Relevance of Sociology and Anthropology in Education

Agents of Socialization
Family School Church Peer Mass Media

Discussant: Hazel S. Jumaquio

MAE-EM

Sociology
is the scientific study of society

It is a social science which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity.

What is the relevance of sociology in education???

Education has often been seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavour characterized by aspirations for progress and betterment

It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and social status. 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 to develop every individual to their full potential and give them a chance to achieve as much in life as their natural abilities allow

The sociology of education contains a number of theories.

Education and Social Reproduction
Political Arithmetic

Structural Functionalism

Political Arithmetic
concerned with the way in which school structures were implicated in social class inequalities in Britain. More recent work in this tradition has broadened its focus to include gender, ethnic differentials and international differences

Structural Functionalism
Structural functionalists believe that society leans towards equilibrium and social order. 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

Education and Social Reproduction The perspective of conflict theory, contrary to the structural functionalist perspective, believes that society is full of vying social groups with different aspirations, different access to life chances and gain different social rewards. Relations in society, in this view, are mainly based on exploitation, oppression, domination and subordination.

Anthropology is anthropo a social science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural s development, biological

logia

man

characteristics, social customs, and beliefs of humankind. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.

Study

Anthropology's basic concerns are:

the definition of human life and origin, how social relations among humans are organized, who the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens are, what the characterizations of human physical traits are, how humans behave, why there are variations among different groups of humans, how the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens have influenced its social organization and culture

contemporary anthropology is typically divided into four sub-fields :

cultural anthropology linguistic anthropology

archaeology

physical anthropology

Anthropology of education engages these perspectives through the study of schooling in our own culture, from the perspective of minority groups in our culture, and from multiple transcultural perspectives. The anthropology of education engages issues such as the socialization process of schooling; the production, transmission, and acquisition of culture within the educational process; the role of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism in schools; the schools role in the creation of identity; and how minority groups interact with the majority culture of schooling.

These issues are at the heart of immense debate and analysis within educational policy and practice, ranging from questions of multicultural education to what it means to be educated; from curriculum design to multiple intelligence; from why minority students disproportionately fail in school to what it means for a test to be culturally biased.

Agents of Socialization:
FAMILY School

Church

Mass Media

Peer Group

The Family The family has the greatest impact on an individual. It is the most important agent of socialization and plays a pivotal role in shaping the personality of children.

The family is the first school of life and love ; the seabed of values and the nurturer of human nature.

The School
The school is the second home of children.. School broadens the children's social milieu and expands their interactions with others

Considering the family as an imperfect society, the school is there to reinforce what is missing in the family.

The Church
Social philosophers recognized the church as the conscience formators of people

The church is a social institution entrusted with the task of teaching morality to individuals and groups. In a democratic society, there is freedom of religion.
ECUMINISM is encouraged.

Mass Media
It is defined by Maciones as an impersonal communication aimed at a vast audience.
The term media comes from the latin word middle, suggesting that media serves to link or connect people of different races and religious affiliations.

Peer Group
The peer group is a social group whose members have common interests, social position and age.

Peer pressure exists such that a child or a teenager must conform his or her behavior of his or her peers in order to belong and be accepted in peer group. Parental guidance is encouraged for children and youngsters who belong to a peer to
serve as a check and balance because of the powerful influence the group may have.

Thank you for listening.

Discussant:

Hazel S. Jumaquio
MAE-EM

Dr. Ladislao D. Marcelo

Professor