SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS TO EDUCATION

• Philosophical thoughts on education – what should be taught for the socialization of the individual and
how these should be taught.

• Historical foundation of education – how education in the Philippines and in the world has changed
throughout the years and how it can continue to change now and in the future.

Social Theory: Structural – Functional Theory

Herbert Spencer, the proponent of structural-functional views society as "a system of interconnected
parts each with a unique function. The parts have to work together for stability and balance of society."
Society is compared to the human body with different but interrelated parts performing different
functions. Just as the human body has many parts, society has different but interrelated components
such as the family, the state, the school, the Church, mass media, economics. These must coordinate
and collaborate for society to function well. If one part of the human body does not function well, the
whole body is affected. In the same way, when one component of society does not do its part, society
will not function well. The overall health of the organism (society) depends upon the health of each
structure.

For instance, there is peace, stability, equilibrium and harmony in society if families do their part in
bringing forth children, nurturing and socializing them; if education or schools effectively transmit
knowledge, skills and values; if politics governs citizens well; if economics takes care of food production,
distribution of goods and services and if religion strengthens the moral fiber of the members of society.
Failure of one social institution to do its part means disruption of stability in society. For example, the
rise of single parent and dual earner families means families have less time or sometimes no more time
left for the supervision of children in their homework which may result to an increase of non-performing
students in school.

In a high-tech world, educational institution must teach adults the new skills to relate to the tech-savvy
young and the world and to be more effective in the workplace. With more women in the workplace,
policies against sexual harassment and discrimination were formulated. The Cybercrime Act of 2012
came about to address legal issues concerning online interactions and the internet in the Philippines.

Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment,
even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as
undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate naturally for any problems that may
arise. For example, schools can compensate for the lack of time 'and the lack of parental advice from
home.

Purposes of Schooling according to Functionalists:

1. Intellectual purposes - acquisition of cognitive skills, inquiry skills

2. Political purposes - educate future citizens; promote patriotism; promote assimilation of immigrants;
ensure order, public civility and conformity to laws

3. Economic purposes - prepare students for later work roles; select and train the labor force needed by
society
4. Social purposes - promote a sense of social and moral responsibility; serve as a site for the solution or
resolution of social problems; supplement the efforts of other institutions of socialization such as the
family and the church.

Social Theory: Conflict Theory

According to this theory, there are always two opposing sides in a conflict situation. People take sides
between maintaining the status quo and introducing change then arrive at an agreement. Conflict
theory welcomes conflict for that is the way to the establishment of a new society. Conflict theorists find
potential conflict between any groups where inequality exists: racial, gender, religious, political,
economic, and so on. Conflict theorists note that unequal groups usually have conflicting values and
agendas, causing them to compete against one another. This constant competition between groups
forms the basis for the ever-changing nature of society.

The factory workers want change - better working conditions, higher salaries. The factory owners
naturally are opposed to such. The resolution of the conflict, however, leads to a compromise, a change
in the way the factory is managed where both workers and owners are happy.

How Proponents of Conflict Theory Regard Education?

According to the conflict theory, education is not truly a social benefit or opportunity as seen by the
functionalists. Rather, education is a powerful means of maintaining power structures and creating a
docile work force for capitalism. The purpose of education is to maintain social inequality and to
preserve the power of those who dominate society and teach those in the working class to accept their
position as a lower-class worker of society. Conflict theorists call this the "hidden curriculum". The
"hidden" curriculum socializes young people into obedience and conformity for them to be developed as
docile workers.

Functionalists disagree strongly. They assert that if schools teach adherence to policies, obedience to
rules, respect for persons including authorities, punctuality and honesty, civil right it is because they are
the very principles dear to a democratic way of life. It is not because they want to make the workers
remain docile, unquestioning and subservient forever while those in power remain in power.

Functionalists disagree strongly. They assert that if schools teach adherence to policies, obedience to
rules, respect for persons including authorities, punctuality and honesty, civil right it is because they are
the very principles dear to a democratic way of life. It is not because they want to make the workers
remain docile, unquestioning and subservient forever while those in power remain in power.

Social Theory: Symbolic Interactionist Theory

Three tenets of symbolic interactionist theory are:

1) An individual's action depends on meaning.

We act based on the meaning we give to symbols. Symbols can be actions, objects or words. If a
student understands that teacher believes in his /her ability he/she tries his/her best prove that
indeed he/she is able. If a teacher does otherwise, a student tends to behave in accordance with
teacher's poor perception.
 2) Different people may give different meanings to the same thing.
When teachers are strict, some students see it as an expression of care. Others may rebel
because they perceive teacher's behavior as limiting their moves and desires. A businessman
may look at a tree and starts estimating how much money he can get if he has the tree cut down
for lumber. A philosopher or a poet may look at it with the thought, "they also serve who only
stand and wait" like John Milton's from his poem "On his Blindness".
3) Meanings change as individuals interact with one another.
A negative meaning that you used to associate with hospital when you went to a hospital which
looked more as a hotel than the usual hospital you know changed. After you have taught well,
your first impression of teaching as boring is changed to teaching is exciting.

Implications to Teaching:

Let us continue to teach for meaning. Let us promote and create opportunities for genuine interaction
among our students, teachers, between students and teachers. Interaction does not only mean dealing
with warm bodies. Interaction includes reading, listening, viewing. Other people's views and meanings
are conveyed in what they have written, in speeches and lectures they have delivered.

Let us use positive symbols - in the form of gestures, words, actions, and appearances - to express our
trust, belief in our students' abilities, an affirmation of their being. In fact, our belief in our students also
has positive effect in us. We find ourselves more prepared in class, more caring, truly professional.

The symbolic interactionist perspective, also known as symbolic interactionism, directs sociologists to
consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact
with each other.

As the term implies, symbolic interactionist theory states that people interact with one another through
symbols. Language is a predominant symbol among people. According to the symbolic interactionist
perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective
interpretation of these symbols.

Verbal conversations, in which spoken words serve as the predominant symbols, make this subjective
interpretation especially evident. The words have a certain meaning for the "sender," and, during
effective communication, they hopefully have the same meaning for the "receiver." In other terms,
words are not static 'things'; they require intention and interpretation. Conversation is an interaction of
symbols between individuals who constantly interpret the world around them. To ensure mutual
understanding, the sender of the symbol and the receiver of the symbol must give the same meaning to
the symbol or run the risk of misunderstanding.

Faulty communication can result from differences in the perception of the same events and symbols.
Did you experience this in your activity of giving symbols of caring? While you looked at your symbol as
something expressing your love and care, your partner may have not understood it that way at all. This
happens in real life. It is important that our symbols are understood by others in the way they were
intended to be. Sometimes it happens in the language (which is a symbol) we speak. Often we are
misunderstood or we misunderstand others. So let's keep on communicating.