HISTORY AND SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN EDUCATION– INTRODUCTION

LECTURE 8: SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

By – Raphael Tumaini O’maitarya
0755340506/0655820165: Email - rafaeltumaini@gmail.com
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Content
 Introduction
 Objectives
 Origin and Development of Sociology into a Discipline of Study
 Components in Sociology of Education
 Conclusion
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1. Introduction
In this lecture we shall explore the origin and development of sociology into a discipline and
issues addressed by sociology of education.

2. Origin and Development of Sociology into a Discipline of Study

Sociological reasoning can be traced back to Ancient Greece.

- Ibn Khaldoun, a 14th century historian, in his Muqaddimah, introduced it in his analysis of
universal history written in seven volumes.

- Ibn Khaldoun advanced social philosophy in formulating theories of "social cohesion" and
"social conflict.”

Sociology as a scientific discipline emerged in the early 19th century as an academic response to
the challenge of modernity.

- As the world is becoming smaller and more integrated, people's experience of the world is
increasingly atomized and dispersed.

- Sociologists hoped not only to understand what held social groups together, but also to
develop an "antidote" that is an agent which could counteract social disintegration and
exploitation.

The term was coined by Auguste Comte in 1838.

- The origin of this term is from Latin socius (companion, associate) and Greek logia (study
of, speech).
- Comte hoped to unify all studies of mankind including history, psychology and economics.

- His own sociological scheme was typical of the 19th century.

 - He believed all human life had passed through the same distinct historical stages and that, if
one could grasp this progress, one could prescribe the remedies for social ills.

- Classical" theorists of sociology from the late 19th and early 20th centuries include Karl
Marx, Ferdinand Tönnies, Émile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, and Max Weber.

- Like Comte, these figures considered themselves more than "sociologists".

- Their works addressed religion, education, economics, law, psychology, ethics, philosophy,
and theology, and their theories have been applied in a variety of academic disciplines.

- Their influence on sociology was foundational.

- Spencer appeared in 1874. Lester Frank Ward described by some as the father of American
sociology, published Dynamic Sociology in 1883.

3. The discipline of sociology of education

The discipline of sociology of education was taught by its own name for the first time at
the University of Kansas, Lawrence in 1890 by Frank Blackmar, under the course title Elements
of Sociology.

- The Department of History and Sociology at the University of Kansas was established in
1891 and the first full-fledged independent university department of sociology was
established in 1892 at the University of Chicago by Albion W. Small, who in 1895 founded
the American Journal of Sociology.

- The first European department of sociology was founded in 1895 at

the University of Bordeaux by Émile Durkheim, founder of L'Année Sociologique (1896).

- In 1919 a sociology department was established in Germany at the Ludwig Maximizing

University of Munich by Max Weber and in 1920 in Poland by Florian Znaniecki.

- The first sociology departments in the United Kingdom were founded after the Second
World War.

4. The Components in Sociology of Education

As has been noted elsewhere, sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and
forces affect educational processes and outcomes, and vice versa.

- Given that reality, there are different components, sociology of education has to address,
and some among them are:

o Education and knowledge

o Education and Social Action: Theoretical Foundations
o Sociological Approaches to Formal Education
o School And Society: Social Philosophy, Knowledge and Education
o Schools and Inequalities
As a reminder this is an educational module which aims to give you an overview of what
sociology and sociology of education is all about.

- You have to use this module to guide you peruse further into topics and sub-topics of the
subject. However, issues in sociology of education are mainly divided into five clusters.

Given above intricacies educational institution is a good sample of society.

- A school is a small form of society.

- In a school you can find various groups which form a society. For example;

o Groups of learners (boys and girls),

o Groups of teachers (male and female), and

o Groups of other stakeholders.

- There are various roles are played in educational institutions like evaluation (peer
evaluation, tutor evaluation, evaluation of teachers by learners etc).

- Teachers play a role of a judge (evaluation), helper (help learners in achieving educational
objectives), detective (finding out the law breakers), idol/model (promoting values).

- The environment of educational institution is a complex one and various issues like gender,
social background, language, technology, ideology interplay in a complex social milieu at
micro (within institutions) and macro/international (broad perspective) level.

- It is important therefore to note that issues in sociology of education are best defined by
knowing different theories and approaches. However, those stages alone amount to nothing.

- You have to know how to apply those approaches and theories in the practical manner

4. Conclusion
Sociology as a word has its origin in Greek language. However, it was Augustine Comte in 1838
who stressed that sociology should be an academic subject. His ideas were activated in the 19th
century, as a reaction to the challenge of mobility due to the world becoming a global village. In
this lecture we have depicted major issues in the discipline of sociology of education. It has been
noted that issues dealt with in sociology of education are: education and knowledge; education
and social action; sociological approaches to formal education; school and society as well as
schools and inequalities. These are broad areas of study which demand individual initiatives. In
short there are several definitions of sociology. However we may define sociology as the study
of human social life, groups and societies. Though Auguste Comte is regarded as the father of
sociology, as he coined the term in 1839, society, social life and social problems were in
existence, since time immemorial.