Social problems: sociological perspectives and the education system essay

Understanding the education system is of much essence in the context of sociology. This may be accredited to the fact that an education system is a form of socialization because it prepares people, especially the young generations for entrance into the society. Arguably, functionalism as one of the major sociological perspectives is the most effective for comprehending our education system. Notably, functionalism hypothesizes that the society is made up of various systems that are interdependent for the society to be fully functional (Leon-Guerrero, 2013). With regards to our system of education, functionalism is most effective in understanding it in that various components of our education system are crucial. Precisely, our system of education comprises of various levels. These levels include primary level, secondary, and tertiary levels. The three levels are interconnected and work together to form a functional whole.
Notably, the primary and secondary levels in our education system impart different skills such as reading and listening skills. In addition, primary and secondary levels of education impart knowledge on different societal facets such as norms, ethics, politics, culture, habits, and moral values. On the other hand, the tertiary levels comprising of undergraduate and postgraduate (pursuit of masters and doctorate degrees) allow students to specialize in certain areas that are of their interest. This shows that all the levels education that are evident in our education system are interconnected and work together to become a functional whole. As such, without primary education one cannot pursue secondary education, which is a channel to tertiary education. Overall, functionalism perspective effectively elucidates on the manner in which different levels of education are connected to function together in harmony. The interconnectedness of our education system allows education to attain its functions including social integration, socialization, socialization, and social and cultural innovation.

References

Leon-Guerrero, A. (2013). Social Problems, Interactive eBook 4th Edition. London: Sage Publications, Inc.