The Social functions of education

The basic dual function :

Each person is prepared by society for future life within it. However trite this statement may it contains the basis for analyzing the function of education. The school system is a deliberate attempt to maintain the normative and action pattorne of socioty by influencing its now entrants. In any society is an interplay between the normative and behavior patterns and the school is often forced to play the role of reference in maintaining values while facing the realities of actual behavior.

Schooling and Consensus.

We have said that the school system has to reflect and stabilize society Clearly there is nothing unsound about the idea that society makes special provision to see that change is not too rapid. We then begin firstly to enter a debate about the idea the cociety makes special provision to see that change is not too rapid. We then begin firstly to enter a debate about the reality of culture and secondly a debate about the usefulness of such. A mode of analysis when appliced to the rapidly changing diversified industrial society. The inculcation of culture idea has now become more complicated because of the need to consider what we mean b culture. We have then to make it even more complicated by relating it to the methods, which the school will carry out the inculcating.

Education is beginning to look like a conserving institution which can only follow social change and never initiage it. Such an evaluation. however. is not only too pessimistic, it is also poor social analysis, Social science is rapidly outgrowing the need to find menopausal or unidirectional associations between changing institutions or cultural elements. Whatever else it is, society is a system of interacting structures in which each institution has some effect upon the others as well as being influenced by them.

The functions of the education system.

Before describing the functions of education we have to make an important distinction between tow ways describing the consequence of actins. One way describes how certain sets of balues, or patterns of behavior actually contribute the the social system of which they form a part and the other concentrates upon the intentions and perceptions of the people who take part in the behavior. Their intentions and perceptions may coincide with the actual result of their actions, but it would be very native indeed to assume that they do .

Schooling and social mobility

Most people think of education as the means by which occupational categories are achieved the not only think of it this way amongst other ways. But such a view tons to prolong. It is what they things of heat and if pushe it is what they believe to be the most important consequence on education for their own children.