WESTERN

THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES ON
EDUCATION
NABILAH ABDUL RAHMAN [0919644]
IFFA NUR SYAFIQAH BT AHMAD FARIS [0910144]
 STRUCTURAL-
FUNCTIONALISM
VIEW OF SOCIETY
D EF I N I
structure
is primarily refers
a broad perspective in to
normative patterns of

D EF I N I
sociology
structure
is a broad primarily refers
perspective to
behaviour
and whichinsets out
(regularized
anthropology

TION
normative
sociology
to interpretpatternsas of
patterns of society
action in a
behaviour
and
structure (regularized
anthropology
with which setsparts
interrelated out

TION
accordance
to interpret with norms)
patterns of society as a
action in
structure
accordancewith interrelated
with norms) parts

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Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown
(1881-1955)
attended
earned the nickname
was an Cambridge
“Anarchy Brown”
English social because
where he ofconducted
his
political interests
studied moral fieldwork & in
anthropologist affliations
affliations
Andaman Islands &
Western Australia
 VIEW OF SOCIETY
 Society is viewed as :
a complex system of parts
(structures) that interact to perform
various necessary functions

 macrosociological theory:
focuses on large-scale social
patterns and social systems
 shared norms and values as the basis
of society

 focuses on social order based on

tacit agreements between groups and
organizations

 views social change as occurring in a

slow and orderly fashion.
 Structural Functionalism makes 7 main
assumptions:

1)Systems have a property of order

and an 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 within

their environments
6)Allocation and integration are two
fundamental processes necessary for a
gives state of equilibrium within a
system

7)Systems tend toward self-maintenance

involving control of boundaries and
relationships of parts to the whole,
control of the environment, and control
of tendencies to change the system from
within
 CONFLICT THEORY VIEW OF SOCIETY
• Conflict theories are perspectives in social science which
emphasize the social, political or material inequality of a
social group .
• Conflict theories draw attention to power differentials, such as
class conflict and generally contrast historically dominant
ideologist.
• The two main contributors to the formation of the conflict
perspective are :
(1)Karl Marx
(2)W. E. B. Du Bois.
 Karl Marx
(1818-1883)
• a German
philosopher,political
economist,historian, political
theorist, sociologist, and
communist revolutionary
• Founder of political /
economic theory of socialism
(communism)
• Wrote the Communist
Manifesto and co wrote Das
Kapital (with Friedrich
Engels)
-Karl Marx explained that conflicts between classes of society are
inevitable, since workers will always be exploited as a result of
capitalism.

-societies there are two major social groups: a ruling class and a
subject class.

-The ruling class derives its power from its ownership and control of
the forces of production.

-The ruling class exploits and oppresses the subject class.

-As a result there is a basic conflict of interest between the two

classes.
 W.E.B DU BOIS

• William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23,

1868 – August 27, 1963)
• intellectual leader of the black community in
America. In multiple roles as civil rights activist, Pan-
Africanist, sociologist, historian,author, and editor.
• graduated from Harvard
• founder and editor of the NAACP's(National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
journal The Crisis.
• Du Bois contributed to the conflict perspective by
studying society in reference to blacks and their
struggles within society
-According to Conflict Theory, society is:
 
-A struggle for dominance among competing social
groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc.).
- When conflict theorists look at society, they see the
social domination of subordinate groups through the
power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups.
-In the conflict view, the most powerful
members of dominant groups create the rules
for success and opportunity in society,
-often denying subordinate groups such success
and opportunities;
- this ensures that the powerful continue to
monopolize power, privilege, and authority.
-many conflict theorists focus on capitalism as
the source of social inequalities
 Interactionist View Of Society

Definition

In sociology, a theoretical perspective that

derives social processes (such as conflict,
cooperation, identity formation) from human
interaction.
 George Herbert Mead
•George Herbert Mead (1863–1931) was an American.
•Philosopher, sociologist and psychologist
•He is regarded as one of the founders of social psychology
and the American sociological tradition in general.
•George Herbert Mead is most often credited with founding
the interactionist perspective.
•Mead was a professor at the University of Chicago, and he
focused on the analysis of one-to-one situations and other
small groups.

He paid particular attention to body language such as a frown

or nod,
and he also asked the questions of how other group members
effected
these gestures.
• The interactionist view of society is that we
influence each other's
everyday social interactions.

• the interactionist perspective studies society on

a microsociological level.

• In other words they study on a small scale in

order to understand the large scale.
• Interactionists believe that an individual creates their own
social world through his or her interactions, and it is
thought that social order is maintained when people share
their understanding of everyday behavior.

• Interactionists say that social change occurs when the

positions and communication with one another change.

• The main idea of an interactionist sociologist is to study

nonverbal communication and small groups paying
particular attentions to objects and symbols