We all know education is a public good - without it, society would not be where it is, and our lives and standards of living would be very different. What does sociology have to say regarding the value of education?
We will be looking at the following:
- The value of education in society
- The importance of education in life
- The four core values of education
- The value of education in sociology
- The role of education in the social system
Let's get started.
The Value of Education in Society
In society, what is the true value of education? We say that we value it, but is this reflected in the society we live in?
According to David Simon's 1995 book Social Problems and the Sociological Imagination: A Paradigm for Analysis, social problems are fundamental contradictions - that is, claims, notions, or characteristics of circumstances that are at odds with one another.
This can be illustrated when approaching a lack of education as a social problem.
One of the foundational ideas in American society is that to attain any success in life, a person requires an education. In fact, higher education is increasingly becoming an expectation for people of all trades and levels of achievement, not only for those who need college-level skills. As a result, the number of individuals graduating from college in the US is climbing rapidly.
The contradiction, though, is that getting a college education has only become more difficult while it has become more important. Since the mid-1980s, the price of a college education has increased significantly, while government funding for student grants has barely increased.
As a result, people who do end up going to college are likely to start their careers in debt. The value of education in society has become so high that most young people go on to higher education by default, and are willing or compelled to face considerable financial burdens for the privilege.
Fig. 1 - Education is an incredibly valuable asset for people.
The Importance of Education in Life
So, why is education so significant? What is the importance of education in life? Let's consider higher education as an example.
The first two years of college in the US are often mostly based on liberal arts. The student is provided access to various subjects, including math, the natural sciences, literature, history, the social sciences, music, and the arts.
It is believed that the student's worldview will expand throughout this time, even as they study with traditional methods. When they start to specialize in a subject, it is with a much broader view in comparison with someone who didn't study a wide range of subjects to begin with.
Exposure to the extra subjects also amounts to additional cultural capital. This can further improve the student's ability to meet and collaborate with peers and experts, build a wider knowledge base, and increase capacity for self-examination. Therefore, even beyond the material benefits of financial and career success, the true value of education is to enhance our introspection and sense of self.
The Four Core Values of Education
Under the direction of Jacques Delors, a UNESCO panel identified four core values or pillars of education from the perspective of a world experiencing constant change and complexity in the middle of the 1990s.
The Delors committee suggested four pillars of education:
learning to do in order to gain not only professional skills but also, more broadly, the capacity to handle a variety of circumstances and collaborate in groups. It also refers to learning how to act in the context of diverse social and professional experiences, whether formal or informal.
learning to live together by developing empathy for others and an awareness of interdependence and how to coexist. This entails collaborating on projects and developing conflict-resolution skills while upholding the values of pluralism, understanding, and peace.
learning to be so that one's individuality can grow and one can develop ever-increasing autonomy, judgment, and personal responsibility. This means that no component of a person's potential - including their memory, logic, aesthetic sense, physical capabilities, and communication skills - should be undervalued in the context of education.
The Value of Education in Sociology
What do sociologists have to say regarding the value of education in sociology?
A sociological perspective that emphasizes the value of education is functionalism. According to functionalists, education is one of the most significant institutions in society. They claim that education makes two types of contributions:
manifest (or primary) functions, which are the intended and evident functions of education
latent (or secondary) functions, which are unintentional and hidden functions of education
Manifest Functions of Education
Let's examine the manifest functions of education below.
Socialization as a Manifest Function of Education
Education serves several important roles. Socialization is the first, starting with preschool. Students are taught how to behave, how to interact with others, and how to act out numerous societal roles, beginning as early as kindergarten. This becomes more complex as the children grow older.
Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist who founded the academic field of sociology (1858–1917), described schools as:
“socialization agencies that teach children how to get along with others and prepare them for adult economic roles.”
- Durkheim, 1898.
Transmission of Culture as a Manifest Function of Education
Learning the cultural norms and customs of society is part of the socialization process. In the early stages of mandatory education, students pick up the dominant culture through their education. It exposes each generation of young people to the existing beliefs, norms, and values of their culture. In modern society we learn respect for social control and for established institutions, such as religion, the family, and the presidency.
Given that American culture is becoming more varied today, different cultural values and behaviors, not just those of the prevailing culture, may be taught to students.
Social Control as a Manifest Function of Education
American educational institutions convey national values through overt actions like social control. Teaching children and young people to follow the law and have respect for authority is one of the responsibilities of schools, enforced through rules, detentions, scheduling, adhering to deadlines, etc.
Students are better able to navigate the school environment if they show respect to the teachers and authorities. They then apply this logic to wider society and life in general - you will generally fare better if you follow the laws, rules, and regulations of society.
Social Placement as a Manifest Function of Education
Education is one of the main strategies for achieving upward social mobility (moving up the social class hierarchy). This function of education is known as social placement.
College and graduate programs are seen as means of advancing students toward occupations that will provide them with the financial security and independence they desire. As a result, college students are frequently more driven to pursue studies in fields they believe will be materially and socially advantageous.
Because they view it as a more effective path to economic success, a student may enrol in a marketing degree even if their passion is for literature.
Cultural Innovation as a Manifest Function of Education
Through educating young people, giving them a foundation of knowledge and skills, teaching them to think critically and examine themselves and society at large, schools perform the manifest function of cultural innovation.
This can be material, such as a student becoming working in a technology company and going on to invent new gadgets, or nonmaterial, such as a student becoming a politician to help introduce a new policy.
Latent Functions of Education
Now, let's study some of the latent functions of education.
Forming Relationships as a Latent Function of Education
Latent functions are also fulfilled by education. As you are likely aware, a lot happens in a school that has little to do with formal education, some of which may feel much more important to a young person. School is where children form some of their first non-familial relationships, both platonic and romantic.
For instance, you may have met your friend group, a classmate you have a crush on, or a boyfriend/girlfriend just by exposure to other students in the same environment!
Social Networks as a Latent Function of Education
Students are introduced to not just personal relationships but whole social networks of classmates, teachers, and acquaintances in the educational context. These networks may persist for years and can aid people in several ways following graduation, from finding employment opportunities to potential flatmates.
Of course, social media like Facebook and LinkedIn make it easier than ever to maintain and grow one's social networks.
Group Work as a Latent Function of Education
Working in small groups is another latent function that is a transferable skill for the workplace. Group discussions, presentations, reports etc. are a common feature in schools and colleges and teach students teamwork and interpersonal skills.
Group work may not be taught in a home school environment, so it is usually unique to educational institutions.
Social and Political Integration as a Latent Function of Education
Education transforms a population made up of various racial, ethnic, and religious groupings into a society whose members share - to some extent - a shared identity, serving the latent role of encouraging social and political integration. This social integration and communal identity support societal stability.
On the other hand, education can also provide a forum for students to become aware and active on different causes and issues, particularly on university campuses. There are many opportunities for social and political advocacy, from demonstrations to charity drives, and it's easier to grow tolerant of the various points of view represented on campus.
In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement spread across college campuses around the United States, sparking protests in which various student groups came together to demand a change in the nation's political landscape.
Fig. 2 - Higher education can expose students to political advocacy. Creation of Generation Gaps as a Latent Function of Education
As we have mentioned, every generation of young people is taught the cultural norms, values, behaviors, and social/political issues of their time. This creates gaps between generations that absorbed different things from different social climates.
For instance, you may feel that you, your parents, and your grandparents all have different worldviews, even if you were raised in the same country and received similar educations - even if you all went to the same school!
The Role of Education in the Social System
Education also plays an important role in maintaining the social system and its various structures. Let's study this below.
Functionalists argue that core American systems are maintained through education. Individualism, or the idea of valuing the individual over groups or society, is one of the most crucial American ideals taught in schools. They also prepare pupils for competitiveness in the real world. Students engage in academic and athletic rivalry and thereby learn to pursue their own interests above all.
In nations such as Japan and China, students do not learn individualism (where the benefit of the group is emphasized over the individual). In contrast to schools emphasizing social conformity and welfare, schools in the United States play an important role in building self-interest and reliance.
Teaching patriotism is another responsibility of schools. Each morning, students recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and they attend history lessons where they study the history of the country and its heroes.
Functionalists also claim that some of the duties formerly performed by families are now being taken on by schools, particularly in recent years. Reproduction, sexuality, and fundamental skills like budgeting and job applications are issues that were once covered by the family but are now taught in schools.
- Regardless of their academic performance, students from lower socioeconomic classes typically do not have access to the same quality of education as those from higher classes. Wealthy students who receive premium educations, therefore, have greater life chances, reinforcing economic inequality.
Education can also exacerbate existing inequalities among ethnicity and gender lines. Some ethnic minority groups have less access to quality education, and female students are often encouraged to study less lucrative subjects e.g. humanities, leading to lower chances of success.
Imagine a student from a low-income ethnic minority family with immigrant parents who work as a taxi driver and a homemaker. They are talented and dedicated in academics but cannot afford the private education or tutoring they require to shine in their field and must make do in a subpar public school.
When they graduate, their performance may be worse than if they had received these resources, meaning they are less likely to get into a good university and get a well-paid job, even if they have 'earned' these things.
Value of Education - Key takeaways
- The value of education in society has become so high that most young people go on to higher education by default, and are willing or compelled to face considerable financial burdens for the privilege.
- Even beyond the material benefits of financial and career success, the true value of education is to enhance our introspection and sense of self.
- The manifest functions of education are socialization, the transmission of culture, social control, social placement, and cultural innovation.
- The latent functions of education are forming relationships, social networks, group work, social and political integration, and the creation of generation gaps.
- Education plays a role in maintaining the social system in various ways, deemed positive by functionalists and negative by conflict theorists.
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