ESS221 Schools and Society

TOPIC 1

SCHOOLS AS SOCIAL INSTITUTION

LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: 1. 2. 3. 4. Explain the meaning of sociology of education; Explain the importance of schooling; Explain the organizational characteristics of schools; Explain the differences between functionalist perspectives, conflict perspectives and interactionalist perspectives on schooling;

Key words: sociology of education, schooling, school, social system, moral values, school culture, goals, bureaucracy, functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionist, labeling

INTRODUCTION In this chapter, you will be presented with the sociological aspects of education. This will include the importance of schooling to the society and the processes of education in schools. 1.1 What is Sociology of Education? Before we can understand the meaning of sociology of education, first we need to understand the meaning of education. Education has different meanings to people in different context. For example, to school children in general it may mean an interesting acquiring of knowledge whereas to those who are unacademically inclined may perceived it as dreary and torment; university students may find it as an important aspect of their student life that will decide their future; qualifications to a stable job. On the other hand, education to parents may mean their children will have a secure future and achieve what they were unable to have. As for schools administrators and teachers it means a job, an opportunity for career development. Thus, education

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touches the lives of a majority of the members within a particular society and it sets in various roles and subgroups in the society. The sociological aspect on the other hand examined the contexts in which members of the society live and how these contexts leave an impact on their lives. In order to understand these influences sociologists need to look at the social location, where they live, their age, education, jobs, income, gender and ethnic group. For example, how do parents influence their children in terms of their aspirations and what the children should attain in life. Does being a male or a female differs in our perception of life, our way of communicating with others, and our ideas of who we are and what we need to attain in life. In other words, people do what they do because of internal as well as external influences. Our experiences; education, interacting with others have shaped our thinking and belief of life. In addition, it explores what happens outside the school such as the relationship between school, parents, and community, commercial interests, and the increasing complex technological society. When we combined sociology and education we are basically interested in what happens with the members of society within the context of education. In other words, we will examine students, teachers, administrators, parents and members of the society within the contexts of home, school and community. In addition, our concern would be to discuss how these people interact and influence each other during their daily activities. As you proceed through this course you will learn to understand how social groups in your society influence your ideas and aspirations on life and you will see that the way you perceived the world is the result of your experience with human beings around you.

Activity 1.1 Explain what do you understand by Sociology of Education?

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1.2 Societal Importance of Schooling

Society has placed many expectations and often contradictory matters on school. Once children enter school, parents and the community expects the school to nurture the cognitive, emotional, and social aspect of the children so as to prepare them to succeed in education, earn a living, and start a family. In addition, schools are expected to contribute to the development of the human capital among its community members. Thus, schools impart knowledge through its educational system with a formal curriculum that covers a range of subjects such as history, language and mathematics.

1.2.1 What is schooling? Schooling refers to the more organized form of formal education that takes place in schools and how the educational process influences individuals and societies. It is part of education and is thus highly valued. This is reflected in the hours the individual spend in school; at least six hours a day and five days a week. In Malaysia, a child starts schooling in primary school at the age of seven in standard one and finishes at standard six. He then moves to secondary school, form one until form five. Basically, the child spends eleven years of his life in school. For those who are able to proceed to tertiary education, this means an additional 3 5 years of schooling at the college or university. Throughout the schooling years children are involved in school activities and homework which takes up a large amount of their waking hours. Thus, schools have become an important part of childrens life and an important social context. Besides the hours and days children spent in school, another aspect of schooling that is important is the amount of money spent sending a

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child to school. Parents allocate a substantial amount of their income to ensure their children experience a good school life. This comes in the form of materials, transport, food and uniform. In addition, the government has to allocate a huge budget for education; build schools, maintain teaching as well as administrative staff, and so forth. In most developed countries the expenditure on schooling is relatively high. The rich industrial countries are United States, Canada, Scandinavian countries, Germany and Japan. These countries see schooling as an investment in their economic and social progress as such they place high priority on educating their children from kindergarten to college and university. Similarly, developing countries too are emphasizing this aspect and today we see government in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are allocating a huge amount of their budget into educating their young ones. As more people have access to education, it is hoped that the public may change their attitudes and behaviors towards social problems such as drug use, alcoholism, and poverty.

Activity 1.2 Do you believe schooling is important? Explain. 1.3 Organizational Characteristics of Schools

It is 8.00 oclock on Monday morning. You are entering the compound of a school. You see children in uniform rushing to get into the school building. As you enter the school building you could hear children voices, tapping of feet, and you see children rushing into their respective classes. In the midst of all this, the bell rings and in a few minutes silence prevails along the corridor. You know teachers will enters these classes and soon lessons will begin and lasts until noon. This scenario will be repeated on each school day. Every student knows this school system and will avoid coming to school late, be properly

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dressed, ensure that the school bag is filled with whatever is needed during the lessons for the day, and be ready to learn the subjects taught on that day. These are basically what is expected from a student and if he is not prepared to fulfill these expectations then the teacher will attempt to instill in this student with the expected behavior of all school children. Every school has its own culture and subculture but basically they adhere to the same organizational structure set by the ministry of education. For example, in Malaysia, the Ministry of Education sets the size of the school according to the enrolment of children in a particular district, whether the school is grade A or B. Within each school there is the organizational structure (Figure 1) and this is a common structure of all government schools, irrespective of whether it is a grade A or B school, rural or urban school. 1.3.1 Schools as a Social System The school system comprised various subsystems or parts (Figure 1) and each has a purpose to perform in order to fulfill the mission or vision of the school. Thus, it is vital that these parts interact and assist each other in their daily routine to ensure a smooth school operation. Based on this understanding, school is seen as responsible to shape the behavior and values of students through its formal and informal curriculum. This curriculum is then transmitted to the students through socialization among the school members. Thus, school plays a secondary role after family in socializing children.

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Headmaster

Assistant Headmaster (Student Affair)

Assistant Headmaster (Administration)

Assistant Headmaster (Co-curriculum)

Discipline teacher

Senior Teachers

Clerical staff

Sports

Counsellor

Junior teachers

Club

Figure 1: Organizational Structure in a Primary School Socializing in school involves instilling values and standard of behavior. In other words, socializing involves efforts made by teachers to shape childrens behavior, inculcate moral values, and inherit cultural styles. Teachers will describe a student as well behaved if she conforms to the standards of conduct, good if she conducts herself well morally, and well adjusted if she conforms to the school culture. What do you mean by conforming to the standards of conduct? When a student enters a class she is supposed to be ready to learn. As the lesson begins she is to listen attentively to what is being explained and taught by the subject teacher. If in the process of learning she finds difficulty in understanding, then, she needs to ask the teacher to explain. This again requires the student to know the procedure, whereby she has to put up her hand to indicate she has a question. This is an example of proper behavior in class. If students do not comply with this required behavior then it is the duty of the teacher to use her power of control to socialize the students to the standards of conduct in class. What about moral values? In the daily school activities, students will be assigned homework, sit for tests and examinations. All these tasks need to be performed by individual students. But we are aware that there will be students who are inclined towards avoiding doing their homework. Instead, they

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come to school prepared to get it done by copying their classmates completed work. Similarly, during tests and examinations there are students who will try to cheat by various means. Thus, teachers and school administrators may have to explain the importance of such virtues as honesty, hard work, diligence and discipline.

What do you mean by school culture?

Each school has its own climate which refers to the school environment or atmosphere. This climate exists along its corridors, classrooms, among its students and teachers. It is a feeling you get when you enter the school compound. The school culture is part of the school climate. Each school has its own culture; values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, customs and procedures which make up the school system. Why is there a need for a school culture? The main purpose of creating a school culture is to instill a feeling of loyalty among its members. For example, setting up of the school cheering squad. The school believes that the presence of a cheering squad during any interschool matches will boost the moral of their school players. When a team goes down to the field, the players are accompanied by the cheering squad. This will create a feeling of togetherness and this is a culture unique to this school. Other school culture may include ceremonies that are unique in each school. Similarly, students in the school may have their own culture which involves their language, dress, music, and activities and this is passed on to the next generation of new students entering the school. This culture may emerge from the immediate community in which the school is located. For example, if the surrounding community is an affluent society then we can expect students in this school to have the language, behavior and life style of the affluent society. Teachers too have their own culture to represent the adult society. There are teachers who tend to be less approachable and create a distance from students. These styles and outlooks reflect what teachers believe about their role.

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Activity 1.3 Describe some of the characteristics of schooling.

1.3.2 Goals of the School System All schools have mission and vision or goals which are formalized so that the school community may work towards achieving them. How are these goals set? By whom? Goals that are formal serve several purposes. Once the goals are formalized it may serve as guidelines for teachers and school administrators to carry out their activities. This also implies that the goals have been consensually accepted and that they should have high priority in the school system. Every society has certain community goals and these goals are embedded in the educational system to be put into practice. Normally, these goals are accepted by the government as part of the school curriculum. According to functional theorists these goals set the direction for schools to achieve their mission and assist them to function smoothly. As society change with time and so do these goals. For example, during the 50s and 60s the goals of the school are more on moral habits to keep the society together (Durkheim, 1961). Whereas today, educators have added to the list of goals with emphasis on school curriculum, structure, and outcomes (Jackson, Boostrom, & Hansen, 1993). The goal set by the government in the school curriculum is then forward to the schools to be implemented. Simply, the school need to develop in each student the knowledge, interests, ideals, habits and powers whereby he will find his place and use that place to shape both himself and society toward ever nobler ends (Ballantine, 2001, p. 136). Each school will then decide the type of programs to reflect the desire goals. These programs will focus on the curriculum content, teaching style, and school structure to meet the stated goals. The goals set by the school cannot be achieved if teachers and administrators differ in their individual goals. For example, if schools set academic excellence as its goal but teachers and administrators have personal motives to achieve such as the desire for promotion, personal wealth and further education then there is likely to be difficulties in achieving the set goals. In addition, students too do have their own

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goals when attending school. Are they in school for similar reasons as those goals set for them by the school? Parents on the other hand, set goals for their children. Again, are their goals in line with those set by the school? Thus, all the stake holders need to know and understand the goals set by the school and work together to achieve it with the child as their focal of interest. The goals discussed reflect the functions or objectives that education serves the society and helps prepare children to be part of the society.

1.3.3 The School as a Bureaucracy Lets assume that you have been teaching for a number of years in school. You are considered by your superior as a diligent and caring teacher. You have the ability to handle your class well and know how to organize your teaching materials to make your lessons interesting. All these are performed within the classroom and goals set by the school. However, you are the one who decides how to present it to the children. This whole process that you have to undergo in school is basically known as bureaucracy. What is bureaucracy? According to Weber, as an organization develops there is a need to standardized procedures of conducting the daily functions of the organization so that official tasks can be conducted on a continuous basis rather than on the whims of the administrators. There need to be an organisational structure with well defined functions and rules, tasks that require certain methods and criteria, and who should carry out the assigned functions. The organisational structure resembles a pyramid with higher authority supervising the lower ones, with every worker accountable for the task they perform (Figure 2). Weber detailed the following criteria as the characteristic of the bureaucracy: Every officer is appointed to their position by a contract; Their appointment is based on their qualification; They are to perform their duties in accordance to the procedures and rules set by the organisation; Their royalty to the organisation is reflected in the performance of their official duties;

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Their administrative duty is their full-time job; They are paid a salary and have the opportunity for promotion.

Is bureaucracy necessary? Weber sees bureaucracy as an improvement of earlier modes of thought and administration in the society. It is an answer to the unorganised and personal exercise of administrative authority and control. Under bureaucracy system there is equal opportunity of appointment at every stratum of the society, impersonal exercise of government laws, and subject the members of the society to law and to officials who exercised authority under the law. Most of the administrative policies that were made outside the organisation could be for political reasons and there are those who bent the rules and regulations because of their status and wealth. With bureaucracy decisions are made at meetings conducted within the organisation and rules and procedures set must be adhered accordingly. The recruitment of new staff was based on educational qualifications and chosen on the basis of their ability rather than on personal connections. This solves the problem of cronyism and bias. Thus, bureaucracy acts like a giant machine with every officer performing his duty based on the routine and impersonal ways set by the organisation. This is vital if the organisation is to progress forward. Bureaucracy in Schools. Imagine this. You are a teacher teaching in a primary school with an enrolment of 50 students. You are assigned to teach all standard four students. As long as the number of students is relatively small, the teachers will be able to operate on face-to-face interaction. On the other hand, we do find schools and other organisations such as hospitals, universities, factories with bigger number of people and more complex operations. Such organisations will have to standardised and routinized their daily operations and establish formal rules and procedures in their administration. In other words, the organisation has to turn into a bureaucratic structure with hierarchy statues and roles based on a division of function and authority.

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Schools in Malaysia are run on a bureaucratic structure. At the top we have the Ministry of Education with the various divisions to look into every aspect of the educational system. Below this structure we have the state education department that oversee the running of the schools in each state. Further down the hierarchy is the district education department that monitors the operations of schools in each district. Finally, we have the school with another set of hierarchy structure to run the daily activities in the school. All procedures concerning school curriculum and co-curriculum; the number of teaching days, texts books, national examination procedures and dates of examination, various clubs and sports that can be conducted in schools are decided at the ministry level. Similarly, procedures on appointment of teachers, promotion, and salary scheme are set by the ministry. These procedures are then channeled to the lower divisions for further implementation. With such a structured arrangement, schools are basically standardised in both their physical and social characteristics. For example, schools starts at 7.40 followed by various subject lessons, a break in the middle recess, followed by more lessons and ends around 2.00. After school there are the various co-curriculum activities for the students. similarly, students behaviour are controlled by a set of rules; no talking when the teacher is teaching, raise your hands if you need to ask questions, no running along the corridor, and do not be late for classes. Activity 1.4 What do you understand by bureaucracy in school?

1.4 Sociological Perspective of Schooling Sociologists differ in their perspectives on the role of schooling in contemporary society. These perspectives are stated in three theories on education: functional, conflict and interaction. Each of these perspectives will provide valuable insights into the role of school or education.

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1.4.1 Functionalist Perspectives Functionalists view school as the medium for transmitting education to the members of the society. Education is seen as one of the most important components of society. Emile Durkheim in his functional theory proposed education as a means for promoting social solidarity and stability in society and this can be implemented through the teaching and learning process in schools.

Figure 2: Organizational structure of the Ministry of Education Malaysia. (Source: Ministry of Education, Malaysia)

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From this perspective, children must be instilled with the belief that the groups needs come first instead of their individual desires and aspirations. Thus, schools are responsible for teaching these values. According to the sociologist Amitai Etzioni (1999: 258-259), We ought to teach those values, for example, that the dignity of all persons ought to be respected, that tolerance is a virtue and discrimination abhorrent, that peaceful resolution of conflicts is superior to violance, that truth telling is morally superior to lying, that democratic government is morally superior to totalitarianism and authoritarianism,that one ought to give a days work for a days pay, that saving for ones countrys future is better than squandering ones income and relying on others to attend to ones future needs. Etzioni believed that shared value is one of the values that need to be taught in school, from kindergarten to university level. So how do schools disseminate these shared values? 1. Socialization: From kindergarten to university, schools need to teach students their role and specific academic subjects. At the kindergarten stage, teachers should teach children the appropriate attitudes and behavior that is acceptable by the society. At the primary and secondary level, children are taught specific subject matter, skill and previous educational experience suitable to their age group. At the university level, they are then exposed to new areas of study and experience. 2. Transmission of culture: It is the responsibility of the school to transmit cultural norms and values of the society to the next generation. In doing so, they disseminate the cultural values, attitudes and behaviour accepted by the society so that the children will become productive members of their community. 3. Social Placement: Schools are responsible to trained future work force. They are to identify the most qualified person to fill the positions in society. Students are taught specific subjects in schools and later enrolled into programs at the college and university. Individuals

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that have the qualification and requirements are then channeled into the job market. 4. Change and Innovation: Schools have the responsibility to meet the changes and challenges in society. With new technology and new areas of study being discovered, schools need to create new subjects and universities need to create new programs to meet the societal needs. For example, introducing sex education in school may help to solve part of the social problems created by early pregnancy among teenagers in school. Medical faculty update their equipments and technology to meet the discovery of new illnesses and drugs. 1.4.2 Conflict Perspectives Conflict theorists believe that schools create class, racial, and gender inequalities among its students. According to them, these inequalities arise due to certain groups within the society that seek to maintain their privileged position at the expense of others (Ballantine, 2001). They argue that access to quality education is related to ones social status. Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist explain this point by stating that children bring to school their own cultural capital different values, beliefs, attitudes, and language competencies. The cultural capital comprised the accepted attitudes towards education, dress code and manners, knowledge about specific subjects (music, arts, books) and their own age group culture. These values differ in terms of the family social status. Middle and upper parents emphasized more cultural capital compared to the working class and low income parents. Cultural capital is an important component for acquiring an education and children with lesser cultural capital are unlikely to succeed in school. For example, standardized tests for streaming students are based students ability rather than their intelligence or aptitude. In addition, students who excel in their academic are highly rewarded by the educational system. The educational system recognized these values as the accepted values by the society and thus, these values from the elite group are transferred onto the students. How are inequality disseminate in the school system? Tracking system is used in primary and secondary schools to group students according to their academic performance. Why do we need to differentiate students according to their academic ability? Schools feel

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that it is easier to teach students with similar abilities than mixed abilities. As such students are streamed according to high, average, and low academic ability. Study on the effect of tracking shows that it has an effect on students academic achievement and career choices (Oakes, 1985). The study found that students on the low tracks reported that they were exposed to this system for years and it has lowered their expectations in terms of their educational and career aspirations. Although the initial purpose of implementing the tracking system is to enable students to acquire skills and interests but this purpose has not been achieved. Others have even found that tracking has put the poor and minority students through a dilute program thus, making them unlikely to compete with the high academic ability students (Miller, 1995). Instead of helping students to improve their school performance, tracking systems are likely to make students drop out of school or placed in situations that do not help them to proceed into college or university. 1.4.3 Symbolic Interactionist Perspectives Earlier we found that the functionalist focused on the functions of education whereas the conflict theorists stressed on the relationship between education and inequality. However, the symbolic interactionalist emphasized on the classroom communication patterns and educational practices how it affects students self-concept and aspirations. (a) Labeling What does labeling refers to? Do you recall being labeled as fat, lazy, ugly or other names during your school days? This is labeling and it is a process whereby an individual is referred by others as having a specific characteristic or having a certain pattern of behavior (such as being lazy). According to symbolic interactionalists, labeling is performed by someone with power and status. In schools, labeling is done in various forms. For example, teachers label students according to the grades they achieved during tests or examinations as high achievers or low achievers. How does a student feel being labeled? When a teacher starts labeling a student as lazy and is done repeatedly, the labeling may leave an impact

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on the students self-concept, leading the student to belief it is true. The labeling process thus creates a self-fulfilling prophecy on the part of the student. On the other hand, labeling can have a different effect on high achievers. For example, if teachers label a student as gifted which means the student possesses an above-average intellectual ability, academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, or leadership skills (Ballantine, 2001). When a student is labeled as better than her peers, this may lead her to perform better because of the label. Labeling is common throughout the world. Students are labeled by tests and teachers labeled them by their attitudes, academic performance, and classroom behavior. Activity 1.5 Explain the difference between the three perspectives on schooling.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This chapter introduced you to some of the basics ideas in sociology of education. We learnt about: 1. Sociology of education focused on: The schooling system and some rules and regulations in \ school. Schools are seen as a social system, responsible to shape the behavior and values of children either through formal or informal curriculum. Schools set goals and these goals are based on community expectations of what is to be taught in schools. Schools are basically bureaucratic in nature and help to formalised its daily functions. Sociologists differ in their perspectives on the role of schooling and this is stated in the functionalists, conflict and symbolic interactionalists perspectives.

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SELF-CHECK 1. What do you understand by sociology of education? Explain 2. Explain some of the rules and regulations pertaining to schooling. 3. Describe briefly the organizational characteristics of schools. 4. Identify some of the roles of schooling. 5. How are school goals set? 6. Should bureaucracy be part of the school system? Explain. 7. What is the functionalist perspective on education? 8. How do schools instill values in the children? 9. What is the conflict perspective on education? 10. What is the symbolic interactionalist perspective on education? 11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of labeling students?

IDENTIFYING EDUCATION

SOCIOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVES

ON

For each of the following statements, identify the sociological perspective by writing F for functionalist, C for conflict, and SI for symbolic interactionalist in the blank provided. 1. 2. The educational system is designed to ensure that students are prepared to fulfill their roles in society. ______ In order to understand what is happening in the classroom, we need to focus on the social interaction between the teacher and the students. _____ Inequalities exist in the educational system to assist certain groups in the society to maintain their privileged position. ____ When a teacher labels students according to their academic performance she is actually helping those who are above-average to perform better. _____ The main function of schooling is to instill values and behaviors that are accepted by the society. _______

3. 4.

5.

Answers 1 F

2 SI

3 C

4 SI

5 F

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STRUCTURED QUESTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What are the major functions of education for individuals and societies? What are the views of functionalists concerning the role of schooling? Do conflict theorists differ with functionalists in their views on the role of schooling? Explain. What is the contribution of the interactionalists towards education? How are the values and attitudes that you learned from your family reflected in your beliefs about education?

REFERENCE Ballantine, J.H. (2001). The sociology of education: A systematic analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. p. 136 Durkheim, E. (1961). Education and sociology. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press. Jackson, P.W., Boostrom, R.E.,& Hansen, D.T. (1993). The moral life of schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Miller, L. Scott. (1995). An American imperative: Accelerating Minority educational advancement. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How high schools structure inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale University.

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