Course Code: EM 607

Submitted by: JESSICA A. ISLETA

CHAPTER 2: CONFLICTING FUNCTIONS AND PROCESSES IN EDUCATION

ABSTRACT:

Children must be educated and education is necessary for a society to survive. The
functions of education is the same with any other societies but the importance of these functions
and the means of achieving them vary greatly among societies and even among groups or social
classes within each society. Education has its conflicting functions. These are: 1.) Socialization:
Learning to be productive members of society and passing on of Culture 2.) Transmission of
Culture 3.) Social Control and Personal development 4.) Selecting, Training, and Placement of
Individuals in Society 5.) Change and Innovation. Process has its importance in Educational
System. The educational system is a stable and relatively permanent structure. Process is the
action part of the system-to what is happening. Processes also provide a link between the
organization, such as an educational system and the environment. The process of communication
links the school with parents, community leaders and state legislator. According to Functional
theory, a society must train its members to be productive and do their roles in order for the
society to survive. It is in the family that a child first receives initial socialization. As a child
grows older, he needs to experience early childhood socialization and that is only possible when
he enters early education. From the moment a person is born, the socialization process is part of
our lives; its influence is felt from the family, school, religious institution and work place.
Learning to become a member of society has both formal, planned components and informal
aspects. It is from the family that a person initially receives socialization. Over the half nations in
the world have some formal education for 3 to 5 years old. For some countries like China and
Israel, care is started after birth and sometimes mandatory, and in Sweden and United Kingdom,
the legislations addresses the need and funding for day care and nursery schools. In the 1960’s
and 1970’s researchers and educators began taking early childhood education seriously. Two
major types of research emerged with regard to early childhood education. Two major researches
emerged with regard to early childhood education. The research related to head start programs
attempts to measure the effects of the program on poor children deprived of some important
early experiences while the day care research attempts to evaluate whether any harm results from
alternatives to home care. In the latter case, there have been five principal research concerns:
damage to the infant-mother attachment; r positivity; too great a reliance on peers or
unsatisfactory later peer relationships; and usurpation of the mother’s responsibility for the child.
It was mentioned from one assessment on early childhood education says that the greatest return
on investment comes from providing preschool education for 3 to 4 years old from low income
families and children who are at special risk of failure. Barret (1989) said that poverty is deeply
rooted in institution. Disaffection from school of “at risk” children can begin as early as nursery
school. Preschool education is positively related to higher graduation and employment rates and
lower welfare, detention and arrest rates. Those favouring early childhood education have several
arguments. These are: 1. early childhood education provides valuable learning experiences not
available at home. 2. Young children need to interact with children and with adults other than
their parents. 3. Parents and siblings are not always the best or capable handlers of children. 4.
For many families, day care is necessary because both parents must work; in case of single-
parent families, the only alternative may be child care. 5. A good day-care center is often
preferable to leaving a child with relatives or neighbours. The media is one of those who
compete for the attention of students when became wide spread in 1950s, many thought that it
would solve educational problems and ring education to million around the world. Many
achievements can encourage selective TV watching. Teachers complain that the TV generation
expect to be entertained in school or they turn off. The most serious controversy centers on the
behavioural effects of TV watching. The concern is that TV socializes children into antisocial
and aggressive behaviors. According to Smith (1993); by the time the average child leaves
elementary school and watches two to four hour of television daily, he or she will have seen over
26 violent acts per hour. The several effects are the aggressor effect, the victim effect and the
bystander’s effect. Even here in the Philippines, there is clear evidence that TV has its strong
impact on a child’s education. First, parental involvement in children’s TV watching has a
powerful effect. Child development has been considered as a priority sector by the policy makers
in Philippines and other countries. A new generation of children has grown up with television
exposure in modern society. The impact of television on the personality of the children needs to
be examined scientifically and systematically in modern society. Children spend a sizeable
chunk of their time on watching television programmes. Children are greatly influenced by
television programmes. Parents and caregivers have a great responsibility of providing right kind
of orientation to the children regarding the cultivation of television habits, choice of television
programmes and impact of television on children. Communications media including television
have a great Corporate Social Responsibility in promoting healthy personality in children.
Practically all developing countries have accepted communication as an integral part of national
development planning. The role of television in child development is also subjected to scientific
investigation all over the world. Investigations dealing exclusively with the impact of television
on child development are scanty as seen through the paucity of literature. Most behavioural
scientists have observed that too much of television viewing by the children would result in the
exclusion of other healthy activities. Schools teach us political roles like honouring the
monarchy, obeying the military or police state. Washburn (1986) outlines five types of political
content, both manifest and latent. These are: 1. National loyalty 2. Political Authority 3.
Concerning Citizen 4. Facts of political life and 5. Democracy.

CHAPTER 5: THE SCHOOL AS AN ORGANIZATION

School plays an important role in the society. It is an organization focusing on formal aspects of
the internal functioning of the society. School serves a vital function in our society that is why it
is also considered as a bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is a rational, efficient way of completing tasks
and rewarding individuals based on their contributions. School serves a vital function in our
society. The bureaucratic form of organization was introduced in Europe because it was believed
to be the most efficient and rational form for organizations with goals of high productivity and
efficiency. Max Weber, (1947) discussed the elements that make up a bureaucratic organization.
There were problems in Educational Bureaucracies include:1. Huge enrolments with test scores,
rather than in-depth knowledge of students’ family, background, problems, motivation, and other
personal characteristics, the major criteria for screening and placement of students which
determines their future 2. Because relationships are expected to be impersonal, students,
particularly the disadvantaged, are unable to get the counselling support, or the exposure to
positive role models and the need to develop a positive self-image.3. Official rules tend to
overcome the behaviour of school personnel and are difficult to circumvent when problems arise
4. Teachers and students often feel powerless to change school conditions and so become
apathetic as regards to solving problems 5. Teachers as administrators can develop bureaucratic
personalities, thus becoming insecure, as overly protective of their jobs, narrowly specialized
less concerned with teaching and inflexible in their daily routine. School goals serve multiple
purposes in helping define the system’s activities. Goals are not the product of isolated
educational systems but reflect the concerns of the larger society, the community, participants in
the school, and individuals. Societies have general manifest functions for schools that relate to
perpetuation of society. Communities refine these functions to represent their particular needs.
There are sometimes diverse needs within a community or society, agreement on goals may be
difficult to reach and conflict may erupt. Goals also serve certain latent functions- functions that
are not stated. Two models of school organizations are discussed: bureaucracy and loosely
coupled. Characteristics of bureaucracy as outlined by Max Weber were discussed:1. Division of
labor, recruitment and promotion policies 2. Hierarchical system of authority 3. Rules,
regulations and procedures 4. Holders of similar positions treated the same 5. Rationality of the
organization. Problems in using a bureaucratic model in education settings were outlined, and the
relationship between growth and bureaucracy was discussed. Loosely coupled organization
reflects activities and decisions that are made one level, but not necessarily carried out at other
levels. Because teachers have autonomy, this model may come close to fitting many schools.
With the growth of schools has come more centralized decision making. However, challenges
from local residents of huge bureaucratic systems have forced school officials to heed demands
for greater local representation. One movement for decentralization is site-based management.
Another is “choice.” Professionals present unique challenges for organizations. The semi-
professional status of teaching, male-female composition of the occupation, and conflicts
between teachers and the bureaucratic were discussed.

CHAPTER 6: FORMAL SCHOOL STATUSES AND ROLES

No system can work without individuals who fill the necessary roles, which in turn make
the system alive. While the major obligations for most positions are usually clearly defined,
individuals bring unique sets of characteristics, training and abilities. Every organization is
made up of an interrelated set of statuses or position that members of the system occupy. Roles
locate us in relation to others who hold reciprocal positions, for no role exists in a vacuum.
Following the role we can now look at the role responsibilities of each of these position holders
and evaluate their relationship to one another. School needs to perform task and meet goals of
the system, Specific requirements are written out, role expectation held by decision makers affect
the selection of persons for particular positions. 1. The School Organization and Roles include
Curriculum, staffing, budgeting, supplies, construction and maintenance are made by
professionals at a central headquarters. Teachers have a great deal of flexibility in how they
implement the curriculum given to them. 2. Role Expectation and Conflict also varies depending
on one’s position in the organization. Role conflict occurs for individuals when their own role
expectations are in conflict with expectations of others or cannot be met.

CHAPTER 7: THE INFORMAL SYSTEM AND THE “HIDDEN CURRICULUM”

This chapter includes the processes that take place within the school and classroom, one must be
one must be aware of the informal system, an important area of social research. In this brief
discussion, we have attempted to acknowledge its importance for complete understanding of the
system and its integral part in a systems approach. The Hidden Curriclum is a part of the
informal system includes the curriculum students learn that is not part of the formal curriculum-
implicit demands, values, latent functions. Some conflicts theorists argue that schools reproduce
student’s social class, largely through the hidden curriculum. Students experience schools
differently depending on their class backgrounds. The climate or atmosphere of schools and
classrooms includes the school’s architecture, type of classroom, ability and age grouping, and
other aspects the school. Value climate influences motivations, aspirations and achievements of
students. Factors such as home environment, self-concept and school values influence the
effectiveness of schools. The school culture is distinctive in each school. Interaction patterns in
classrooms are also a part of the climate. Factors, such as gender, that affect interaction are
discussed. Power dynamics are present in any hierarchical system. In schools a look at the
teacher-student relationship acquaints us with some of the issues. Both students and teachers
develop coping strategies to deal with the dynamics. Students take on roles that vary from
elementary school to higher education. Peer groups are an important part of the students’ lives,
insulating them from the alien adult demand s of school. Power in schools can be actively used
or can be seen as latent potential to keep students in line. Functional theorists argue that students
learn societal roles by cooperation with adult- enforced rules, whereas conflict theorists feel that
there is constant potential for conflict because of power dynamics. Students develop a culture
that serves to insulate them from adult demands. This includes coping strategies for dealing with
school. Peers influence behaviors, values and attitudes and serve a number of purposes for
members of the student group. Teachers also attempt to maintain a delicate balance between
overt use of power and gaining student cooperation. Teachers must make decisions about
strategies to use in the classroom numerous factors affecting these decisions were discussed. The
strategies used range from power to subtle cues to changing the physical or social arrangement of
the class. One of the biggest concerns of teachers and parents alike is discipline and control in
the classroom. A number of different techniques, based on a broad range of philosophies, can be
used. In order to understand the educational system, we must recognize the importance of the
processes in the informal system.

CHAPTER 8: THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Our environment surrounds and encompasses us. Schools respond to the many and varied
demands of their environments in order to survive because they depend on the environment for
resources, demands from the environment cannot be ignored. In this chapter, we have focused on
the institutional environment of schools: family and home, religious groups, financing and
economy, political and legal systems, and the community. Conflicts of interest can be considered
as inherent part of the school’s environment, with opposing groups demanding that their views
dominate. In order to receive the resources necessary for survival, schools must expend more
energy dealing with the demands of the more salient parts of the environment. The Key
institutions that make up the environment include the home, religious organizations, financial
environment, government and legal systems, and the community and special interest groups.
Each institution plays important roles. These include: 1. Children bring their attitude toward
school, among other attributes, from home. Parents have varying degrees of involvement in
schools; the more active the parents the more positive the results for their children’s school
experience. 2. In some societies, religion and the state, including education, are one and the
same. In the United States the separation of church and the state has caused conflict on several
issues, most notably what constitutes teaching religion in schools and what to teach in the
classroom. The “creation story” issue is a prime example. 3. Funding of education comes from
three primary sources: federal, state and local levels. The percentage supplied by each of these
has shifted over the years. Court cases have challenged some local plans for financing schools as
being unfair to poor districts, and in recent years there has been an increase in state funding.
Funding comes from several sources: personal income tax, sales tax, property tax, levies, and in
some states- lotteries. Methods of distribution of funds also vary by state with “foundation plans”
being most common. Federal funding supports special programs for minorities, the disabled, and
other targeted projects. Proposals for change, including tax credits and vouchers, continue to be
discussed. 4. The government role in education involves passing laws and setting policies. While
local control in the United States is paramount, the federal government has great leverage by
restricting funding of education to those who fail to adhere to federal educational guidelines.
Where there are questions related to laws and policies, the courts are asked to make judgment;
for instance, laws setting policy for education for the disabled have dramatically affected this
group, and cases brought before the courts continue to test the law.