Education AS A Social Construct PDF

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Summary

When viewed through the lens of learning, education is a natural part of human nature. We are all born with the ability to learn in some way. In that sense, learning occurs naturally throughout our lives. This viewpoint limits the concept of education as a social construct. Some scholars in the fiel...

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EDUCATION AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT

Basic Concept

When viewed through the lens of learning, education is a natural part of human nature. We are all born with the ability to learn in some way. In that sense, learning occurs naturally throughout our lives. This viewpoint limits the concept of education as a social construct. Some scholars in the field of sociology of education do not accept education as a social construct, because, unlike a social construct, education or learning is inherent in every individual and it can be explained with objective facts. Supporters of this viewpoint argue that educational institutions, such as schools and colleges, are social constructs, whereas learning and education are not. When viewed from a sociological perspective, education is both a social process and a product of social interaction. Education has shaped a different idea of education with different sociological connotations as a result of long-standing collective perceptions and associated practises. Many scholars working in the field of educational sociology have attempted to connect these sociological connotations to education and to represent education as a social concept or social construct. The concept of education, according to proponents of the idea that education is a social construct, is a type of social construct because it was created to ensure people a promising and secure future, as well as a stable life. Education, in and of itself, aids our understanding of the world around us and allows us to adapt to the structure of society. The concept of education is linked to the belief that a person's level of education determines their level of success in life. It is assumed that a person with a higher education will be able to obtain better jobs and earn a higher salary than someone who has not pursued a higher education. The concept of higher education has been socially constructed in order to create a competitive world in which social status is separated. "All education proceeds by the individual's participation in the social consciousness," says John Dewey, a renowned pragmatic sociologist of education. Education is a social product for him. Education, which plays a critical role in the development of

individuals and society as a whole, is consciously assigned social values by society. Learning is also a derivative of social process, according to Lev Vygotsky, a wellknown learning theorist, who links a child's subsequent development to the scope and quality of social interaction. He placed a high value on the social aspects of education and learning. "Learning reaches its full potential from active participation in the culture," says Bruner. The culture of a society influences and shapes its education in a significant way. Culture, on the other hand, is passed down through the generations through education. As a result, the meaning and significance of education as a social concept or social construct is derived from such established ideas and collective perceptions. Theoretical Foundations

Education's value as a social construct is debatable. You, as sociology students, are expected to support the claim that education is a social construct by connecting ideas from various grand theories related to the social perspective of education. The sociological study of education has frequently captured the larger scope of theoretical debates presented by many scholars in the field. From Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim's early debates in classical sociology to the contemporary influences of Symbolic Interactionism, Postmodernism, Critical Race Theory, Capability Approach Theory, and other theoretical perspectives, the connotation and implied meaning of education in modern society has been greatly influenced, shaped, and reshaped. In the following lines, some of the most important theoretical orientations with close links to current sociological studies on education can be presented:

1) Functionalist Theory:

It is one of the earliest theories to link education to the social concept of education. The functionalists see society as a system with many component parts that are complementary to one another, interdependent on one another, and mutually contribute

to the society's better functioning as a whole. Functionalism is concerned with the role and functions of schools and other educational institutions in the maintenance of social order in the context of education. As a result, the Functional theory emphasises the functions that education serves in meeting various individual and societal needs. Socialization is perhaps the most important function of education. Education is the engine that propels children to learn the norms, values, and skills they need to live a productive human life in society. The three Rs ('Reading,' 'Writing,' and 'arithmetic') are usually taught in schools to enable students to conduct normal literary and daily needs works. Furthermore, they teach many of the society's norms and values to the children, which helps them grow up and contribute to the society's better functioning. Children in India are typically expected to learn the basic norms, principles, and values of Indian society, such as respect for elders, nationalism, and community belonging, among other things, and their acquisition is highly rewarded at all levels of society. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917 A.D.), whose ideas were instrumental in the development of the functionalist theory of society in the intellectual world, was the first sociologist to apply sociological theory to education and to contribute to the concept of education as a social construct. He believed that society is a system made up of many interconnected and coherent sub-systems that work together to meet the society's various needs. He also believed that education was critical in all societies for fostering moral unity, which was necessary for harmonious living. Education addressed these critical societal needs, and it took different forms at different times and places. In the sociology of education, Durkheim's concept of functionalism upholds the idea of education as a social construct. Another well-known proponent of the functionalist theory was Talcott Parson (19021979 A.D.). He believed that education is the most important factor in the development of individuals and society, especially in modern times, because no society has ever needed education as much as this one. The very existence of human life in a complex social system necessitates a minimum level of education for each individual to effectively participate in the development process. In the modern era, legitimacy for merit-based allocation of resources, status, and position has become the norm. Many functionalists, such as Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (1945), argued that

inequality was a functional necessity of all societies because the most important positions would be filled by the most talented individuals. They went on to say that modern democratic societies differ from previous traditional agrarian societies in that they are meritocratic, meaning that talent and hard work would be the sole criteria for assigning individuals to positions rather than birth. Education has taken centre stage in the human development process, given its crucial role in a society with meritocratic tendencies. As a result, education has come to be viewed as a social necessity, altering the very concept of education as a social concept upheld by the people's collective perception. Another major contributor to the functionalist perspective of education sociology in modern times was John Dewey. According to him, the school was a'miniature community' or a 'embryonic society,' and the discipline was the means by which the spirit of cooperation and community life would be developed. He believed that the hallmarks of a democratic society are freedom and responsibility, and that students are the society's future. Students should have the greatest amount of freedom with the greatest amount of responsibility in order to instil democratic values in them. He also defended the idea that education is the only way to achieve democracy, which is essential for social development. He saw education as a tool for establishing social order. Many of his supporters give special meaning to the concept of education, with a strong preference for education as a social construct.

2)

Conflict Theory

The conflict theory, which has its roots in Marx's theory of class conflict, is sometimes referred to as the counter-theory of the functionalist theory. According to this theory, each school in the system serves the vested interests of the dominant groups and reproduces inequalities. The relationship between society and the school, according to conflict theorists, is built on a foundation of conflict. "The concept of a conflict theory of education revolves around the fact of unequal distribution resources among different social groups and helps to understand how the contemporary schooling system plays

an important role in perpetuating inequality in the society under the guise of meritocracy," according to Ballantine & Hammack (2012). In today's world, most schools begin tracking their students in grade school, with the brighter students being placed in the faster tracks (especially in reading and arithmetic), and the slower students being placed in the slower tracks. This type of tracking is justified because it allows students to learn according to their grasping abilities. It promises to help gifted students learn as much as they can without wasting time. Slower students, on the other hand, are not taught beyond their grasping abilities. Students' social class, race, ethnicity, and caste (in India) determine which track they are assigned to, regardless of their intellectual abilities. Children from middle-class families are more likely to track "up," whereas students from lower-income families are more likely to track "down." As a result, students who have been tracked "down" have lower self-esteem than students who have been tracked "up." Many similar school practises are thought to be perpetuating social inequality in various forms and magnitudes. As a result, proponents of conflict theory argue that education is being used as a tool to maintain social inequality. Karl Marx (1818-1883) is considered the intellectual founder of the conflict school of sociology of education because he is known as the father of conflict theory. According to Marx, industrialization and urbanisation resulted in the emergence of a new class of workers, the "proletariat," who lived in poverty and worked in the industry day and night in order to feed and provide a better standard of living for their children. Marx believed that the class system, which separated owners from workers and denied workers the benefits of their own labour, resulted in class animosity and compelled class struggle. He believed that in the end, the proletariat would rise up and overthrow the capitalists, establishing a new society in which no one would be ostracised from work. The proletariat's uprising would be aided greatly by education. Max Weber was another sociologist who shared the conflict nature theoretical orientation (1864-1920). Weber believed that power relations between dominant and subordinate groups give society structure, but unlike Marx, he did not believe that class differences alone could capture the complex ways in which humans interact and the hierarchies of human relations that are unavoidable. Weber believed that status is

an important sociological concept because it reminds us that people identify with their group based on what they consume and who they socialise with. Furthermore, Weber was acutely aware of how bureaucracy was increasingly becoming the dominant form of authority in the modern state, and how bureaucratic ways of thinking were destined to shape and determine educational planning, reforms, and practises in society.

3)

Critical Theory

According to this orientation's critical theorists, dominant or hegemonic ideologies consciously act to capture our consciousness and understanding, causing the majority of people to miss the underlying realities behind the screen. From this perspective, schools are thought to play a critical role in not only differentially distributing specific types of knowledge as projected by dominant groups for their own benefit, but also in distributing the types of normative and dispositional elements required to make this inequality appear natural. As a result, they are thought to teach a secret curriculum that is uniquely suited to maintaining the ideological hegemony of society's most powerful classes. According to critical theory, the curriculum in today's educational system aims to contribute to and support the reproduction and maintenance of the dominant groups' ideology. The dominant groups and the mechanisms they have developed and maintained, according to critical theory, do nothing but serve the purpose of perpetuating inequalities of various kinds in various forms. As a result, critical theorists believe that schools, as educational systems, are used by dominant groups who are mostly in charge of educational planning and administration to maintain educational inequality first, and then other forms of inequity in society. Pierre Bourdieu, a 19th-century French philosopher and sociologist, was a leading proponent of critical theory, with a particular interest in critical sociology of education. Bourdieu's seminal work on the relationship between class culture and power in modern, widely stratified society eventually led him to investigate the relationship between educational institutions, which, according to Bourdieu, play a critical role in reproducing and transmitting dominant ideology through the use of dominant class

cultural traits. His concept of 'Cultural Capital' was crucial in understanding the role of schools in legitimately reproducing and transmitting dominant groups' ideology and characteristics. According to him, modern schools primarily glorify, adopt, recognise, and appreciate middle-class and dominant-class cultural traits while ignoring and discouraging working-class cultural traits. As a result, students from the dominant class have a higher social status in school, receive better grades, and eventually obtain a good job and a higher social status. Cultural traits, like economic capital, play an important role for a student from the dominant class in this situation. A student from the working class, on the other hand, feels alienated in a school setting where his unfamiliar cultural traits are praised and rewarded while his own culture and behaviour are mocked or ignored. It affects his academic performance, and he is unable to obtain a good job and a better social position as a result. This phenomenon perpetuates educational inequality and, as a result, leads to other forms of social inequality. As a result, schools, as important social institutions, play a critical role in promoting and maintaining equality, first in education and then in other aspects of life.

4)

The theory of Symbolic Interactionism

This theory is based on the basic idea that symbolic human behaviour based on certain social values associated with specific behavioural patterns has a significant impact on human relations, determining the status, power, and position of individuals or groups in society. Some individuals and specific groups are labelled as higher and others are labelled as lower through the lens of a certain value base. This labelling frequently results in the ascription of status based on the label, which eventually becomes a part and symbol of the individual, determining one's social status and power relationship in society, and thus having a significant impact on the individual's or group's life. Education is one way that labelling theory is seen in action, according to some Symbolic interactionism theorists. They claim that those in power and those who have been labelled have a direct relationship. For example, a student may be labelled a low achiever as a result of poor performance in a particular class. This label is gradually attached to that student as the rest of the world, particularly those in his immediate

vicinity, begin to treat him as a low achiever. In order to live down the label, such labels become a source of symbolic interaction, resulting in a complex set of experiences and attitudes in the victim. Children from disadvantaged groups are more likely to receive such labels in school, which is to their disadvantage. Thus, social interaction based on some socially formulated beliefs and concepts related to a student's educational ability plays a critical role in a student's educational attainment. This idea, which is based on interactionism, goes on to suggest that education is largely a social construct. To summarise, all sociology of education theories portray education as a social concept or social construct built on the pillars of collective perceptions, as many scholars in the field have formally captured....