Sociology took root in the 19th century, primarily in France, German and England. Most influential among early sociologists were Auguste Comte, Marl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber.
The important idea that education comprises themes, conditions and practices meriting sociological studies was first stated by two academicians, sociologists- John Dewey ( 1859 – 1952) and (1852 – 1858 – 1917) Emile Durkheim’s. They pointed out you might say, common grounds and directions where sociology and Education could be said to converge.
John Dewey’s ideas began taking shape in the early twentieth century following what may be called an appreciation of the relationship between the school and the society. His concern about education began to grow after observing how fast the simple community life structures in his time were changing. The main institution entrusted with a child’s education, the church and the schools were often unable to cope with this change. They were inadequate in preparing a child to meet the new social ways adapted by the changing society. It seemed to him that the growing child risked facing utter confusion as he walked to adulthood in the new society. There was little that he could judge as preparing the child effectively for the new society. To avert this seeming breakdown in child’s nurturing, Dewey suggested an ‘ideal school’ in which it would be possible to elicit a social cooperation. capable of enriching the social life growth of a child. The components that Dewey covered as possible of preparing that enrichment would be the community and the established school.
What Dewey was therefore promoting was a practical way of educating a child in the best possible manner, a way that would reflect a sense of community life as expressed in the interests, hope, needs and expectations of the larger society outside. In turn, the social co-operation elicited by his ideal school would benefit the child’s social life both in his home and neighbourhood. Eventually, by offering this kind of social education to a growing child who would be able to stand on his own, the society would be much improved.
Emile Durkheim, in his effort to discover a meeting point between sociology and education, took a more idealistic or theoretical stand than Dewey. In his lecture given before groups of teachers, Durkhiem portrayed education as being social in character, origin, function; a social fact and activity, and a socializing process. In this sense, an education theoretical framework if there is one would be founded in a sociological theory rather than in any other social science.
Simply Durkheim was trying to delineate the work of education as being that of transforming what he called a ‘social being’ into a ‘social being’. A social being meant to him someone who is not yet socialized, or does not yet know, internalize and practice society’s ways of life. A newly born child or an infant is such and a social being. As that child continues to grow, he slowly learns the ways of his society, its attitudes, skills and behaviours. His nature changes from that of a helpless child to that of a responsible adult.
That transformation according to Durkheim is too complex to be expected to develop in the course of the child’s natural natural growing up. Instead, the transformation must be nurtured within the frame work of a society which draws upon all kinds of forces including Education, to effectively build a new individual – a society, benefiting it and from it. This is what Durkheim implied in his theoretical view of education. Because of his ideas, Durkheim is considered as the ‘father of sociology of Education’.
As a result of Dewey’s and Durkheim’s theories, the stage for a sociological approach to education was now set. Other proponents with equally persuasive ideas about the sociological nature of education were slowly but steadily making their contributions to the development of this new branch of sociology. Many sociologists contributed to the discipline in the 1930 and later; in this lecture, we want to highlight a few contributions made by other proponents.
Wilfykil answered the question on March 2, 2019 at 07:56