Foundations of

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THEORIES IN SOCIOLOGY--continued
 Theories in most cases ae abstract---they require deep reading and critical analysis to understand
 Theories are guidelines----which require interpretation and application to real life situations
 Knowing a theory without applying it to real life situation does not help
 Implications means------what does the theory mean in real life situation?
 NOTE: Most students present theories and fail to apply to real life situation------they
become------------------ARMCHAIR THEORISTS
Example of theory and implication
According to Piaget, children between 5 and 7 years old are in the concrete operational stage. They
view things in concrete form. If you ask them how many brothers or sisters they have, they will use
fingers to represent the number for example

 Implications
When teaching children who are in concrete operational stage teachers use concrete media such as
counting sticks, stones of abacus
THEORIES IN SOCIOLOGY
THEORY
 A plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to
explain phenomena
 A theory is a well-substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can
incorporate laws, hypotheses and facts.
 A theory is a set of statements that is developed through a process of continued
abstractions. A theory is aimed at a generalized statement aimed at explaining a
phenomenon.
Examples of theories
 Motivation theories by Maslow; Herzberg; McGregor; etc
 Child development by Piaget; Bruner; Skinner
 Learning theories by Vygotsky; Bandura; Montessori
 Curriculum development by Tyler; Stake; Scriven
Functionalism Theory Overview

 Functionalism posits that society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each aspect of it
works for the stability of the whole.
 Durkheim envisioned society as an organism since each component plays a necessary
role but can't function alone. When one part experiences a crisis, others must adapt to fill
the void in some way.
 In functionalist theory, the different parts of society are primarily composed of social
institutions, each designed to fill different needs. Family, government, economy, media,
education, and religion are important to understanding this theory
 In many societies, the government provides education for the children of the family, which
in turn pays taxes the state depends on to keep running. The family relies on the school to
help children grow up to have good jobs so they can raise and support their own families.
 If all does not go well, the parts of society must adapt to produce new forms of order,
stability, and productivity.
 When one part of the system is dysfunctional, it affects all other parts and creates social
problems, prompting social change.
The Functionalist Perspective on Education
 Functionalists focus on the positive functions performed by the education system. There are
four positive functions that education performs
1. Creating social solidarity
2. Teaching skills necessary for work
3. Teaching us core values
4. Role Allocation and meritocracy
 School performs positive functions for most pupils most of the time – even though students
might not want to go to school sometimes and not necessarily enjoy school some of the
time, the majority come out after 13 years of formal schooling as reasonable human beings.
 There does seem to be a link between education and economic growth, suggesting a good
education system benefits the wider society and economy. All countries in Western Europe
have very good education systems while many poorer countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
have many more problems with their education systems, such as low attendance rates.
 Functionalist theory acknowledges deviance among learners but claims that deviance is a
culmination of something not well in various societal institutions eg poor parenting; poverty;
discrimination; unfairness; lack of love; poor role models.
Marxist theory-------Karl Marx
 Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory originated by Karl Marx that focuses
on the struggle between capitalists and the working class.
 Marx wrote that the power relationships between capitalists and workers were inherently
exploitative and would inevitably create class conflict.
 He believed that this conflict would ultimately lead to a revolution in which the working
class would overthrow the capitalist class and seize control of the economy.
 To maximize profits, business owners have an incentive to get the most work out of their
laborers while paying them the lowest possible wages. This creates an unfair imbalance
between owners and labourers, whose work the owners exploit for their own gain.
 Because workers have little personal stake in the process of production, Marx believed
they would become alienated from it, as well as from their own humanity, and turn
resentful toward business owners.
 The bourgeoisie also employ social institutions, including government, media,
academia, organized religion, and banking and financial systems, as tools and weapons
against the proletariat with the goal of maintaining their position of power and privilege. 3
The Marxist Perspective on Education

 Traditional Marxists see the education system as working in the interests of ruling class elites. According to the
Marxist perspective on education, the system performs three functions for these elites:
 It reproduces class inequality.
 It legitimates class inequality.
 It works in the interests of capitalist employers
Some practical examples
 There is an overwhelming wealth of evidence that schools do reproduce class inequality because the middle
classes do much better in education because the working classes are more likely to suffer
from material and cultural deprivation.
 The existence of private schools is strong supporting evidence for Marxism – the wealthiest 7% of families are
able to buy their children a better education which in turn gives them a better chance of getting into the top
universities.
 There is strong evidence for the reproduction of class inequality if we look at elite jobs, such as Medicine, the
law and journalism. A disproportionately high number of people in these professions were privately educated.
Symbolic interactionism in Education
 The symbolic interactionist perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on school playgrounds,
and at other school-related venues. Social interaction contributes to gender-role socialization, and teachers’
expectations may affect their students’ performance.
 Interactions are different based on the society in which you live. Additionally, many symbolic interactionism
examples seen throughout society can be subjective, based on your experiences with that particular symbol.
IMPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
 The way how individual learners interact with the teachers and fellow learners influence the behaviour of
the learners
 It is from symbolic interactionism that LABELING THEORY is derived-----The LABEL attached to the
learners leads to SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY ---to me the LABEL
 LABELS can be NEGATIVE for example LAZY; THIEF; BULLY; DIRTY-----they can also be POSITIVE eg
SMART; CLEVER; WELL BEHAVED.
 THEREFORE-----there is need to avoid labels which may harm learners. In some cases LABELS may end
up being names
 The teachers has the responsibility to ensure healthy communication prevails between teachers and
learners and among students
Feminist theory
 Feminist theory is a major branch within sociology that shifts its assumptions, analytic
lens, and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience toward that of
women.
 In doing so, feminist theory shines a light on social problems, trends, and issues that
are otherwise overlooked or misidentified by the historically dominant
male perspective within social theory.

Key areas of focus within feminist theory include:

 discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sex and gender
 objectification
 structural and economic inequality
 power and oppression
 gender roles and stereotypes
Feminist theory: Implications to education
 Historically education through its secondary socialisation role has been very strong
in perpetuating gender discrimination, for example through
 Roles for male and female students
 Subjects for male and female students
 Sexist language
 Sexist textbooks
 Labeling of male and female students
 Male and female student stereotypes
THEREFORE THE SAME INSTITUTION NEEDS TO PROMOTE GENDER
EQUALITY through
Reversing the above and
 Acknowledging women achievements and breaking the glass ceiling
Implications/Application of theories
 Theories or models are guidelines and therefore they inform reality
 Therefore academics, students and who ever is using theory should be able to apply it in real
life situation
 An example is that we should be able to apply the FUNCTIONALIST; MARXIST; FEMINIST
& INTERACTIONIST THEORIES
 Reciting or knowing a theory in detail without applying its implications does not solve anything
in our every day life
THEREFORE
 You were expected to apply theory in your assignments. ALL TOPICS in SOCIOLOGY are
informed by these four major theories.
 SIMILARY you are expected to integrate or embed THEORY in your examinations----The
marking guide main sections are THEORY and APPLICATION (EXAMPLES)
HOWEVER
 Theory should be used where it fits and makes sense
 Also listing theories without applying them to views or supporting arguments does not work.