The Crisis of the Sociology of Education and Its Reflections in Turkey: On The Critique of Functionalist and Eclecticist Pragmatic Tradition. (original) (raw)

The Methodological Analysis of the Sociology Teaching Program for Secondary Education in Turkey

2015

In this study, the Ministry of Education in Turkey by the Chair of the Board of Education adopted on 14.12.2009 is being implemented from the academic year 2010-2011 "Secondary Education Sociology Curriculum" of; The basic criteria for scientific subject areas of science, aims to take in terms of scientific methods and research techniques. Discussed in this study, adopted in 2009, "Secondary Education Sociology Teaching Program" in the "Introduction" section; sociology of science became an independent field that accepts two assumptions are not included from the beginning. Thus, as judged by the introduction of the program is demonstrated how to address the issues from a perspective.

Subject Matter of Sociology of Education

Addaiyan Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2021

The sociology of education is a relatively autonomous subject, because it conducts teaching and research. It is also relatively autonomous in relation to theories and about other fields of investigation. Contemplating present state of thinking, one of the persistent problems of sociology of education is on what grounds sociologists of education can claim that they have a field of their own, distinct from that of general sociologists, anthropologists, psychologists, historians, economists and other groups of specialists. In the discussion of the sociology of education, we observe the discourse of subject matter remains elusive. No thinker states anything properly in this context. But it is not that insignificant. The subject matter of the sociology of education may be explored in three paths where through the historical contribution of the thinkers, published books, journals, and articles as documents of empirical research works, and analytical discussion takes place.

Pusztai, Gabriella (Ed.) 2022. Sociology of Education: Theories, Communities, Contexts. Debrecen, Debrecen University Press

Handbook for researchers and students, 2022

There are various international encyclopedias and handbooks on the sociology of education available to education researchers worldwide, encompassing an immense and irreproducible body of knowledge. However, education is as much embedded in a certain region’s society as it is within global phenomena. This volume has been compiled by a group of education researchers, and aims to identify the most important factors affecting the processes of education, based on research on the social reality of the Central and Eastern European region. The chapters of this book are arranged into three thematic units. i)Theories in the sociology of education In this unit, we present some essential interpretational frameworks applied in various analyses in the field. Readers are given a multi-perspective introduction to mainstream theories, which are set against alternative interpretations and supplemented with novel approaches. The chapter Interpretational paradigms of socialization at school provides an overview of the reconstructionist and constructivist paradigms of socialization. The next chapter, Forms of capital utilized in student careers, addresses the educational implications of the concepts and laws of the theories of reproduction, human capital and cultural capital. The chapter Rational choice theories and school careers focuses on the possibilities (and limitations) of rational choices in school careers. The striking differences between girls’ and boys’ school performance have prompted the editors to include the concepts related to the comparison of the sexes in the chapter Differences and competition: gender in education. As the relatively new approach of resilience theories is revealing itself to be related to major questions within the sociology of education, we devoted a chapter to it titled Resilience and compensating factors. ii)Communities involved in education The sociology of education focuses on the social mechanisms of education but, nevertheless, does not treat society as a distant or abstract entity. Although the position of individuals can certainly be pinpointed in the structure of society, the input individuals are given during their education does not, in our opinion, come from the macro level. Instead, we believe it is more prominent from the level of communities. Society is generally defined as a network containing all social networks; a community is considered to comprise individuals whose interactions are shaped during shared activities and use of space. Social sciences have reshaped the concept of community, which was previously limited by tradition and spatiality. Based on the intersubjective nature of knowledge, the core of its semantic field has come to include the joint construction of meaning by interconnected members, as well as the individual construction of the community’s boundaries. The meaning of a locally rooted and well-defined community has widened considerably under the influence of Cohen’s theory of the symbolic construction of community. In his view, a community is a network of people who are united by common goals and are, as a result, distinct from their environment. We are also of the opinion that education is most strongly influenced by shared interpretations within the community beyond the structural aspect of individuals connected through relationships. Education takes place when members of a community not only meet one another but also form social networks, the stability of which enables them to construct shared interpretations, which, in turn, have an impact on them. Thus, the most important scenes of education are interpretive communities formed within relationship structures. The primary community is the family, which provides initial and formative socialization. Belonging to a national, linguistic or cultural community is also essential and highly relevant (and can be even more clearly recognized if the community in question is an ethnic minority). Religious socialization, regardless of its outcome, involves individuals whose world views, life goals and school careers are influenced by communities. Leisure activities pursued on one’s own accord in voluntary organizations or sports clubs are also important factors of education. The media is continuously gaining ground as an educator. It does so by changing the unidirectional flow of information coming from organizational actors and by amplifying the educative effect of content through influencers who appear to be friends or peers and through groups that construct joint interpretations of messages. An increasing number of students, throughout their secondary school and university careers, are engaging in paid work. As such, the role of communities at work cannot go unnoticed. Finally, teachers in school communities influence future generations not only as instructors but also as a professional community whose members are in day-to-day contact with young people and therefore their interactions also exert a significant influence. iii) The contexts of education This unit assesses the contexts through which macro-level structures of reality appear in the process of education. Firstly, although time appears to be an objective factor, time management is a social phenomenon depending on age, gender, social strata and geographical position. Secondly, spatial location determines not only the culture acquired during education but also school career prospects. Regional differentiation leads to educational advantages and disadvantages, which greatly influence young people’s academic advancement. Thirdly, generations growing up in pluralistic societies are faced with a diversity of values, which results in multiple interpretations of social reality. Schools also reflect this multitude of value preferences. Finally, we present the organizational context embodied in individuals’ lives primarily by educational institutions. These organizations, along with the community of teachers and students belonging to them, are more than just the sum of individuals. Instead, they form a distinct part of the social context, the significance of which for education has only been discovered in recent decades. This volume gives a comprehensive picture not only in terms of its subject matter but also with respect to the wide range of international literature referred to. Its use as a textbook at various levels of higher education is facilitated by definitions of the key concepts at the beginning of each chapter, as well as by a set of questions and tasks, in addition to recommended further reading at the end of each chapter. As is the case with all books, the full meaning of the words and sentences unfolds through readers’ interpretations; therefore, all readers are kindly invited to join the interpretive community of the sociologists of education. Gabriella Pusztai

Problems With Sociology Education in Turkey on Its 100th Anniversary

Although sociology education began a century ago in Turkey, sociology is considered a scientific discipline rather than a profession in which graduates can earn money. The primary aim of this article is to identify the essence of this problem in sociology education based on students’ and sociologists’ views. To achieve the study objectives, a phenomenological study based on standpoint theory was designed and conducted with 25 students and 20 working sociologists. The findings reveal that sociology education is quite far removed from being considered a professional education. Theoretical courses without field studies are not in accordance with the requirements of both the public and private sectors. Students and sociologists are quite romantic regarding what sociology is and what sociologists do. Students mostly begin the study of sociology involuntarily and without a clear understanding of the discipline. Sometimes students find themselves in a paradox or dilemma: Although the knowledge and skills they have developed during their sociology education enable students to express themselves effectively and understand social events more comprehensively, the risk of unemployment is a severe threat. Even if they are employed, graduates are disappointed because they are not prepared to conduct the tasks that their jobs demand. Students assess these activities as social work and thus inappropriate. To solve the problems of sociology as a profession in society and as an academic field in the university, both problems must be clearly defined and programs must be carefully reconfigured to meet the demands of both society and sociologists. Keywords sociology, education, phenomenology, Turkey

The study of sociology in Turkish higher education 1

This paper seeks to reveal the differences among seven departments of sociology in Turkish universities based on studies carried out since 1985 by sociologists working in these departments. Since sociology and sociological education started in 1914, there have been many evaluations of sociology in Turkey. The present study differs from others in its evaluation methods.The basic assumption of this study was that none of the sociological studies could be carried out within the confines of only one sociological subfield such as economic or educational sociology. Based on this assumption, a six-point evaluation tool known as a composite index was used in each study. After collecting publications, a group of sociologists held comprehensive discussions and allocated the proportion of the composition for each sociological subfield represented in each study. The results, based on sociologists' published studies in seven well-established departments in Turkey, showed that there were major differences between departments. Among them was Middle East Technical University (METU), where teaching was in English and many staff members had been educated in England or the United States. The sociology department in that university was the leader in almost every field studied.

A critical look at the theories of sociology of education

This paper sets out to discuss major theories of sociology of education in an attempt to reveal why we need to extend analysis beyond their current forms. It provides both a brief historical account for each theory and fundamental critiques directed towards them. Sociology of education has taken a historical turn by breaking away from the dominant understandings of functionalist theories of 1950s. The matters of history, social class, race and gender and their intimate links to the education began to occupy a prestigious position in sociological analysis of education. However, the new sociology of education also could not escape from creating its own field specific orthodoxies

Origin, meaning, and scope of sociology/ sociology of education

Essentials of sociology of education. Pages 1-30. Published by His Lineage Publishing House. Ibadan, Nigeria., 2014

The paper presents an extensive definition of the term sociology / sociology of education, with good explanation on how sociology emerged and developed; the paper equally discusses the scope and basic concern of sociology / sociology of Education. Personal and professional benefits derived from learning sociology of education were highlighted, while the paper also gave the differences between Educational Sociology and Sociology of Education and conclude by describing the relationship between sociology and other fields of study.

Philosophy of Education as an Academic Discipline in Turkey: The Past and the Present

Studies in Philosophy and Education, 2008

This article aims to present the past and present state and future possibilities of philosophy of education as an academic discipline in Turkey as related to teacher training programs and academic studies in higher education institutions. It takes philosophy of education as consisting of the approaches that have emerged in its history. It has come to Turkey as a part of the modernization of education. It seems that during the Republican era in Turkey before World War II, mainly due to the dominance of the German conception of educational studies, the pedagogy and the history of pedagogy courses and the textbooks for them, which were central to the curricula of teacher training schools, contained the subjects of philosophy of education in its continental form; and after World War II philosophy of education is mostly understood, primarily due to Turkey's changing international relations and the spread of American influence, as the isms and the doctrines approaches as found in the USA between the 1940s and 1960s, while other approaches in the field have been less influential. The article identifies how the restructuring of the teacher training system and the curricula of Faculties of Education in 1998 was a serious blow to the discipline, since it excluded philosophy of education from the curricula of teacher preparation schools, and the flourishing discipline thus lost its hold and importance in the undergraduate programs, and then in graduate programs. But the 2006 revision of the curricula has given a kiss of life to the discipline. There are reasons to think that it can recover in the coming period.

The study of sociology in Turkish higher education

2005