The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher, further, adult, and continuing education.Gordon Marshall (ed) A Dictionary of Sociology (Article: Sociology of Education), Oxford University Press, 1998
Education is seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavour characterised by aspirations for progress and betterment.Schofield, K. (1999). The Purposes of Education, Queensland State Education: 2010 Accessed 2002, Oct 28. It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality, and acquiring wealth and social status.Sargent, M. (1994) The New Sociology for Australians (3rd ed.), Longman Cheshire, Melbourne Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potential. Not only can children develop, but young and older adults too. Social interaction between people through education can always further development no matter what age they are. It is also perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality. Many would say that the purpose of education should be to develop every individual to their full potential, and give them a chance to achieve as much in life as their natural abilities allow (meritocracy). Few would argue that any education system accomplishes this goal perfectly. Some take a particularly critical view, arguing that the education system is designed with the intention of causing the social reproduction of inequality.
Foundations Systematic sociology of education began with the work of Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) on moral education as a basis for organic solidarity, and with studies by Max Weber (1864–1920) on the Chinese literati as an instrument of political control. After World War II, however, the subject received renewed interest around the world: from technological functionalism in the US, egalitarian reform of opportunity in Europe, and human-capital theory in economics. These all implied that, with industrialization, the need for a technologically skilled labour force undermines class distinctions and other ascriptive systems of stratification, and that education promotes social mobility. However, statistical and field research across numerous societies showed a persistent link between an individual's social class and achievement, and suggested that education could only achieve limited social mobility. Sociological studies showed how schooling patterns reflected, rather than challenged, class stratification and racial and sexual discrimination. After the general collapse of functionalism from the late 1960s onwards, the idea of education as an unmitigated good was even more profoundly challenged. Neo-Marxists argued that school education simply produced a docile labour force essential to late-capitalist class relations.
Theoretical perspectives The sociology of education contains a number of theories. Some of the main theories are presented below.
Political arithmetic The Political Arithmetic tradition within the sociology of education began with Hogben (1938)Hogben, L. (1938) Political Arithmetic: a symposium of population studies, London: Allen & Unwin. and denotes a tradition of politically critical quantitative research dealing with social inequalities, especially those generated by social stratification (Heath 2000).Heath, A. (2000) The Political Arithmetic Tradition in the Sociology of Education, Oxford Review of Education 26(3–4): 313–331. Important works in this tradition have been (Glass 1954),Glass, D. V. (1954) Social Mobility in Britain, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (Floud, et al. 1956)Floud, J., Halsey, A. H. and Martin, F. (1956) Social class and educational opportunity: Heinemann. and (Halsey, et al. 1980).Halsey, A. H., Heath, A. F. and Ridge, J. M. (1980) Origins and destinations : family, class, and education in modern Britain, Oxford: Clarendon Press All of these works were concerned with the way in which school structures were implicated in social class inequalities in Britain. More recent work in this tradition has broadened its focus to include gender,Gorard, S., Salisbury, J. and Rees, G. (1999) Reappraising the apparent underachievement of boys at school, Gender and Education 11(4): 441–454.Sullivan, A., Heath, A. F. and Rothon, C. (2011) Equalisation or inflation? Social class and gender differentials in England and Wales, Oxford Review of Education 37(2): 215–240. ethnic differentialsHeath, A. F. and Cheung, S.-Y. (eds) (2007) Unequal Chances: ethnic minorities in western labour markets, Oxford: Oxford University Press. and international differences.Heath, A. F. and Sullivan, A. (2011) Introduction: The democratisation of upper-secondary education?, Oxford Review of Education 37(2): 123–138. While researchers in this tradition have engaged with sociological theories such as Rational Choice TheoryBreen, R. and Goldthorpe, J. (1997) Explaining Educational Differentials: Towards a Rational Action Theory, Rationality and Society 9(3): 275–305. and Cultural Reproduction Theory,Sullivan, A. (2001) Cultural Capital and Educational Attainment, Sociology 35(4): 893–912. the political arithmetic tradition has tended to remain rather sceptical of 'grand theory' and very much concerned with empirical evidence and social policy. The political arithmetic tradition was attacked by the 'New Sociology of Education' of the 1970sM. F. D. Young (ed) Knowledge and Control: New Directions for the Sociology of Education, London: Macmillan. which rejected quantitative research methods. This heralded a period of methodological division within the sociology of education. However, the political arithmetic tradition, while rooted in quantitative methods, has increasingly engaged with mixed methods approaches.Ogg, T., Zimdars, A. and Heath, A. F. (2009) Schooling effects on degree performance: a comparison of the predictive validity of aptitude testing and secondary school grades at Oxford University, British Educational Research Journal 35(5): 781–807.
Structural functionalism Structural functionalists believe that society leans towards social equilibrium and social order. They see society like a human body, in which institutions such as education are like important organs that keep the society/body healthy and well.Bessant, J. and Watts, R. (2002) Sociology Australia (2nd ed), Allen & Unwin, Sydney Social reality is structured and differentiated and provides social science with its subject matter. This explains why individuals act as role incumbents and perform specific tasks on a regular basis as manifested at the level of observable event. The relation between teacher and student lies at heart of the realist conception of social structure. The internal relation between roles, distinct from the individual people who fill them and whom they casually affect. The relation between teacher and student is closely internal because each could not exist without each other. Functionalists view education as one of the more important social institutions in society. They emphasize that education contributes to two types of functions: manifest functions, which are the intended and visible functions of education; and latent functions, which are hidden and unintended functions.
Manifest Functions
There are several major manifest functions associated with education. The first is socialization. The French sociologist, Émile Durkheim, established the academic discipline of sociology, characterized schools as "socialization agencies that teach children how to get along with others and prepare them for adult economic roles" (Durkheim 1898). Socialization involves learning the rules and norms of the society as a whole. One of the roles of schools is to teach students conformity to law and respect for authority. Education is also an important tool used by students towards upward mobility. Higher learning institutions are viewed as vehicles for moving students closer to their careers that will help them become successful.
Latent Functions
Education also fulfills latent functions. Much goes on in school that has little to do with formal education. The educational setting introduces students to social networks that might last for years and can help people find jobs after their schooling is completed. Another latent function is the ability to work with others in small groups, a skill that is transferable to a workplace that might not be learned in a home school setting.
Socialization
Social health means the same as social order, and is guaranteed when nearly everyone accepts the general moral values of their society. Hence structural functionalists believe the aim of key institutions, such as education, is to socialize children and teenagers. Socialization is the process by which the new generation learns the knowledge, attitudes and values that they will need as productive citizens. Education's primary role is to convey basic knowledge and skills to future generations. Although this aim is stated in the formal curriculum,NSW Board of Studies, K-6 HSIE Syllabus (NSW Australia) it is mainly achieved through the hidden curriculum,Harper, G. (1997) "Society, culture, socialization and the individual" in Stafford, C. and Furze, B. (eds) Society and Change (2nd ed), Macmillan Education Australia, Melbourne a subtler, but nonetheless powerful, indoctrination of the norms and values of the wider society. Students learn these values because their behavior at school is regulated (Durkheim) until they gradually internalize and accept them.
Additionally, education is an important tool in the transmission of core values. The core values in education reflect on the economic and political systems that originally fueled education. One of the most important core value that is transmitted through the education system is individualism, the principle of being independent and self-reliant. From a very early age children learn that society seeks out and praises the best individuals. Connected to individualism, self-esteem is also developed through educational curriculum. Self-esteem is the ability to have confidence in one's own decisions, therefore, having individualism allows for a growth in self-esteem that cannot be created without. Compared to Japanese students for example, curriculum in Japan is focused on social esteem (focusing on bringing honor to a group) rather than self-esteem.
Filling roles in society
Education must also perform another function: As various jobs become vacant, they must be filled with the appropriate people. Therefore, the other purpose of education is to sort and rank individuals for placement in the labor market [Munro, 1997]. Those with high achievement will be trained for the most important jobs and in reward, be given the highest incomes. Those who achieve the least, will be given the least demanding (intellectually at any rate, if not physically) jobs, and hence the least income.