UNIVERSIDAD TECNICA DEL NORTE

ENGLISH MAJOR
Name: Diego Martinez
MAP 1

Structure refers to aspects

Agency refers to the Agency and Structure
of the social landscape that
individual’s ability to act
appear to limit or influence
and make independent
the choices made by
choices.
individuals.

focus on the subjective meanings of

The theorists who favour agency are social life and how these meanings
associated with microsociological are responsible for creating
explanations of social phenomena. individuals’ social worlds

The theorists that view society as a

large functional organism. These are
macrosociologists, who see the
social world as a series of structures The structural functionalists and
with varying degrees of harmony. Marxists

theorists view society as a large

functional organism. These are
macrosociologists, who see the
social world as a series of structures Individuals made decisions to act in certain ways
with varying degrees of harmony. and these. Society and structure constrain an
individual’s choices. For example: get a specific job
or take a specific course.
Ontology and
Epistemology

Tend to emphasize agency over structure, point to

the importance of understanding subjective
reality, and use interpretive methods
 UNIVERSIDAD TECNICA DEL NORTE
ENGLISH MAJOR
Name: Diego Martinez
MAP 2

Structural Funcionalism

Is a body of theories that understand the world

as a large system of interrelated parts that all
work together.

Émile Durkheim Talcott Parsons

• The first sociologist in • Schools existed to socialize

education. students.
• Is related to the sociology • Children are primarily
of education. socialized at home by their
• Theory of moral regulation families.
• The role of education in • Children is judged as
society to instill society’s member of his or her
morals in the minds. family.

• Moral education prepares us to be

• American schools emphasized the
productive members of society.
values of achievement and equality
• When we become autonomous
of opportunity.
adults, but we are guided in our
• The school is functionally related to
acts by the moral codes that have
the workforce.
become firmly ingrained in our
• Schools assigns people to their
beings.
roles.
• Society is held together by a
• Social inequality exists because it is
common set of values and morals is
functional in a society.
at the heart of structural
functionalism.

• Schools instills the correct moral codes into
children so that they can develop into
productive adults that contribute to society.
• Talcott Parson´s approach fails to account for
how many ascribed traits, like socioeconomic
background, gender, and race, appear to be
so important in determining life outcomes.
•
 UNIVERSIDAD TECNICA DEL NORTE
ENGLISH MAJOR
Name: Diego Martinez
REFERENCES

Robson Karen. 2012. Sociology of education in Canada. P: 15-23

Emile Durkheim Sociología y educación, p. 56-60.