Sociology of education
Sociology
of education, Sociology of education refers to the discipline which attempts to
analyze systematically the sociological aspects process and patterns occurring within
the education phenomena, according to Singh, (1992) defined the sociology of
education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences
affect education and its outcomes. It is most concerned with the public
schooling systems including the expansion of higher, further, adult, and
continuing education. It is a philosophical as well as a sociological concept,
denoting ideologies, curricula, and pedagogical techniques of the inculcation
and management of knowledge and the social reproduction of personalities and
cultures. Brookover and Gottlieb consider that “this assumes education is a combination
of social acts and that sociology is an analysis of human interaction.”
Educational process goes on in a formal as well as in informal situations.
Sociological analysis of the human interaction in education may include both
situations and might lead to the development of scientific generalizations of
human relations in the educational system, Singh, (1992).
Because
education is an essential institution in society, the sociology of education
must focus on the social issues, many with vital policy implications. The
following are the challenges facing the schooling system in developing
countries and the suggestion on forward to overcome them:
Financial Barriers.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes clear that every child has the
right to a free basic education, so that poverty and lack of money should not
be a barrier to schooling. In many developing countries, over the last decade
governments have announced the abolition of school fees and as a result, seen
impressive increases in the number of children going to school. Although
official fees are no longer levied in schools, for example in Tanzania’s
poorest students are still unable to attend school because of other
school-related costs. Their parents or guardians cannot afford to pay for uniforms,
and additional school materials such as books. The measurement of this
challenge is that in family level the parents and guardians should recognize
that it is their duty or responsibility to support their children schooling. They
must engage in various economic activities such as agriculture, small business,
fishing and mining activities that will help them to attain money Kremer,
(2003).
The problem of Infrastructure,
most of developing countries experience poor infrastructure system for instance
transport and buildings. Students in remote and rural areas of Less developing
countries have to travel very far to get to school, and many do not have access
to community secondary school in their ward. Many secondary schools suffer from
a basic lack of infrastructure, educational materials, and qualified personnel.
To overcome these challenge, the government and community members should
provide enough infrastructures by building hostels that enable students to stay
in schools and doing their academic issues rather that walking long distance
from their home to school Jensen, (2010).
Girls face sexual harassment,
discrimination, and expulsion due to pregnancy or marriage,
less than a third of girls that enter lower-secondary school graduate. Many
girls are exposed to widespread sexual harassment by teachers. Many also face
sexual exploitation and abuse by bus drivers and adults who often ask them for
sex in exchange for gifts, rides, or money, on their way to school. In some
schools, officials do not report cases of sexual abuse to police, and many
schools lack a confidential mechanism to report abuse. Many, and perhaps most,
schools force girls to undergo pregnancy testing in school and expel girls when
they find out they are pregnant. Girls who are married are also expelled
according to the government’s expulsion guidelines. The government and
community should work together by implementing those policies made by
government, where the community should report different sexual harassment act
to the specified areas like police stations and ward offices. The students also
should be insisted to have confidence on reporting it Verspoor, (2003).
Absenteeism,
one of the most damaging problems that affects development in the human
capital sectors in Less Developed
Countries is that of absenteeism; particularly the absenteeism of students and
teachers which contributes to low levels of educational outcomes. this
prevalence of absenteeism is negatively correlated with economic development
and income and thus poorer countries suffer more than wealthier states.
however, there is significant evidence that some. The problem of absenteeism
also extends to students in many Less Developed Countries where absence is
often caused by health problems such as malnutrition and disease that are a far
higher cause of student absenteeism. The Students should know their
responsibilities in education, this will force them to participate well in daily
academic session also teachers should implement well the government policies in
order to overcome such problem and parents should work hand in hand with their
children and teachers Lockheed, (1991).
Educational Gender Gap, gender
is one of the biggest reasons why children are denied an education. Despite
recent advances in girls’ education, a generation of young women has been left
behind. Over 130 million young women around the world are not currently
enrolled in school. At least one in five adolescent girls around the world is
denied an education by the daily realities of poverty, conflict and
discrimination. Poverty forces many families to choose which of their children
to send to school. Girls often miss out due to belief that there’s less value
in educating a girl than a boy. Instead, they are sent to work or made to stay
at home to look after siblings and work on household chores. Girls also miss
days of school every year or are too embarrassed to participate in class,
because they don’t have appropriate menstrual hygiene education or toilet
facilities at their school to manage their period in privacy and with dignity
(Colclough,2005). the government should
make strictly policy that will force every parents or guardians to send their children
to school without regarding their gender also the parents should be educated on
the importance of providing education to girls.
Primary School Exam Policy Blocks
Access to Secondary Education, most of developing
countries especially Tanzania, the government controls the number of students
who enter secondary education by relying on the Primary School Leaving Exam
(PSLE), an exam at the end of primary school. The government only allows
students who pass the exam to proceed on secondary school and it cannot be
re-taken, meaning children who fail cannot continue with formal schooling and
often drop out without completing the last year of primary education. The measure
of this challenge is that the government should provide another chance for
those who failed to continue secondary education by allow them to retake the
standard seven studies.
Generally,
social interactions in education play the great role on solving many challenges
facing effective educational provision in less developing countries and the
possible policy implementations to combat such challenges. Also investment in
education is essential for development of any nation; largely the problems that
occur as a result of sub-optimal levels of education that are highly damaging
to development. this argued that a focus
on educational investment is necessary for development due to its positive
effects on improvement of education as well as income, human capacity, technology
transfer, and in improving health outcomes.
REFERENCES
Colclough,
C. (2005). School Quality and Vocational Skills in Africa. In M. Beveridge et
al.
Reintegrating Education Skills and
Work in Africa, Edinburgh: Centre of African Studies,
University of Edinburgh.
Glewwe,
P. (2002). Schools and Skills in
Developing Countries: Education
Jensen
and robert, 2010. the (Perceived) returns
to education and the Demand for schooling,
Quarterly
Journal of economics
Lockheed,
M. and Verspoor, A. (1991). Improving
Primary Education in Developing Countries.
Washington,
D.C.: World Bank.
Kremer,
M. (2003). Randomized evaluations of educational
Programs in Developing countries:
some
lessons, american economic review
Singh,
Y. M. (1992). Sociological Foundations of
Education, Sheth Publishers, Bombay
Verspoor,
A. M. (Ed.), (2003). The Challenge of Learning: Improving the Quality of Basic
Education
in Sub-Saharan Africa, Paris: ADEA
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