Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges

GRADUATE SCHOOL
Pioneer Avenue General Santos City
Email: rmmcgensan@yahoo.com
Website: www.rmmcmain.edu.ph
Tel. No. (083) 552-3348 Telefax (083) 301-1927

CN 9032 ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY

WITH PEACE EDUCATION (EDUC 204)

REFLECTIONS

DR. RHODELINE PAJARILLO

Professor

ARLENE AMISTAD ABING

Student
 Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Pioneer Avenue General Santos City
Email: rmmcgensan@yahoo.com
Website: www.rmmcmain.edu.ph
Tel. No. (083) 552-3348 Telefax (083) 301-1927

REFLECTION 1: DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING

Sociology can be traced back from the philosophical thoughts of people

like Auguste Comte, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Karl Marx whose works

have greatly influenced the discipline in sociology. Its origin dates back to the

scientific revolution, the Enlightenment, industrialization and the birth of modern

capitalism, and the urbanization of populations. Sociology became an instrument

that allow people to understand significant changes happening in modern

societies.

Grounded on the idea that economic, political, and other forms of human

behavior are basically shaped by social relationships, sociologists explore and

investigate the social worlds that human beings consciously create through

scientific means. Their study is built around the social world on different

perspectives that shaped theory and guide research, often arriving in different

conclusions. The major sociological standards are structural functionalism, the

social conflict, symbolic interactionism and other postmodernism theories.

The functionalist perspective in education is centered on its positive

function in education. According to Durkheim, the school is a society miniature.

The school prepares our children in their future roles in society. Schools are

regarded as socializing agency where children learn to observe social norms

and develop and acquire core values necessary in managing life situations in

the future. Teaching the importance of respect in authority will benefit the

students later in dealing with their bosses. Developing the value of cooperation

will help them function well when working in companies as a team. Further, it is

the responsibility of the schools to provide our children the skills and knowledge
needed in their future work and role in society.

The social conflict on the other hand is centered on social inequality.

According to Karl Marx, education system only works for the elites. Public

schools are for the poor while private schools for the middle class and schools

exclusively for the elite. The wealthier pupils are the more chances they get the

best education and greater opportunities to land on a better job after graduation.

Therefore, creating class inequality – the poor or the working class gets the

menial job, the middle class gets the middle-class jobs while the elite one’s

lands on the executive jobs.

Meanwhile, symbolic interactionism focused on the influence of teacher’s

expectations in the performance and attitude of the learners. Standard test

performances labels students as high and low performers. Smart kids tend to

perform better because they are the ones who gets the attention and

appreciation of the teachers resulting to degradation of self-confidence or the

slower ones. Gender roles are also observed in social interactions in the

classroom, playground and other school venues. Girls tend to play more on

cooperative games while boys on competitive games. Many also believed that

Math and Science are for boys while English and Arts are for girls. All these

labelling affects pupils’ performance and achievement in school.

However, looking through all these sides, these school of thoughts has

contributed and influenced the study of sociology today. Everything has its good

and bad sides. One just has to weigh things out. Single out the ones he thinks is

good and disregard the other one he thinks is bad. Modify and enhance to

create a meaningful understanding.

 REFLECTION 2: CULTURE AND SOCIETY

A society is a group of people having shared culture, traditions and beliefs.

Since the people living in a society are social beings wired to connect, a society

therefore, is a web of relationships – an interaction among people. We live

together in families and communities and working together in order to survive

and thrive. The famous saying “No man is an island” holds true- man’s social

behavior allows us to come together and do things we wouldn’t be able to on our

own.

The school on the other hand, can be likened to a small society sharing

the same belief about education. Schools normally carry out many crucial

functions in modern society including socialization, social integration, social

placement, and social and cultural innovation. From a functionalist viewpoint,

education (or the school) plays a significant role in carrying out social stability.

Aside from the family, where children initially learn the value of love, respect and

sharing- the school is where social norms and values are being inculcated in the

hearts and minds of every learner. Though not being part of the curriculum,

teachers tirelessly teach us how to behave, how to dress properly and to show

respect.

In a classroom setting, it is given that each learner was raised differently

by their families. Each family has their own unique culture of discipline, values,

beliefs and traditions. Given this situation, a teacher must be aware of the

individual differences among the learners. Knowing and understanding where

your learners came from are basic for a teacher. For this reason, social norms

and values are being integrated in every activity in the classroom. The first day of

school is the best time to set expectations-what teachers expect from the

learners and what learners expect from their teacher. Setting class rules is best
way done through the learners’ initiative to create a sense of ownership. Once

children have this sense of ownership, the less likely they break rules.

Class rules are important in managing conflict just like laws were made to

avoid chaos in society. It cannot be denied that there can always be conflict in

the classroom because everyone is different and that even inside the classroom,

there is what we call a smaller social structure. Fast learners go with fast

learners, while the slow ones also grouped themselves. Bullies goes with their

co-bullies. Mean girls with mean girls, bad boys with bad boys and many others.

These mini social structures are oftentimes the source of conflict inside the

classroom.

At times, teachers including myself are not aware they create inequalities

between their students. They tend to give more attention to the bright ones - give

them more reinforcement, appreciation and attention and in effect they learn

more because of their teacher’s behavior while neglecting the slow ones who

later loose their confidence and would later think they have little academic ability.

The brighter ones tend to learn more while the slower ones learn less because

teachers expect little from them. Teachers also tend to believe that girls excel in

English than boys while boys excel Math and Science than girls. The brighter

ones are branded as fast learners and are assigned special section while the

slow ones are branded as slow learners and put into the last sections. In so

doing, children are already branded. Most of the time their brands correspond to

their socioeconomic status because most of the time, the bright ones came from

families with a more decent socioeconomic status where they are well provided

with opportunities while the slower ones, most of the times came from poor

families denied to every opportunity. Simply put, schools are unequal, and their

very inequality helps perpetuate inequality in the larger society.

For these reasons, schools must reinforce values and social norms to

balance the situation. Encouraging positivity, promoting cultural awareness,

understanding individual differences, and promoting values of human dignity,

respect, collaboration, and love of country among others are important in order to

produce better citizens of society in the future.

In conclusion, society and education is linked to an influential relationship

– the society reflects school and the school reflects society. Children learn from

what was taught in school and the society. Whether good or bad, it will reflect on

the kind of citizen we produce who will either be a contributor or a liability in

society.

REFLECTION 3: THE SELF AND SOCIALIZATION

Can you have self without socialization? According to Cooley and Mead,

the self is developed through socialization process. Danielle Crockett was a six-

year-old girl rescued on a shabby house in Old Sydney Road, Florida. When

police detective Mark Holste found her, she did not respond to stimuli that would

typically cause pain, did not cry, wouldn’t look in the eyes and did not know how

to communicate, either in words or simple gestures. Social workers found out

that Danielle was neglected and totally left out on her own with no interaction for

6 years. She had not experienced being taken care of, being hugged and held

like most children her age. No one had spoken to or play with her. In short, she

had not experience interaction at all - she had not been socialized.

Socialization describes the ways that people come to understand societal

norms and expectations, to accept society’s beliefs, and to be aware of societal

values. Danielle’s story showed that even performing the most basic of human

activities are not automatic but rather learned and not an instinct. Walking,

standing and sitting do not automatically develop on babies- their parents and

family taught and trained them every step of the way. Children learn how to

speak because people around them talks to them.

Danielle’s circumstance highlighted that even if humans received the

necessary support to survive like food, water and shelter, we would not be able
to develop ourselves without social interaction. Through socialization, we learn

how to use the material culture of society such as using a chair in order to sit or

using a spoon when eating. We also learn the nonmaterial culture such as

norms, values and belief in which we came to understand the concept of family,

know cultural expectations using the bathroom for elimination. Most of all, we

learn to use symbols that make up language through which we can

communicate, learn about ourselves, and about the world we lived in. We

depend so much on social interaction to provide the information and skills that we

need to be part of society or even to develop a “self.”

Socialization helps people learn to function successfully in their social

worlds. The school is one of the agents of socialization. Children do not come to

school only to learn Math, Science or English- schools socializes children into

behaviors like following schedules, practicing teamwork and cooperation, and

using textbooks. School/classroom rituals regularly reinforce social expectations.

Say for instance, in our classroom activities we always group our pupils to

work together in a given project. The reason behind this is to teach them how to

practice and develop cooperation and teamwork so that later in their adult life

they could fit well in working with people in cooperative situations. The hidden

curriculum prepares children for the adult world. Children learn how to deal with

bureaucracy, rules, expectations, waiting their turn, and sitting still for hours

during the day. Schools in different cultures socialize children differently in order

to prepare them to function well in those cultures.

Our direct interactions with social groups, like families and peers, teach us

how others expect us to behave. Likewise, a society’s formal and informal

institutions socialize its population. Schools, workplaces, and the media

communicate and reinforce cultural norms and values.

REFLECTION 4: SOCIAL GROUPS AND FORMAL ORGANIZATIONS

 Most people have a sense of what it means to be part of some kind of a

group. Groups give us an exemptional and impressive way to understand and

define ourselves—either to groups we feel a connection to and those we do not.

Groups are the core in society. Whether it is a social movement, sports team,

school club, or family. Groups connect us to others through commonalities of

geography, interests, race, religion, and activities. 

Groups meet basic, personal needs for each of us, which is why we take

them so seriously, and why we get so emotional about them. In a group,

individuals behave differently than they would if they were alone. They conform,

they resist, they forge alliances, they cooperate, they betray, they organize, they

defer gratification, they show respect, they expect obedience, they share, they

manipulate, etc. Being in a group changes their behavior and their abilities.

According to Katharine Greenaway and her colleagues (2015), social

groups help us feel supported and esteemed, as we might expect, but they also

help us feel capable.  With the support and the esteem comes a stronger sense

of personal control over our lives.

In the education setting, a school class is after a family the most

significant part of a social environment of children, extending their living

community and therefore bringing them closer to a wider society. From the social

and psychological point of view Řezáč remarks that, being a member of a school

class allows a child to take part in interactions with cultural content and thus

develop his social skills by means of planned education. Students in the

classroom form a small type of social group which according to Řezáč (1998) has

these features: direct interaction and communication of people, same or similar

goals or values, where reaching each person’s individual goal is somewhat

dependent on the group, relative stability of the group structure and respect to

norms and rules of the group’s relationships and activities.

 In addition, school class as a social group with its structure, its norms and

atmosphere forms conditions of pupils’ learning and development and can indeed

be influenced by teachers who should perceive these conditions not only as a

background of the learning process but also as a means or even an instrument of

education taking them into consideration when planning their lessons and

interacting with students.

Meanwhile, a number of social groups can be found at school. From

academic clubs to peer groups down to the sports clubs. These groups are an

ideal medium of guidance and support in dealing with stress in academic

pressure and useful opportunity in addressing issues. Reading club members

shares mutual interest in reading and may be of great help in supporting pupils

who has difficulty in reading. The arts or the drama club can be a great avenue

as stress reliever to some and an avenue for self-expression for others.

Furthermore, there are groups and organizations outside the school that

supports education in the Philippines. These organizations believed that every

Filipino child should have access to education. They provide resources to

students and teachers as well. LGU’s, civic organizations and nonprofit

organizations carry out programs and projects to provide better opportunities to

marginalized Filipinos. Education Foundation of the Philippines, Teach for the

Philippines, Room to Read, and Save the Children are some of them.

In conclusion, groups and society are inter-related. Society needs groups

to achieve its goal in creating communities with shared values and beliefs with

shared responsibilities in harmonious society.

REFLECTION 5: DEVIANCE AND CRIME

A reality that all of us must face is that life is not fair and almost every day,

we somehow experience life’s unfairness. Some just shrug their shoulders and

accept things the way they are, yet some could not handle this. In pursuit to gain
material things or achieve happiness in their lives, they resolve in doing things

that goes against the norms. A common solution to inequality of power, prestige,

and property is to deviate from the norms and risk getting to caught to obtain more

resources and wants.

Deviance refers to behaviors that are unacceptable to society and we

witness this everywhere every day be it at home, at work or school. However,

deviance does not necessarily mean it would result to criminality. Deviant acts

become a crime when laws are already violated. Merton theorized that the social

imbalance served as the key cause of crime and deviance. Individuals will always

want what they cannot obtain. Therefore, their forceful drive will cause them to

deviate from the acceptable means and begin committing unacceptable acts.

Murder erupts when poorer individuals begin envying or becoming jealous of what

wealthier individuals have. They see an opportunity to arise when they weaken the

victim’s power and are able to take control.

This is where the role of the school comes in in inculcating values and

developing positive attitude to the students. A common deviant act in school that

we can see is cheating. When schools reinforce and develop the value of

honesty and hard work to students, cheating will become less and less option for

them.

When the school is able to inculcate and develop these values, everything

follows. We can be quite sure that we are able to produce citizens that contribute

to society.

REFLECTION 6: SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Social Stratification is a classification whereby people rank and evaluate

each other as higher and, based on evaluations; inequality rewarded one another

with wealth authority, influence, and status. It is the hierarchical arrangement and

organization of social categories that develop into a social group together with
status and their equivalent roles. As one of the results of this discrimination is the

formation of several levels within society. This number of levels within society are

can be identified by the social classes or a group of people who share a similar

position or status. This is a group of people who share generally the same rank,

position, and control and who have a sense of classification with one another. It

refers to a position of families that share the same or nearly status according to

the criteria of evaluation in the system of stratification. In the Philippines, three

social classes can be seen in the community: the upper class, middle class and

the lower class.

 In our economic situation today, sending one’s children to the best

schools is on the best indicators of social position and the best schools are

private schools that are quite expensive. Social Stratification affects life chances.

These are the chances to improve the lives of the lower class because the upper

class has more advantages to the resources that society has. It also affects the

style of living of the people in the society. In fashion, the new trends and clothes

of popular personality are in and what they are doing was imitated by the lower

kind of person. Prestige in society is also affected by this social stratification. The

reputation of one person is given according to its status in society. The higher the

position in the society, the higher the reputation he or she can get from the lower-

class below them.

In education, social stratification is very much evident. The upper class

goes to elite schools where they offer the best standard of education. Graduates

from these schools later occupies the executive positions in companies. The

middle class goes to private schools or public schools and later could occupy

managerial/supervisory positions in the companies while the lower class goes to

public schools and could hardly even graduate thus, could only occupy labor

jobs.
 However, social stratification encourages social mobility. Society creates

discrimination and unfairness so that people will exert more effort to move

forward and have a better life. Most Filipinos believed that education will help

them advance in life. So, students exert effort to study and graduate so they

could end up in a decent job with a decent pay. Thus, increasing her way of living

and her social class.

In conclusion, social stratification has its positive and negative side. It is

our choice to what side should we look into. Change in perspectives matter. If we

use the negative side to our advantage, then maybe our situation will change.

REFLECTION 7: INEQUALITIES OF RACE AND ETHNICITY

In basic terms, race refers to physical traits while ethnicity refers to cultural

identification-one that you were born with and the other one is something that

you learn. Inequality means having less than of equal share of something- it may

be wealth, power and opportunities.

Racial and ethnic inequality has been a big challenge or stumbling block in

the way people interact around the world. Different sociological perspectives

have been proffered to explain the phenomenon of racial and ethnic inequality or

discrimination. There are four main sociological schools of thought i.e. the

functional theorists, the conflict school, the interactional theorists and the labeling

school of thought (Arrighi 105).

The functional perspective focuses on how ethnic and racial inequality

advances the interests of different groups in society (Arrighi 107). Theorists in

this school of thought although acknowledging the fact that racism or ethnic

discrimination cannot be admired, they point out that this phenomenon is

sustained by the function it plays (Schaefer 253). In most cases, racial or ethnic

discrimination is sustained by the purpose or role it fulfills especially for the

dominant group. 
 In a school setting, ethnic inequality can be observed in the classroom.

More often than not, children who belong to ethnic group like B’laans are often

discriminated and bullied by their classmates. While the tagalogs highly regard

themselves as the superior group. Either way, children learn how to discriminate

even at a young age.

Promoting awareness and respect to cultural and individual differences

are the key solution to address this issue. Children should be made aware that

their no superior or inferior groups. We are all Filipinos- we share the same

culture, values and beliefs.

REFLECTION 8: GENDER INEQUALITY

Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals

based on their gender. Gender inequality stems from distinctions, whether

empirically grounded or socially constructed.

Anyone can be affected by gender inequality – men, women, gender

diverse people, children and families. It affects all ages regardless of

backgrounds. Discrimination against women runs deep in the society. Gender

discrimination is present every time a man catcalls a woman, every time

someone teases a non-straight individual for going against the norms, or every

time someone who is not a man rises above them in the workplace.

Gender issues include all aspects and concerns related to women's and

men's lives and situation in society, to the way they interrelate, their differences

in access to and use of resources, their activities, and how they react to changes,

interventions and policies.

In my opinion, gender inequality would not be an issue if everyone’s right

is being respected. Everyone has the right to be treated with respect for who you

are as a person and your abilities regardless of gender preferences.

REFLECTION 9: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWER

 Politics is a bad word to many people, perhaps more so today than in

some previous generations. The political, however, affects both the most

personal aspects of our social life as well as society at large. Politics is always

coupled with power; specifically, it’s exercise and pursuit. Perhaps the thing that

most upsets many of us about ‘politics’ is what we perceive as the use of power

for personal agenda. 

Political power can be in the form of leadership, economic wealth, strength

from weapons, influence or the formation of groups. Although power can have

many forms, it can only exist when allowed to exist (Smith, 2011). When power

exists, leaders can use it to promote order and social cohesion or genocide and

destruction.

Political power is seen in daily life as well. At school, the

principal/teachers will punish the pupils that do not follow the school rules. Or

the boss at work will deduct money from the staff if they break to many items.

These people hold certain positions of political power; thus, enabling them to

take these actions.

Economic power is being in a state where there are sufficient productive

resources at grasp, that will enable the person/s in charge to enforce economic

decisions such as the allocation of resources, goods and services. Economic

power is probably the most important power to have if you want to make certain

changes or if you want something.

There are many examples of economic power in daily life. When you go

to the shop to buy food, your choices are a very simple example of economic

power. Not just which products you buy but also to which shops you go. Your

economic power will determine which type of products or services companies

offer. Political and economic power goes hand in hand.