HBEF1103 (M) EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY and PHILOSOPHY Noryati Alias
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
HBEF1103 (M) EDUCATIONAL SOCIOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY Noryati Alias Project Directors: Prof Dr Mansor Fadzil Assoc Prof Dr Widad Othman Open University Malaysia Module Writer: Noryati Alias Moderator: Assoc Prof Hazidi Abdul Hamid Developed by: Centre for Instructional Design and Technology Open University Malaysia Printed by: Meteor Doc. Sdn. Bhd. Lot 47-48, Jalan SR 1/9, Seksyen 9, Jalan Serdang Raya, Taman Serdang Raya, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan First Printing, September 2009 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM), September 2009, HBEF1103(M) All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the President, Open University Malaysia (OUM). Version September 2009 Table of Contents Course Guide ix-xiv Topic 1 Sociology of Education 1 1.1 Sociology as a Discipline 3 1.2 Primary Social Institutions 5 1.2.1 Family 6 1.2.2 Education 8 1.2.3 Religion 9 1.2.4 Economic and Political Institutions 10 1.3 Sociology of education 11 1.3.1 Definitions 12 1.3.2 Main Areas of Concern 12 1.4 Theoretical Approaches to Sociology of Education 13 1.4.1 Functionalism 13 1.4.2 Conflict Theory 14 1.4.3 The Interpretivistic and Interaction Approach 15 1.4.4 Recent Theories 15 Summary 17 Key Terms 18 References 19 Topic 2 Functions of Education 20 2.1 Functions of Socialisation 22 2.2 Functions of Cultural Transmission 24 2.3 Function of Social Control and Personal Development 25 2.4 Function of Selection and Allocation 27 2.5 Function of Change and Innovation 29 Summary 30 Key Terms 32 References 32 Topic 3 The School in Society 34 3.1 Education and the Process of Stratification 35 3.2 Stratification and Equality of eEducational Opportunity 38 3.3 Issues of Race, Class and Gender in Achieving Quality of Opportunity 42 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 3.4 Ability Grouping and Teacher Expectations 44 Summary 51 Key Terms 52 References 52 Topic 4 The School as a Social System 54 4.1 Social System of the School 56 4.2 Goals of the School System 58 4.3 The Purpose of the School 59 4.4 The School as an Organisation 61 4.5 Centralised Versus Decentralised Decision-Making 63 Summary 65 Key Terms 66 References 67 Topic 5 The School as a Social System 54 5.1 Students and Their Environments 69 5.2 School Effectiveness 73 5.3 Educational Movements and Reform 76 5.4 Change and Planning in Educational Systems 78 Summary 82 Key Terms 83 References 84 Topic 6 The School as a Social System 54 6.1 What is philosophy? 88 6.2 Branches of Philosophy 91 6.2.1 Metaphysics 92 6.2.2 Epistemology 93 6.2.3 Logic 93 6.2.4 Ethics 94 6.3 The Meaning of Education and Philosophy of Education 95 Summary 97 Key Terms 98 References 99 Topic 7 Idealism, Realism, and Pragmatism in Education 100 7.1 Idealism 101 7.1.1 Platonic Idealism 102 7.1.2 Religious Idealism: Augustine 104 7.1.3 Modern Idealism: Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant, and Friedrich Hegel 106 TABLE OF CONTENTS v 7.2 Realism 112 7.2.1 Aristotle Realism 113 7.2.2 Religious Realism: Thomas Aquinas 115 7.2.3 Modern Realism: Francis Bacon and John Locke 118 7.2.4 Contemporary Realism: Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell 122 7.3 Pragmatism 125 7.3.1 Centrality of Experience: Francis Bacon and John Locke 125 7.3.2 Science and Society: Auguste Comte, Charles Darwin, and John Dewey 126 7.4 Idealism, Realism, and Pragmatism and its Critique in Philosophy of Education 129 7.4.1 Idealism in Philosophy of Education 129 7.4.2 Realism in Philosophy of Education 131 7.4.3 Pragmatism in Philosophy of Education 133 Summary 136 Key Terms 140 References 141 Topic 8 Idealism, Realism, and Pragmatism in Education 143 8.1 Reconstructionism 144 8.1.1 Theodore Brameld 145 8.1.2 George S. Counts 147 8.2 Behaviourism 150 8.2.1 Ivan Pavlov 151 8.2.2 John B. Watson 152 8.2.3 Behaviourism and Positivism 155 8.2.4 B. F. Skinner 157 8.3 Existentialism 160 8.3.1 Soren Kierkegaard 161 8.3.2 Jean-Paul Sartre 162 8.4 Reconstructionism, Behaviourism, and Existentialism in Philosophy of Education 166 8.4.1 Reconstructionism in Philosophy of Education 166 8.4.2 Behaviourism in Philosophy of Education 168 8.4.3 Existentialism in Philosophy of Education 170 Summary 171 Key Terms 174 References 175 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic 9 Islamic Philosophy of Education 177 8.1 Islamic Philosophy 178 8.2 Basic Principles of Islamic Education 182 8.3 Aims of Islamic Education 185 8.4 Islamisation of Contemporary Knowledge 187 Summary 190 Key Terms 192 References 193 Topic 10 Islamic Philosophy of Education 195 10.1 Indian Thought on Education 196 10.1.1 Vedas 197 10.1.2 Upanishads 199 10.1.3 Epics 200 10.1.4 Modern Hinduism 202 10.2 Chinese Thought on Education 204 10.2.1 Buddhism 205 10.2.2 Confucianism 208 10.3 Eastern Thought and Philosophy of Education 210 10.4 Critique of Eastern Philosophy of Education 212 10.5 National Philosophy of Education 218 Summary 220 Key Terms 221 References 222 COURSE GUIDE COURSE GUIDE W ix COURSE GUIDE DESCRIPTION You must read this Course Guide carefully from the beginning to the end. It tells you briefly what the course is about and how you can work your way through the course material. It also suggests the amount of time you are likely to spend in order to complete the course successfully. Please keep on referring to Course Guide as you go through the course material as it will help you to clarify important study components or points that you might miss or overlook. INTRODUCTION HBEF1103(M) Educational Sociology and Philosophy is one of the courses offered by Faculty of Education and Languages at Open University Malaysia (OUM). This course is worth 3 credit hours and should be covered over 8 to 15 weeks. COURSE AUDIENCE This course is offered to all students taking the Bachelor in Teaching (Primary Education) with Honours programme. This module aims to impart knowledge of sociology and philosophy in education; identifying the major concepts and elicit the main features of their applications, and evaluating critical issues related to those fields of study. This module should be able to help students to build on a strong foundation in the area of sociology and philosophy of education. As an open and distance learner, you should be acquainted with learning independently and being able to optimise the learning modes and environment available to you. Before you begin this course, please confirm the course material, the course requirements and how the course is conducted. STUDY SCHEDULE It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend 120 study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be accumulated. x X COURSE GUIDE Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours STUDY STUDY ACTIVITIES HOURS Briefly go through the course content and participate in initial 3 discussions Study the module 60 Attend 3 to 5 tutorial sessions 10 Online Participation 12 Revision 15 Assignment(s), Test(s) and Examination(s) 20 TOTAL STUDY HOURS ACCUMULATED 120 COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of this course, you should be able to: 1. Analyse and evaluate the four theoretical approaches in the sociological analysis of education; 2. Discuss the functions of education, issues of stratification and equality in educational access, the school as a social system, and educational effectiveness and reforms; 3. Identify and explain the main philosophical ideas of the West, Islam, and the East and its relevant to the field of education; 4. Critique and comment the influence exercised by the various philosophical ideas associated with educational practice, specifically in terms of the aims of education, methods of education, curriculum, and the role of the teacher. COURSE GUIDE W xi COURSE SYNOPSIS This course is divided into 10 topics. The first five topics discuss the perspectives of sociology of education and the rest of the topics focus on the philosophy of education. The synopsis for each topic can be listed as follows: Topic 1 begins with a discussion on the basic of sociology as a discipline; identify the social institutions, and defining the concept and theories of sociology of education. Topic 2 introduces the functions of education, the function of socialisation as what we learn and how we learn it, the function of cultural transmission and the process of passing on culture, the function of social control and personal development , the function of selection and allocation as the sorting process, and the function of change and innovation as the process of looking to the future. Topic 3 discusses education and the process of stratification, stratification, equality of educational opportunity, issues of race, class, and gender in achieving equality of educational opportunity, and ability grouping and teacher expectations. Topic 4 explains the concept of the social system of the school, the goals of the school system, the purposes of the school from many views of people involved in the field of education, the structural elements that makes up the school as an organization, and the issue of centralised and decentralised decision making. Topic 5 examines the meaning of environments and examples of institutional environments that affect students, aspects of school effectiveness, the economics of education in relation to school financing, major educational movements and reform that have influenced school systems and education, and the process of change in educational systems and some methods that have been proposed to bring about change.