Introduction to Society, Community and Education

DR. MIKE KELVIN NICOLE N. BUTED

Instructor, Prof. Ed. 106
At the end of this module, pre- service teachers should be able to:

a. define basic concepts necessary to understanding the course

b. describe the manifestations of various educational philosophies and applications of

sociological theories in practical classroom situations in response to community contexts; and

c. explain the importance of different philosophies and sociological theories to education and
how they change the education landscape in response to the needs of the society and the
community.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Education is a function of society and as such arises from the nature and character of society
itself.
Society seeks to preserve itself and to do this it maintains functions and institutions, one of which
is education, to assure its survival, stability and convenience.

DEFINITION OF BASIC CONCEPTS

SOCIETY
An organized group of persons associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific,
patriotic, or other purposes;
A body of individuals living as members of a community; community;
The body of human beings generally, associated or viewed as members of a community;
A highly structured system of human organization for large scale community living that normally
furnishes protection, continuity, security and a national identity for its members;
Such a system characterized by its dominant economic class or form.

COMMUNITY
a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and
often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

a locality inhabited by such a group.

a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and
perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it
exists:

EDUCATION
is a social institution through which a society’s children are taught basic academic knowledge,
learning skills, and cultural norms.
the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of
reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature
life.
the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession.
a degree, level, or kind of schooling: a university education.
the result produced by instruction, training, or study:to show one's education.
the science or art of teaching; pedagogics.

SOCIAL INTERACTION
This involves the careful assessment of the practices of everyday communicating between people
in various (usually) real-life contexts, such as doctor-patient visits, organizations, and human-
computer communication.
The process by which we act and react to those around us
It has been defined as ‘any event by which one party tangibly influences the overt actions or the
state of mind of the other’ (Sorokin, 1928). It is a reciprocal and interdependent activity.
By social interaction we mean the mutual or reciprocal influence, resulting in the modification of
behavior, exerted through social contact and communication which, in turn, are established by
inter-stimulation and response. Gillin and Gillin (1948)

SCHOOL CULTURE
generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten
rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions
It also encompasses more concrete issues such as:
• the physical and emotional safety of students
• the orderliness of classrooms and public spaces, or
• the degree to which a school embraces and celebrates racial, ethnic, linguistic, or
cultural diversity
as the guiding beliefs and values evident in the way a school operates. ‘School Culture’ can be
used to encompass all the attitudes, expected behaviors and values that impact how the school
operates. Fullan (2007)

PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
Classical Philosophies
Modern Philosophies
Historical Foundation of Education

CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES
Idealism | Realism | Existentialism | Pragmatism
IDEALISM
 a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true reality, the
only thing worth knowing.
 In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is enduring and everlasting, the focus is on
conscious reasoning in the mind.
 Plato, father of Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous book, The
Republic.
 Plato believed that there are two worlds.
 The first is the spiritual or mental world, which is eternal, permanent, orderly,
regular, and universal.
 There is also the world of appearance, the world experienced through sight, touch,
smell, taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and disorderly.
IDEALISM
This division is often referred to as the duality of mind and body.
Plato described a utopian society in which "education to body and soul all the beauty and
perfection of which they are capable" as an ideal.
In his allegory of the cave, the shadows of the sensory world must be overcome with the light of
reason or universal truth.
To understand truth, one must pursue knowledge and identify with the Absolute Mind.
Plato also believed that the soul is fully formed prior to birth and is perfect and at one with the
Universal Being.
The birth process checks this perfection, so education requires bringing latent ideas (fully formed
concepts) to consciousness.

IDEALISM
In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full
moral excellence in order to better serve society.
The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion.
Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a
method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge).
Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to consciousness the
forms or concepts which are latent in the mind.
Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.

REALISM
Realism believe that reality exists independent of the human mind.
The ultimate reality is the world of physical objects. The focus is on the body/objects.
Truth is objective-what can be observed.
Aristotle, a student of Plato who broke with his mentor’s idealist philosophy, is called the father
of both Realism and the scientific method.
In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality though “the diligent and
unsparing scrutiny of all observable data.”
Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which
being physically present, but ultimately, exists whether a person is aware of it.

REALISM
 A rose can exist in the mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose
shares properties with all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red
and another peach colored.

 Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline in order to be able to
reason about physical events and aspects.
  The exercise of rational thought is viewed as the ultimate purpose for humankind.
EXISTENTIALISM
The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective and lies within the individual.
The physical world has no inherent meaning outside of human existence.
Individual choice and individual standards rather than external standards are central.
Existence comes before any definition of what we are
We define ourselves in relationship to that existence by the choices we make. We should not
accept anyone else’s predetermined philosophical system; rather; we must take responsibility for
deciding who we are.
the focus is on freedom, the development of authentic individuals, as we make meaning of our
lives.

PRAGMATISM
For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real.
In this late 19th century American philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience.
Unlike the Realists and Rationalists, Pragmatists believe that reality is constantly changing and
that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to problems, as they arise.
The universe is dynamic and evolving, a “becoming” view of the world.
There is no absolute and unchanging truth, but rather, truth is what works.
Pragmatism is derived from the teaching of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914).
He believed that thought must produce action, rather than linger in the mind and lead to
indecisiveness.

MODERN PHILOSOPHIES
Perennialism | Progressivism | Humanism

PERENNIALISM
It advocates for seeking, teaching, and learning universal truths that span across historical time
periods.
These truths, Perennialists argue, have everlasting importance in helping humans solve problems
regardless of time and place.
While Perennialism resembles essentialism at first glance, perennialism focuses on the individual
development of the student rather than emphasizing skills.
Perennialism supports liberal arts curricula that helps produces well-rounded individuals with
some knowledge across the arts and sciences.

PERENNIALISM
All students should take classes in English Language Arts, foreign languages, mathematics,
natural sciences, fine arts, and philosophy.
Like Essentialism, Perennialism may tend to favor teacher-centered instruction; however,
Perennialists do utilize student-centered instructional activities like Socratic Seminar, which
values and encourages students to think, rationalize, and develop their own ideas on topics.

PROGRESSIVISM
Progressivism focuses its educational stance toward experiential learning with a focus on
developing the whole child.
Students learn by doing rather than being lectured to by teachers.
Curriculum is usually integrated across contents instead of siloed into different disciplines.
Progressivism’s stance is in stark contrast to both Essentialism and Perennialism in this manner.
Progressivism follows a clear pragmatic ontology where the learner focuses on solving real-
world problems through real experiences.

PROGRESSIVISM
Progressivist classrooms are student-centered where students will work in
cooperative/collaborative groups to do:
 project-based
 Expeditionary
 problem-based, and/or
 service-learning activities
In progressivist classrooms, students have opportunities to follow their interests and have shared
authority in planning and decision making with teachers

HUMANISM
The term “humanism” is ambiguous.
Around 1806 humanismus was used to describe the classical curriculum offered by German
schools, and by 1836 “humanism” was borrowed into English in this sense.
In 1856, the great German historian and philologist Georg Voigt used humanism to describe
Renaissance Humanism.
• the movement that flourished in the Italian Renaissance to revive classical learning.
This historical and literary use of the word “humanist” derives from the 15th century Italian
term umanista, meaning a teacher or scholar of Classical Greek and Latin literature and the
ethical philosophy behind it.

HUMANISM
The word “humanism” has a number of meanings, and because authors and speakers often don’t
clarify which meaning they intend, those trying to explain humanism can easily become a source
of confusion.
Fortunately, each meaning of the word constitutes a different type of humanism — the different
types being easily separated and defined using appropriate adjectives. (Source: HUMANISM IN
EDUCATION | Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Ph.D)

HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION

(Source: Nelia G. Prieto, LPT, PhD, et.al., The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and
Organizational Leadership. 2019. Lorimar Publishing, Inc., Quezon City, Metro Manila)
POINTS OF EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION HISTORY
POINTS OF EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION HISTORY
POINTS OF EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION HISTORY

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Structural-functional Theory (Structural Functionalism)

Herbert Spencer, the proponent of structural-functional Theory
He views society as “a system of interconnected parts each with a unique function. The parts
have to work together for stability and balance of society.”
Society is compared to the human body with different but interrelated parts performing different
functions.
• Just as the human body has many parts, society has different but interrelated parts
performing different but interrelated components such as family, the state, the school,
the Church, mass media, economics.
These must coordinate and collaborate for society to function well. If one part of the human body
does not function well, the whole body is affected.
In the same way, when one component does not do its part, society will not function well. The
overall health of the organism (society) depends upon the health of each structure.

CONFLICT THEORY
According to this theory, there are always two opposing sides in a conflict situation.
People take sides between maintaining the status quo and introducing change then arrive at an
agreement.
Conflict theory welcomes conflict for that is the way to the establishment of a new society.
Conflict theorists find potential conflict between any groups where inequality exists: racial,
gender, religious, political, economic, and so on.
Conflict theorists note that unequal groups usually have conflicting values and agendas, causing
them to compete against one another.
This constant competition between groups forms the basis for the ever-changing nature of
society.

THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Three tenets of symbolic interactionist theory are:
An individual’s action depends on meaning.
Different people may give different meanings to the same thing.
Meanings change as individuals interact with one another.

THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER: A SOCIO-

CULTURAL ISSUE
THE WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER AS CITED IN THE REPORT
ARE AS FOLLOWS:
 Extreme family centeredness
 Extreme personalism
 Lack of discipline
 Passivity and lack of initiative
 Colonial mentality
 Kanya-kanya syndrome, talangka mentality
 Lack of self-analysis and self reflection
 Emphasis on porma rather than substance
There is so much good in the Filipino but so much needs to be changed, too. Many of our
strengths as a people are also sources of our weaknesses. Shahani’s report (1988) explains that
family orientation becomes in-group orientation that prevents us from reaching out beyond the
family to the larger community and the nation. In our personalism, we are warm and caring but
this leads us to lack of objectivity. We are concerned with people we know but unfair to people
we don't know. In our flexibility, we compromise precision and discipline. We are a joyful people
with a sense of humor, but we can't take things with humor all the time for serious problems need
serious analysis. Our faith in God is our source of strength but this makes us dependent on
forces outside us, do nothing that makes us submissive to God's will. We are good at
pakikipagkapwa-tao and so we can easily empathize, but we can at the same time be envious of
others. We can be hardworking and yet can be lazy and passive in the workplace.
An excerpt of the Report “A Moral Recovery Program: Building a People, Building a Nation”
submitted on April 27, 1988 by the Task Force to President Corazon Aquino, the Senate and the
members of the press by the Senator Leticia Shahani, the moving spirit behind the program.

SCHOOLS AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Watch the videos about school and social institutions in the links provided below:
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/society-and-culture/social-structures/v/institutions
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/society-and-culture/social-structures/v/institutions-
education-family-religion
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/society-and-culture/social-structures/v/institutions-
government-economy-and-health-and-medicine

THANK YOU
DR. MIKE KELVIN NICOLE N. BUTED
[email protected]