- Political
The political order determines what society adopts. Educational programs are not perceived as a social service managed by educationists but a political tool managed by politicians.
Resources are channeled from other social sectors e.g. health, etc to support the educational (read political) programs. Education accounts for 30 per cent of the national budget and 65 per cent of that goes towards primary education.
The system is characterized by political interference - for example a poor performing but pro-establishment headmaster may not be questioned about the continued poor results of his school or dubious accountability for financial resources released to the school. Civil contractors will get away with shoddy work done on the construction of classrooms either because they (contractors) are pro-establishment and therefore untouchable or the supervisors are anti-establishment and have decided to connive or keep a blind eye or both.
In many cases there is neither proper planning nor organised implementation of the programs. There are no adequate resources like teachers, classrooms, books, laboratories, inadequate curriculum and instructional materials, poor students and bad teacher morale etc required for the program.
The system has low quality products. At a National Workshop on Competency in Literacy and Numeracy in UPE Schools in Mukono District, the Minister for Education is quoted as saying; “64 per cent of the pupils who complete primary three in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools could not read nor write and 79 per cent were inadequate in oral tests”. (The Monitor January 07, 2004).
Pro-establishment individuals view the program as their own and support it at all costs and use it as a tool for portraying government in positive light before the masses (a vote winner).
Anti-establishment individuals in the educational system try thwart the otherwise well-intentioned program by hiding the scarce resources like books, allowing shoddy work, not caring about teacher and therefore student performance, etc. The objective is to portray the program in bad light before the public (vote winner).
Examples:
- During the early 1980s, the government of the day (Uganda) introduced a secondary school at every sub-county. Many primary schools were converted into secondary schools overnight. There was no consideration of where and how to re-deploy the pupils of the converted primary schools. The converted schools of course were ill equipped to operate as secondary schools – there were no laboratories, no teachers, no books, no classrooms, and other resources. There were no administrators like secondary school headmasters necessitating quick/rapid promotions of teachers to headmasters.
- During the early 1990s, Universal Primary Education (UPE) was introduced in Uganda also more as political program than a social service. The program lacked proper planning, resources like teachers, classrooms, books and implementation was anything but organized. Even the intended beneficiaries of UPE do not seem to receive it well as evidenced by the results of the program i.e. a very high drop out rate - 75% of the first UPE students to enroll dropped out by Primary 7 (they did not sit for PLE in 2003).
- Economic
Whereas genuine educationists and other individuals have come in to fill the gaps and provide alternative education, some private business people view education just as another money making venture. Consequently many educational institutions have mushroomed.
Some of these institutions look good on the outside with flashy, tiled buildings and high sounding names but internally they are ill equipped in terms of manpower to the extent that some are run by a close knit of family members with no basics in educational management. The primary motive is money, with little or no concern for academic standards. Further, the schools are characterized by examination fraud, since the students must “pass” in order that other parents and students are attracted to these schools.
Fortunately the Ministry of Education acted professionally and denied operating licenses to some of them.
The situation is not only in higher institutions, but also at lower levels – secondary and primary. Whereas the private developers may have the resources to put up the required infrastructure, teachers are scarce. Consequently graduates coming out of the magnificent buildings are not well equipped academically for the next level.
- Cultural
The sexist attitude, the cultural insistence on male superiority has an impact on the educational system that is not small.
Some societies still perceive formal education as boys’ thing and not for girls. The cultural insistence on male superiority – the impact on the educational system is not small. The girls’ place is elsewhere not in the classroom. The ideal woman is one “educated” for the family role – a mother. The obligation of the women is to stay home and take care of the housework. She is thought to be housemother and she learns from her mother and sisters. The duty of a woman or wife is to manage the internal affairs of the household. She should not be allowed to participate in the educational, cultural, or political life of the community.
Consequently, schools’ populations are characterized by relatively higher numbers of boys than girls. Some subject like Mathematics are a no-go area for many girls and poor performance therein is socially acceptable.
- Social
Some societies look at education as a routine or a social obligation and prerequisite for social acceptability. Others perceive education as a way to good life and believe that without education one cannot have a comfortable living.
Example: Children of the elite access good schools (not UPE) and therefore maintain perpetual dominating positions in the work place, politics, etc.
- What are the Social Responses to Education in Uganda
- Political
In the two examples given above (2.1), society has reacted differently depending on which side of the political divide a member falls.
Pro-establishment individuals support and promote the programs wholesale. They keep a blind eye and try to cover up for any flaws. The anti-establishment individuals, on the other hand, oppose the programs wholesale and make all efforts to fail them even where they are positive.
Some members who are dissatisfied with the system will seek alternatives. For example members who do not fall in either category above have reacted by opening new alternative private schools. It is hoped these private institutions will be free of political influence.
- Cultural
Things have changed through the years and fortunately society is accepting more and more the way women are succeeding in education, business, agriculture, and many others sectors. Butt his output took time and many of our people still need to overcome their social biases
Women activists and other proponents of equal education opportunities for boys and girls have come up to oppose oppression of girls.
The Ministry of Education has come up with policies to promote girl child education and try to address the past imbalances. For example, affirmative action, where for the same course, girls join higher institutions having scored lower entry points than boys.
In the United States there is the EDEQUITY list is a movement devoted to equity in education. Members are concerned about sexist attitudes, which they argue cause female subjugation and even some of the male problems. They are mindful of the problems being faced by boys and they are already involved in a process to reduce the societal attitudes, which cause those problems.
4. Major Sociological Interpretations of Education
4.1 Functionalist View of Education
Functionalism investigates institutions to consider the functions they perform in society. The functionalist premise is that if an institution exists, then there must be some reason for its existence. As regards education, functionalists assume that educational institutions serve some societal need. Educational institutions are examined for the positive contribution they make towards maintaining society.
Education is seen as vital as regards socialization. All societies have to have ways of socialising new members, and some societies need specialist institutions for differentiating between people and allocating them to specific levels of economic activity within their society - such is the case with industrial societies.
So there are two central functions performed by educational institutions:
(i) General socialisation of the whole population into the dominant culture, values and beliefs of a society.
(ii) Selecting people for different types and levels of education.
Parsons suggests these two basic intentions. He argues that education has the two central functions outlined above. In brief, education meets the needs of the system by:
(i) Making sure that all children have a basic commitment to their society's values and beliefs.
(ii) Preparing individuals for their specific location within the social hierarchy.
4.2 Emile Durkheim’s View of Education
In Emile Durkheim's view, educational systems reflect underlying changes in society because the systems are a construct built by society, which naturally seeks to reproduce its collectively held values, beliefs, norms, and conditions through its institutions.
Changes in society manifest themselves in the educational system because it is constructed by society's members to, in his words, "express their needs." In short, society constructs its educational system to promote and reproduce its ideal of what a human should be, especially of what a human being should be as a part of society. In this way, the educational system also becomes a "constraint," a term that Durkheim uses in the sense of "cultural determination and the influence of socialization.
Education becomes a “constraint” (in terms of cultural determination and the influence of socialization) when certain socially given ideas and values are internalized by individuals who thereby acquire certain beliefs, wants and feelings and act in certain ways. Durkheim agues "education is a continuous effort to impose on the child ways of seeing, feeling and acting at which he would not have arrived spontaneously.
4.3 Marxist View of Education
The Marxist view of Education is that the role of the education system is to reproduce and justify the existing class structure. Marxists believe that everything that happens at school will be the same as it is for work and that education prepares students for their later roles in the work place.
In brief, schools perpetuate the forms of consciousness, inter-personal behaviour and personality required to reproduce capitalist social relations. Education reproduces technical and cognitive skills required in the workplace, legitimizes economic inequality, rewards desirable personal characteristics, and reinforces a sense of stratified consciousness.
4.4 Interpretive View of Edcation
The view is concerned with the education content (curriculum) rather than organisation of the system. Proponents argue that knowledge is socially constructed and transmitted. They further argue that ability and intellgence are social products.
Society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups. Behavior is learned in interaction with other people; how people define a situation becomes the foundation for how they behave. (i.e. funerals specific behaviour is deemed appropriate, however this changes based on the culture you are in). Therefore focus is on smaller groups rather than large-scale social structures.
4.5 Feminist View of Education
The view focuses on the significance of gender in understanding and explaining inequalities that exist between men and women in the education just like in the household, in the paid labour force, and in the realms of politics, law, and culture. It grew out of the conflict approach. Women live in a male dominated society and use a language/dialect created by men, this is damaging to women on many levels. Men are paid more for fulfilling the same jobs as women. Unpaid labour of the family…need to procreate makes women submissive to men.
- Implications to Educational Managers in Uganda
5.1 Political
An Education system, like any institution, must be fitted into the community and provided with resources with which to conduct its work. The main focus should be on on shared control in planning and implementing change. Educational Managers – MoE, school boards, head teachers, parents, etc - should drive the planning and implementation of programs like UPE.
The interest of citizens in schools, the part they play in school affairs, and their control through say their school boards are traditional strengths of the educational system.
According to Durkheim, “society constructs its educational system to promote and reproduce its ideal of what a human should be”. If the education system is constructed wrongly, the “ideal” i.e. (graduates of the system) will necessarily be wrong product.
Educational managers are under the obligation to ensure that, in an impartial way, in the planning stages – they should not live education be managed by politicians.
5.2 Cultural
The feminist view focuses on gender inequalities. Educational managers are faced with the challenge of eliminating inequalities in the education system based on gender. Women at all levels should be availed same education opportunities like their male counter parts. The managers further need to close the gaps which inequality has created over time.
- Support girl child education by promoting essential societal awareness especially among parents, guardians, local officials and the media.
- Create of a positive learning atmosphere for girls and improve their motivation and attitudes towards education especially in subject like mathematics.
- Pay more attention to girls’ learning skills
- Establish of higher, more demanding expectations especially in no-go subjects.
- Adjustment of domestic roles to give more time to schoolwork and recognition by parents that students must put education before these domestic chores.
- Encouragement of more parental/home involvement that is supported by teachers and school.
- Improvement of advising/counseling of students and parents
5.3 Economic
Marxists argue that, schools perpetuate the forms of consciousness, inter-personal behaviour and personality required to reproduce capitalist social relations i.e. that education enforces and perpetuates class differences. Educational managers therefore need to work to eliminate differences in education based on social class.
There should be laws governing private schools so that the business people do not invest in education for money’s sake alone. The educational managers need to closely monitor the schools – renewal of licenses should a condition for marked improvement in academic and other standards. Financial support (rewards) like tax rebates should be extended to schools that show marked improvement.
5.4 Social
Educational Managers have the challenge of increasing access to quality affordable education in order to avail equal educational opportunities to all social classes. This effort should accompany the laws against exploitation (child labour). Parents will then be motivated to send their children to school instead of out to work.
The Ugandan Educational managers should design a system whose products are able to compete favourably against those from other countries on the international job market.
Education should be designed and presented to portray meaning and purpose to the recipients – parents, students alike – otherwise others take it as a routine one must go through in life.
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References
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R, Tinge (1998), Education for Boys from the website
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Rob Cowell and Associates., Aspiring for Excellence: European Excellence Model from the website
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Barone, M. (1999). “Great Expectations” Mathematics Report from the website
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Quintero, Lilian. Perception of Education of Women in the Ancient World from the website
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Janke, M. (2004). Sociology of Education from the website
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Hoenisch, S. (2004). Durkheim and Educational Systems from the website
ziraba abdallah – Med ICT I Sociology of Education