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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
Contemporary Themes in the Sociology of Education
International journal of contemporary sociology
This article discusses the state of art of the contemporary sociology of education from a global perspective. The first part of the paper reviews the varied theoretical orientations and methodologies of the field. The second part focuses on an array of salient social issues with vital policy implications. These issues contain neo-liberal globalization, concerns over developing countries, educational and social inequality, accountability, effects of peer groups on schooling, issues associated with teachers and special issues associated with adult education and lifelong learning. A core conclusion on the future is presented.
The Sociology of Education, 2010
1 Theory in the sociology of education Émile Durkheim is generally considered to be the founder of the sociology of education, having provided a sociological conceptualization of education as a system that transmits society's culture and social order to new generations. The sociology of education also derives its conceptual and theoretical roots from the contributions of Marx and Weber. Marx laid down the foundations for conflict theory. Marxists have examined especially the ideological role of the state in education as it reproduces and maintains class statuses. Weber developed a multidimensional approach where structure, human agency, the material and the normative were combined. Building on this early foundation, several more recent directions have emerged. Among structural conflict theories, Pierre Bourdieu's (1984) theory of practice, Basil Bernstein's (1996) theory of language codes and Randall Collins's (1979) Weberian theory of social exclusion have had a major impact on contemporary sociology of education. According to Bourdieu's (1984) theory of praxis, the social world consists of the history of accumulation. Education as a part of social and cultural reproduction is linked with cultural capital and subsequent social differences in particular. Similarly, Bernstein (1975) argues that socialization is based on class, and that the dominant school pedagogy, in addition to language and culture, reproduces social differences. In Coleman's (1988) view, in the formation of human capital, social capital based on trust and community (e.g. school's relationship with students' families and communities) plays a central role. The study of such material and symbolic resources in relation to education has enriched our understanding of differences in educational opportunities. At the same time, it has opened up opportunities to affect such differences through educational policies. Symbolic interactionism and social construction-ism have been major sources of action theories in the sociology of education, particularly in their focus on interaction (Ballantine and Spade, 2008; Woods, 1983). According to Vygotsky's sociocultural approach to cognition, learning is dependent on the interaction between the learner and the social environment , and this includes peers, as well as parents and teachers. Modern and postmodern theories have emerged on all continents. In Chinese and especially in Taiwanese sociology, the hidden curriculum and ideology are familiar concepts, and scholars have
Central Questions and Some Answers: the State of the Sociology of Education
Social Policy & Administration, 1982
The state of education, judging by these studies of it, is rather poor. The first three edited volumes -Barton, Meighan and Walker and the two Open University readersare all attempts to present overviews of aspects of the sociology of education. By their very limited coverages they indicate that the sociology of education is not very rich at the moment. Kelly's book is in marked contrast. Although it, too, is an edited text it is not just an ill-assorted coIIection but provides a rigorous and sustained argument albeit on a specific topic. So it cannot just be that edited works are impossible ventures. We must conclude that the problem lies with the subject-matter, or rather the approach to it.
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.
Sociology of Education Course Outline
The education system is both a source of perpetuating socio-economic inequalities, and a tool for challenging the status quo. Educational institutions, especially schools are an integral part of the socialization process, preparing the next generation to take on their role as “social” actors. The course examines how and why the education system perpetuates or challenges existing inequalities within society. It introduces students to sociological theories of education, examining the intersection between education, class, culture, gender, resistance and democracy. The first part provides a macro level analysis of education and its place within society by introducing students to grand theories of education with a particular emphasis on functionalism, pragmatism, and critical pedagogy. The second part focuses on the formalized education system, in particular the school, examining the structure and organization of the school, teaching and pedagogy, classroom inequalities, and the politics of language and curriculum. The readings therefore move from a macro level analysis to the micro unit of the school, highlighting both the potential and the limitation of modern day schooling in challenging existing inequalities within society.