Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to the Social

Dimensions of Education
Sociology
Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and
the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
The word sociology derives from the french word,

sociologie, a hybrid coined in 1830 by French philosopher
Isidore Auguste Comte (1978-1857), from the Latin:
socius, meaning “companion”, and the suffix -ology,
meaning “the study of”, from the Greek lὁgos,
“knowledge”. The English word, sociology, appeared in 1843.
Educational Sociology is the study of social factors that influence and are
influenced by all educational structures and processes, both within and
between societies.
Consensus and Conflict Theory

Dahrendoft (1959-1968) as cited by Ritzer (2000) is the major exponent
of the position that society has two faces and that sociological theory
therefore should be divided into two parts, conflict theory and consensus
theory.
Consensus theories see shared norms and values as fundamental to

society, focus on social order based on tacit agreements, and view social
change as occuring in a slow and orderly fashion.
Consensus theorists examine value integration in society and
conflict theorists examine of interest and the coercion that holds
society together in the face of these stresses.
Consensus is a concept of society in which the absence of

conflict is seen as the equilibrium state of society based on a
general or widespread agreement among all members of a
particular society.
The conflict theory, according to Horton and Hunt (1984)

focuses on the heterogeneous nature or society differential
distribution of political and social power.
The conflict perspective assume that social behaviour is
best understood in terms of conflict or tensions between
competing groups.
The consensus and conflict sociological theories are

reflected in the works of certain dominant social theorists such
as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber and other
prominent social theorists such as Talcott Parsons & Robert
Merton, Louis Althusser & Ralph Dahrendorf and Herbert
Mead & Herbert Blumer.
Structural Functionalism
Structural functionalism, especially in the work of Talcott

Parsons, Robert Merton, and their students and followers,
was for many years the dominant sociological theory.
Parsons' structural functionalism imperatives for all

“action” system, embodied in his famous AGIL SCHEME.
AGIL SCHEME
1. Adaptation
- a system must cope with external situational exigencies it must adapt to its
environment and adapt environment to its needs.
2. Goal attainment
- a system must define and achieve its primary goals
3. Integration
- a system must regulate the interrelationship of its component parts. It must
also manage the relationship among the other three functional imperatives.
4. Latency (pattern maintenance)

- a system must furnish, maintain, and renew both the motivation of
individuals and the cultural patterns that create and sustain the motivation.
• Action System is the behavioral organism that handles the
adaptation function by adjusting to and transforming the external
world.
• Personality System performs the goal-attainment function by

defining system goals and mobilizing resources to attain them.
• Social System copes with the integration function by controlling its

component parts.
• Cultural System performs the latency function by providing actors

with the norms and values that motivate them for action (Ritzer,
2000)
Sets of Assumptions (Parsons')
1. Systems have the property of order and interdependence of parts.
2. Systems tend toward self-maintaining order, or equilibrium.
3. The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of change.
4. The nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that
the other parts can take.
5. Systems maintain boundaries with their environments.
6. Allocation and integration are two fundamental processes necessary
for
a given state of equilibrium of a system.
7. Systems tend toward self-maintenance involving the maintenance of
the relationships of parts to the whole, control of environmental
variations and control of tendencies to change the system from within.
Functionalist perspective is primarily concerned with why a society
assumes a particular form. This perspective assumes that any society
takes its particular form because that form works well for the society
given its particular situation.
The key principles of the Functionalist Perspective (Farley, 1990)

are the following:
1. Interdependency
- One of the most important principles of functionalist theory is that
society is made up of interdependent parts.
2. Functions of Social Structure and Culture
- Closely related to interdependency is the idea that each part of the social system
exists because it serves some function.
3. Consensus and Cooperation

- Another key principle in the functionalist theory is that societies have a tendency
toward consensus that is to have cetain basic values that nearly everyone in the
society agrees upon.
4. Equilibrium
- A final principle of functionalist theories is that of equilibrium. This view holds that,
once a society has achieved the form that is best adapted to its situation, it has
reached a state of balance or equilibrium, and it will remain in that condition until it
is forced to change by some new condition.
Interactionist Theories
In general, interactionist theories about the relation of school and society are
critiques and extensions of the functionalist and conflict perspectives. The critiques
arises from the observation that functionalist and conflict theories are very abstract
and emphasize structure and processes at a societal level of analysis.
• Symbolic Interactionism
- Interactionist theory has its origin in the social psychology of early twentieth
century sociologists George Herbert Mead & Charles Horton Cooley.
- Mead & Cooley examined the ways in which the individual is related to society
through ongoing social interactions.
- This school of thought, known as symbolic interactionism, views the self as
socially constructed in relation to social forces and structures and the product of
ongoing negotiattions of meanings.
Principles of Symbolic Interactionism
1. Human beings unlike lower animals, are endowed with a capacity for thought.
2. The capacity for thought is shaped by social interaction.
3. In social interaction, people learn the meanings and the symbols that allow them to
exercise their distinctively human capacity for thought.
4. Meanings and symbols allow people to carry on distinctively human action and
interaction.
5. People are able to modify or alter meanings and symbols that they use in action
and interaction on the basis of their interpretation of the situation.
6. People are able to make these modifications and alterations because, in part, of
their ability to interact with themselves, which allows them to examine possible
courses of action, assess their relative advantages and disadvantages, and then
choose one.
7. The intertwined patterns of action and interaction make up groups and
societies.
• Non-Symbolic Interactionism
The differentiation made by Blumer (following Mead) between

two basic forms of social interaction is relevant here. The first
non-symbolic interaction (Mead's conversation of gestures) does
not involve thinking. The second symbolic interaction does
require mental processes (Ritzer, 2000).
Mead's approach to symbolic interaction rested on three (3)
basic premises.
1. The first is that people act toward the things they encounter on the
basis of what those things mean to them.
2. Second, we learn what things are by observing how other people
respond to them, that is through social interaction.
3. Third, as a result of ongoing interaction, the sounds (or words),
gestures, facial expressions, and body postures we use in dealing
with others acquire symbolic meanings that are shared by people who
belong to the same culture. The meaning of symbolic gesture extends
beyond the act itself.
Blumer differentiates among three (3) types of objects:
1. Physical Objects
- such as a chair or a tree;
2. Social Objects
- such as a student or a mother; and
3. Abstract Objects
- such as an idea or a moral principle.
Looking-glass Self
This concept was developed by the early symbolic interactionist

theorist Charles Horton Cooley. The basic notion of the looking-
glass self can summed up as “We see ourselves as others see us.”
In other words, we come to develop a self-image on the basis of
the messages we get from others, as we understand them.
In Cooley's terms, you use other people as a mirror into which

you look to see what you are like (Farley, 1990).
....Thank you for listening....

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Introduction to the Social

The word sociology derives from the french word,

Consensus and Conflict Theory

Consensus theories see shared norms and values as fundamental to

Consensus is a concept of society in which the absence of

The conflict theory, according to Horton and Hunt (1984)

The consensus and conflict sociological theories are

Structural functionalism, especially in the work of Talcott

Parsons' structural functionalism imperatives for all

4. Latency (pattern maintenance)

• Personality System performs the goal-attainment function by

• Social System copes with the integration function by controlling its

• Cultural System performs the latency function by providing actors

The key principles of the Functionalist Perspective (Farley, 1990)

3. Consensus and Cooperation

The differentiation made by Blumer (following Mead) between

This concept was developed by the early symbolic interactionist

In Cooley's terms, you use other people as a mirror into which

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