LESSON 4:

EDUCATION AND
REPRODUCTION OF
INEQUALITY
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 EDUCATION AND
01 SOCIAL
REPRODUCTION
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 Education and Perpetuation of Inequalities

Another social institution that has pervasive

influence in shaping the minds of the younger
generation is education.

Education refers to the formal and informal

process of transmitting the knowledge, beliefs and
skills from one generation to the next.
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 However, education is not a simple process of transmission. It
also includes equipping the minds of the younger generation
with necessary critical skills to challenge and change the
existing knowledge system and practices. Therefore, education
has a humanistic goal of freeing the members of society from
ignorance and false beliefs.
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  Educational institutions are important in reproducing the
existing belief system and practices of a particular society. It
accomplishes this goal by allotting to the individual learners the
roles they need to fulfill as adult members of the society.

 Horace Mann- an American educational reformer, proposed that

education could curse social ills. He believed that education is the
great equalizer by giving people the knowledge and technical
skills to participate in national development.
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  Education is one of the most pervasive institutions that determine
one’s future status. Hence, many people believe in education-based
meritocracy or the belief that education is the great equalizer and the
key to succeed in life. Filipinos, for example, believe in the value of
education that they are willing to sacrifice everything just to finish
college.
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 If the functionalist analysis of education as a social institution
sees education as allocating social role to the individuals and
providing them with skills to become useful members of society,
the conflict theory of education looks at it differently.

Randall Collins- a neo-Weberian sociologist, for instance, argues that

education functions as a filter to perpetuate credentialism.

Credentialism- refers to the common practice of relying on earned

credentials when hiring staff or asigning social status rather than on actual
skills.
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 Examples of Credentialism:
 An individual with a PhD is more intelligent than
someone without a PhD.

 Not being able to apply for a job without a certain

certificate even if you have the ability to complete the
job.
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  Many radical sociologists also challenge the functional analysis
of education. In 1968, Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis,
both American econmists, published Schooling in Capitalist
America. In this classic textbook on the sociology of education,
Bowles and Gintis argued that education is a tool for capitalism
to equip the workers with the necessary skills so they can be
hired and exploited by the employers. The schools teach their
students the values necessary to be successful workers. In other
words, education reproduces social and economic inequalities
along racial, gender, and class division of labor.
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  Pierre Bourdieu- a French sociologist, further advanced this analysis
and combined it with neo-Weberian analysis.

 Bourdieu and his colleague Jean-Claude Passeron, studying the French

educational system, showed empirically how education is advantageous
to middle class children by teaching and rewarding behaviours that are
generally expected from middle class families. Middle class children
possess relatively more cultural capital.
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 Cultural capital is acquired in the family from which one
belongs. It is further reinforced in the “academic market”
that hones students to have the right styles and decorum-
accent, dispositions, books, qualifications, dictionaries,
artistic preferences, etc. Having knowledge of “high art”,
for example, will give the children of the middle class a
huge advantage in art and humanities classes.
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 The same analysis was extended by Basil Bernstein in his
analysis of the difference between the linguistic code of the
lower class and that of the middle class students. Using Emile
Durkheim’s structural functionalist analysis, Bernstein arrived
at the conclusion that the lower class students follow the
restricted linguistic code, while the middle class students
follow the elaborated linguistic code.
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  The distinction is not between having limited vocabulary (restricted) and
flowery speech (elaborated) but rather the usefulness of the code. Look at the
following examples:
Example 1:

Teacher: Why do you think people watch horror movies?

Student (using restricted code): Thrill!

Example 2:

Teacher: Why do you think people watch horror movies?

Student (using elaborated code): Because by watching it, people get the feeling of being
horrified and afraid.
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 Education and Economic Development
 For Social Scientists, education is seen as an important determinant of
national development. Existing studies confirm this consensus among
social scientist.

1. First, education provides basic knowledge and skills that enhance the
productivity of labor.
2. Second, education contributes to new innovations that lead to
inventions, discoveries, and continuous upgrading of technologies.
3. Third, education is an effective instrument to spread and disseminate
knowledge among different sectors of society (Hanushek and
Wobmann 2010, Vol. 2, p. 245).
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 For children with poorly educated parents, the effects of social
deprivation manifest in early life. Lack of education has
adverse impact on the life course of individuals and their well-
being. More importantly, education serves as a human capital
for society that produces skilled and learned citizens.
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  The benefits from education is summarized by Brewer, Hentschke,
and Eide (2010):

Economic research has also found nonmonetary benefits, both private

and public, associated with educational attainment. Individuals who
have invested in education and job training often have more job
stability, improved health (e.g., exercise regularly, smoke less, and eat
better), are more likely to receive employer-provided health insurance
and pension benefits, are more inclined to vote, and have generally
increased social and cultural capital that often enables upward mobility.
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 02 WOMEN AND
EDUCATION
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 Education is a right. The United Nations Universal Declaration Human
Rights Article states:

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in

the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to
all on the basis of merit.
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 2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further
the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
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 Everyone has an opportunity to be educated. Yet women have always
been at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing educational
opportunities.
Reasons:
1. gender stereotypes in the schools
2. gender-insensitive pedagogy
3. sexual harassment
4. gendered everyday life in the schools
5. limited opportunities for promotion and professional development of women
teachers
6. gendered circula and subject choices
7. underrepresentation of women in senior academic and administrative positions or in
high status disciplines and prestigious institutions (Morley 2010)
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 According to the United Nations Population Fund,
about two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are
women. Lack of education severely restricts a woman’s
access to information and opportunities. Conversely,
increasing women’s and girl’s educational attainment
benefits both individuals and future generations.

The higher levels of women's education are strongly

associated with lower infant mortality and lower fertility,
as well as better outcomes for their children.
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 For children with poorly educated parents, the effects of social
deprivation manifest in early life. Lack of education has
adverse impact on the life course of individuals and their well-
being. More importantly, education serves as a human capital
for society that produces skilled and learned citizens.
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 In the Philippines, according to Commission for Higher
Education (C.H.E.D) Director Patricia Licuanan, "Women
dominate the fields of teacher education, humanities, social
sciences, business administration, medical and allied fields,
home economics, mass communication, and even natural
sciences and mathematics, but remain underrepresented in
engineering and technology, fine and applied arts, religion and
theology, law and jurisprudence, architecture and town planning,
trade and industry, agriculture, fisheries and forestry and
maritime studies.”
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 Recognizing the biases against women and violence against them, the
Philippine government promulgated Republic Act no. 9710, An Act
Providing for the Magna Carta of Women in 2008. One of its salient
provisions addresses the problem of stereotypes in education:

 Sec. 13. Equal Access and Elimination of Discrimination in

Education, Scholarships, and Training. (a) The State shall ensure that
gender stereotypes and images in educational materials and curricula are
adequately and appropriately revised.
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  Gender-sensitive language shall be used at all times.
Capacity-building on gender and development (GAD),
peace and human rights, education for teachers, and all
those involved in the education sector shall be pursued
toward this end. Partnerships between and among players of
the education sector, including the private sector, churches,
and faith groups shall be encouraged.
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 03 EDUCATION AND
GLOBALIZATION
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 Internalization of
Education
According to Joel Spring, (2009, p. 1).
"globalization of education refers to the
worldwide discussion, process, and
institutions affecting local educational
practices and policies.
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 Bologna Process- named after the place where it was
proposed, the University of Bologna, with the signing of the
Bologna Declaration by Education Ministers from 29
European countries in 1999, forming a part of European
integration.
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  Washington Accord- Signed in 1989, which is an international
agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering
degree programs.
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