Meaning of Sociological Basis of Education
The sociological basis of education means that education should be footed on society’s needs, aspirations and principles. Through education, students should make remarkable progress in achievement of social values so that they may fulfill their duties, use their rights, and be valuable, awakened, productive and complete citizens of tomorrow. Along with education, they should be cultivated to imbibe strong values of discipline. The principles of education should be in line with a society’s vision, mission, its religious, cultural, political values and economic stability. Hence such subjects and activities should be included in the school curriculum which foster social growth, fill social needs and ensure progress of the society. This way the sociological basis of education focuses on society to be the foundation of education. Education should be a means towards self growth, which in return, enables the society to grow.
The three parts of educations-the Instructor, the Student and the Curriculum are actually parts of the society, that is why education is considered as sociological process, which means,
- The components of education process are always being infl uenced by the non-static society.
- The principles of education are founded on the needs of society.
- The educational curriculum is constantly amended with new subjects by taking into consideration the present and future sociological needs.
- The various rules of education also depend on the norms of the society within which it operates.
- In discipline, the social point of view is given more importance.
- The education process is guided by the society’s prevailing culture.
- All the resources spent on education come from society itself.
- University is considered to be the realistic form of society.
In the national education policy formulated in the year 1986 it was said that:
“Financially and technologically, our country has reached such heights that we can easily make use of available methods to improve different aspects of society. Education is a means to achieve this objective.” —Para 1.2
“New challenges and demands/needs of society are pressing government to formulate and implement a new policy. There is no other alternative.” —Para 1.15
As mentioned in the text above, the mutual relationship between education and society is very deep. Actually any society’s composition, needs, cultural values and all its related aspects determine the basic education to be provided. As it is said, the form that education takes is a reflection of the society within which it operates and also the society which we want to create for tomorrow. As the Commission of Kothari (1964–66) analyzed deeply the circumstances and needs of the Indian society, he framed the then structure of education accordingly:
- Increase in production
- Progress in social and national unity
- Democracy of citizens
- Social, ethical and spiritual upliftment
- Modernization of the nation
In this way, the educational policy formulated with respect to the changing circumstances of the society in the year 1986 consists mainly of:
- Equal education
- Education for one and all
- Education’s impact on management
- To make the education system effective
After this in the year 1990 the Association of Acharya Ramurthi was created to analyze the national education ethics. The name of this Council was “Towards an efficient and humane society”. Its main objective was to educate one and all.
Hence we may imply that the present and future social needs and circumstances continuously influence the education process. Education obtains its new form from society itself. Because of the changing nature of society, education process also becomes non-static. This is the sociological basis of education.
The educational sociologists should analyze and study the gaps in society and gain knowledge on how to remedy the situation.
Historical Aspect of Sociology
Man is a social animal. Man and society are nearly related to one another. None of them have any existence without one another. With a lack of individuals, society has no importance and with the destitution of society man can neither progress nor survive. Society is a material concept which is built on man’s existence. Since ancient times there have been studies on the relationship between man and society. Plato said that man behaves according to the norms society teaches him. Man’s behavior is the result of the society in which he has been born and brought up. Aristotle stated that no man would agree to stay in this world if he gets to know that he has to survive alone. He also stressed on the importance of man’s social and communal life by saying the one who is unable to live peacefully with his/her fellowmen, is either at a low stage of human life, or a highly evolved stage or an animal or otherwise God himself. Lucretius, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, St Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, Rousseau, Montesquieu and other thinkers also have expressed their thoughts on society and social life. Hence, since ancient times, thinkers’ attention have been attracted towards the concept of society, the relationship between man and society, societal incidents and concerns; many thoughts have been pondered over these concepts because no matter whether it is in this age or ancient times, man has always been entangled in social concerns. This means that the social heterodox has always existed whether written or unwritten, tangible or intangible, scientific or unscientific. Robert Bier Stedt has said, “Social heterodox has a very ancient or long past.” In one of his speeches Gisbert has said, “if man is a philosopher by nature, this implies he is also a social heterodox.”
Thus the past of sociology is long but history is very short. Fransis philosopher August Comte was the first who imagined a new social science named social physics which was later changed to Sociology in 1938. August Comte is known as the father of sociology as he first imagined scientific study of society. He said that sociology should be used for reconstruction of society. After Comte, John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer worked for the development of it. They provide an arranged prospect and established as a complete science. Sociology was developed most in United States of America. Lester Ward divided sociology in two parts, Pure sociology and practical sociology. In pure sociology the social aspects are studied in present prospect and in practical sociology studies are done for the improvement. Fransis philosopher Durkheim also contributed toward the expansion of sociology. He said that in sociology everything should be studied by social point of view. Montaign, Mauss, Buckle, Robertson, Tonnies, Ratzel, Maciver, Sorokin, Parsons, Barns, Coser, Park and Burgess are other philosophers who contributed in development of sociology.
Meaning and Definition of Sociology
The word ‘Samaj Shastra ‘ in Hindi, is the translation of ‘Sociology’ in English. Sociology in English comprises two words, ‘socio’ and ‘logy’. Socio means ‘in relation to society‘ and ‘logy’ refers to ‘knowledge or science‘. Thus, the literary meaning of ‘sociology’ is the science relating to society which studies about the society. Society in this context refers to human society. Thus, sociology studies only about the human society. In order to understand the form of sociology in its entirety, it is essential to study the definitions given by different thinkers. Some definitions are as under:
August Camte—‘Sociology is the science of social order and social progress’.
Giddings—‘Sociology in totality is the organised description of society and its factors’.
Maurice Ginsberg—‘Sociology is the study of interaction, interrelation of human beings, their process
and results’.
Emil Durkheim—‘Sociology is the science of representation of collective mass’.
Gillin and Gillin—‘Broadly, Sociology is the science which studies the interactions of human beings as a mass.’
Mciver and Page—‘Sociology is the organised study of social relations. The web of social relations is called society by us’.
Sorokin—‘Sociology is the general science of the ordinary form of socio cultural events, their pattern and various end relations’.
Cuber—‘Sociology can be called the scientific branch of human relations’.
Max Webber—‘Sociology is that science which portrays analytical explanations of social activities’.
On analysis of the above mentioned definitions, it becomes clear that sociology interprets all personal, social, cultural and national relations of individuals and society and studies as well as analyses their relative reactions. Under these, all those groups are studied which impact individuals and their behaviour definitively. It includes study of traditions, customs, folk tales, human attributes, religious social and moralistic institutions, castes, economic organisations, financial political crimes and problems. It is said that sociology is the scientific study of life and activities of the society, where problems, both physical and spiritual abound and which has relation to past, present and future.
Subject Matter of Sociology
Different sociologists have expressed themselves on the subject matter of sociology. Thoughts of some sociologists are as under:
Durkheim has divided the subject matter of study of sociology into three sections:
- Social Morphology
- Social Physiology
- General Sociology
Ginsberg has divided it into four sections:
- Social Morphology
- Social Control
- Social Processes
- Social Pathology
According to Motwani, the subject matter of sociology is as under:
- Society tries to discover such theories which establishes harmony in the basic elements of social life.
- Sociology interprets development, growth of social institutions, and activities and their end relations.
- Sociology denotes those elements of social organisations which determine the direction of social changes.
- Sociology evolves practical ways to overcome social pathology and mismanagement.
- Sociology accords importance to harmonise those social forms and factors which prove helpful in the progress of individuals and society.
Meaning and Definition of Educational Sociology
The close relationship shared between Education and society gave birth to sociology. Durkheim has said that education basically is a social action; based on its form, function and varieties. As a result, education’s principles are more closely linked to sociology as compared to any other conventional science. In educational sociology, all those tenets/points of sociology are adopted which influence the fundamental and behavioural aspect of education. Dedicated research and extensive work has been one in the field of educational sociology, the credit of which goes to E. George Payne of the New York University. In 1923, he setup the ‘National society for the study of sociology‘; which has extensively contributed to the cause of evolution and development of sociology as a field of study. In 1928, George Penny, authored a famous book, ‘Principles of Educational Sociology‘, in which he had written that Educational sociology is a new form of science, which combines Education and sociology. He interpreted the educational process on the basis of sociology. In his interpretation, he’s explained how community influences life and society. Education is a social process and in this way, it helps build and improve the society and in this manner, greatly contributes to the general well being of people. From September 1928 onwards, Journal of Educational Sociology was published and made available for the general public.
Famous visionaries like Dewie have, in their own way, contributed towards the cause of promoting sociological trends in education. Dewie, by means of his famous books ‘The School and Society ‘and 'Democracy and Education ‘have accepted and propagated the concept of education as a social trend, which has the power to bring about a social awareness and helps develop the same. From this point of view, it becomes important to understand and appreciate sociological consciousness so as to develop necessary guidelines for imparting the right form of education. Educational sociology has benefitted immensely from the contributions of Fredric Leaplay, Moore, Merril, Maciver, Cole, Duncon, Brown, Davis, Dollard, Clark, and Ottaway, etc. They have said that sociology can supplement the educational process in achieving unattained goals for a progressive society. In a similar manner, educational sociology is a deep integration of education and sociology. in this field, man, society, communities, societal class, community organisations, etc. are studied, and their influence on man’s road to progress analysed; depending upon the results, what form of education is best suited to the society’s needs, is decided upon. In educational sociology, all those theories are accepted which influence both the fundamental and behavioural aspects of education. The requirements and situations related to various parts of education, namely, objective, syllabus, teaching style, discipline, teachers, school, administration etc. are analysed and accordingly, educational sociology is developed.
