inequality in education

among citizens. Capitalism has overwhelmed the choice of schooling for rich and poor people

which in turns creates diversity among society. Affordable family sends their children to learn in

private or international schools for secondary level and later to abroad for universities and higher

education. The level of education between the two groups is so drastic that the harmony of

society seems conflicting and unstable.

2.The diversity of educational experience according to sociology

From the theoretical perspective of the sociology, Myanmar education system falls apart

most into functionalism. Since the military regime until present, the education system of my

milieu regards education as a tool to serve the societal and political needs of the nation. The

system is built on the premises of functionalist ideas that are, “socialization, social integration,

social placement and social and cultural innovation” Theoretical perspectives on education.

(2010). One of the advantages of functionalism is that it is systematic and straight forward in

design. However, the classroom in Myanmar has a system of practising competition among

students for better grades, better academic performances and rewards just like the American

schools. Tracking and sorting are the approaches for channelling students into most capable and

the least one. For example, the students who could achieve better grades at the secondary level

or grade 12 is eligible to continue in better, higher and most prestigious universities like

medical, engineering and technical universities in their tertiary-level. A student is regarded fail

at grade 12 if he cannot manage to achieve 40% in all subjects in the exam and they have to
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drop out of school if they fail for two years continuously. As a result, there is an increasing

number of dropout rates ascending year after year at the secondary level because of strict norms

the system has integrated, which can also be called as determinist practice.

From the writer's perspective, although functionalism offers maintenance of the whole

society and emphasis on minimization of social conflicts, the disadvantages it bears are more

prone to bring conflicts as they exist as hidden ideology. According to the impact of

functionalism, capitalism is spread in my milieu, which affects education enormously not

allowing equal human agency and equal rights in learners both inside and outside of the

classroom. The status quo is the primary conflict which brings the education inequity as

consequences in the nation. Education has been conflict-oriented and critical in my milieu,

which fails to provide human agency, however, the adverse effects and the weakness are even

more visible in this era of rapid economy and technology change.

The function and the purpose of schooling should be creating thoughtful citizens with

high self-esteem and confidence who is ready to serve society as a lifelong contributor. Every

citizen should at least be well equipped with foundation skills they need for the life survival

even if not higher education. At the same time for higher education, the nation should equip the

schools with internationally comparable teaching and learning assessment to meet the

international standards and to be comparable with pioneering countries with better education. A

capital investment in education should consider by the nation's stakeholders to make changes in

schools infrastructures, libraries, trained teachers and learning opportunities. Moreover, a world

standard curriculum along with skilled and motivated teachers is the lifeline of any education

system. Thus, the nation should consider a curriculum reform and offer teachers training

program across the nation in order to advance learning.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, after the implementation of an effective curriculum, the practice of symbolic

interactionism in the classroom by the educators, I find a remedy for effective reform of my

milieu. All educators must recognize that action taken in chunks is more effective than trying to

accomplish it as a whole. Thus, educators must pay attention to the classroom interaction as a

chunk of community or a small community and improve the quality of classroom as a prior

core. The explicit welfare of the learner which starts from the classroom I believe is the

progressive steps towards social welfare of the society, the nation and the whole world.

References

Education for All: Access to and Quality of Education in Myanmar,n.d.

https://yangon.sites.unicnetwork.org/files/2013/05/Education-for-All-in-Myanmar-Final-

2012-FEB-2.pdf

Education around the world. (n.d.). In Introduction to Sociology. Retrieved March 3, 2018, from
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  https://cnx.org/contents/r-QzKsl_@7.23:voB0kEEh@6/Education-around-the-World

Lall.M.(2008) Evolving Education in Myanmar: the interplay of state, business and the

community. Retrieved from

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctt24hf5k.12.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-

4802%252Ftest1&refreqid=excelsior%3A25172a9aa7009b507e7409004d4e5432

Theoretical perspectives on education. (2010). In University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing

(Ed.), Sociology: Understanding and changing the social world. Retrieved March 3,

2018, from http://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/16-2-sociological-perspectives-on-

education/