Question

Write an essay on school as a social institution. Draw from both your reading as well as your personal observations.

Answer 1

The need for education gave rise to schools, and sociology terms this need as a process of transmission or communication of group heritage, which is common to all the societies.

The schools function in order to discipline and regulate human behaviour. Hence, acting as a permanent and binding character.

Furthermore, Ginsberg defines the established institutions as “the recognized and established usage governing the relations between individuals and groups”, and schools are established institutions that provide formal education to students.

They have their own norms and values and certain rules and regulations that are to be followed.

According to Durkheim, for its survival, a society needs a common base − a certain number of ideas, sentiments, and practices which education must inculcate in all children indiscriminately.

For functionalists, the education system maintains and develops the social structure and culture. For those who perceive society as unequally differentiated, education functions as one of the main stratifying agents.

According to common sense knowledge of a layman, schools provide one of the basic components of socialisation. As a child grows and learns to become a part of the group amongst his/her peers, this process of inculcating the values and norms of the society starts. Thus, the individual becomes a part of society.