1. EDUCATION Barkan, Steve. Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Comprehensive Edition.Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Comprehensive Edition Cliff Notes. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/education/theories-of- educationhttp://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/education/theories-of- education Haralambos, Michael et al. Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (Seventh Edition). HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. London (2008). Mustapha, Nasser. Sociology for Caribbean Students (Second Edition). Ian Randle Publishers. Jamaica (2013).

2. A Definition  Macionis (2003), defines education as a social institution that guides a society’s transmission of knowledge (its basic facts, job skills, and also cultural norms and values) to its members.

3. Types of Education  There are two general types of education; formal education and informal education:  The formal system of education comprises schools, colleges, universities and others are legally sanctioned for the process of deliberate instruction, and are governed by a standardized curriculum which is delivered by trained professionals (teachers, lecturers, professors).  Informal education constitutes the transmission of knowledge in an unplanned and unstructured manner, without any fixed programme of study or evaluation. This type of education usually takes place in family settings, religious services and visits to places of interest, or even by watching television. The transfer of knowledge takes place through observation or social interaction.

4. Formal Education Expanded  Informal education was common in traditional societies and usually involved the family, tribe or clan. As society progressed and became more complex the family was no longer able to perform this function of providing specialized knowledge to socialize children to become functional members of society with specialized careers.  Formal education seen as an integral institution in modern society, as it reflects and transmits the values, norms and culture of society. Individuals are prepared, through this educational process, for assuming roles in society. This can be seen by the incorporation of technical and vocational training in addition to academic subjects.

5. Functions of Education

6. Functionalist View  Education serves several functions for society. These include: 1. Socialization - If children need to learn the norms, values, and skills they need to function in society, then education is a primary vehicle for such learning. 2. Social integration - For a society to work, functionalists say, people must subscribe to a common set of beliefs and values. This leads to the creation of what Durkheim referred to as ‘social solidarity’. 3. Social placement - Depending on how they are identified, children are taught at the level that is thought to suit them best so that they are prepared in the most appropriate way possible for their station later in life. Durkheim sees this as important to the industrial society and the ‘division of labour’ and ‘role allocation’. 4. Social and cultural innovation - Our scientists cannot make important scientific discoveries and our artists and thinkers cannot come up with great works of art, poetry, and prose unless they have first been educated in the many subjects they need to know for their chosen path.

7. Criticisms of Functionalist view  Societies are now multicultural therefore it is debatable whether or not there is a single culture on which schools base their curriculum.  Marxists argue that educational institutions transmit the dominant culture which serves the interests of the ruling class.  Modern societies are seen as emphasizing on the economic importance of attaining an education and have downplayed the significance of transmitting a shared culture.  Hargreaves (1982) suggests that education fails to transmit shared values and encourage social solidarity, rather it emphasizes individual competition though the exam system.

8. Conflict Perspective  Bowles & Gintis (1876) argue that the major role of education in capitalist societies is the reproduction of labour power.  Education maintains a close “correspondence” between the social relationships which govern personal interaction in the work place and the social relationships of the education system. Bowles & Gintis call this the ‘correspondence principle’.  Education helps to produce and maintain a hard-working, docile, obedient and highly motivated workforce which is too divided and fragmented to challenge the authority of management.  It helps to achieve these objectives through the ‘hidden curriculum’.

9. The Hidden Curriculum  The hidden curriculum consists of those things that pupils learn through the experience of attending school, rather than the stated educational objectives of such institutions. Bowles & Gintis suggest that the hidden curriculum shapes the workforce in the following ways: 1. It produces a subservient workforce of uncritical, passive and docile workers. 2. It encourages an acceptance of the social hierarchy. 3. At school, students learn to be motivated by external rewards just as the workforce in a capitalist society is motivated by external rewards. 4. Students have little control over their school involvement and get little satisfaction from studying as learning is based on the ‘jug and mug principle’. 5. The fragmentation of school subjects corresponds to the fragmentation of the workforce.

10. Education and Capitalism  Bowles & Gintis argue that education has indirect benefits for capitalism through ‘legitimation of inequality’ – by making society appear fair and just, class consciousness does not develop and the stability of society is not threatened.  They go on to add that education disguises the inequalities in society with a ‘myth of meritocracy’ where those that are unsuccessful blame themselves and not the system for their failure.  Their research showed a direct link between educational attainment and family background. They reject individuals’ intelligence quotient (IQ) as the major factor impacting on educational attainment and occupational reward.

11. Criticisms of the Conflict Perspective  Hickox (1982) argues that there is no correlation between education and economic development. He posits that compulsory education was introduced in Britain long after the onset of industrialization.  Brown et al. (1997) argue that the nature of the workplace has changed from bureaucratic control to the increased importance of teamworking.  Willis (1977) countered Bowles & Gintis’ work by suggesting that working class ‘lads’ learned to behave at school that were contradictory to with capitalism’s need for a docile workforce.  Reynolds (1984) also criticized Bowles & Gintis by highlighting the fact that they downplayed the influence of the formal curriculum. With a subject like sociology, for example, being popular in Britain it could hardly be seen that the hidden curriculum would encourage docility.

12. Criticisms of the Conflict Perspective (ctd.)  Hickox (1982) refers to a study where only 2.5% of English workers were of the view that educational qualifications were an important factor in determining class. Most of them placed a greater emphasis on family background and economic factors.  Reynolds (1984) has criticized Bowles & Gintis for failing to explain adequately how the economy shapes the education system. He goes on to say that “a large number of radicals have been attracted to teaching” and because of their independence they have not moulded education to suit the needs of capitalism.

13. Interactionist Perspective  Symbolic interactionists limit their analysis of education to what they directly observe happening in the classroom. They focus on how teacher expectations influence student performance, perceptions, and attitudes.  Interactionists argue that a person’s ‘self-concept’ develops from interaction with others. Therefore, interaction in the classroom, with teachers and pupils, helps to shape a person’s self-concept and this can have a significant effect on their educational attainment: 1. Hargreaves et al (1975) analyse the ways in which students are ‘typed’ or ‘labelled’ in secondary schools. 2. Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) conducted research to test the validity of the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in an elementary school. 3. Keddie (1973) studied ‘streaming’ which is widely practiced in the Caribbean.

14. Typing or Labelling  Hargreaves distinguished between THREE stages of typing or classification: 1. Speculation – where teachers make guesses (hypotheses) about the type of pupils they are dealing with based on their appearance, level of discipline, ability level, likeability, level of interaction, personality and level of deviance. 2. Elaboration – the hypotheses are tested and either confirmed or contradicted, but either way the teacher becomes more confident in their judgments as the typing is refined. 3. Stabilization – by this time the teacher feels that he/she “knows” the pupil and understands them; finds little difficulty in making sense of their acts and is not puzzled or surprised by what the student says or does.

15. Self-fulfilling Prophecy  This theory argues that predictions made by the teachers about the future success or failure of students will tend to come true because the prediction has been made.  The teacher defines the pupil in ways such as ‘bright’ or ‘dunce’ and based on these definitions the teacher makes predictions or prophecies about the behaviour of the pupil – that they will get high or low grades.  The teacher’s interaction with pupils will be influenced by their definition of the pupils and the pupils’ self-concepts will tend to be shaped by the teacher’s definition. Their actions will be a reflection of what the teacher expects of them.  In this way, the prophecy is fulfilled; the predictions made by the teacher have come true.

16. Classroom Streaming  Keddie (1973) looked at streaming in a comprehensive school in London and the classification and evaluation of students.  Keddie found that knowledge defined by the teachers as appropriate to the particular course was considered worthwhile; and knowledge from the students which didn’t fit into the teacher’s definition was considered of little consequence.  He claimed that there was a relationship between perceived ability and social class; there was a tendency for pupils from higher status to be placed in the ‘A’ stream, and those from semi-skilled and unskilled manual backgrounds in the ‘C’ stream.  Teachers then began to modify their methods of teaching and the information they transmitted depending on which stream they were teaching.

17. Pupil-Adaptation & Subcultures  Hargreaves (1967) found that pupils labelled as “troublemakers” were placed in lower streams and those whose behaviour was more acceptable were placed in higher streams.  Those with negative labels attached to them had been defined as failures; first by being places in a modern secondary school which was seen as a second-rate institution, and second, through the streaming system.  Being unable to achieve a high status in the school, students labelled as troublemakers sought out each other’s company and within their group awarded high status to those who broke the school rules.  Two distinct sub-cultures emerged within the school: the ‘conformists’ and the ‘non-conformist delinquents’.

18. Criticisms of Interactionist View  Interactionists fail to take into consideration external factors that affect students and their education such as diet, parental interest, housing conditions, and other similar factors that are equally as important for success.  What happens in school is merely education.