School as a social system

Dr. Mike Kelvin Nicole N. Buted

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, pre- service teachers should be able to:

a. Discuss the basic concepts of school as a social system and how they impact individual
learners, classrooms, schools and the larger community;
b. Describe social interactions and their importance in building harmonious relationship
with the wider school community;
c. Seek advice concerning strategies that build relationships with parents/guardians and the
wider community; and
d. Seek opportunities to establish professional links with colleagues in the school
community.

Introduction
Social progress is not always so simple. It usually comes about very gradually. The demand for
accelerated social change may also arise on more theoretical grounds.
Sociology of education may be defined as the scientific analysis of the social processes and
social patterns involved in the educational system.
According to sociologists, education is a social procession which helps in the eliminating the
defects in the society and many perpetuate desirable institutions and group activities.

THE SCHOOL IS THE ONE OF THE FORMAL AGENCIES OF SOCIALIZATION.

It has acquired importance because of its sociological changes and influences. The school is a
formal agency of education imparts the maximum knowledge of the subjects required for
necessary living of a useful and successful life.
Social systems theory has been a sound perspective to explain the working of schools. Sociology
of education particularly studies the school as a social system. The social organization in the
school consists of different roles and statuses for the educator and educand.
SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM

THE SCHOOL AS A COMMUNITY

THE SCHOOL LEARNING ACTION CELL

Topics:
SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM
 According to the functionalist approach, the school system is composed of many distinct sub-
systems or parts, each with their own goals.
 Together these parts make up a functioning whole (Ballantine 2001: p 132).
 Each part is dependent on the other for smooth operation. If one part does not function well,
the other parts are affected too.
 Willard stated five reasons for a school to be regarded as a social system:
 It has personnel who contributes toward the school’s goals.
 It has a social structure as the result of social interaction within the school.
 It is represented and bound by strong social relationship.
  It is bound by a feeling of belonging (esprit de corps).
 It possesses its own culture/ways of doing things.

SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL SYSTEM

 Thus, we can say that a school is asocial system with a clear border that separates
it from the environment.
 Nonetheless, it is not a closed social system. It has a close relationship with the
environment, and they compliment each other.
 School prepares students with living skills, knowledge and expertise necessary for
the society.
 The school is provided with resources, building and personnel (students and
teachers) for it to function.
 As a social system, a school has a formal and informal structure.
 The formal structure refers to the role and function of the administration.
 The informal system relates to its social relationship that helps the organization to
function.

THE SCHOOL AS A COMMUNITY

WAYS TO CREATE A LEARNING COMMUNITY
 There are three categories in which leaders may focus their efforts in order to
promote the learning community.
 How can educational leaders change their schools to be learning communities?
 The first category encompasses the moral purpose of the organization, including
vision, mission and goals.
 What is it that binds all members of the organization?
 The second category deals with creating an open work environment—open to new
ideas, different ways of doing things, and connecting the diverse constituents of
the community.
 How can we accomplish our moral purpose and live our work in a meaningful
way?
 The third category focuses on evaluation of our efforts, both means and ends.

THE SCHOOL AS A COMMUNITY

How well are we working together to solve perceived challenges and how well are we achieving
our purpose? Garvin (in De Vito, 1996) identifies the following five main activities of the
learning organization:
 Systemic problem solving,
 Experimentation with new approaches,
 Learning from experiences,
 Learning from best practices of others, and
 Transferring knowledge across the organization quickly.
 These activities may be translated to schools that desire to work towards becoming
learning communities.
 In schools, the organizational leader rallies the members around a problem, which has
become important to enough members.
  This problem is connected to the moral purpose of the institution. The leader’s tasks
include the identification of the critical elements of the problem and selecting appropriate
members to work on the solution.

THE SCHOOL AS A COMMUNITY

Follow and watch link on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5Og00X2zmY

THE SCHOOL LEARNING ACTION CELL

Read DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016 
Watch video on Youtube for further discussions:

1. https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DO_s2016_035.pdf
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2hTbpxyX9Y

TOP 10 CURRENT GLOBAL ISSUES ACCORDING TO TURNER 

 Climate change
 Pollution
 Violence
 Security and Well Being
 Lack of Education
 Unemployment
 Government Corruption 8. Malnourishment & Hunger
 Substance Abuse
 Terrorism

Summary
What then make up a school system? It is the interaction of personality of individuals and the
roles they play vis-à-vis their position held within the school.
Every school member: students, teachers, school heads, and support staff play their important
roles towards achieving the school goals.How the teacher manages his/her classroom, he/she
interacts with the students and the environment. Carries himself/herself depends on his/her
personality and the role or position held.
Besides, the activities related to the school are influenced by society’s culture, policies, values,
and are undertaken by individuals as part of a social process. So, the success of the individual
and the organization are based on factors like expectations, need, satisfaction, role, behavior and
goals.
As for the role of individuals within the school, the school has certain roles and expectations that
are designed to fulfill the goals of the system. Each school consists of individuals with certain
personalities and need-dispositions, whose interaction make up hat is commonly known as social
behavior.
The way to get started is to quit
talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney
Thank you