The TeAcher, Community, School Culture, & OrgAnizAtionAl

Lesson 3: Sociological Perspectives of Education

Learning Task No.3

Instruction: Do further readings and make analysis of the three sociological persperctives. Describe
what kind of learning environment you would provide/offer to your leaners, considering
each perspective/theory.
Perspective Description of Learning Environment

Functionalism In this perspective, it exposes the learners to the society to make them comfortable in
communicating and interacting with other people. Primarily, it focuses on socialization and the
education can give the needs of society through development of skills, encouraging social
cohesion and sorting of students.

Conflic While in Conflict Theory, it shows that the fulfillment of one’s education is closely linked to
t social class. Students of low socioeconomic status are generally not afforded the same
Theory opportunities as students of higher status, no matter how great their academic ability or desire to
learn.
Symbolic According to the Symbolic Interactionism perspective, interactions between students and
Interactionism teachers help each develop a set of expectations for that student's performance both in academic
subjects and discipline. In particular, a teacher's expectations of a student's performance or
achievement influence the actual performance or achievement of that student.

Instruction: Answer the following open-ended questions using your insights from the lesson
and from your independent study.

1. Review how the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives understand and
explain education. Which of these three approaches do you most prefer? Why?

The major assumptions of functionalist perspective shows that social stability is necessary to have a strong society, and
adequate socialization and social integration are necessary to achieve social stability. Society’s social institutions perform
important functions to help ensure social stability. Slow social change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social
order. On the other hand, conflict theory  is characterized by pervasive inequality based on social class, gender, and other
factors. Far-reaching social change is needed to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian
society. Lastly, in symbolic interactionalism proposes that people construct their roles as they interact; they do not merely
learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the
situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so doing, they rely heavily on
symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their interaction. Rom all of these approaches, I
prefer to follow functionalism because it emphasized two related social mechanisms which are socialization and social
integration. Socialization helps us learn society’s rules and the need to cooperate, as people end up generally agreeing on
important norms and values, while social integration, or our ties to other people and to social institutions such as religion
and the family, helps to socialize us and to integrate us into society and reinforce our respect for its rules.

Juliet L. ProfE julietpacursa@buksu.edu. 1

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recording or otherwise) without prior written permission from the owner.
 The TeAcher, Community, School Culture, & OrgAnizAtionAl

2. Search 1 scenario/case in the educational system, provide ways on how to help solve/improve the
scenario using your insights from the perspectives discussed in this lesson.

A study published in the journal Symbolic Interactionalism reveals that in the educational system, teachers'
attitudes toward pupils might influence how much they learn. When teachers believe their pupils are brilliant,
they spend more time with them, call on them, and reward them when they get it right. These children,
unsurprisingly, learn more as a result of their teachers' actions. Teachers, on the other hand, who believe their
pupils are less bright tend to spend less time with them and act in ways that cause them to learn less. One of
the first studies to find this example of a self-fulfilling prophecy was conducted by Robert Rosenthal and
Lenore Jacobson (1968).Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. New York, NY: Holt.
At the start of the school year, they tested a group of pupils and reported their teachers which students were
bright and which were not. They retested the pupils at the conclusion of the school year, and it came as no
surprise that the brilliant students had learnt more during the year than the less bright ones. However, it
turned out that the researchers had chosen which students would be labeled as bright and which would be
labeled as less bright at random. Because the “bright” students learned more during the school year without
actually being brighter at the beginning, their teachers’ behavior must have been the reason. In fact, their
teachers did spend more time with them and praised them more often than was true for the “less bright”
students. To the extent this type of self-fulfilling prophecy occurs, it helps us understand why tracking is bad
for the students tracked down. Each students must receive equal attention no matter what their gender,
looks, and status are.

3. In your own words, explain the role of the society in ensuring a responsive environment.
Society plays a big role in the ensuring a responsive environment as it act out as the training ground of
the students. Meaningful learning happens in environments where creativity, awareness, inquiry, and
critical thinking are part of instruction. Responsive learning environments adapt to the individual needs
of each student and encourage learning by promoting collaboration rather than isolation of learners
and this mainly happens in the society specially when it’s healthy. Learning environments, whether
classrooms, schools, or other systems, should be structured to promote engaged teaching and learning

Juliet L. ProfE julietpacursa@buksu.edu. 2

No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, ,mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise) without prior written permission from the owner.