IMPACT OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CHANGES

The term education is derived from the Latin educare which literally means to bring up and is connected with the verb educarewhich means to bring forth. The idea of education is not merely to impart knowledge to the pupil in some subjects but to develop in him those habits and attitudes with which he can successfully face the future. Peter Worsely says a large part of our social and technical skills are acquired through deliberate instruction which we call education. It is the main waking activity of children from the ages of five to fifteen and often beyond. In the recent years education has become the major interest of some sociologists. As a result a new branch of sociology called ociology of !ducation has become established. Durkheim conceives educa ion as he socia!i"a ion o# he $oun%er %enera ion& He #ur her s a es ha i is a con inuous e##or o im'ose on he chi!d (a$s o# seein%) #ee!in% and ac in% (hich he cou!d no have arrived a s'on aneous!$& Sumner de#ined educa ion as he a em' o ransmi o he chi!d he mores o# he %rou' so ha he can !earn (ha conduc is a''roved and (ha disa''roved*&& Ho( he ou%h cases, (ha he ou%h o +e!ieve and re-ec & A&. Green (ri es, His orica!!$ educa ion has mean he conscious o +ehave in a!! kind o#

rainin% o# he $oun% #or he !a er ado' ion o# adu! ro!es& /$ modern conven ion ho(ever educa ion has come o mean #orma! rainin% +$ s'ecia!is s (i hin he #orma! or%ani"a ion o# he schoo!&

The role of education as an agent or instrument of social change and social development is widely recogni"ed today. ocial change may take place # when humans need change When the e$isting social system or network of social institutions fails to meet the e$isting human needs and when new materials suggest better ways of meeting human needs. According to %aclver social change takes place as a response to many types of changes that take place in the social and nonsocial environment. !ducation can initiate social changes by bringing about a change in outlook and attitude of man. It can bring about a change in the pattern of social relationships and thereby it may cause social changes. !arlier educational institutions and teachers used to show a specific way of life to the students and education was more a means of social control than an instrument of social change. %odern educational institutions do not place much emphasis upon transmitting a way of life to the students. The traditional education was meant for an unchanging static society not marked by any change. &ut today education aims at imparting knowledge. !ducation was associated with religion. It has become secular today. It is an independent institution now. !ducation has been chiefly instrumental in preparing the way for the development of science and technology. !ducation has brought about phenomenal changes in every aspect of men's life. (rancis 0&/ro(n remarks ha educa ion is a 'rocess (hich +rin%s a+ou chan%es in he +ehavior o# socie $& I is a 'rocess (hich ena+!es ever$ individua! o e##ec ive!$ 'ar ici'a e in he ac ivi ies o# socie $ and o make 'osi ive con ri+u ion o he 'ro%ress o# socie $&

In Emi!e Durkheim1s vie() educational systems reflect underlying changes in society because the systems are a construct built by society) which naturally seeks to reproduce its collectively held values) beliefs) norms) and conditions through its institutions. Thus) as time unfolds) educational systems come to contain the imprint of past stages in the development of society) as each epoch leaves its imprint on the system. &y uncovering these imprints and analy"ing them) the development of a society can be reconstructed from the educational system. The reflection of such changes) however) would not be possible if educational systems were not mirrors of society) albeit on a miniature scale. *hanges in society manifest themselves in the educational system because it is constructed by society+s members to) in ,urkheim+s words) -e$press their needs.- In short) society constructs its educational system to promote and reproduce its ideal of what a human should be) especially of what a human being should be as a part of society. In this way) the educational system also becomes a -constraint)- a term that ,urkheim uses in the sense of -cultural determination and the influence of sociali"ation.-. (or ,urkheim) education becomes a constraint) teven /ukes e$plains) -when certain socially given ideas and values are internali"ed by individuals who thereby acquire certain beliefs) wants and feelings and act in certain ways.-0 /ukes quotes ,urkheim as saying that education is thus -1a continuous effort to impose on the child ways of seeing) feeling and acting at which he would not have arrived spontaneously.+-2 !ducation emerges out of the needs of society. An individual member passes away in course of time) but society continues to e$ist and new

members are added to it by birth. !very society) thus) tries to stay together as a unit and develops a way of life. The group members have to train children to carry on the customs) knowledge and skills of the group to preserve and perpetuate their way of life. This function is performed by education. !ducation also trains people to develop new ideas and adjust to a changing environment. Parents and family play an informal role in education. A more formal part comes from education provided by social groups and community agencies. chool) which is especially established for the purpose) conducts the most formal education. chool has) thus) become a social necessity for providing special learning. It makes possible the accumulation and transmission of knowledge on a large scale which were impossible before. !ducation) thus) performs several social functions. organisation) social stratification and political ideas. *oming to the domain of social stratification) it can be shown that the educational system influences it in several ways. 3ou know that caste is an e$ample of closed system of stratification whereas class symbolises an open system. In a closed system) status is ascribed by birth) but in an open system a person ordinarily achieves a position. The closed system of stratification creates institutionalised inequality. 4owever) this type of inequality is challenged in modern society. It is here that education plays an important role. %odern education fosters liberal values such as equality) freedom and scientific temper. It cultivates awareness against tarting from the socialising role in a family) its tasks cover areas like economic

inequality) social deprivation and all sorts of discrimination. !ducation thus empowers people to demolish the closed system of stratification and opens it up for social transformation. The educational system also diversifies the economic system. The economic value of education was not recognised by economists till recently. !conomists now accept education as a factor that promotes economic growth. This is the idea behind the use and popularity of terms like human resource development. The educational system provides skills and training for different occupations. It prepares younger people for occupying different positions according to education and skills. It is because of the specific economic needs of different countries that they have different educational priorities. In order to achieve this goal) investment in education is regarded as a means to improve human resources that promotes economic growth. !ducation engages itself in a much more positive action and can perform the function of an initiator of change. It inculcates in the younger generation whatever changes are desirable for rebuilding a society. %oreover) it cultivates necessary intellectual and emotional readiness to deal with challenges of change. !ducation is an important instrument of moderni"ation. %odern values in social) economic and political spheres have to be instilled in the minds of people to achieve the goal of moderni"ation. 5alues such as equality) liberty) scientific temper) humanism and ideas against blind faith pave the way for modernisation. This task can be effectively performed by

education. !ducation in India has achieved ama"ing success during the last fifty6 five years. Its achievements) both in absolute and relative terms) have been remarkable. The fact becomes more visible when we compare the present situation with the one e$isting at the time of Independence. We inherited an educational system which was largely unrelated to national needs and aspirations. It was quantitatively small and qualitatively poor. 7nly about .8 per cent of the country's population was literate. 7nly one child out of three had been enrolled in primary schools. In addition to low levels of enrolment and literacy) regional and gender disparities were also very apparent. The educational system faced problems of e$pansion) stagnation and wastage. It lacked vocationalisation and had no relationship with the social and cultural needs of the Indian society.

After Independence) it was recogni"ed that education formed a vital aspect of the moderni"ation processes. Therefore) educational reform was accepted as an important agenda of national development. A comprehensive constitutional and policy framework was developed. The successive (ive63ear Plans augmented the goal by launching several programmes of educational development. The e$pansion and spread of education has brought about meaningful changes in the Indian society. The transition from 9class education' :education for a few; to 9mass education' :education for all; has widened the scope of unlimited entry into the educational system. The groups and communities who were deprived of access to education have now joined

the national mainstream of development. It has not only disseminated universal values such as equality and humanism but it has also transmitted scientific world6view. !ducation has been one of the most important factors in transforming the outlook and attitude of the people. The quantitative e$pansion of education has spread it to every nook and corner of the country. It has shaken the age6old inertia and indifference towards education. The phenomenal growth of literacy and education among women is unprecedented. It has radically transformed their attitude and improved their status within and outside the families. Their economic contribution has also become conspicuous. The difference in attitude towards boys and girls is no longer prevalent as before. uch a change in society's attitude towards women's role has enabled them to enter spheres of occupational activities that were virtually closed to them. As a result of the e$pansion of education) the degree of mobility among the members of the cheduled *astes and the cheduled Tribes has considerably increased. The overall state of affairs) however) is not so encouraging in this respect. The problems associated with these disadvantaged groups have been so deep6rooted that their solution requires overhauling of the social system itself. The national policy of providing equal opportunities as well as special opportunities to the underprivileged classes has begun giving positive results. %embers of these communities have achieved considerable success in education. The rate of literacy has increased and the enrolment in primary and secondary schools has improved a great deal. 7f course) their presence in higher education is still very low. The upper castes continue to dominate almost all areas of higher education.

!ducation has acted as a strong moderni"ing force in Indian society. It is changing the world6view of the people. The growth of educational institutions based on the rational principle of science is itself an e$pression of moderni"ation. Increasing urge for education among the deprived and the downtrodden reveals change in their levels of aspirations. It has given an additional responsibility to the educational system. The educational system till Independence catered to the needs of the upper and the middle classes. A momentous change has occurred in this situation after Independence. A large number of lower caste children have entered educational institutions at all levels. Their aspirations and abilities being different) a new orientation is necessary to find out their talents and capacity so that their educational needs can be fulfilled. /evels and the degree of mobility have also been influenced by education. tudies in India suggest that mobility at the level of caste uch changes are) however) reflected through generally operates in the socio6cultural domains and in respect of pollution and purity. changes in customs) practices) occupations) education and income of particular groups. Although these changes do not bring large scale change in the structure of stratification) some families or groups of families may raise their status within their own castes and in relation to some other castes. What we are trying to emphasi"e is that education has played an important role in effecting mobility at the individual level which is gradually spreading out to the group level. Increase in the number of caste6free occupations is thoroughly the result of educational progress in the country. !ducation is a major element in the honour assigned to occupations. It plays a major role in determining what

occupation one will achieve and) in turn) the level of one's income. As the nation has accepted the significance of education for the social and economic development of the country) its educational planning has to move in this direction. The report of the Indian !ducation *ommission) appropriately entitled Education and National Development 1966, forcefully stated) <Educa ion canno +e considered in iso!a ion or '!anned in a vacuum& I has o +e used as a 'o(er#u! ins rumen o# socia!) economic and 'o!i ica! chan%e=&

/I/ILIOG2APH3 .. !ducation and social change > &arton /an >Walker tephen 0. !ducation and ociology an encyclopedia> /evanson ,avid> W *ookson Peter> ? adonvik Alan. 2. A handbook of sociology of education > harma P / 8. Teacher in !merging India *haturvedi hikha ociety > a$ena waroop @ ? >