Term Paper on "Sociology of Education"

Term Paper 5 pages (1401 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sociology of Education

The purpose of this work is to explain, in relation to the developments of a 'universal' pedagogy in a society where children acquire early literacy in a different family environment, the implications of the statement "what has to be learned in the primary school, literacy, numeracy and an understanding of the function of logical deductive argument s, can be taught only by a pedagogy that privileges linguistic fluency and a willingness to embrace the meaning structure of the school."

It is stated in a UNESCO publication entitled, "Literacy, Education and Social Development" that, "Literacy must be seen as an activity embedded in social and cultural practice if literacy is to culminate in cultural and social transformation." In the past literacy has been viewed as a being centrally controlled with a one-way transmission of skills. However, in the future it must reflect the diversity in which the acquisition of literacy occurs. From the view of the learner this is inclusive of:

What the learner already knows, wants, and brings to the learning experience.

The mother tongue of the learner; a critical factor because through it the learner's own identify and knowledge systems are formed;

The cultural background of the learner, including the family culture, local culture, oral tradition and indigenous knowledge;

The identity of the learner in terms of gender, class, religion and race the social, economic and cultural context of the learner.

Interactions with caregivers and other competent member of the community enable children to become linguistically and culturally competent community members. (Ochs & Scheieffelin, 1984;1986) the student population in today's world is one that is both culturally and linguistically diverse. This fact is the primary reason that coming to an understanding of the home development of children is vital. Languaging differences exists when school begins in terms of new languages as well as new cultural uses of the language (Heath, 1983; Zentella, 1997) the competence of students may well be misinterpreted by teachers due to these languaging differences among students.

Research regarding language socialization reveals information in relation to what children learn in the community but as well revealed is 'how' they learn. Specifically research has revealed 'how' children acquisition methods of learning within the home and community prior to beginning school.

Linguistics, in the formal sense involves five primary areas of study:

Phonetics: The study of the sounds of language, physical properties and describes how sounds in speech are produced and a framework for classification.

Phonology: Analysis of how sounds functions in a given language or dialect.

Morphology: The structure of words.

Syntax: Structure of sentences.

Learning within communities as to the cultural appropriateness varies greatly from one community to another in terms of ethnicity. Young students begin school with already formed and "well-established communication patterns." Studies have shown that the interaction with others, specifically caregivers indicate the connection between the behaviors and the interactions that are part of the contribution to the identity that is emerging in the young students. Through interaction that is either child-centered or situation-centered the caregivers clarify the speech of children. In child centered contexts the caregiver views the child as possible partners in conversation as well as providing interpretation and clarification for the child's "unintelligible speech." In the aspect of the adult-centered context the caregiver uses simplification in their speech yet hold children responsible for their own behavior modification.

According to Demo (2001) "Discourse analysis is the examination of language use by member of a speech community... [and].... involves looking at both language forma and language function and includes the study of both spoken interaction and written texts." The students who are of linguistic minority groups have very often been labeled as deficient in some nature by educators who do not understand how to grasp differential languaging among students.

In analysis of discourse identified are the linguistic features that define the difference in genres and in terms of factors both social and cultural that enable the comprehension of varying texts and types of talk. Therefore each method focuses on aspects of the use of language, and although the focus is different in each languaging is viewed as interaction on a social or societal level. Thus discourse analysis takes different… READ MORE

How to Reference "Sociology of Education" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Education Sociology Term Paper

Education

Sociology and Education

While all three of the major sociological paradigms of the 20th century have provided valuable insight in the ways that education shapes human life and society,… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2024 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA Topic: Sociology / Society

---

Sociology - Utopia Education in a Utopian Essay

Sociology - Utopia

EDUCATION in a UTOPIAN SOCIETY

The Utopian Concept:

One advantage of the modern computer age is that it allows us quick access to a plethora of information… read more

Essay 3 pages (778 words) Sources: 0 Style: MLA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Sociology? According to Giddens (2010) Article Critique

Sociology?

According to Giddens (2010) sociology can be described as the systematic study of varoous types of patterns that invole various types of human behavior that is among diverse civilizations… read more

Article Critique 4 pages (1202 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Sociology / Society

---

Sociology Perspectives the Inherency of Sociology's Versatility Essay

Sociology Perspectives

The Inherency of Sociology's Versatility

Philosophers, scientists and artists have collectively sought throughout the course of human history to understand, characterize and empirically determine the mechanisms that drive… read more

Essay 4 pages (1282 words) Sources: 9 Topic: Sociology / Society

---

Sociology Australia Journal

Sociology Australia

Examining Sociology

I was introduced to some very interesting terms and concepts this week. I was particularly interested in unobtrusive research and its comparison to empirical studies. At… read more

Journal 2 pages (737 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Sociology / Society

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>