![]() The internal relation between roles, distinct from the individual people who fill them and whom they casually affect. The relation between teacher and student lies at heart of the realist conception of social structure. This explains why individuals act as role incumbents and perform specific tasks on a regular basis as manifested at the level of observable event. Social reality is structured and differentiated and provides social science with its subject matter. 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. Structural functionalists believe that society leans towards social equilibrium and social order. However, the political arithmetic tradition, while rooted in quantitative methods, has increasingly engaged with mixed methods approaches. This heralded a period of methodological division within the sociology of education. The political arithmetic tradition was attacked by the 'New Sociology of Education' of the 1970s which rejected quantitative research methods. While researchers in this tradition have engaged with sociological theories such as Rational Choice Theory and Cultural Reproduction Theory, the political arithmetic tradition has tended to remain rather sceptical of 'grand theory' and very much concerned with empirical evidence and social policy. More recent work in this tradition has broadened its focus to include gender, ethnic differentials and international differences. All of these works were concerned with the way in which school structures were implicated in social class inequalities in Britain. Important works in this tradition have been (Glass 1954), (Floud, et al. ![]() The Political Arithmetic tradition within the sociology of education began with Hogben (1938) and denotes a tradition of politically critical quantitative research dealing with social inequalities, especially those generated by social stratification (Heath 2000). Some of the main theories are presented below. The sociology of education contains a number of theories. ![]() Neo-Marxists argued that school education simply produced a docile labour force essential to late-capitalist class relations. After the general collapse of functionalism from the late 1960s onwards, the idea of education as an unmitigated good was even more profoundly challenged. Sociological studies showed how schooling patterns reflected, rather than challenged, class stratification and racial and sexual discrimination. 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. 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. 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. 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. Some take a particularly critical view, arguing that the education system is designed with the intention of causing the social reproduction of inequality. Few would argue that any education system accomplishes this goal perfectly. 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). It is also perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality. Social interactions between people through education is always causing further development no matter what age they are. Not only can children develop, but young and older adults too. Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potential. It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality, and acquiring wealth and social status. Įducation is seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavour characterised by aspirations for progress and betterment. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher, further, adult, and continuing education. The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes.
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