The Teacher and the Community, School Culture and Organizational Leadership

MODULE 1
1.1 Introduction to Society, Community and Education- Defining the Basic Concept

As a starter activity, PSTs have group discussions on the meaning of the basic concepts and share their
expectations on what the subject will be all about.
Basic Concepts to be defined:
1. Society
2. Community
3. Education
4. Social Interaction
5. School Culture

Point for Reflection:

1. A teacher cannot separate himself/herself from the community of which s/he is a part.
S/he together with his/her teaching profession has a social dimension.
2. Education has meaning and function to the extent that it is relevant to the society within
which it exists.
3. The teaching profession has function only to the extent that it is able to fulfill the needs of the
society and contribute to the development of people in the society.

The Social Science Theories of Education Education and Society

Education and schooling are found within the context of society. Schools exist within social context and
any change within schools in terms of educational aims, goals, and objectives including its contents are
always in relation to societal changes. Society and schools are interdependent and provide bi- directional
influence to each other. Sociology as a science provides theories, concepts and principles that help us
better understand theories and principles that help shape and guide education. Education on the other
hand through its curriculum trains and educate the people with the necessary knowledge, skills, values
and attitudes that are necessary for its continued maintenance, growth and development.

The Learner The School and its Curriculum (What to

teach?
How to teach? Local/Community

National

International/Gl obal

Three Social Science Theories that provides models of examining society which in turn
provides the bases for educational changes.
 SCHOOL

The school through its

curriculum trains and develops students

into a set of relevant knowledge, skills, Depends on schools
values for the training and development of
and attitudes. people and what it requires of its
needed human resource in terms of

CPoHnsILeInPsPusIN E SanOdC IETCYonflict

Theory
INTERNATIONAL
The couDntarhyr peanrdtoicrifp (ainte Vse, ga, Prieto, & Carreon, 2015,p.2)
COMMUNITY
adapts and contributes to

the global change by sending or allowing its

people free movement/ access to social-
economic Structural
cultural changes. Functionalism

Consensus Social
and Conflict Theory Science Theories of Interactionism
Education

describes society as with two faces  –  consensus and conflict and that sociological theory should be
divided into two parts – consensus theory and conflict theory.

Consensus is defined as the widespread agreement among all members of a particular society.
Consensus Theories view shared norms and values as fundamental to society. It is the people’ shared
norms and values that ensure the order, peace and stability in the society. Consensus theories focus on
social order based on tacit or implied agreements. Any change that happens in a society is slow, gradual,
and orderly.

In Consensus Theory, the emphasis is on social order, stability or social regulation. The theory is
concerned with the maintenance or continuation of social order in society in relation to accepted norms,
values, rules and regulations as widely accepted or held collectively by the society. It emerged out of
social order, social stability or social regulation.

While, conflict is a disagreement or clash between opposing ideas, principles or people that may be
covert or overt. Conflict theories emphasize the dominance of some social groups over others. Social
order is the result of the dominance and manipulation of the strong groups over the weak. Social change
is seen as occurring rapidly and disorderly as the subordinate group tries to overthrow the dominant
group, (Ritzer in Vega, et al., 2015, p. 2). Horton and Hunt (1984 in Vega, et al. 2015,) argued that the
focus of the conflict theory is the heterogeneous nature of society and the disparity, inequality in the
distribution of political and social power. Groups that have vested interest, and with political, social, and
economic power wok for rules and laws, that serve their own interests, to be passed to the exclusion of
others. A struggle between the two social classes  –  the dominant and the dominated; the powerful and
the powerless- occurs.

The discussion of the conflict theory is on the emergence of conflict and what causes it. The theory
emerges out of the incompatible aspects of human society; its conflicts, crisis and social change. Conflict
Theorists are interested in how social institutions – family, government, religion, education, economic
institutions and the media – may help to maintain the power and privileges of some groups and keep
others in a subservient or subordinate position. They advocate for social change resulting from the
redistribution resources. In that sense, people who support conflict theories are viewed as radicals and
social activists, (Ballantine & Spade in Vega, et al. 2015, p.2).

Conflict Theory and Education

Issue for Conflict Theory in the Context of Education:

How do schools contribute to the unequal distribution of people into jobs in society so that more powerful
members of society maintain the best positions and the less powerful groups are allocated to lower ranks
in society?
What is the role of education in maintaining the prestige, social- political-economic power and position of
the dominant group while maintaining the lower social position and status of the dominated-subservient
group?

Conflict Model (Based on Javier, et al Model 2002, in Vega 2015,p.3)

unequal social- patterns of

political- inequality in the reorganization
conflict
economic distribution of and change
structures scarce resources

Karl Marx argued that society is characterized by class conflicts or the conflict between the bourgeoisie
(the rich owners of production) and the proletariat (the poor workers or working class). From this class
struggle or class conflict, interpreters of the theory posit that social change may emerge from this conflict.

On the issue of the role of schools in maintaining the dominance of the powerful over the powerless, Max
Weber argued that schools teach and maintain particular “status cultures” through which groups in
society with similar interests and positions in the status hierarchy are able to maintain their status, their
power, their dominance. Schools are often seen as rather homogenous in their composition of students
and they teach to those students thus perpetuating that “status culture”.

Points for Reflection:

1.Schools for the Rich and Schools for the Poor and how it perpetuates and even farther the gap between
the rich and the poor
2.How can education address the class divide?
3.Examine the Philippine Society:
a. Using the lens of Conflict Theory and identify issues and concerns resulting from
conflicts;
i. What knowledge, skills, values and attitudes must be integrated in school
curriculum or program to address those concerns?
b. Using the lens of Consensus Theory, identify the shared beliefs and values of people that
provide stability and order in society and therefore must be strengthened in schools.
Structural Functionalism
Structural Functionalism states that society is made up of various institutions that work together in
cooperation. Institutions are viewed as Action Systems.
Talcott Parsons’ Structural Functionalism includes 4 Functional
Imperatives for all action systems. Those imperatives are:
1.Adaptation. A system must cope with external situational exigencies. It must adapt to its environment
and adapt environment to its needs.
2.Goal Attainment. A system must define and achieve its primary goals.
3.Integration. A system must regulate the interrelationship of its component parts. It must also manage
the relationship among the other 3 functional imperatives (adaptation, goal attainment, and latency).
4.Latency or Pattern Maintenance. A system must furnish, maintain and renew both the motivation of
individuals and the cultural patterns that create and sustain the motivation.
Action System is the behavioral organism that handles the adaptation function by adjusting to and
transforming the external world.
Personality System performs the goal-attainment function by defining system goals and mobilizing
resources to attain them.
Social System copes with the integration function by controlling its component parts.
Cultural System performs the latency function by providing actors with the norms and values that motivate
them for action.
Assumptions of Structural Functionalism
1.Systems have the property of order and interdependence of parts.
2.Systems tend toward self-maintaining order, or equilibrium.
3.The system may be static or involved in an ordered process of change.
4.The nature of one part of the system has an impact on the form that the other parts can take.
5.Systems maintain boundaries with their environments.
6.Allocation and integration are two fundamental processes necessary for a given state of equilibrium of a
system.
7.Systems tend toward self-maintenance involving the maintenance of the relationships of parts to the
whole, control of environmental variations, and control of tendencies to change the system from within.
Parson’s conception of the social system begins at the micro-level with the interaction between the ego
and alter ego which he identified as the most elementary form of the social system. A social system
consists of the following:
1.Individual Factors
2.Interaction
3.Physical or environmental aspect
4.Motivation towards the optimization of gratification
5.Relation to situation and each other is defined and mediated by a system of culturally-structured and
shared symbols.

Parson was not only interested in the structural components of the social system, but he was also
interested in examining the function of social systems. It is believed that systems exist because they are
able to meet the needs of society in its particular situations. Parsons listed the Functional Requisites of a
Social System:
1.Social system must be structured so that they operate compatibly with other systems.
2.To survive, the social system must have the requisites from other systems.
3.The system must meet a significant proportion of the needs of its actors.
4.The system must elicit adequate participation from its members.
5.It must have at least a minimum of control over potentially disruptive behavior.
6.If conflict becomes sufficiently disruptive, it must be controlled.
7.A social system requires a language in order to survive.
Functionalist explains that a society assumes a particular form because that form works well for the
society and develops certain characteristics because those characteristics meets the needs of that
society. The key principles of the functionalist perspective as identified by Farley (in Vega et al. 2015,
p.6):

1. Interdependence. This is one of the most important principles of the functionalist theory – society
is made up of interdependent parts and that every part of society is dependent to some extent on other
parts of society. What happens in one affects the other parts.
2. Functions of Social Structure and Culture. It is assumed that each part of the social system exists
because it serves some function. This idea is applied to both the social structure and culture.
a. Social Structure refers to the organization of society, including its institutions, its social positions,
and its distribution of resources.
b. Culture refers to a set of beliefs, language, rules, values, and knowledge held in common by
members of a society.
3. Consensus and Cooperation. Societies have a tendency toward consensus, to have certain basic
values that nearly everyone in the society agrees upon. Societies tend toward consensus in order to
achieve cooperation. Inability to cooperate will paralyze the society and people will have to devote a great
effort to fighting one another rather than getting anything done.
4. Equilibrium. Equilibrium is a characteristic of society th at has achieved the form that is best
adapted to its situation. When society has reached a state of balance or equilibrium, it will remain in that
condition until it is forced to change by some new condition.

Assessment:

What you know What you want to know What I learned

1.2 Society and Education

Activity: The PSTs will be required to do research and preliminary reading on the philosophical and
sociological perspectives on education in the context of the community.

The structural functional model addresses the question of social organization and how it is maintained,
(Durkheim & Spencer in Vega, et al., 2015, p.8). It has its roots in Natural Science and the analogy
between a society and an organization. In the analysis of living organisms, the task of the scientists is to
identify the various parts (structures) and determine how they work (function). In the study of society, a
sociologist tries to identify the structures of society and how they function, thus the name, STRUCTURAL
FUNCTIONALISM.
The component parts of social structure are:
1.Families
2.Neighborhood
3.Associations
4.Schools
5.churches
6.banks
7.countries, etc.
Functionalism
 stresses interdependence of the social system
 examines how parts are integrated with each other
 compares society with a machine, where on part articulates with another to produce the dynamic
energy required to make the society work
 stresses the processes that maintain social order by stressing consensus and agreement
 understands that change is inevitable and underscores the evolutionary nature of change
 acknowledges that conflict between groups exists, functionalism believe that without a common
bond to unite groups, society will integrate
 Functionalism examines the social processes necessary to the establishment and maintenance of
social order, (Ballantine & Spade in Vega, et al., 2015, p.8).

Structural Functionalism
 Emphasizes social order and social stability and not social conflict
 Explains that society is made up of different institutions or organizations that work together in
cooperation – to achieve their orderly relationship and to maintain social order and social
stability. The maintenance of society emanates from internal rules, norms, values, and
regulations of these various ordered institutions.

Modern Functionalist Theories of education have their origin in the work of Talcott Parsons (Ballantine &
Spade in Vega, et al. 2015). Parsons believe that education is a vital part of a modern society. Schooling
performs an important function in the development and maintenance of a modern, democratic society,
especially with regard to equality of opportunity for all citizens. In modern societies, education is the key
institution in a meritocratic selection process.

Education also plays a significant function in a political democracy. Schools provide citizens with the
knowledge and dispositions to participate actively in civic life. In an ever increasingly technical society,
schools provide students with the skills and dispositions to work in such a society. Although schools teach
students specific work skills, they also teach students how to learn so they may adapt to new work roles
and requirements.

Functionalist and Conflict Theories have been criticized as being highly abstract and whose emphases
are on social structure and processes which are at a macro-level. Critics of conflict and functionalist
theories argued that while those two levels of analysis help us to understand education in the big picture
or at a macro level, they hardly provide us with an interpretable snapshot of what schools are like on a
day-to-day basis, or what transpires in the classroom between teacher and students and between
students and students. Thus a theory which focuses on micro-level of analysis has emerged, (Vega, et al.
2015).

Interactionist Theories

Interactionist Theories attempt to make the commonplace, strange by noticing, focusing their attention
and observing the everyday-taken-for-granted behaviors and interactions between students and students,
and between teachers and students. It is what conflict and functionalist theories do not notice, do not
focus their attention to, do not question that is most problematic to the interactionists.

Provide examples here.

Symbolic Interactionism
Interactionist Theory is traced back to the works of sociologists George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton
Cooley. They examined the ways in which the individual is related to society through ongoing social
interactions. This school of thought, known as Social Interactionism, views the self as socially constructed
in relation to social forces and structures and the product of ongoing negotiations of meanings. Thus, the
social self is an active product of human agency rather than a deterministic product of social structure.
The social self is a result of social interaction mediated by symbols, in particular, language. The distinctive
attributes of human behavior is viewed as the result of individuals’ participation in varying types of social
structures which in turn is dependent on the existence of language behavior. Symbolic Interactionism is
not only interested in socialization but also in interaction. Interaction is significant in terms of (a)
development of one’s ability to think, and (b) development of one’s ability to express what s/he thinks. All
types of interaction, not just interaction during socialization, refine our ability to think which in turn shapes
the interaction process.

However, not all forms of social interactions require mental processing or will involve our ability to think.
They are Non- Symbolic Interaction or in the term used by George Herbert Mead, the conversation of
gestures which does not involve thinking. Blumer made the differentiation between those two basic forms
of social interaction, namely (1) non-symbolic interaction which does not involve thinking, and (2)
symbolic interaction which require mental processing, (Vega, et al. 2015, p.11).

Principles of Symbolic Interactionism

1.Human beings, unlike lower animals, are endowed with a capacity for thought.
2.The capacity for thought is shaped by social interaction.
3.In social interaction, people learn the meanings and symbols that allow them to exercise their distinct
capacity for human thought.
4.Meanings and symbols allow people to carry on distinctively human action and interaction.
5.People are able to modify or alter the meanings and symbols they use in action and interaction on the
basis of their interpretation of the situation.
6.People are able to make these modifications and alterations, because, in part, of their ability to interact
with themselves, which allows them to examine possible courses of action, assess their relative
advantages and disadvantages, and then choose one.
7.The intertwined patterns of actions and interactions make up groups and societies.

Symbolic Interactionism is based on the following premises by Mead:

1.People act toward the things they encounter on the basis of what those things mean to them. The word
things refer not only to objects but to people, activities, and situations as well.
2.We learn what things are by observing how other people respond to them through social interaction.
3.As a result of ongoing interaction, the sounds (or words), gestures, facial expressions, and body
postures we use in dealing with others acquire symbolic meanings that are shared by people who belong
to the same culture. Example: The handshake, a symbolic gesture which is not simply a mutual grasping
of hands, palms, fingers but conveys the symbolic gesture of greetings among Filipinos.
The importance of thinking to symbolic interactionists is reflected in their views on objects. According to
Blumer, there are three types of objects:
1.Physical objects – chair, tree, Vans shoes
2.Social objects – student, mother, boyfriend, girlfriend
3.Abstract objects – such as ideas or moral principles (All human beings are created by God and
therefore everybody must be given equal rights and must be treated with respect and dignity.)

Objects are seen simply as out there in the real word. What is important is the way they are defined or
interpreted by the individuals experiencing those objects. Such interpretations lead to a relativistic view
that objects may have different meanings for different individuals. Example: a shoe for a shoemaker may
be his source of livelihood or an expression of his artistic talent; a shoe for a poor kid may be a source of
frustration for not owning a pair; a shoe for a teenager may be a source of pride, a status symbol.

Related to the idea of the self as a social construct is the concept of the looking glass self-put forward by
early symbolic interactionist theorist, Charles Horton Cooley. The concept of the looking glass self
suggests that we come to develop an understanding of who we are and who we are not, a self- definition,
on the basis of the words or actions of others towards us. The looking glass self-forwards the idea We
see ourselves as others see us. A student may acquire the idea that s/he is smart or dumb, likeable or
unlikeable, pretty or ugly from what others tell him/her; or how others make him/her feel about
himself/herself. Cooley explained that we use other people as a mirror into which we look to see what we
are like, (Farley in Vega, et al., 2015, p.12).
Questions for Reflection:
1.Who are you in the eyes and words of other people?
a.Do you accept your own self- image as presented to you by others without question?
b.Do you like what you see in the mirror ?
2.What is your interpretation of the following and reflect on the effects of your interpretation on your
behavior?
a.A kind-hearted teacher
b.A teacher known for failing students; or a teacher known for passing all students despite absences and
failing quizzes and exams
c.A classmate who is very active in class
d.A classmate who smokes and into fraternity/sorority

From: Vega, V.A., Prieto, N.G. & Carreon, M.L. (2015). Social Dimensions of Education. Q.C.: Lorimar
Publishing, Inc.

Socio-Cultural Phenomenon Influencing Education Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the phenomenon of multiple groups of cultures existing within one society largely due
to the arrival of immigrants. The term is often used to describe societies, especially nations, which have
many distinct cultural groups resulting from immigration. The presence of many cultural groups in a
society can lead to anxiety about the stability of national identity, but it can also lead to cultural exchanges
that can bring benefits to the cultural groups. When different cultural groups collaborate with each other,
they can accomplish many great works in literature, arts, philosophy, technology, fashion and all other
human endeavors that celebrate the richness of the talents and intelligence of humanity.

Multiculturalism is also defined as a policy that emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures,
especially as they relate to one another in receiving nations. Multiculturalism is a systematic and
comprehensive response to cultural and ethnic diversity, with educational, linguistic, economic and social
components, and specific institutional mechanisms. Multiculturalism is viewed as a model of democratic-
policy- response to culture and ethnic diversity because it corresponds to the ideal of culture of peace
based on respect of diversity, as well as universally shared values and norms.

3 Interrelated Referents of Multiculturalism

1.Demographic-Descriptive when the word multicultural refers to the existence of linguistically, culturally,
and ethnically diverse segments in the population of a society or state.
2.Ideological-Normative when the word refers to the management and organization of governmental
responses to ethnic diversity (assimilations, differentialism and its extreme forms of exclusion, apartheid,
ethnic cleansing, and genocide).
3. Programmatic-Political when the word refers to the specific policies developed to respond to and
manage ethnic diversity.

Multiculturalism and Multicultural Education

Multiculturalism refers to the evolution of cultural diversity within a jurisdiction introduced by its selection
policies and institutionalized by its settlement policies. With the evolving and growing presence of diverse
cultural groups in a society, there arise the need for Multicultural Education which is an emerging
discipline whose aim is to create equal educational opportunities from diverse racial, ethnic, social class
and cultural groups. It supports the idea that students and their cultural backgrounds and experiences
should be the center of their education and that learning should occur in a familiar contact that attends to
multiple ways of thinking.

Multicultural education is a tool for establishing pride and confidence among students in their unique and
special backgrounds. This theory concentrates on the need of including notions of race, class and
diversity while teaching. According to James Banks (in Vega, et al. 2015), the goal of multicultural
education is to transform the school so that male and female students, exceptional students, and students
from diverse cultural, social class, racial and ethnic groups experience an equal opportunity to learn. A
key assumption of multicultural education is that students are more likely to achieve when the total
classroom climate is more consistent with their diverse cultures and learning styles.

Other goals of Multicultural Education:

 To help all students acquire knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in
pluralistic democratic society and to interact, negotiate, and communicate with peoples from
diverse groups in order to create a civic and moral community that works for the common good.
 To help students acquire the knowledge and commitments needed to make reflective decisions
and to take personal, social, civic action to promote democracy and democratic living.
 Related goal, is to help all students develop more positive attitudes towards different racial,
ethnic, cultural, and religious groups.

4 Approaches to accomplish the goals of Multicultural Education

1.Contributions Approach. Ethnic heroes and holidays are included in the curriculum. Heroes, holidays,
and food become a special focus on a particular day; recognizing the contributions of various groups.
2.Additive Approach. A unit or course in incorporated (a unit on women in history), but no substantial
change is made to the curriculum as a whole. Special units and topics about various groups are added to,
but do not fundamentally alter the curriculum.
3.Transformation Approach. Students are taught to view events and issues from diverse ethnic and
cultural perspectives. Curriculum is changed, so that students see the world from the different perspective
of various groups.
4.Social Action Approach. Going beyond transformation approach, students not only learn to view issues
from multiple perspectives but also become directly involved in
solving related problems; promotes decision-making and social action in order to achieve multicultural
goals and a more vibrant democracy, (Sadker & Sadker in Vega, et al. 2015).

 Multicultural education is grounded on the ideals of social

justice, education equity, and a dedication to facilitating educational experiences in which all students
reach their full potential as learners and as socially aware and active beings, locally, nationally, and
globally.
 Multicultural education acknowledges that schools are essential to laying the foundation for the
transformation of society and the elimination of oppression and injustice.
 Multicultural education is a progressive approach for transforming education that holistically
critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings and discriminatory practices in education.
 Interdisciplinary approach

Ideals Underpinning Multicultural Education

 Every student must have an equal opportunity to achieve his/her full potential.
 Every student must be prepared to competently participate in an increasingly intercultural society.
 Teachers must be prepared to effectively facilitate learning for every individual student, no matter
how culturally similar or different form themselves.
 Schools must be active participants in ending oppression of all types, first, by ending oppression
within their own walls, then, by producing socially and critically active and aware students.
 Education must become fully student-centered and inclusive of the voices and experiences of the
students.
 Educators, activists and others must take a more active role in reexamining all educational
practices and how they affect the learning of all students; testing methods, teaching approaches,
evaluation and assessment, school psychology, and counseling.

Dimensions of Multicultural Education, (Banks, 1997 in Vega, et al. 2015)

1.Content Integration – deals with the extent to which teachers sue examples and content from a variety
of culture and groups to illustrate key concepts, generalizations, and issues within their subject area or
disciplines.

2.Knowledge Construction Process – describes how teachers help students understand, investigate and
determine how the biases, frames of reference, and perspectives within a discipline influence the ways in
which knowledge is constructed within it. Students also learn how to build knowledge themselves in this
dimension.
3.Prejudice Reduction. It describes lessons and activities used by teachers to help students develop
positive attitudes toward different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. Lessons, units and teaching
materials that include content about different racial and ethnic groups can help students develop more
positive intergroup attitudes if certain conditions exist in the teaching situation. These conditions include
positive images of the ethnic groups in the materials and the use of the multiethnic materials in a
consistent and sequential way.

4. Equity Pedagogy exists when teachers modify their teaching in ways that will facilitate the
academic achievement of students from diverse racial, cultural, and social class groups.

5. Empowering School Culture and Social Structure. This is created when the culture and
organization of the school are transformed in ways that enable students from diverse racial, ethnic, and
gender groups to experience equality and equal status.

Culturally-Responsive Teaching acknowledges cultural diversity in classrooms and accommodates this

diversity in instruction by: (1) recognizing and accepting student diversity, it communicates that all
students are welcome and valued as human beings; (2) building on students’ cultural backgrounds,
culturally-responsive teaching communicates positive images about the students’ home cultures; and (3)
being responsive to different learning styles, culturally- responsive teaching, builds on students’ strengths
and uses these to help students learn.

Culturally-responsive instruction covers areas related to:

1.Inclusive content in the curriculum that reflects the diversity of society. Students from diverse
backgrounds see themselves and their experiences in the curriculum.
2.Students’ prior knowledge, including their culture and
language.
3.The idea that culture is central to student learning because there is no strong evidence that culture
practices affect the thinking process.

Culturally-responsive teaching encompasses the following elements:

1.Communication of high expectations
2.Active teaching methods that promote student engagement
3.Teacher as facilitator
4.Positive perspectives on parents and families of culturally and linguistically diverse students
5.Cultural sensitivity
6.Reshaping the curriculum so that it is culturally responsive to the background of students
7.Culturally mediated instruction that is characterized by the use of culturally mediated cognition,
culturally appropriate social situations for learning, and culturally valued knowledge in curriculum content
8.Small group instruction and academically-related discourse

Assessment:
PSTs, in small groups, will create graphic organizers showing their insights gained from research and
readings.
Teacher-facilitated discussion to summarize and consolidate researches and reforms in education.
Learner-centered discussion will highlight how the philosophical and sociological perspectives are
demonstrated in practical classroom situations.

Groups choose an appropriate graphic organizer to describe how philosophies and sociological theories
are manifested in the practical classroom situation in response to community contexts. Process:
discussion of concepts and effective use of charts and/or diagrams
Output: appropriate graphic organizer

PSTs will write an essay explaining how education was shaped by the philosophical and sociological
perspectives of the time, focusing on how education responds to the needs of the society and community.