Submitted by: CESARIO M. LABAJO, JR.

E-mail Address: cmlabajo@clsu.edu.ph

Central Luzon State University

Science City of Muñoz 3120
Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Instructional Module for the Course

ED804: SOCIO-CULTURAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

Module 1
Topic 1:
The Study of School and Social Dimensions of Education

Overview

The basic unit of the society is the FAMILY where love, cooperation, integrity, faith and knowledge begin. The

society cannot exist without a family, hence family is the heart of society. The second most important part of society is the

SCHOOL. School performs an important function in building the society and nation as a whole. School serves as an

institution which provides intellect, knowledge and competitive education and skills of human resources as the product of

the school-institution. Therefore schools social dimensions has been essential to evaluate the its uniqueness and important

characteristics that plays crucial and valuable functions.

The school is an integral part of the community. What is taught in a classroom affects students, their parents,

teachers, staff, and leaks out into the rest of the community. Acceptable behavior in the school must also translate into

acceptable behavior in the community, and vice versa. To give the social dimension meaning, schools should work with

their community to develop programs that involve students with their community, and to develop programs that involve

community members with the school.

Social dimension meaning extends beyond classroom boundaries. To diminish social inequality in the outside world,

educators must provide equal opportunities for all students inside school walls. Education is intended to level opportunities

for vulnerable groups - including students with disabilities, students of lower socio-economic statuses, and students

belonging to minority groups - by addressing these inequities. By developing policies and applying extra effort where it is

needed, all students can be given a fair chance for success.

 ED804 (Socio-cultural Foundations of Education)

SOCIOLOGICAL TEMPLATE 1

ISSUES FOR DISCOURSE:

QUESTION 1: Sociologist Peter Berger once said, “The excitement of sociology lies in the fact that
its perspective makes us see in a new light the world in which we have lived all our lives”.
Do you view this statement as a basic strength of sociology in understanding schools? Why?

Response: I believed that this statement is basic strength of sociology. However, what I understand is
that, the excitement of sociology is usually of a different sort. Sometimes, it is true, the
sociologist penetrates into worlds that had previously been quite unknown to him-for
instance, the world of crime, or the world of some bizarre religious sect, or the world
fashioned by the exclusive concerns of some group such as medical specialists or military
leaders or advertising executives. What I know much of the time the sociologist moves in
sectors of experience that are familiar to him and to most people in his society. Sociologist
investigates communities, institutions and activities that one can read about every day in the
newspapers. Yet there is another excitement of discovery beckoning in his investigations. It
is not the excitement of coming upon the totally unfamiliar, but rather the excitement of
finding the familiar becoming transformed in its meaning.

QUESTION 2: Explain this statement: “Every social institution is to some extent an educative
agency” If this is true, how do the curricula of television and the internet differ with the
curricula of schools?

Response: Yes, I agree with this statement. I always recommend that when we analyze social
institutions, we start with the family because the family is at the center, at the heart, of any
strong, functioning society. However, School is one social agency created by society to
educate its members. It has become the primary educative agency of society, making it a
major and indispensable social institution in the world. It nurture every individual, first in
reading and writing skill developed in schools while in my own experience and observations,
the internet and digital media are part of the everyday life of families in technologically
developed societies. They help keep students connected in much the same way as they help
individuals and communities remain connected. At the same time, technology has changed
the dynamics and dimensions of students life.

QUESTION 3: George Santayana remarked, “A child educated only at school is an uneducated

child” Do you agree with him? Why?

Response: I 100% believe that. The educational system doesn’t teach you valuable lessons to become an
adult. I was never one to let my schooling get in the way of my education. The stuff they
teach in school is valuable, but there are many things they don’t teach in school that are worth
knowing. Such as: How to wash dishes, how to clean floors, how to do laundry, how to do
taxes, how to apply for loans, life lessons, how to invest. I have learnt all of these at home.

QUESTION 4: Do you agree that schools today are still the primary and the best educative agency of all
societies? Why Cite evidence to prove your position.

Response: Yes, I agree that schools today are still the primary and best educative agency of all societies. This
is because it is the one agency that gathers citizens of a country for that specific purpose,
to teach. Can I cite evidence to prove my position? Yes, as a teacher for more than 10 years
I can say that if you’re educated and finished your bachelor’s degree wherever you are you
can land your job and sustain your needs it’s because you’re educated.

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QUESTION 5: Using their own approaches and orientations, sociology and other disciplines of social
sciences view schooling and education differently. Aside from social science, think of other
fields that influence education theory and practice. In what way does it contribute to the
analysis of schooling and education?

Response: In many ways, it is difficult to discuss any aspect of contemporary society without considering
the Internet. I experienced teaching without technology is somewhat hard for me and for the
learners this is maybe because I was used to have technology beside me to support my educational
practices and what I also observe, my students are also used to have technology support and it is
effective in our day to day teaching-learning process.

QUESTION 6: Critically discuss the following statement and give examples. “A system of education is a
response to the changing needs of the society it serves”.

Response: It suggests something far more adaptive than is actually the case. I think there may actually be a
lag of one and one-half to two and one-half generations in education matching the changing needs,
with some elements only changing on the scale of centuries. But, here goes. How society organizes
the instruction of its children, what is taught, how, and where, and how it is paid for, changes with
the demands of that evolving society from its rising new workers, soldiers and leaders. Therefore,
I firmly believed that Education develops a country’s economy and society; therefore, it is the
milestone of a nation’s development. Education provides knowledge and skills to the population,
as well as shaping the personality of the youth of a nation. Education is generally seen as the
foundation of society which brings economic wealth, social prosperity and political stability.
Economic and social status depends on education obtained by individual since education
contributes to individual capability in managing quality of life. It can help one’s individual to
avoid from poverty, build up harmony and democracy society.

QUESTION 7: What are the merits and demerits of informal, formal, non-formal, and alternative
education? Give examples to prove your point.

Response: Types of education has always merits and demerits or what we called advantages and
disadvantages. So let me first discuss the FORMAL EDUCATION, a great deal depends on your
personality and the way in which you learn. One of the great advantages of a formal education are
that you will be credentialed and it will help you get a job. Degrees and credentials will also help
you in a variety of situations where people care about your credentials. The difficulty of getting
into some universities and the work required to graduate will signal status and character to many
people. University is also a great place to meet people and hopefully find mentors. You can also
meet people and find mentors through working or other activities, but well designed universities
are structured to help you find mentors. The other advantage, which depends a great deal on your
learning style, is that you are likely to learn useful things. Formal education is structured and there
is a lot of evidence that traditional formal education isn’t the most effective way to learn for some
people. Whilst, Higher education comes with a high cost and can leave people with a lifetime
of debt to repay. The cost now outweighs the advantage of many curricula offered in Higher
Education making only the most rigorous curricula an employment possibility requiring the
degree conferred. For these hard study subjects, college is still a viable option as the
compensation for those attaining the rigorous degrees will allow payment of the educational
debt and allow for a reasonable lifestyle and retirement planning. However, these curricula
require “book smart” individuals and a high I.Q.
NON- FORMAL EDUCATION, has numerous advantages in personal development in
comparison to traditional formal education. The main advantage of non-formal education is it’s
flexibility and ability to adapt to individual people’s current needs and the continual changes in
society. It can support personal development, as well as improve an individual’s professional
skills. Non-formal education, on the other hand, is often much more based on skills and also has
attitude-based learning objectives. Tolerance is an example of an attitude that we often see develop
using non-formal education. We should not, however, forget the important knowledge element just

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because formal education seems to prefer it. It will always play a very important role in education.
INFORMAL EDUCATION refers to the spontaneous, ad-hoc learning most of us engage in
every day when we feed our curiosity or explore answers to questions provoked by our
environment. For instance, we might feel stumped about a computer setting and hop on Google to
figure out how to change it. Or maybe something from a television program has piqued our
curiosity and we search Wikipedia to learn more. This type of education is actually in a form of
training, it’s cheap, it’s empowering, it’s practical, it’s immediate, it reinforce formal learning.
However, it does not give confidence to the learner. In spite of good knowledge, the learner may
feel inferiority complex in a group of highly educated person.
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION progress in learning comes when the student is expected to
achieve great achievements. It is important to develop confidence and competence in each student.
You can learn in any environment, not necessarily in the classroom. An alternative learning
environment develops independence, skill and creative thinking. Learning is an active
collaboration between pupils, parents, society and school. If the student is able to share his
knowledge with others, he is on the right track. Learning is a lifelong process, it does not stop for
a second. expensive training; classes can be less intense than in standard schools; there is an
opinion that classes are not so strict, and graduates are not competitive when entering universities.
Nevertheless, some schools are focused on ensuring that the graduate can continue studying
without problems after graduation. The qualifications of teachers in alternative schools are not
always clear; schools that are less than 5 years old may be more experimental than effective. This
is now fashionable, which means that there are many who want to cash in on this. Not every school
is accredited in the relevant state bodies.

QUESTION 8: Explain the statement: “The whole environment is the instrument of man’s education in the
widest sense”-Sir Godfrey Thompson

Response: I would say that; yes, “The whole of environment is the instrument of man’s education in the
wildest sense. But in that environment certain factors are distinguishable as more particularly
concerned, the home, the school, the church, press, the vacation, public life, amusement and
hobbies”. Generally, of course, the process of education continues from birth to death, but some
specific institution play more important part in it. All of these institutions are the agencies of
education, and they include all these factors, bases, places or institutions, which have an educative
influence upon the Child. Hence, the institutions, agencies and bases of education mean the same
thing, and should be interpreted as such.

QUESTION 9: Neil Postman asserts that the ”first curriculum” of children nowadays is the television (both
programs and commercials), as it is more pervasive and more powerful curriculum than the school
curriculum. Do you agree with this or not? Why? Support your answer.

Response: I would like to disagree. Why? It is because what I have observe nowadays even though
children engaged themselves in television but then again they’re being though different lessons in
life at home. Therefore, I would rather say that their first curriculum is the home.

QUESTION 10: To what extent do you think can social dimensions of education be relevant in the teaching
and learning process?

Response: As what I have said above; Social dimension of education goes far beyond interpersonal
relationships and developing the social skills which will support students throughout their lives.
Education itself supports the social system; it supports its citizens' collective ideals and goals. On
one hand, education advocates consensus in social thought and cooperation. On the other hand,
education encourages people to examine the places where a society may need improvement. Social
science theories related to education provide a helpful framework for examining the social
dimension and its meaning.

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CONCLUDING STATEMENT:

Although school should preserve collective ideals of peace and order in a society, it is also an
environment where educators can address areas requiring social change. Social science theories related to
education connect to the idea of social justice and complement social dimension meaning and definition.
In addition to reducing social inequity, teachers must also discuss inequity in the classroom. Students must
become aware of social problems in their world - including human rights, economic distribution, and social
policy - in order to become proactive adults who instigate change. Not all students have the same
backgrounds, the same beliefs or the same life goals. Education needs to be flexible and take diversity
into account. As suggested by social science theories related to education, teachers should make an
effort to find out what students know before teaching, and then draw on this prior knowledge during
lessons. It's the teacher's responsibility to make lessons as socially relevant as possible, linking together
society at large with the classroom environment.

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