Sociological

Foundations
Group 4
 Learning Objectives

Explain how Sociological Foundation

impacts the development of
curriculum
Compare different Sociological and
other theories of Education as for their
purpose and role
What is the role of the
school as a social
institution?
Schools and Society

Contributions/Theories and
Principles

 Society as a source of
change
 Schools as agents of
change
 Knowledge as an agent of
change
  Considered two
fundamental elements
which are schools and civil
society
 Influence of society and
social context in education
 Things that surround
individuals can change,
Emile Durkheim
French Social Scientist develop their behavior
  Emile Durkheim argued that
schools were essential for
‘imprinting’ shared social
values into the minds of
children.
 He stated that establishing a
new set of curriculum must
fulfil the function of
‘preserving’ the social
Emile Durkheim system whilst at the same
French Social Scientist
time introducing social
change
  Education, and in particular
the teaching of history, a
curriculum must provide a
link between the individual
and society. If history is
taught effectively, it ‘comes
alive’ for children, linking
them to their social past and
Emile Durkheim developing in them a sense
French Social Scientist of commitment to the social
group.
  Wrote the book “Future Shock;
believed that knowledge should
prepare students for the future
 Suggested that in the future,
parents might have resources to
teach prescribed curriculum from
home as a result of technology,
not in spite of it (Home
Schooling)
 Foresaw schools and students
Alvin Toffler worked creatively,
American Writer and Futurist collaboratively, and independent
of their age.
  Toffler stated that teachers must
need to find out what each
student loves, and "If you want
kids to really learn, they’ve got to
love something.”
 Also, he stated that the idea of
educational customization has
been around for decades in
different forms.
 Technological innovations and
the need to educate people to be
Alvin Toffler
American Writer and Futurist
fast and flexible learners must be
the first priority in developing a
new set of curriculum
Other Theorists
 Education as a means of
shaping the person and
society through critical
reflections and
“conscientization”
 In terms of pedagogy, Freire
is best known for his attack
Paulo Freire
on what he called the
Brazilian Educator "banking" concept of
education
Other Theorists
 He emphasis on questioning
problem posing and critical
thinking, thus advocating the
theory of Critical Pedagogy
 More recently, critical pedagogy
can also be traced back to Paulo
Freire's best-known 1968 work,
The Pedagogy of the Oppressed,
where proponents sought to
Paulo Freire develop means of using teaching
Brazilian Educator to combat racism, sexism, and
oppression.
Other Theorists
There are several important
principles in Freire curriculum
planning
These include:
• Attention to traditional and
indigenous context of society
• Teachers’ and students’
participation in educational
plan development,
Paulo Freire • Attention to the political
Brazilian Educator
position of education in
curriculum planning
Other Theorists
There are several important
principles in Freire curriculum
planning
These include:
• The role of cultural segments
in curriculum planning,
• The direct relationship
between curriculum planning
Paulo Freire and economic production
Brazilian Educator
process
Other Theorists
The following are curricular
purposes that John Goodlad
promotes:
 Curriculum should be
organized around the needs of
society and students.
 Curriculum should have a wide
range of purposes, including
cognitive, social, civic,
vocational, aesthetic, and
John Goodlad moral.
Canadian Theorist/Author  Realistic reform policies and
programs should be enacted
Other Theorists

 Reduce student conformity

in classroom
 Constant need for school
improvement
 Involvement of students in
planning curriculum content
and instructional activities
John Goodlad
 Need to align content with
Canadian Theorist/Author standards
Other Theorists
• He stated that intentions are to be
taken literally and seriously, and
are to be utilized to address the
problem of irrelevancy in today's
curricular format, then we have
to begin to think of how our
school's curriculum meets the
needs of poverty and
unemployment in our society.
• We have to begin to mold our
John Goodlad
Canadian Theorist/Author curriculum to the goals and needs
of each individual student.
Other Theorists

Major Works
 Place Called School
(1984)
 What Are Schools For?
(1989)
John Goodlad
Canadian Theorist/Author
Other Theorists
 Broaden the conception of
curriculum to enrich the practice
 Understand the nature of the
educational experience
 Curriculum involves multiple
disciplines
 Curriculum should be studied
from a historical, racial,
gendered, phenomenological,
William Pinar
American Curriculum postmodern, theological and
Theorist international perspectives
Other Theorists  Pinar argues that curriculum –or
“currere” is an organic idea rather
than a Socratic message that
never changes
 Teachers must discover this
currere for themselves through
methods of self reflection and
self discovery.
 It is important to note that the
author makes many
William Pinar recommendations to teachers but
American Curriculum emphasizes that they are, or
Theorist
should be, driving the train on the
discussion of curriculum reform