School Class as a Social System - Essay Example

?School as a Social System Culture is a self-maintenance system for all societies, a complex set of attitudes and skills which are not contained in the genetic constitution of an individual are required for a successful maintenance of a society, and these things must be learnt. This social heritage must be transmitted by social organization. Education serves the purpose in this case as it is the medium of cultural transmission in all societies. Education forms social personalities, in this way education contributes to integration of society by transmitting culture through influencing personality. Education results in evolution of a human beings as education adds to society and society can be seen as a mechanism which enables humanity to adapt to its environment, to survive and to reproduce (Parsons: 1959). Urban sociology explains two functions of modern educational systems which are socialization and selection. In socialization the process of passing skills on to the coming new generations is conceptualized which allows individuals to fulfill tasks in an occupation and as a citizen. The allocation of students to occupational positions matching their abilities and interests is served by selection. The structure of the school class is ideally suitable for fulfilling these tasks by modeling the process of qualification and modification. This is proved by comparing the social structure of the family and the school and also by elucidating the corresponding norms and values. In a family each member occupies a unique status thus a family represents a particularistic institution whereas school is seen as a universalistic social system where students are treated equally and all the differences if present are due to the universalistic norms of achievement. This equality has to be established in the educational institutions so that the purpose for which the educational institutions are meant could be fulfilled in the real sense. Whenever school systems are analyzed for the prevailing differences with particular consideration to the difference based on financial statuses, the talk is always about difference in the schools and systems of education while the difference in financial statuses of the students present in the same school has been comparatively ignored. The effects of differences between financial statuses of students studying at the same place and in the same environment are far deeper than the other scenario i.e. the case of difference in schools and systems. It is a common observation that in a school where fees are high and education is more expensive, some students manage to get into them on the basis of certain scholarships, outreach and fellowship programs. In such cases the scholarship money covers the educational expenditure of the students i.e. books and academic fees, but when it comes to extra-curricular activities and the way of living a difference is always present between the rich and poor. This difference also arises when a co-curricular activity require extra funds. Such differences have very adverse effects on the society. As the educational systems serve as the medium for formulating the mindset of individuals and developing the personality, differences based on financial status have very deep impacts on the social structure as a whole. The most important effect which needs special consideration is the sense of being ignored. In such scenarios the developments of negative sentiments for a certain class of a society develops which ultimately results in social divide and sometimes can be as detrimental as turning of an individual into a terrorist. Considering the split between official ideologies of achievement based on upward mobility and actual rules for social reproduction, the students with the correct cultural habits and who also belong to the families with strong financial backgrounds have greater opportunities. This privileged position is sometimes reproduced via school system. This results in the absence of the real process of development and achievement based on social mobility. Social mobility primarily means the interaction of different classes of society and also the transformations of different classes into one another. When the differences in educational system arise due to the differences in financial statuses the mindset of the deprived individuals is set up such that they draw a boundary between themselves and the privileged ones. This boundary stops social mobility as it bars the social classes to interact with each other. Furthermore when a clear cut line is established between certain social classes the individuals of a particular class start feeling proud of being part of that class, it sounds good at first but it deepens the differences to the extent of social war between the deprived and privileged classes. This is the result when a school system does not pass on a society’s cultural heritage and helps the ruling class make primary use of it to maintain its privileged position. Beyond a more affirmative or critical view on social functions of educational systems in modern societies the schooling process can be analyzed from two perspectives, one with the view of changing society and reproducing and the other signifying the individual qualifications and orientations. Schools serves as the places for human processing and it is very important to understand the social functions which are performed by the schools. For individuals the schools represent the most important framework for learning and development of competencies and values. There are several ways in which the relationship between educational institutions and society can be characterized, some of them are: 1. Continuity of cultural systems: This is very often attributed as the transfer of certain knowledge and skill which is institutionalized within a school system. It includes mastering the basic symbolic systems which range from language and writing to acquiring specific professional qualifications. Because of this aspect, this function is also referred as the qualifying function of the educational institutions. 2. Social Structure: It is defined as the distribution of positions and classes in the occupational and social area. The school-based learning of qualifications which is always verified by an underlying detailed system of examination and testing distributes and allocates the younger generation to various occupational positions. This process can also be named as allocation and selection. The educational system is responsible for the distribution of individuals in the social set up. The testing aspect of the educational system is thus very important when it comes to selection and allocation in a society. 3. Social harmony and integration: Bernstein (1996) has explained in the contemporary theory on relationship between knowledge and control, that reproduction of norm, values and belief systems serve to reinforce the prevailing power relationships. The central political function of the socialization process in educational institutions can be attributed to this. Power relationships are the interaction between different social classes of the society based on the special powers certain class possesses. This is also related to the political aspects of the socialization process, when students are given political knowledge and sense, they start thinking beyond their own mindsets, thus making power relationships very significant in the road to cultural harmony because it teaches them the process of power-sharing and working as a diversified group for the greater benefit of everyone. Since schools serve as the very first source of first creating a particular mindset and then developing it, certain social systems have used schools and educational institutions for political motives. Similarly schools also have been used for creating a divide between societies based on financial statuses. The negative use of educational institutions has also helped in strengthening of such a divide once it has been created. Parallel education systems in the same society with privileged class enjoying better educational benefits just because of the fact that they have more money widens the gap between classes. The rise of modern education has become an essential part of the emergence of state structure. This creates a struggle for power in which identifiable actors and interest groups proceed within the framework of historic and cultural structural conditions. These activities lead to structural elaboration of educational institutions which assume the characteristics of a coherent system. This was the way in which the educational system was established at first, by the creation of places specified for learning in which certain qualified individuals were deemed necessary. The biggest achievement is the establishment of the meritocratic system for achieving certain authorities and positions, but achieving excellence and personal brilliance based on knowledge and learning is by far the most cherished benefit of the meritocratic system and the educational system as a whole. For individuals from the deprived classes, education serves as a motivational power as they also consider the monetary benefits of the educational system. In micro-economic terms human capital theory relies on the implicit understanding that through education the individual acquires competence and skills whose essential characteristic is the ability to be transferable and negotiable in the employment market and which also have a transactional value bearing on the individuals’ average income throughout his live. The educational qualification and attainment dictates the average incomes of the individuals. The various steps of the educational system have various different prospects as far as the employment based earnings are concerned. Each higher level of education has wider and larger opportunities of earning. The higher salaries that educated entrants are able to command on the job market represent both the interest on the capital they have invested in education and the fact that they have become more productive by having invested. This productivity and return of capital serves as the motivational power for individuals from poor backgrounds to acquire education and improve their quality of life. This motivation is regarded as the solution for the problems which arises due to the difference in financial background of different students. When students know that education is the only way out for them, they do not blame others for their condition but are involved more and more in their future personal development and planning. However, rapid changes in employment conditions, the future macroeconomic environment, technical innovation and skills obsolescence are amongst the variables that throw into question the full validity of the human capital model applied to the individual. This makes the individuals more concerned making them more competent. They also try to master all kinds of skills including innovative and communication skills thereby improving the personalities of the individuals as a whole. In addition to monetary returns the personal benefits are also very important; the personality development is also a benefit which is the result of such competitive environment. Educational institutions thus perform a vital role in personal development of individuals and the society development as a whole. Therefore the school can be rightly regarded as a social system in which the formation of society takes place. This formation is based on the individual development by creating a sense of responsibility, motivating with through developing a competition between individuals hailing from different social classes and financial statuses. This motivation removes the sense of deprivation in the deprived class and also removes the sense of being superior in the privileged class. Thus schools and educational institutions develop the society, distribute the authority and positions in society on the meritocratic basis, create a social harmony between different classes and propose solutions for the prevailing problems in the society based on financial differences. Outlines Culture as a self-maintaining system Education as a medium of cultural transmission Role of education in developing personalities Role of education in transmitting culture Role of education in socialization Role of education in selection and allocation of positions Continuity of cultural systems Social Structure and education Social harmony and interaction Monetary return of the invested money in education Motivation for the deprived class Non-monetary benefits of education in personality development Role of educational institutions in solving the problems in society Works Cited Hargreaves, Andy. Teaching in the Knowledge Society: education in the age of insecurity. N.p.: Teacher's College Press, 2003. Print. McClelland, David. Human Motivation. N.p.: CUP Archieve, 1987. Print. Parsons, Talcott. Social System. N.p.: Routledge, 1991. Print. Van den Haag, Ernest. Economic and Social aspect of Education. N.p.: Newyork University, 1956. Print. Zajda, Joseph. Education and Society. N.p.: James Nicholas Publishers, 2001. Print. Read More