THE CONCEPT OF

EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY
Chapter 1
 •Married – spouse is an entrepreneur
•2 daughters – 8 and 14 years old
Personal •Lives in Saujana Utama
Info •Origin from Kuala Lumpur

•PhD (candidate) : expect to complete in 2017, UKM

•Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) in Socio Culture and Social Change, UKM
•Bachelor of Business & Commerce (Honours), Keio, Japan
•Diploma in Early Childhood Education, Sri College, KL
•Certificate of Japanese Language Proficiency Test (Advance)
•Certificate of Businessmen’s English Test & Appraisal
•Certificate Train The Trainer [TTT], Niosh, Bangi
Education
•Attended schools: UM, MCKK, Sek Teknik Tuanku Jaafar, SM Dato’ Lokman,
SK Kg Pandan

•Very meticulous
•Likes new challenges
Characters •Clean and neat
•Environmental lover

Background of The Facilitator

 define sociology, education and
educational sociology

explain 3 different sociological theories

examine the importance of sociological

theories and their assumptions

compare different types of social research

Learning Outcomes
Thisher, Whitten & Hunter (1983): “Sociology is the scientific
study of human society and social interactions. The main
focus of sociology is the group, not the individual”

Explanation:

 Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and

societies. It is dazzling (to cause wonder) and compelling
(by force) enterprise, having as its subject matter of our
own behaviour as social beings.

 The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the

analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the
street up to the investigation of world-wide social
processes (Anthony Gidens, Sociology 1989)

What is Sociology?
 A process of teaching, teaching & learning
especially in schools or colleges, to improve
knowledge & develop skills.

 A particular kind of teaching or training which

the institutions or people involved in teaching &
training.

 The subject of study that deals with how to

teach and as an interesting experience that
teaches us something.

What is Education?
 It is the study of how public institutions and
individual experiences affect education and its
outcomes. It is most concerned with the public
schooling systems of modern industrial societies,
including the expansion of higher, further, adult
and continuing education.

 Education has been seen as a fundamentally

optimistic human endeavour characterized by
aspirations for progress and betterment. It is
understood by many to be as means of
overcoming handicaps, achieving greater
equality and acquiring wealth & social status.

Definition of Educational Sociology

….continued
 Education is perceived as a place where children
can develop according to their unique needs and
potential. 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 developed 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 negative
view, arguing that the education system is
designed with the intention of causing the social
reproduction of inequality.
 Structural-Functional Theory

Conflict Theory

Symbolic-Interactionism

Sociological Theories
 Structural-Functional Theory
- More to moral education, individual and liberty
rights, preserving and changing culture.

Conflict Theory
- More to status of people in society, education as a
maintaining power structure.

Symbolic-Interactionism
- More to what teachers and students “do” in school.
Focuses on individuals in interaction with each other.

The Importance of Theories

 Social institutions as collective means to meet individual
biological needs (originally just functionalism). Later it
came to focus on the ways social institutions meet social
need (structural-functionalism).

 Its inspiration primarily from the ideas of Auguste Comte

(1798-1857), Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) & Emile
Durkheim (1858-1917). Durkheim was concerned with the
question of how societies maintain internal stability and
survive over time.

 Social institutions are functionally integrated to form a

stable system & that a change in one institution will
precipitate a change in other institutions.

 Societies are seen as coherent, bounded & fundamentally

relational constructs that function like organisms, with their
various parts (social institutions) working together to
maintain & reproduce.

Structural-Functionalism Theory
…continued
 All social & cultural phenomena are seen as being
functional in the sense of working together to achieve this
state & are effectively deemed to have a life of their own.

 These components are then primarily analyzed in terms of

function they play. In other words, to understand a
component of society, one can ask the question, “what is
the function of this institution?”. A function, in this sense, is
the contribution made by a phenomenon to a larger system
of which the phenomenon is a part.

 Structural-functionalism was the dominant perspective of

sociology between World War II and the Vietnam War. It
focuses on equilibrium and solidarity (team-
spirit/harmony).
Conflict Theory
 It is prominent sociological theory that is often contrasted
with structural-functionalism. It was the ideas of Karl Marx.

 This theory argues that society is not best understood as a

complex system striving for equilibrium but rather as a
competition.

 Society is made up of individuals competing for limited

resources (e.g. money, leisure, sexual partners etc).
Boarder social structures & organizations (e.g. religions,
government etc) reflect the competition for resources in
their inherent inequalities, some people & organizations
have more resources (i.e. power & influence) and use those
resources to maintain their positions of power in society.
 It was developed in part to illustrate the limitations of
structural-functionalism. While the structural-functionalist
argued that society tends toward equilibrium, focusing on
stability at the expense of social change, the conflict
theorist argued that society is constantly in conflict over
resources.

 One of the primary contributions conflict theory presents

over the structural-functional approach is that it is ideally
suited for explaining social change which is a significant
problem in the structural-functional approach. Conflict
theory focuses on change and conflict.

 “Conflict theories are concerned with the issue of who

benefits from the particular social arrangements and how
those in power maintain their positions and continue the
reap benefits from them” (Ticher et al., 1983)
Conflict Theory
 Competition over scarce resources is at the
heart of all social relationships. Competition
rather consensus is characteristics of human
relationships.

 Inequalities in power and reward are built

into all social structures. Individuals and groups
that benefit from any particular structure strive
to see it maintains.

 Change occurs as a result of conflict between

competing interests rather than through
adaptation. Change is often abrupt and
revolutionary rather than evolutionary.
3 Primary Assumptions of Modern
Conflict Theory
 In contrast to the rather broad approach toward society of
structural-functionalism and conflict theory, Symbolic-
Interactionism is a theoretical approach to understanding
the relationship between humans action and interaction are
understandable only through the exchange of meaningful
communication or symbols.

 The main principles of Symbolic Interactionism are:

1. Human beings act toward things on the basis of the
meanings that things have for them.

2. These meanings arise out of social interaction and

modified through interpretation.

3. Social action results from a fitting together of individual

lines of action.

Symbolic-Interactionism
…continued
 Symbolic-Interactionism limit their analysis of
education to what they directly observe
happening in the classroom. They focus on
interactions between groups of peers, between
teachers and students, or between teachers and
principals; they consider student attitudes,
values, and achievement; student’s self-concepts
and their effect on aspirations; socio economic
status as it relates to student’s achievement as it
relates to student achievement; and many other
questions.
…continued
 Two interaction theories useful in sociology of education are
labeling theory and rational choice (exchange theory).
 Labeling: If a boy is told repeatedly that he is dumb, he
may incorporate this label – “a self-fulfilling prophesy” –
as part of his self-concept and behave as the label
suggests. With labeling theory, we can better understand
how micro-level interactions in the school contribute to
individuals’ formulations of their sense of ‘self’.
 Teacher expectations of students based on categories –
race, class, ethnicity, gender affect student perceptions of
themselves and their achievements.
 Rational choice: the assumptions that there are costs and
rewards involved in our interactions. If benefits outweigh
costs, they make the decision to act in order to receiving
benefits. If the costs outweigh the benefits, the individual
will choose to move in a different direction.
• Stability - any social pattern contributes to the maintenance of
society.

• Harmony - as the parts of an organism work together, the parts of

society is characterized as harmony

• Evolution - change occurs through evolution. The adaptation of

social structures to new needs and demands and the elimination of
unnecessary structures. Families perform the critical functions of
procreation & socializing of children so that they fit into society.

• Focus - on the ways that universal education serves the needs of

society.

• Analysis of education – identifying the roles performed (teachers,

students, coaches etc) and the expectations that guide the
performance of these roles

The Assumptions: Structural-Functionalism

• Dialectic (method of arguing) – change occurs through conflict rather
than through evolution.

• Economic determinism – economic competition is at root of all social

relationship.

• Social activism – focus just on conflict, but ignores important issues

related to stability, order and predictability in society. Emphasizes on
social activism and social criticism to change society.

• Analysis of education – sees the purpose of education as maintaining

social inequality and preserving the power of those who dominate
society.

• It addresses the points of stress and conflict in society and the ways
they contribute to social change.

The Assumptions: Conflict Theory

• Focus - on how an individual is shaped by society. The focus is not
only on society, but also on the ways that individual persons interpret
& negotiate their way through society.

• Symbolic meanings – any behaviour, gesture or word can have

multiple interpretations (can symbolize many things).

• Value – it focuses attention on the personal relationship and

encounters that are so important in our daily lives.

• Analysis of education – it is limited to what they directly observe

happening in the classroom. They focus on how teacher expectations
influence student’s performance, perceptions and attitudes.

• Focuses exclusively on individuals, the other two theories focus just

as exclusively on society.

The Assumptions: Symbolic-Interactionism

Social Research
 Research is defined as to find out or attempt to discover
something and it is also a process of investigation.

Personal • The subject for whom the

research is sought is very
Research personal in nature

Professional • It is global in nature,

methods of collecting
Research information must follow a
certain standard

Sociology • The goal is to understand the

social world in its many forms
Research • Historical, quantitative,
qualitative

Scientific • it involves the application

Research of the scientific method
 Archival Content Experimental
Research/ Analysis Research
Historical (the content of (isolates the single
social process and
interviews and other
Method texts are reproduces it in a
(biographies, memoirs, systematically laboratory – control &
journals) analyzed) treatment group)

Survey Longitudinal Observation

Research Study (records information
(using interviews, (an extensive about social
questionnaires or examination of a phenomenon or
similar feedback from specific person or behaviour. May/may
a set of people group over a long time not feature
sampled from a of period) participation)
particular population)

Types of Method
 Aspiration for progress &
betterment – to overcome
handicaps for greater
wealth, status

Sociologists study society and

social action by examining the
groups and social institutions Children can develop
people form, and various social, according to their unique
religious, political & business needs and full potential
organisations, social interaction,
trace the origin and growth of
social processes

Education works towards larger

goal than that of the individual
and its purpose to maintain
social stability, through the
social reproduction of
inequality

Significance of Social Research in Education

Thank You
Written Assessment 1
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