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SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
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Introduction to Sociology
• Sociology as “the science of society” is designed to study:
– Human Behavior in Groups
– Social Structure / Social Phenomena
– Different forms of human interrelations
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What Is Sociology?
• Among the definitions of Sociology:

• The study of society

• A social science involving the study of the social lives of people,
groups, and societies
• The study of our behavior as social beings, covering everything
from the analysis of short contacts between anonymous individuals
on the street to the study of global social processes
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• The scientific study of social aggregations, the entities through which

humans move throughout their lives
• A primary unification of all studies of humankind, including history,
psychology, and economics
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Sociology As Defined By The Theorists
Max Webber:
“Sociology is a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social
action in order thereby to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and
effects.” (Webber, 1994)

Source: Max Weber, Sociological Writings. Edited by Wolf Heydebrand, published in 1994 by Continuum.
Sections on foundations reproduced here;
Transcribed: by Andy Blunden in 1998, proofed and corrected 1999.
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The American Sociological Association defines sociology as
follows:

• “Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the

social causes and consequences of human behavior”

• Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations,

and societies, and how people interact within these contexts.

Source: http://www.soc.cornell.edu/undergrad/what_is_sociology.html
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• Therefore, sociology is the systematic and scientific study of human social life.

• Sociologists study people as they form groups and interact with one another. The
groups they study may be small, such as married couples, or large, such as a
subculture of suburban teenagers.
• Sociology places special emphasis on studying societies, both as individual
entities and as elements of a global perspective. 

• Source: http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/introduction-
to-sociology/context.html
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The Birth of Sociology Choice
• Auguste Comte (1798–1857), widely considered the “father of sociology,” became interested in studying society
because of the changes that took place as a result of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. During the
French Revolution, which began in 1789, France’s class system changed dramatically. Aristocrats suddenly lost their
money and status, while peasants, who had been at the bottom of the social ladder, rose to more powerful and
influential positions. The Industrial Revolution followed on the heels of the French Revolution, unfolding in Western
Europe throughout the 1800s. During the Industrial Revolution, people abandoned a life of agriculture and moved to
cities to find factory jobs. They worked long hours in dangerous conditions for low pay. New social problems emerged
and, for many decades, little was done to address the plight of the urban poor.
• Comte looked at the extensive changes brought about by the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution and
tried to make sense of them. He felt that the social sciences that existed at the time, including political science and
history, couldn’t adequately explain the chaos and upheaval he saw around him. He decided an entirely new science
was needed. He called this new science sociology, which comes from the root word socius, a Latin word that means
“companion” or “being with others.”
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• Comte decided that to understand society, one had to follow certain procedures, which we know
now as the scientific method. The scientific method is the use of systematic and specific
procedures to test theories in psychology, the natural sciences, and other fields. Comte also
believed in positivism, which is the application of the scientific method to the analysis of society.
Comte felt that sociology could be used to inspire social reforms and generally make a society a
better place for its members. Comte’s standards of “research” were not nearly as exacting as
today’s, and most of his conclusions have been disregarded, as they were based mostly on
observation rather than serious investigation. 
• In the United States, sociology was first taught as an academic discipline at the University of
Kansas in 1890

Source: SparkNotes Editors. (2006). SparkNote on Introduction to Sociology. Retrieved June 9, 2015, from http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/introduction-to-sociology/
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Perspectives in Sociology
Sociologists view society in different ways:

• As a stable and ongoing entity.

– They are impressed with the endurance of the family, organized religion, and other social

institutions.

• As composed of many groups in conflict, competing for scarce resources.

• Routine interactions among individuals that we sometimes take for granted.

Source: http://www.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/F.YBA%20SOCIOLOGY.pdf
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The four perspectives that are most widely used by sociologists are:

• Functionalist Perspective
• Conflict Perspective
• Interactionist Perspective

• Critical Perspective
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Functionalist Perspective
• A key figure of developing functionalist theory: Talcott Parsons (1902-1979).
– greatly influenced by the works of Emile Durkheim, Max Weber and other
European sociologists.
• Also known as functionalism and structural functionalism.
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• It is based on the assumption that society is stable, orderly

system.
– This stable system is characterized by societal harmony, whereby
the majority of members show a common set of values, belief and
behavioral expectation.
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• According to this perspective, a society is composed of interrelated parts, each of

which serves a function and contributes to the overall stability of the society.
• Societies develop social structure or institutions that persist because they play a
part in helping society survive.
– These institutions include the family, education, government, religion, and the
economy.
– If anything adverse happens to one of these institutions or part are affected and
the system no longer functions properly.
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Manifest and Latent Functions
Manifest Function Latent Function

• Intended or overly recognized by the • Unintended function that is hidden and

participants in a social unit. remains unacknowledged by
• A manifest function of education is the participants.
transmission of knowledge and skills • Latent function is the establishment of
from one generation to the next social relations and networks.
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• For example, a Merton noted that all features of a social system may not be
functional at all times, dysfunctions are the un-desirable consequences of any
element of a society.
• A dysfunction of education in United States is the perpetuation of gender, racial and
clan inequalities. Such dysfunction may threaten the capacity of a society to adopt
and survive.
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Conflict Perspective Choice

• Contributed theorists: Simmel, Marx and Weber

• Focusing on the inevitability of clashes between social groups.
– Karl Marx viewed struggle between social classes as inevitable, given the exploitation of
workers under capitalism.
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• According to conflict perspectives, group in society are engaged

in a continuous power struggle for control of scare resources.
– Conflict may take the form of politics, litigation, negotiations or
family discussions about financial matter.
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• Expanding on Marx’s work, sociologists and other social scientist

have come to see conflict not merely as a class phenomenon but
as a part of everyday life in all societies.
– sociologists want to know who benefits, who suffers and who
dominates at the expense of other.
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Interactionist or Interpretive
• Founder: George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)
– Interested in observing the minutest forms of communication-smiles, frowns, nods of the
head- and in understanding how such individual behavior was influenced by the larger
context of a group or society.

• Interactionists see symbols as an especially important part of human

communication.
– In fact, the interactionist perspective is sometime referred to as the symbolic interactionist
perspective.
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• Different portrayal of suicide without the use of words from various societies:
– People in the U.S point a finger at the head (shooting);

– Urban Japanese bring a fist against the stomach (stabbing);

– The south fore of Papua, New Guinea, clench a hand at the throat (hanging).

• These types of symbolic interaction are classified as forms of nonverbal

communication, which can include many other gestures, facial expressions, and
postures.
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• The functionalist and conflict perspectives both analyze behavior in
terms of society wide patterns.
• Interactionist perspective: a sociological framework for viewing human
beings as living in a world of meaningful objects. These “objects” may
include material things, actions, other people, relationships and even
symbols.
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Critical Perspective

• Critical theory is a social theory whose aim is critiquing and changing society and
culture, unlike traditional theories whose aim is only understanding or explaining it.
– This perspective says that we live in a society dominated by capitalists, based
on the exchange principles of value and profit. Capitalist society is not a
peaceful society but is based on unequal exchanges of power and privileges.
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Sociology and Other Social Sciences
A multidisciplinary field, sociology draws from a variety of other social sciences:
• Anthropology
– Anthropology concerns individual cultures in a society, rather than the society as a
whole. Traditionally, it focuses on what might be termed “primitive” cultures, such as the
Yanomamo people of the South American jungle, who live much the same way they did
hundreds of years ago.
– Anthropologists place special emphasis on language, kinship patterns, and cultural
artifacts.
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• Political Science
– Concerns the governments of various societies. It considers what kind of government a

society has, how it formed, and how individuals attain positions of power within a
particular government. Political science also concerns the relation of people in a society
to whatever form of government they have.

• Psychology
– Psychology takes the individual out of his or her social circumstances and examines the

mental processes that occur within that person. Psychologists study the human brain
and how it functions, considering issues such as memory, dreams, learning, and
perception.
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• Economics
– Economics focuses on the production and distribution of society’s goods and services.

Economists study why a society chooses to produce what it does, how money is
exchanged, and how people interact and cooperate to produce goods.
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Specialized Fields in Sociology
• Rural Sociology • Sociology of Education
• Urban Sociology – Political Sociology
• Medical Sociology – Sociology of the Family
• Criminology
• Social Psychology
• Economic Sociology
• Sociology of Religion
• Industrial Sociology
• Sociology of Social Problems
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What are their contributions towards sociology?

• Auguste Comte
• Emile Durkheim
• Karl Marx
• Max Weber
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Founders of Sociology Choice

• Auguste Comte
– System of Positive Polity, or Treatise on Sociology, Instituting the Religion of
Humanity.
• Emile Durkheim
– The Division of Labor in Society
– The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
– Suicide
• Karl Marx
– Das Kapital
• Max Weber
– The Protestant Ethic and the Rise of Capitalism
– The Sociology of Religion
– The theory of Social and Economic organization
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Auguste Comte Choice
Auguste Comte: Lived 1798-1857
Believed that the major goal of sociology was to understand society
as it actually operates.
Comte favored positivism—a way of understanding based on
science.
Comte saw sociology as the product of a three-stage historical
development:
 The theological stage, in which thought was guided
by religion.
 The metaphysical stage (the laws of nature/the nature
of mind), a transitional phase.
 The scientific stage

© 2010 Alan S. Berger

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Emile Durkheim Choice
• Lived 1858-1917 • Mechanical solidarity
• Influential French – Traditional societies
are united by social
sociologist, educator, and similarities
public official • Organic solidarity
• Studied the ties that bind – Modern societies are
society together united by
interdependence
• Anomie
– Rapid social change
leads to loss of social
norms and produces
many social problems

© 2010 Alan S. Berger

 Karl Marx The University of
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• Lived 1818-1883 German philosopher Writer and social
critic
• Personally involved in social change
• Believed social scientists should help to improve society

• Struggle between owners

and workers
• Capitalist owners will
oppress ordinary people
• Eventually, people
become alienated
• People lose control over
their lives

© 2006 Alan S. Berger

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Max Weber Choice
• Rationalization
• Lived 1864-1920
– Traditional societies
• German scholar who
emphasize emotion and
studied wide variety of personal ties
topics
– Modern societies
• Like other peers, he
emphasize calculation,
studied the impact of efficiency, self control
industrialization on
peoples’ lives – Personal ties decline and
people become
• Support for value free
“disenchanted”
studies and objective
research

© 2010 Alan S. Berger

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