2021
SED2601
EXAM NOTES
2021 OCT/NOV PREP NOTES
, lOMoARcPSD|527 054 0
What is Sociology of Education?
Sociology of Education includes two disciplines: Sociology and Education.
Sociology is a discipline (a large body of work, research) which tries to explain society (human
interactions, groups, institutions, our relationship with the environment) and how society works.
Education is a system or an institution which is part of society. In South Africa, education is, in
general, formal. That is, children go to schools and follow a specific curriculum. There are state
schools and private schools in the South African Education system.
So: Sociology of Education combines the study of society and schools and looks at how schools in
society work or function. Sociology is the ‘umbrella’ theory. The other 3 theories (functionalism,
conflict theory and symbolic interactionism) all fall under the Sociology of Education. It might help
you to draw this. Draw an umbrella labelled Sociology of Education and put the 3 theories under it.
Now work systematically through the 3 theories. Work with Chapters 1 and 2 in your text book for
now.
Functionalism:
Functionalist theory tries to explain how schools function or work in society. Functionalism argues
that society is made up of different parts, however, all the parts are connected (are related) and have
to work together for society to function/to work. This is similar to how a body works: if one arm of
the body does not work then the whole body is affected. The argument is that the school works in
conjunction with (together with), for example, the economy and they both have to ‘work’ (be
healthy) for society to function properly. Hence, schools teach learners to become part of the
workforce by providing skills such as computer skills and the ability to work with and interact with
strangers in a classroom, not just with their own families. Public schools also have a relationship with
the state: through curriculum development, funding, providing resources etc.
Functionalism also argues all learners are equal when they start school (they have the same
uniforms, teachers, curriculum opportunities). They become less ‘equal’ as they progress through the
school system in that some learners work harder than others and do better academically. Think of an
athletics race. All the runners line up at the same starting- line but some runners are faster than
others and they come first and others, sadly, come last.
NB: Try not to get too bogged down by all the different theorists at this stage, such as Durkheim
and Parsons. Try to work out what the main argument is in relation to functionalism. In a nutshell:
What does functionalism say about schools in a society?
SED2601
EXAM NOTES
2021 OCT/NOV PREP NOTES
, lOMoARcPSD|527 054 0
What is Sociology of Education?
Sociology of Education includes two disciplines: Sociology and Education.
Sociology is a discipline (a large body of work, research) which tries to explain society (human
interactions, groups, institutions, our relationship with the environment) and how society works.
Education is a system or an institution which is part of society. In South Africa, education is, in
general, formal. That is, children go to schools and follow a specific curriculum. There are state
schools and private schools in the South African Education system.
So: Sociology of Education combines the study of society and schools and looks at how schools in
society work or function. Sociology is the ‘umbrella’ theory. The other 3 theories (functionalism,
conflict theory and symbolic interactionism) all fall under the Sociology of Education. It might help
you to draw this. Draw an umbrella labelled Sociology of Education and put the 3 theories under it.
Now work systematically through the 3 theories. Work with Chapters 1 and 2 in your text book for
now.
Functionalism:
Functionalist theory tries to explain how schools function or work in society. Functionalism argues
that society is made up of different parts, however, all the parts are connected (are related) and have
to work together for society to function/to work. This is similar to how a body works: if one arm of
the body does not work then the whole body is affected. The argument is that the school works in
conjunction with (together with), for example, the economy and they both have to ‘work’ (be
healthy) for society to function properly. Hence, schools teach learners to become part of the
workforce by providing skills such as computer skills and the ability to work with and interact with
strangers in a classroom, not just with their own families. Public schools also have a relationship with
the state: through curriculum development, funding, providing resources etc.
Functionalism also argues all learners are equal when they start school (they have the same
uniforms, teachers, curriculum opportunities). They become less ‘equal’ as they progress through the
school system in that some learners work harder than others and do better academically. Think of an
athletics race. All the runners line up at the same starting- line but some runners are faster than
others and they come first and others, sadly, come last.
NB: Try not to get too bogged down by all the different theorists at this stage, such as Durkheim
and Parsons. Try to work out what the main argument is in relation to functionalism. In a nutshell:
What does functionalism say about schools in a society?
