unit 2 notes

UNIT 2: SOCIAL BASES OF EDUCATION

Society:

Society is an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization. It is characterized by pattern of relationships between individuals. It is a group of individuals who share a common system of customs, values, and laws. Society is the people who live in a country or region, their organizations, and their way of life.

From the above definition of society, it is clear that individual person is its building blocks. Interact with people in society, individual persons realize that there is much learn from them. Hence society is one of the greatest facilitators of Education.

Influences of society on Education

Social norms, customs, and tradition affect education. Society and education are tightly bound entities and hence cannot be separated from each other. Society in itself , is like an educational institution. Social interactions give us the ability to study people. Customs and values in society shape the upbringing and mould an individual’s personalities. Hence society provides us the platform to learn, grow and enrich themselves.

     Society educates us informally even before our formal education at school. During the process of formal education in school, constantly take non-formal education from our social group. A person cannot be separated from society, so society shapes our personalities by its influence. This process of learning continues throught our life. Society influences education both positively and negatively.

Social inequalities and unhealthy educational practices are some of negative influences of society on education.

Thus society influences education of the individual during formal education, and in the life –long education of the individual.

Education starts as soon as the child is born, and the first form of interactions   with human being imparts education to the child. The values, morals and principles of a society will create and education system that upholds the some values, morals and principles in the individual. The social status also force an individual to choose the kind of education.

Culture

A culture is a particular society or civilization, especially considered in relation to its beliefs, way of life, or art. Culture consists of activities such as the arts and philosophy, which are considered to be important for the development of civilization and of people's minds. The culture of a particular organization or group consists of the habits of the people in it and the way they generally behave.

 According to the subjects there are different kinds of culture:

·         Individual culture

·         Communal culture

·         National culture

·         World culture

            Each individual has some personal traits and qualities which guide the habits, thinking and behaviour of the person. These personal likes, dislikes, interests, modes of thinking and patterns of social behaviour constitute his personal culture.

 Similarly, different communities have their different customs, traditions, beliefs and styles of living which is known as community culture.

Likewise each nation has some distinct patterns of ideals, values, modes of thoughts and behaviour. Such national traits are known as national culture. Further with the rise in the means of transport and communication the whole world has shrunk into a small unit. The whole world are now supposed to be having common values of life such as cooperation, empathy, sympathy, social services, social awakening and social sensitiveness which is termed as world culture.

            According to contents there are two types of culture in every society:

·         Material culture

·         Non material culture

Material culture: It includes all those man made things and objects which human society has created for its physical welfare. As for example clothes, utensils, TV, radio, various machines

Non material culture: It includes those ideals, attitudes and values which modify the behaviour of an individual. Language, literature, art, music, religion, customs, traditions etc are some of the example of non material culture.

Influences of Culture on Education

Cultural tendencies impact the way children participate in Education.

Cultural and education can not be divorced from each other. They are interdependent. The cultural patterns of a society guide its educational patterns. As for example, if a society has a spiritual pattern of culture, then its educational procedures will emphasize the achievement of moral and eternal values of life. On the other hand if the culture of a society is materialistic, then its educational pattern will be shaped for the attainment of material values which promotes pleasures of senses and material comforts.

In Education, the curriculum is prepared according to the culture of society. The system of education tries to realize the cultural needs of society through curriculum which conditions all educational activities and programmes.

      Culture and methods of teaching are intimately connected. The changing cultural patterns of a society exert its influence upon the methods of teaching. Previously teaching was teacher centered where teacher used to give knowledge to the child. Now it has become student centered. The teacher considers the needs, interests, aptitude, attitude, inclinations, behaviour etc before teaching. In this way education is a method pf preparing child for the future for effective living. In short we can say that cultural and social conditions generate the methods and techniques of teaching in a powerful manner. 

    Cultural values influence the concept of discipline. The present cultural patterns of thinking and living are directly linked to our concept of discipline where the democratic values are accepted all over the world.  

     Curriculum is contained in the textbooks. Textbooks are written according to the formulated or determined curriculum. Only those textbooks are welcomed which foster and promote cultural values and ideals.

     Each individual teacher is imbibed with the cultural values and ideals of the society of which he/she happens to be an integral member. Only such teacher achieves his/her missions successfully. They infuse higher ideals and moral values in children.

      A schools is a miniature of a society. The total activities and programmes of a school are organized according to the cultural ideals and values of the society which establishes and organize the school. Hence, school is the centre of promoting, moulding, reforming, and developing the cultural pattern of the society.

Modernity

Modernity defined as the quality or state of being or appearing to be modern and also the modern era or world and especially the ideas and attitudes associated with the modern world. The progressive movement of society is associated with what has been described as modernity.

Influence of ‘Modernity’ on Education

Modernity of an individual changes their outlook on education. A parent who is modern, considers their child education with computers as a boon. They can use the computers and T,V. programmes as teaching aids for educating their children informally.

Modern cultural values in the classroom prepare the children for leadership in a democratic country. The children who are the product of modernity can look at others as his equal and this helps the teaching-learning process. The classroom atmosphere interactive.

The teacher who is modern considers computers –aided-instructions as a boon in the teaching – learning process. Modernity in the classroom process takes into account heuristic concept and constructivist approach in the learning process.

Globalization and the modern use of internet bring the virtual classroom and learning to the doorstep of every individual. Any new invention and discovery in the teaching methods are immediately used in the classroom so that the benefits are felt equitably by all persons all over the world.

Modernity creates collective responsibility learning in the classroom. Hence the students and teachers collectively take responsibility for the teaching and learning process.

Understanding social justice and dignity with special reference to Ambedkar

Social justice implies that justice to be done to all in the society irrespective of social status, casts, creed, religion and language etc. It means justice for all. According to this principle, all social ,economic, political and other institution should give equal consideration and provide equal opportunities to all individuals irrespective of colour, caste, creed or gender. All are to enjoy and exercise their own rights and duties for the welfare of the whole community.

In otherwords, each individual should hinter the development of another. The society as a whole should strive its utmost for the highest development of the individual.

Education and social justice

Social justice education is concerned with achieving equitable and quality education for all students. Social justice would involve achieving the two aspects of anti-racism education. The curricular justice goal, which aims to deliver curricular justice to Indigenous students and the wider responsibility goal, which aims to redress social disadvantage including, importantly, is reducing racism.

The role of education in promoting social justice is the central role in deciding what is right in our school. Social justice is recognizing and acting upon the power that we have for making positive change. Teachers can maintain high quality content instruction and create a classroom with a social justice orientation. A social justice orientation is appropriate to all classroom. 

Acknowledging and showing that the value what students are already bringing that the value what students are already bringing to the classroom is an  important step in creating a classroom for social justice.

Teachers can make what he is teaching relevant to what is going on in the world. The teaching should be relevant to social justice.

Social justice issues

Social justice issues can be classified into two categories

a) Inter-Social treatment

b)Unequal government regulation

a) Inter-Social treatment: This involves treatment of a group of people within the local and regional scale. It includes the following .

Racism

Sexism

Ageism

Heterosexcism

b)Unequal government regulation: This involves law and regulations that discriminate a group from the same opportunities and resources based on differences that are unique to that group. It includes the following

Environmental rights

Labor laws

Civil rights

Access to education

Dignity

Dignity is used to express the idea of a being has an innate right to be valued, respected, and to receive ethical treatment. In ordinary usage it denotes respect and status.

Dignity through Education

A sense of dignity is fundamental to living a productive and meaningful life. Education, in all its many forms shows the way to dignity. Whenever education promotes children’s dignity, that is, their  innate belief that they  have a place in the world and contribution to make to it. This feeling can be created through education among the children so that, a new generation of young people can play an active role in creating healthier society.

Social justice and Dignity with special reference to Dr. Ambedkar

Ambedkar is also one of the proponents of social justice in modern India. According to Ambedkar, the term “social justice” is based upon equality, liberty and fraternity of all human beings. The aim of social justice is to remove all kinds of inequalities based upon Caste, race, sex, power, Position, and wealth. The social justice brings equal distribution of the social, political and economical resources of the community Ambedkar was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. He was fully aware of the pattern and problems of the Indian society. The aspirations of the different sections of the society and their conflicting interests. He tried to achieve social justice and social democracy in terms of one man-one value. He treated social justice as a true basis for patriotism and nationalism.

 The contents of Ambedkar’s concept of social justice included unity and equality of all human beings, equal worth of men and women, respect for the weak and the lowly, regard for human rights, benevolence, mutual love, sympathy, tolerance and charity towards fellow being. Humane treatment in all cases dignity of all citizens, abolition of Caste distinctions, education and property for all and good will and gentleness, He emphasized more on fraternity and emotional integration. His view on social justice was to remove man-made inequalities of all shades through law, morality and public conscience, he stood for justice for a sustainable society . According to Dr. Ambedkar the root cause of social injustice to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is the Caste system in Hindu society. He observed, Castes are enclosed units and it is their conspiracy with clear conscience that compels the ex-communicated to make themselves into a Caste. The logic of their obdurate circumstance in merciless and it is in obedience to its force that some unfortunate groups find themselves closed out with the result that now groups by a mechanical law are constantly being converted into Castes in a widening multiplicity. He further maintained that the root of untouchability is the Caste system and the root of the Caste system is religion.

To the Ambedkar real democracy was a social democracy. According to him, it is essential to realize that political democracy cannot succeed where there is no social and economic democracy. He pleaded the realization of economic and social democracy in India, for political democracy was unreal preceded by economic and social democracy.

Ambedkar vision of Social Justice relating to women

 Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, being a philanthropic, kind and generous social reformer was much moved with the pitiable and pathetic condition and low status of women in society and he was a torch bearer in the direction of social uplift of women generally and Hindu women specially. Ambedkar chooses his social reform approach only after understanding the reality of the status of women.

According to Ambedkar, women were treated as mere tools to bear the burdens of the family, restricted to the role of bearing children and fulfilling duties of a wife or mother any. Division of labour is not in their favour, as a result Indian women have lost their identity. They have to face discrimination on gender basis and because of this availability of equal opportunity for remains a dream of them. Poverty, illiteracy lack of health and inequality of class of status and powerlessness, degradness are associated with them. Weight of traditional attitudes that regard them as physically, intellectually and socially, inferior to man subject them to male exploitation and unjustified division of labour. A society where women, i.e., the half of the population, enjoy a low status of women in Indian society is primarily due to the fact that they have no control over material and social resources. This is further compounded by lack of participation opportunities in the decision making process of the family

Thus we can discuss social justice that brings dignity to all with special reference to Dr.Ambedkar.

The fundamental meaning of social justices is to bring a just society. The main objective of this concept is to uplift the women, scheduled caste and scheduled tribes in the society.

In the era of globalization, liberalization, and privatization, the concept of social justice has assumed a greater significance.