Education as a social institution. Are you really human? Functions of education in the production and economic sphere

The concept of education has many meanings. It can be considered both as a process and as a result of the assimilation of systematized knowledge, skills, abilities and personal development. This is the real level of knowledge, personality traits, actual education. And the formal result of this process is a certificate, diploma, certificate. Education is also seen as a system that includes different levels:

preschool;

initial;

graduate school.

The education system also includes various types:

mass and elite;

general and technical.

Education in its modern form originated in Ancient Greece. Private family education, carried out by slaves, prevailed there. Public schools operated for the poorest sections of the free population. Selection appears, Elite schools (sitaria) develop artistic taste, the ability to sing, and play musical instruments. Physical development and military abilities were formed in the palaestra and developed in gymnasiums. It was in Ancient Greece that the main types of schools arose: the gymnasium, the lyceum (the place where Aristotle presented his system), and the academy (Plato).

In Ancient Rome, the school pursued the goal of solving applied, utilitarian problems, was aimed at training soldiers and statesmen, and strict discipline reigned in it. Morality, law, history, rhetoric, literature, art, and medicine were studied.

In the Middle Ages, religious education was formed. There are 3 types of educational institutions:

parochial;

cathedral;

secular.

In the XII-XIII centuries, universities appeared in Europe, and with them colleges for people from the poorest strata. Typical faculties: art, law, theology and medicine.

Education has become widespread over the last two or three centuries. Let's look at the social changes that contributed to this.

The first of these changes was the democratic revolution. As can be seen from the example of the French Revolution (1789-1792), it was caused by the growing desire of non-aristocratic strata to participate in political affairs.

In response to this demand, educational opportunities were expanded: after all, new actors on the political stage should not be ignorant masses; in order to participate in voting, the masses must at least know their letters. Mass education turned out to be closely connected with the participation of the people in political life.

The ideal of a society of equal opportunity represents another aspect of the democratic revolution, which manifested itself in different forms and at different times in many countries. Since education is considered to be the main way to ensure upward social mobility, equal social opportunity has become almost synonymous with equal access to education.

The second most important event in the history of modern education was the industrial revolution. In the early stages of industrial development, when technology was primitive and workers had low qualifications, there was no need for educated personnel. But the development of industry on a large scale required an expansion of the education system to train skilled workers who could perform new, more complex activities.

The third important change that contributed to the expansion of the education system was associated with the development of the institution of education itself. When an institution strengthens its position, a group is formed, united by common legitimate interests, which makes its demands on society - for example, regarding increasing its prestige or material support from the state. Education is no exception to this rule.

A characteristic feature of education in modern industrialized countries is that primary education sooner or later becomes compulsory and free.

As a social institution, education was formed in the 19th century, when the mass school appeared. In the 20th century, the role of education is constantly increasing, and the formal level of education of the population is growing. In developed countries, the overwhelming majority of young people graduate from high school (USA - 86% of youth, Japan - 94%). The returns to education are growing. The increase in national income due to investment in education reaches 40-50%. The share of government spending on education is increasing. To characterize the level of education of the population, an indicator such as the number of students per 10 thousand population is used. Canada leads in this indicator - 287, USA - 257, Cuba - 239. In Ukraine, this figure has been increasing in recent years, if in the 1985-86 school year. There were 167 students per 10 thousand, then in the 1997-98 academic year. g. - 219. This is happening due to the development of the sphere of private education and the expansion of paid education in state universities,

In general, education is designed to transmit from generation to generation the values of the dominant culture. However, these values change, so the content of education also undergoes changes. If in ancient Athens the main attention was paid to the fine arts, then in Ancient Rome the main place was occupied by the training of military leaders and statesmen. In the Middle Ages in Europe, education concentrated on the assimilation of Christian teachings; during the Renaissance, interest in literature and art was again observed. In modern societies, the emphasis is mainly on the study of natural sciences, and great attention is also paid to the development of personality, that is, the humanization of education.

Functions of education:

Socio-economic function. Preparing labor force of different skill levels for work.

Cultural. Ensures the transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to another.

Socializing function. Introducing the individual to social norms and values of society,

Integration function. By introducing common values and teaching certain norms, education stimulates common actions and unites people.

Function of social mobility. Education acts as a channel for social mobility. Although in the modern world unequal access to education remains. Thus, in the USA, 15.4% of children from families with incomes below 10 thousand dollars, over 50 thousand dollars, enter universities. - 53%.

Selection function. There is a selection of children into elite schools and their further promotion.

Humanistic function. Comprehensive development of the student’s personality.

There are also latent functions of education, which include the “nanny” function (the school for some time frees parents from the need to look after their children), the function of creating a communication environment, and higher school in our society plays the role of a kind of “storage room.”

Among the various goals of education, the three most stable stand out: intensive, extensive, productive.

The extensive goal of education involves the transfer of accumulated knowledge, cultural achievements, assistance to students in self-determination on this cultural basis, and the use of existing potential.

The intensive goal of education is the broad and complete development of the qualities of students to form their readiness not only to acquire certain knowledge, but also to constantly deepen their knowledge and develop creative potential.

The productive goal of education involves preparing students for the types of activities that he will be engaged in and the employment structure that has developed.

Problems in the functioning of education in Ukraine:

There is a threat of a decline in the level of professional education.

Threat of deterioration of the conditions of the educational process.

Deterioration in the quality of teaching staff.

Education loses its quality of being an effective means of achieving personal life goals.

Topic 8. The essence, significance and role of higher professional education (6 hours)
Lecture outline:

Higher education as a social institution. Subjects of higher education
Status of higher educational institutions. University complex
Contents and educational programs of higher professional education
Educational technologies in higher education

Modernization of higher education software and the Bologna process

8.1. Higher education as a social institution. Subjects of higher education

According to the UNESCO World Declaration, higher education, whose history spans several centuries, has convincingly demonstrated its vitality and ability to change, to contribute to the transformation and progress of society.

In the modern world it role is also increasing. This is expressed:

on the one hand, in numerical growth (the number of students in the world from 1960 to 2004 increased more than six times: from 13 million to 82 million people),
on the other hand, in expanding the functions and tasks of higher education, in increasing its status and prestige.

In UNESCO documents, higher education is considered as a set of training courses for training or retraining of specialists (after they have received secondary vocational education).

According to the formal definition contained in a number of government documents of Ukraine, higher professional education (HPE)- this is education on the basis of secondary general or secondary vocational education, carried out in higher educational institutions according to professional educational programs, ending with final certification and issuance of a document on higher professional education to the graduate.
Forms for obtaining higher education qualifications

Higher education can be obtained not only full-time, but also part-time (evening), part-time and external studies.

Externship- this is an independent study of disciplines by students according to the main educational program with subsequent certification.

HPE system

Educational institutions that implement higher professional education are accordingly called higher education institutions, which together constitute the basis of the HPE system.

Along with universities, the system includes the following elements:

state educational standards and educational programs;
scientific, design and cultural and educational institutions conducting scientific research and ensuring the functioning and development of higher education;
various higher education authorities.

The UNESCO Declaration defines objectives of higher education in the 21st century as follows:

1) provide training highly qualified specialists who are able to satisfy not only their personal but also social needs in all spheres of human activity by providing them with the opportunity to acquire appropriate qualifications;

2) Give an opportunity obtaining higher education and subsequent lifelong learning; provide optimal choice and flexibility in starting and stopping higher education; provide opportunities for individual development and social mobility with a view to active participation in society;

3) develop and disseminate knowledge through research activities and as one of the services provided to society to promote its cultural, social, economic development;

4) promote preservation, expansion, development and dissemination of national and regional, international and historical cultures;

5) protect and strengthen public values, educating youth in the spirit of a democratic society.
All of the above illustrates not only the commonality of higher education with other sociocultural institutions, but also the difference from them.
To the number main subjects of higher education include, first of all, teachers and students. Their rights, responsibilities, and forms of interaction largely determine the nature of the educational process at the university.
In November 1997 accepted by UNESCO recommendations on the status of HPE subjects. They have to:

maintain and expand the main functions of its activities, observing scientific and intellectual ethics;
speak absolutely independently and with full responsibility on ethical, cultural and social issues in order to predict, prevent and prevent negative trends in the social, cultural, economic and political development of society;
use their intellectual potential and moral authority to defend and actively disseminate recognized values (peace, justice, freedom, equality and solidarity).

The same recommendations pay special attention to the following three positions .
1. ^ Employee development policy, which is also associated with their active conduct of scientific research on updating and improving pedagogical knowledge of knowledge.

2. Give students and their needs the utmost attention, treating them as main partners and responsible participants of VPO.

3. Develop together with student organizations guidance and counseling services, to provide students with assistance and adaptation in the transition to higher education at any age and to take into account the needs diversified(various) categories of students.

8.2 Status of higher educational institutions. University complex

^ Higher education institution ( University ) is an educational institution that:

provides various services related to training, retraining and advanced training of workers and specialists;
promotes personal growth of a person, the formation of his individuality;
carries out scientific research, the volume and significance of which are one of the main criteria for determining his social status.

Social status of the educational institution determined by a number of characteristics:

type (institute, university, academy);
organizational and legal form (state, commercial),
presence or absence of state accreditation.

Status affects:

prestige of a higher educational institution;
quality of graduate training,
the nature of the scientific research being carried out,
role in the cultural development of the country and region.

Types of universities

Higher education institutions are represented by three main types: universities, academies, and institutes.
University in contrast to the academy and institute, it provides students with specialization in a fairly wide range of sciences and areas of training.

Institute Unlike an academy or university, it may not be a leading scientific and methodological center in its field of activity. They can be not only independent institutions, but also structural divisions of other higher educational institutions.
Ukrainian legislation allows the existence of higher educational institutions of all forms of ownership, i.e. educational institutions can be government and commercial. Most of the regulations and rules, as well as some documents for commercial universities, are advisory in nature and are exemplary.
^ Mission of the university region
At the beginning of the 21st century. Not only the social demand for higher education was revealed, but also the awareness of its decisive importance for the socio-cultural and economic development of individual regions of Ukraine.

Each university has certain resources, the specificity of which is determined by various cultural and educational conditions that determine the character, value orientations and preferences of people living in a particular region. People come to university with these values. Teachers and students are guided by them in life, and therefore in the educational process.

On the other hand, a university is an organization, an autonomous, sovereign community of teachers and students with its own culture, its own rules of the game, which in general they themselves, willingly or unwillingly, set.

Thus, the ideology, content and technology of professional education are filled with different content in different universities, and therefore the results of training are not the same.
This happens gradually diversification of a single type of educational institution. Therefore, the activities of a university in a large city, where many educational institutions operate and there is a powerful sociocultural and information infrastructure, differ from the activities of a university in a small city, for which the following functions are of paramount importance:

^ Social function - direct participation in determining the development paths of the region, studying its social problems and, on this basis, adjusting the structure of the content of the educational process.
^ Cultural function - providing opportunities for the implementation of the creative process. In this regard, the university complex includes not only educational premises, but also all socio-cultural facilities (sports facilities, university theater, museum, etc.), which are elements that ensure the educational process, acting as divisions or branches university faculties and departments.
^ Scientific function- a university in a small city, as a rule, cannot conduct research in all areas. The most accessible to him are problems related to regional issues.
^ Professional function - concentration at the university of the entire body of fundamental knowledge: philosophy, mathematics; humanitarian and natural sciences, technical and technological knowledge, as well as the transmission of this knowledge.

^ University complex
In order to further improve the training of highly qualified personnel in the field of vocational education in Ukraine, the number of multidisciplinary and multi-level educational complexes is growing.
They are functioning based on principles :

the unity of educational, scientific and innovation processes in connection with the economy and social sphere;
continuity of the educational process and interrelation of educational programs at various levels;
innovative focus from conducting fundamental scientific research to the development, replication and transfer into practice of high-tech technologies, including educational ones;
organizational, educational, methodological, scientific and information interaction between all departments of the university complex, equality and consideration of their interests.

Solution on the creation of a university complex is adopted jointly by the academic council of the university, administrations of enterprises and institutions at various levels and pedagogical councils of educational institutions that may be part of the complex.
Types of university complexes:

educational, uniting educational institutions of the same profile of different levels of education in diverse combinations (pedagogical, technical, medical profile: lyceum-college-university);
industrial training, which unite educational institutions of different levels and basic enterprises;
educational, scientific and production, including, along with educational institutions and enterprises, scientific departments of other universities, as well as research institutes and institutions.

University complex as a system allows:

integrate various educational institutions, which creates ample opportunities to meet customer needs for personnel;
carry out multi-level training of specialists in accordance with the modern needs of the region;
coordinate multi-level educational programs, forms and methods of preparation.

Functions of the University complex:

Training and Education Center, which puts into practice the unity of educational and educational processes with the broad involvement of intellectual potential and material and technical base.
^ Center for the development of a wide range of scientific and industrial research - interdisciplinary programs are implemented within the university, bringing together specialists from different fields of knowledge. Projects are being developed to primarily solve environmental, social and economic problems, to create strategic and tactical plans for the development of the region. For this purpose, permanent seminars, conferences, and trainings are created.
^ Center for Continuing Education: graduates and teachers of the complex take an active part in the activities of educational institutions of non-profit and secondary vocational education: schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, colleges, specialized classes. With the active participation of graduates and teachers, regional Olympiads are held, a system of special faculties is created for retraining and obtaining a second higher education, and the development of new, relevant subject courses at various levels (for non-profit and secondary vocational education).
^ Culture Center, in which an atmosphere of spiritual communication is created, moral and national values are supported and developed. For this purpose, conferences, symposiums, discussion clubs are organized, and various cultural events are held.
Information Center:

engaged in the publication of textbooks, scientific, methodological and general educational literature;
actively represented in the media (to form public opinion and support and develop all levels of education and science);
using and developing modern means of obtaining and exchanging information, computer networks, the Internet;
solving the problem of financing communication channels, involving all interested institutions, enterprises and services.

Center for International Scientific Cooperation, developing international educational contacts:

participation in international educational and scientific programs;
participation in competitions for grants;
cooperation with UNESCO information centers;
conducting joint educational and scientific activities;
participation in exchange programs for students, graduate students, and teachers;
foreign internship for teachers.

Requirements for the content of software

The content of the software must ensure:

World-class professional training and qualifications of specialists.
Focus on ensuring the self-determination of the individual, creating conditions for his self-realization and self-development, free choice of opinions and beliefs.
A high level of general and professional culture of a specialist, a level of civilization aimed at mutual understanding and cooperation between people, regardless of their racial, national, ethnic, religious and social affiliation.

Thus, the content of higher education is not limited to professional training, but reflects modern trends in the development of society, culture and personality.
Therefore, to main content elements HPOs include:

Professional and cognitive training, the result of which is knowledge.
Professional and practical training, the result of which is professional skills and abilities.
Professional education and development is the result of which the professionally important qualities of an individual and his professional culture.
General education and personal development - the result is personal qualities and general culture of the individual.

The content of the HPO is based on the basic provisions Gosstandart VPO, which includes:

general provisions of HPE;
classifier of directions and specialties;
state requirements for the minimum content and level of training of graduates in each specific area or specialty;
educational programs for training specialists.

The current State Standard for Higher Professional Education approves three levels of higher education that implement educational programs.

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that brings together significant social values and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society. Any functional institution arises and functions, fulfilling one or another social need.

Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.

The characteristics of the educational institution are:

1. attitudes and behavior patterns - love of knowledge, attendance

2. symbolic cultural signs - school emblem, school songs

3. utilitarian cultural features - classrooms, libraries, stadiums

5. ideology - academic freedom, progressive education, equality in education

Education is a social subsystem that has its own structure. As its main elements, we can distinguish educational institutions as social organizations, social communities (teachers and students), the educational process and a type of sociocultural activity.

Main types of education

The education system is also structured according to other principles; it includes a number of links: a preschool education system, a comprehensive school, vocational education, specialized secondary education, higher education, postgraduate education, a system of advanced training and retraining, and hobby education.

As for preschool education, sociology proceeds from the fact that the foundations of a person’s upbringing, his hard work, and many other moral qualities are laid in early childhood.

In general, the importance of preschool education is underestimated. Too often it is overlooked that this is an extremely important stage in a person’s life, at which the fundamental foundation of a person’s personal qualities is laid. And the point is not in quantitative indicators of “reaching” children or satisfying the desires of parents. Kindergartens, nurseries, and factories are not just a means of “looking after” children, their mental, moral and physical development takes place here. With the transition to teaching children from the age of 6, kindergartens were faced with new problems - organizing the activities of preparatory groups so that children could normally enter into the school rhythm of life and have self-service skills.

From the point of view of sociology, the analysis of society’s orientation towards supporting preschool forms of education, the willingness of parents to resort to their help to prepare children for work and the rational organization of their social and personal life is of particular importance. To understand the specifics of this form of education, the position and value orientations of those people who work with children - educators, service personnel - are especially significant, as well as their readiness, understanding and desire to fulfill the responsibilities and hopes assigned to them.

Unlike preschool education and upbringing, which does not cover every child (in 1992, only every second child was in kindergarten), secondary school is aimed at preparing all the younger generation without exception for life. In the conditions of the Soviet period, starting from the 60s, the principle of universality of complete secondary education was implemented in order to provide young people with an “equal start” when entering an independent working life. There is no such provision in the new Constitution of the Russian Federation. And if in the Soviet school, due to the requirement to give every young person a secondary education, percentage mania, postscripts, and artificially inflated academic performance flourished, then in the Russian school the number of school dropouts is growing (according to experts, in 1997, 1.5-2 million did not study). children), which will eventually affect the intellectual potential of society.

But even in this situation, the sociology of education is still aimed at studying the values of general education, the guidelines of parents and children, their reaction to the introduction of new forms of education, because for a young person, graduating from a comprehensive school is also the moment of choosing a future life path, profession, occupation. By choosing one of the options, a school graduate thereby gives preference to one or another type of vocational education. But what motivates him in choosing the trajectory of his future life path, what influences this choice and how it changes throughout his life is one of the most important problems of sociology. A special place is occupied by the study of professional education - vocational, secondary special and higher.

Vocational and technical education is most directly related to the needs of production, with an operational and relatively fast form of integrating young people into life. It is directly carried out within large production organizations or the state education system. Originating in 1940 as factory apprenticeship (FZU), vocational education has gone through a complex and tortuous path of development. And despite various costs (attempts to transfer the entire system to a combination of complete and special education in the preparation of necessary professions, poor consideration of regional and national characteristics), vocational training remains the most important channel for obtaining a profession. For the sociology of education, knowledge of the motives of students, the effectiveness of training, its role in advanced training and real participation in solving national economic problems are important.

At the same time, sociological studies both in the 70-80s and in the 90s still record the relatively low (and in a number of professions low) prestige of this type of education, because the orientation of school graduates towards obtaining higher education and then secondary specialized education education continues to prevail. As for secondary specialized and higher education, it is important for sociology to identify the social status of these types of education for young people, assess the opportunities and roles in future adult life, the correspondence of subjective aspirations and objective needs of society, the quality and effectiveness of training. In 1995, 27 million young people aged 12 to 22 were studying, of which 16% were university and technical school students.

Particularly pressing is the issue of the professionalism of future specialists, of ensuring that the quality and level of their modern training meets the realities of today. However, both studies from the 80s and studies from the 90s show that many problems have accumulated in this regard. As evidenced by the results of sociological research, the stability of the professional interests of young people continues to be low. According to research by sociologists, up to 60% of university graduates change their profession. According to a survey of technical school graduates in Moscow, only 28% of them three years after receiving

Functions of education

1 Social functions of the education system

Earlier it was said that education is connected with all spheres of public life. This connection is realized directly through the individual, who is included in economic, political, spiritual, and other social connections. Education is the only specialized subsystem of society, the target function of which coincides with the purpose of society. If various spheres and branches of the economy produce certain material and spiritual products, as well as services for humans, then the education system “produces” the person himself, influencing his intellectual, moral, aesthetic and physical development. This determines the leading social function of education - humanistic.

Humanization is an objective need for social development, the main vector of which is a focus on (man). Global technocratism as a method of thinking and the principle of activity of industrial society has dehumanized social relations, swapped goals and means. In our society, man, proclaimed as the highest goal, has in fact been transformed into the "labor resource". This was reflected in the education system, where the school saw its main function in "preparation for life", and under "life" labor activity turned out to be. The value of the individual as a unique individuality, an end in itself for social development, was pushed to the far side plan. The “worker” was valued above all. And since the worker can be replaced, this gave rise to the inhumane thesis that “there are no irreplaceable people.” In essence, it turned out that the life of a child or teenager is not yet a full life, but only a preparation for life , life begins with entry into work, but what about its completion? It is no coincidence that in the public consciousness there was an attitude towards the elderly and the disabled as inferior members of society. Unfortunately, at present the situation in this regard has not improved; we have to talk about the increasing dehumanization of society as a real process, where the value of labor has already been lost.

Considering the humanistic function, it should be said that this concept is filled with new content. Humanism in its classical, anthropocentric understanding in modern conditions is limited and insufficient, does not correspond to the concept of sustainable development, the survival of mankind. Today, man is viewed as an open system from the standpoint of the leading idea of the end of the second millennium - the idea of co-evolution. Man is not the center of the Universe, but a particle of Society, Nature, and Space. Therefore, it is legitimate to talk about neo-humanism. If we turn to the various links of the education system, then the neo-humanistic function is intended to be implemented most fully in the system of preschool education and in secondary schools, and to the greatest extent in the lower grades. It is here that the foundations of the intellectual, moral, and physical potential of the individual are laid. As recent studies by psychologists and geneticists show, a person’s intelligence is 90% formed by the age of 9. But here we are faced with the phenomenon of the “inverted pyramid”. It is precisely these links in the education system itself that are considered non-core, and vocational, secondary and higher education come to the fore (in terms of importance, financing, etc.). As a result, the social losses of society are great and irreparable. To solve the problem it is necessary to: overcome the subject-centric approach in education, especially in secondary schools; humanitarization and humanization of education, including, along with a change in the content of education, a change in relationships in the teacher-student system (from object-based to subject-objective).

The formation of educational communities connected by involvement in educational processes and a value-based attitude to education, and their reproduction.

Homogenization of society through the organized socialization of individuals - instilling similar social characteristics in the name of the integrity of society.

As more and more attainable statuses in society are determined by education, such a function of education as intensifying social movements becomes increasingly visible. Education throughout the world is naturally becoming the main channel of social movement, usually upward, leading individuals to more complex types of work, greater income and prestige. Thanks to them, class structure becomes more open, social life becomes more egalitarian, and unfavorable differences in the development of different social groups are actually mitigated.

Social selection. In education, individuals are separated into streams that determine their future status. The formal justification for this is the level of ability that tests are used to identify. But the tests contain a certain cultural context, the understanding of which depends on the relationship between the dominant culture (on which the tests are based) and the cultural characteristics of the microenvironment of the student’s primary socialization. The greater the distance between these cultural types, the less attention the student receives from the teacher and the more likely it is that he will fail the test. An individual's educational career is thus largely determined by the social status of his parents.

Reproduction of those social classes, groups and layers to which membership is determined by educational certificates. School provides individuals with unequal education and unequal development of abilities and skills, which is confirmed, as a rule, by established certificates and is a condition for occupying appropriate places in systems of division of labor (and social stratification).

Substitute parents, social support for students during their stay within the walls of an educational institution. For its sake, specialized organizational and role structures are created that resemble a family environment. In fulfilling this function, education and especially pre-vocational school reproduces cultural stereotypes and role differentiation inherent in the family.

2 Functions of education in the production and economic sphere

Formation of professional and qualification composition of the population. From a quantitative point of view, the education system is responsible for the reproduction of the professional and educational composition of the population. In practice, it fluctuates between overproduction and underproduction. Both extremes negatively affect the professional structure, cause an influx of people without appropriate training into the profession, and the mass practice of teaching a profession “on the spot” without scientific foundations and creative skills. They destroy professional culture, make relationships within and between groups unclear, introduce unprofessional criteria into the assessment of people, and strengthen the role of ascribed statuses in the social advancement of individuals. The qualitative side reflects the formation of the production properties of workers and is largely associated with vocational school. But the same properties are directly developed in work activity, in general educational training, where the creative and moral potential of the employee is formed. Its productivity and innovative activity increase somewhat with the growth of general education.

The excess of the educational level over the requirements of the workplace plays a positive role in production, creates a reserve of the creative potential of the individual, qualification and social advancement of a person. In a non-ideal situation, this same circumstance increases the contradiction between the claims of the owner of excess education and the expectations of the people around him, and can lead to conflict.

Formation of consumer standards of the population. The role of education in the economy is broader than production aspects. It manifests itself in the consumption of goods, information, cultural values, and natural resources. This function is always characteristic of education; it is enough to recall the biblical commandments about moderation of consumption or the instructions of the Russian Domostroy. It also determines the main content of informal education taking place in the family or constructed by the media. Education can bring rational standards to people's material needs, promote the establishment of a resource-saving economy, as well as a stable and favorable human environment. In market conditions, such a function opposes the interests of business, although it is more consistent with national interests.

Attracting economic resources. Sources of resources are different: from the state budget to private investment. In essence, they represent the customer and inevitably affect the content and forms of education. Reliance on the state budget gives rise to unification, and orientation towards business circles or sponsors strengthens the autonomy of educational structures. The partial transfer of the school to the local budget caused active development of regional and local components in the content of education.

Internal distribution of economic and other resources. Authorized educational structures distribute funds between regions, individual subsystems and institutions, types of activities, and positions. As a result, resources are provided for such areas of activity that are oriented towards the “non-educational” space (previously - material assistance to students, their families, sponsored students, improvement of sites, organization of recreation, etc., now - maintenance of commercial, research, design and other structures ). This distribution sometimes reinforces social inequality and perpetuates the lag of groups due to the fact that some education subsystems do not receive enough resources. In the Russian Federation, some rural kindergartens, after being transferred to the local budget, are closed or do not provide the proper level of education. Children without preschool preparation are unable to master primary school programs and end up in correction classes. Is it necessary to comment on the personal and social consequences of such a situation?

The education system is capable of modifying economic incentives and making adjustments to the practice of financial support that entail a change in the socio-economic status of its participants. One way or another, the process of resource distribution in education is always determined by its social organization. Social conditioning is even more significant than economic, because economic criteria have almost no direct application here. In the foreground are criteria that are the normative product of agreement between professional groups (or officials) of a given industry. The education system often acts contrary to common sense. For example, the teacher education system in the USSR produced teachers in obviously inflated volumes (2.8 times), which restrained the growth of teachers’ incomes, the solution of housing problems, and the technical re-equipment of schools. The justification was the consequence of the same practice - the high professional turnover of teachers.

3 Functions of education in the field of culture

Reproduction of social types of culture. Education imparts manufacturability and constructive forms to knowledge, thanks to which it becomes possible to systematize, compose, broadcast and accumulate it in increasing volumes. The transfer of knowledge and experience becomes dynamic, widespread, and open. But not all, but selected (in accordance with orders) types of culture, for example, dominant, school, professional, become the object of transmission.

Innovation in the cultural sphere is carried out selectively through the school. The public education system transmits only part of the innovations achieved in culture. Innovations from the mainstream of the dominant culture are accepted that do not pose a threat to the integrity of a given social organization (the stability of its management structures). In relation to other innovations, even progressive ones, the education system can serve as a kind of barrier.

The formation and reproduction of social intelligence (mentality, certain industries and social technologies of intellectual activity) includes provisions formulated by Durkheim: the dissemination of essential knowledge through training, instilling cognitive skills in individuals. The education system has become a multi-sectoral complex, its goal is not just the transfer of knowledge and personal development, but intellectual support for the development of society. A number of researchers argue that this function has a key role in the rate of progress of civilization in the near future. It has already become a factor in global rivalry. Transnationalization of education is a means of geopolitics. World leaders strive to control educational complexes in different areas of the world, transferring their educational technologies or other models specially developed for other countries. Thus, in the social intellect, a dependence of the recipient on the donor arises, guaranteeing the donor superiority and sources of deferred and immediate profit. Countries with long traditions in their education systems can also become recipients in times of crisis, when the state and society partially lose control over the conceptual development of the education system and providing it with the necessary human, information, and technological resources.

4 Functions of education in the socio-political sphere

The formation of personality is one of the vital interests of the state and groups, therefore, a mandatory component of education is legal norms and political values that reflect the political interests of groups that dictate the direction of development in a given society and seek control over the school.

Instilling in educational communities acceptable (shared) legal and political values and norms, ways of participating in political life is characteristic of public education, but is also manifested in the sphere of non-formal education. There are hardly any examples when the educational institution does not counteract manifestations of legal or political deviations. Any political system begins by fighting for the old school or creating a new one. Awareness of this function inevitably leads to ideologization of the content of education. In this sense, formal education ensures the encouragement of law-abiding legal and political behavior, as well as the reproduction of state (dominant) ideology. Social groups - carriers of alternative political values, strive to establish their own school, or introduce their own legal norms and political values into an existing one. The education system is never ideologically neutral; it always asserts ideological control in the explicit form of party committees or in the implicit form - in guidelines for depoliticization, in personnel policies, in curricula, recommended textbooks, etc.

In the national-state organization of society, the school purposefully shapes the orientation of the population in the foreign policy space. The ethnosocial type of culture determines the content of education, emphasizing in it the leading interests of a given ethnic group. This is how the school promotes patriotism.

In research and practical terms, the definition of the functions of education serves to develop a universal system of measurable parameters for the development of the institution of education and its influence on society. After defining the functions, it is necessary to assess how well the existing structures in the education system correspond to them.

Problems of sociology of education

Young people enter life - working, social and political - with, as a rule, a secondary education. However, it varies greatly in quality. Significant differences depend on social factors: in specialized schools with in-depth study of individual subjects it is higher than in ordinary schools; higher in urban schools than in rural ones; in the daytime it is higher than in the evening (shift). These differences deepened due to the country's transition to market relations. Elite schools (lyceums, gymnasiums) appeared. The education system is clearly

becomes one of the indicators of social differentiation. The desired diversity in education turns into social selection through education.

Society is moving from a relatively democratic education system, accessible to representatives of all social groups, open to control and influence from society, to a selective, elitist model based on the idea of autonomy of education in both economic and political aspects. Proponents of this concept believe that education is the same sphere of entrepreneurial activity as production and commerce, and therefore should function in such a way as to generate profit. Hence the inevitability of students paying for education and the use of various systems to determine the level of intellectual development or talent. The ability to pay and personal talent are the strings from which the sieve of selection is woven, with ever-decreasing cells as one moves to the top of the educational and then social pyramid.

In the 1997/98 academic year, it was planned to admit 82 thousand students in paid education and about 60 thousand in non-state higher educational institutions, which is 26% of the plan in state universities (542.6 thousand), or 40% of full-time forms of education (361.1 thousand). And if we take into account that the share of “new Russians” and the relatively rich people who joined them does not exceed 10%, then it becomes obvious that higher education is developing in the interests of only certain social groups.

Similar processes occur in secondary school, although they have their own specific features. The situation now is that, having broken the old system of secondary education and not created a new one, society has found itself in a very difficult situation. The abandonment of the activities of children's public organizations and the miserable position of teachers have led to the fact that education has lost almost all guidelines without gaining new ones. Under these conditions, the younger generation is deprived of stable moral ideals and has received nothing in return. This process is aggravated by attempts to commercialize the school, which is not always accompanied by an increase in the quality of education. This is evidenced by serious conflicts between the parent community and the organizers of new forms of education.

In general, the optimal combination of general education and professional training has not yet been found. After serious criticism, which exposed many vices that no longer correspond to the spirit of the times, standards and rules, general and vocational education are becoming much more flexible than it was before. But its role and responsibility in training qualified workers is still far from the required level.

Professional education is an important stage in the civic formation of the individual, in its harmonious development. failure to understand the objectively necessary connection between development and professionalism gives rise not only to scholastic disputes regarding the “contradiction” of both, but also to serious errors in the practice of working with youth, when the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills in one form or another is opposed to general humanitarian culture. As a result, either the notorious “technocratic distortions” arise, or attempts to form a human humanitarian culture in isolation from life, from work and social practice.

A special place in enriching the intellectual potential of the country belongs to higher education. However, changes in the content, directions, and structure of its activities occur very slowly. Data from sociological research indicate that students and teachers highly value the opportunity for creativity, advocate for increasing the share of independent work, improving exam forms, expanding their participation in university management, and support the development of a competitive certification system for all personnel. At the same time, by the mid-90s, higher education entered into a severe crisis, from which not all universities have the opportunity to emerge with dignity.

The school now faces a difficult choice - to find the best ways for its further development. The assessment of the changes taking place is ambiguous, because in the public mood and public opinion there are a variety of points of view, including diametrically opposed ones. However, proposals and judgments, no matter how contradictory in essence they may be, reflect the deep interest of people in ensuring and further increasing the spiritual potential of society.

Along with instilling respect for work and professional guidance, the humanization of education, the development of self-government, and the development of practical skills among young people for organizational and social work play a significant role in the development of personality.

The consciousness and behavior of young people is greatly influenced by the mechanism of management of an educational institution. Strict adherence to the norms and principles of democracy, legality, justice, and openness even during the years of study becomes for them a kind of standard with which they later compare their life path.

However, the style of work of the director (rector), pedagogical and academic councils, class teachers, mentors does not always contribute to the development and consolidation of the positive social experience of young people, and does not sufficiently resist manifestations of nihilism, indifference, indifference to public affairs, as well as demagoguery and anarchic actions.

The role of various forms of communication between students and their peers in foreign countries is also great. Meetings at international conferences, correspondence, and tourist trips contribute to the formation of solidarity among young people and the acquisition of civil communication skills, despite existing differences.

The education system is still poorly shaped by high spiritual needs and aesthetic tastes, and a strong immunity to lack of spirituality and “mass culture.” The role of social science disciplines, literature, and art lessons remains insignificant. The study of the historical past, truthful coverage of complex and contradictory stages of national history are poorly combined with an independent search for one’s own answers to the questions that life poses. But there is no doubt that historical consciousness, combined with national self-awareness, acquires a decisive role in the civic behavior of students. The information revolution encourages continuous expansion of knowledge. True, they do not have a homogeneous structure. There is always a core - the knowledge that forms the basis of the sciences, and a periphery, where the process of accumulation and renewal takes place, which does not depreciate the value of fixed capital. For all effectively working specialists, scientists who have achieved success, as their life experience shows, the main conditions were two: a solid fundamental knowledge base and the need to learn, and society’s respect for those who thirst for knowledge.

Improving public education is unthinkable without measuring the situation in which the teaching staff, a significant part of the teaching corps, finds itself.

If we adhere to formal criteria - the presence of special education, work experience, etc., then most teachers meet their purpose. But if we evaluate their activities on their merits, we must admit that many of them have lagged behind the requirements of the time.

The main group of teachers are women, although it has long become obvious that in the education of boys, young men (and girls) the school experiences an acute lack of “male influence”. Although teachers' salaries have been significantly increased recently, the average earnings of public education workers are still much lower than those of workers and engineering workers in industry and construction, and even in comparison with the average salary in the country.

As special surveys of rural teachers have shown, most of them are provided with material and living conditions much worse than other rural specialists. Teachers are often distracted from their teaching duties to perform various unrelated tasks. As a result, the teacher's time budget is extremely strained, and very little of it is left for self-education.

Many teachers have little idea of the processes taking place in society, and in particular among young people. Therefore, their work proceeds without the proper “sight”. They are not spared from moral decline and degeneration: individual teachers and heads of educational institutions are accused of extorting money from students and their parents, various illegal frauds, and drunkenness.

The formation of teaching staff is related to the specifics of their work. It organically does not accept the infringement of their rights and authority, does not tolerate and rejects the lordly arrogant attitude towards them. Streamlining the work and rest regime of teachers is also a necessary prerequisite for their civic and professional growth. The living conditions of teachers require improvements. Despite the benefits provided to them, providing them with housing, medical care, and new literature remains an open question.

And if, in conclusion of this topic, we mention some problems of material, technical and financial support, then it can be argued that the dominance of the residual principle has negated any opportunities to make an effective breakthrough in a qualitatively new approach to the needs of public education. It is obvious that in a situation where funding for public education has lagged several dozen times behind funding in industrialized countries, it is necessary to decisively change positions. The school seriously lags behind in terms of equipment, computer technology, and materials, and thus puts its students in a position where they cannot act as full-fledged participants in the competition in the information field.

One of the functions of public education is to stimulate self-education, self-training, and a constant thirst for knowledge. Self-education, independent acquisition of knowledge and skills is by no means limited to the school system. Of course, school can and should give a person the skills to independently work with a book, document, etc. But self-education is built on the basis of general and vocational education, and not in replacement of it. New technical and information capabilities of educational television, video cassette technology, personal computers, and distance learning have yet to be widely used for the needs of self-education. The fate of new generations is increasingly determined by the general culture of man: the development of logical thinking, linguistic, mathematical, and computer literacy.

The connection between learning and productive work continues to be relevant. Thanks to this, not only labor skills and work habits are acquired, opportunities are opened for applying knowledge of the fundamentals of science in work activities, but the social significance of productive labor is also realized. Without such awareness, students’ performance of labor functions turns out to be, in the words of A. S. Makarenko, “pedagogically neutral.” People have worked and work at all times, but only when work acquires a new social quality does it become one of the powerful factors in the formation of the spiritual wealth of the individual.

In the conditions of market relations, the role of direct participation of high school students, vocational school students, and students in solving specific scientific and production problems is increasing. The experience of many schools testifies, for example, to the fruitful results of adolescents’ participation in experimental production (especially in agriculture), testing new technologies, materials, work methods, etc. In secondary specialized and higher educational institutions, youth participation is encouraged in research and design work, in the implementation of contracts with enterprises.

Recently, the public, together with public education workers, has been actively discussing the possibilities and prospects for organizing school cooperatives. And not so much for the sake of strengthening the material and financial base (although this is important), but for the sake of the child’s quickest entry into real life, into the everyday worries of the older generation.

In this regard, I would like to recall some facts from history. The first school cooperatives appeared in Russia in 1910-1912. It was in 1912 that the All-Russian Exhibition spoke about cooperatives from Kyiv and Mogilev. The revolution did not abolish children's cooperation. In 1924, according to the Central Union, more than 1.5 thousand children's associations operated, more than 50 thousand boys and girls were equal in their work to adults. In 1925, in some regions, children's cooperatives united 10-11% of schoolchildren.

The goals of the cooperation at that time were mainly, as they say, “supply”: to provide children with educational literature, cheap notebooks and pens. Moreover, sometimes it was possible to reduce the price of a textbook by half. The children of the poor generally received them for free. Moreover, in large cooperatives they sold hot breakfasts, buns, tea to the children, and created buffets and canteens. It is worth noting that today not all schools can boast of this.

In general, the existing education system and its diverse links present a very contradictory picture, in which positive changes are often interspersed with negative or uncertain trends.

The question of the concept of public education and its further functioning is still acute. The main emphasis is on the content of education, on active ways of introducing the child into the world as a whole. The focus is not on individual school subjects, not on the number of hours in certain disciplines, or even on the volume of information, but on the search for new ways of organizing education, in which as many direct, personal connections with the worldview as possible would be established in the child’s mind. This is precisely the true wealth, integrity and unity of the individual, the guarantee of its true freedom. And on the contrary, in order to control and manipulate a person, it is necessary to dismember this unity, break it and contrast the personal with the social, the political with the moral, and the professional with the human. This was successfully done by the authoritarian school, changing these parts in places, pushing them against each other and arbitrarily establishing their priority.

Overcoming the inertia of public consciousness in assessing education and the “distortions” that arise in it is not an easy task. Success here is determined primarily by changes in the socio-economic conditions of society. But the educational efforts of the school can have a significant anticipatory effect if, in promoting professions and their social significance, the social ideal is organically linked with the interests of people, social and demographic groups of the population, if the school works in this direction in close contact with parents and public organizations.

It is clear that the search for the most rational ways to update all levels of public education will require even greater efforts from sociology to comprehensively analyze the real situation, determine trends in its development, as well as participate in solving pressing problems of forming the country’s intellectual potential.

Together with the already well-known rethinking of school education, it seems necessary to analyze the modern problems of school from an ideological point of view. Most serious scientists, philosophers and sociologists, adherents of various theoretical views, agree that today humanity is in a transition period, on the eve of a new civilization, carrying in its consciousness the ways of thinking and activity of the old, so-called technogenic civilization, the fundamental basis of which is the principle rationality and a characteristic picture of the world constructed in accordance with it. The global civilizational shifts that we are now observing call into question not only the very biological existence of the human individual, but also the legitimacy of following a rationalistic worldview in the development of mankind. The biosocial load on the individual increases sharply. Education, being a “cultural instrument”, without which “our conscious life and psyche, left to natural processes, would represent chaos and disorder,” has a supra-adaptive character, introducing the younger generation to the culture of yesterday and today, forming the worldview of tomorrow. Therefore, the concept of existence not only has a biological meaning, it implies the entire conceptual apparatus of a person, a way of thinking embodied in his activities, in the ways of interacting with the surrounding reality and in determining his place in it. Existence as an ideological category is organically woven into the fabric of the educational process of the school. “we must not only teach the younger generation to survive in extreme socio-economic conditions, but also educate them in a unique culture of existence in the world, in a society included not only in global “earthly”, but also in cosmic, universal processes...”. The concept of socialization as a function of education, understood as “the process and result of the inclusion of a growing person in society, thanks to the assimilation and more or less active reproduction by an individual of social experience, historically accumulated culture...”, today should be expanded to the level of assimilation and inclusion of the individual in the general civilization ideological space where education is the leading and determining factor.

Global sociocultural changes in the world, the so-called civilizational shifts, are increasingly revealing the discrepancy between the existing school education system and the emerging social needs on the eve of the new anthropogenic reality. This discrepancy causes attempts to reform the secondary school from time to time in our country. Despite these attempts, many researchers tend to assess the state of school education as critical. The school crisis is naturally a reflection of socio-economic processes manifested in education in the following:

Loss of the usual goals of school education;

Acute lack of funding;

Inertia inherent in all educational systems and society as a whole.

But if the crisis were reduced only to this series of problems, overcoming it would only be a matter of time and the success of reforming the Russian social system. However, the close attention of domestic and foreign scientists to the problems of education is primarily associated with the evolution of the worldview of mankind, which places man as part of the macrocosm at the center of the scientific picture of the world. And then the problems of school education come to the fore, since they affect fundamental human values that require a civilizational approach to their consideration. Such problems include:

The problem of optimizing the interaction between the individual and society as finding a balance between social-normative pressure and the individual’s desire for socio-psychological autonomy, overcoming the inconsistency of the “needs” of the social order and the interests of the individual (student, teacher, parent);

The problem of overcoming the disintegration of the content of school education in the process of creating and implementing a new socio-educational paradigm that can become the starting point in the formation of a holistic picture of the world in the student;

Problems of coordination and integration of pedagogical technologies;

The problem of developing problematic thinking in students through a gradual shift from monologue to dialogical communication in the classroom;

The problem of overcoming the irreducibility of learning outcomes in various types of educational institutions through the development and introduction of uniform educational standards based on a comprehensive systematic analysis of the educational process.

The search for the reasons for the critical state of school education forces many researchers to turn not only to the socio-economic problems of a particular society, but also to the analysis of civilizational development, which determines the way a person thinks, the development of public institutions, including the school education system. However, being on the eve of the new millennium, in the face of a new “anthropogenic era,” the average person has a vague idea of the nature and essence of the civilizational processes in the center of which he is located. Therefore, it is necessary to once again turn to the very concept of civilization and determine the significance of civilizational processes in the nature of the problems of school education.

Bibliography

1. Mukhaev R. T. Political science: a textbook for universities. M.: 1998. -368 p.

2. Ilyin M.V. Speech at the “Free Speech” round table meeting on September 18, 1996 - “Does Russia need a new ideology, and if so, what kind?” - M., 1996. - P. 47-53.

3. Melville A. Yu. USA - shift to the right? Conservatism in the ideological and political life of the United States in the 80s. - M., 1986. - P. 35-54.

4. Shapiro I. Introduction to the typology of liberalism. // "Polis", # 3, 1994. P.7-12.

5. Struve P.V. On the measure and boundaries of liberal conservatism. // "Polis", # 3, 1994. pp. 131-134.

6. Garbuzov V. N. Conservatism: concept and typology (historiographical review). // "Polis", # 4, 1995. pp. 60-68.

7. State ideology / Kovalev A. M. // Bulletin of Moscow State University; episode 12; Socio-political studies; 1994 No. 1

8. Political ideologies: history and modernity / V. I. Kovalenko, A. I. Kostin // Bulletin of Moscow State University; episode 12; political science; 1997 No. 12

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site http://www.cooldoclad.narod.ru/

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Education is an institution that promotes the transmission and reception from one generation to another of systematized, generally accepted and generally accepted knowledge. It provides the process of development and self-development of the individual associated with the mastery of the socially significant experience of humanity, embodied in knowledge, skills, creative activity and emotional and value-based attitude to the world. Moreover, this process occurs, as a rule, within the framework of a formal group, in the course of formal “teacher-student” relationships. Education is a special institution, the principles and norms of which are clearly stated, and which combines a special set of statuses and roles, and is also managed by special personnel. By crossing the threshold that separates family from school, a child enters a fundamentally different type of jurisdiction. The family, as it were, “transfers” it to another social institution and a completely different type of institution. There are other norms and rules of behavior at work here, and they apply not only to this child, but equally to all others.

Most sociologists believe that the institution of education performs a number of important functions in society (especially modern society). These include:

1) social control function

2) reproduction function,

3) intelligence function

The formation of educational institutions in traditional societies becomes possible only with the advent of writing. The institutionalization of education has two aspects: on the one hand, it is the development of a certain part of society’s needs for the assimilation of this accumulated knowledge, and on the other hand, the needs of society itself for further multiplication and expansion of their volume. Both of these needs act as complementary and mutually conditioning each other, like two sides of the coin - the institutionalization of formal education.

Date of publication: 2014-11-03; Read: 525 | Page copyright infringement

/. 1. Institutional approach to education

As already noted, the institutional approach is most characteristic for the sociological analysis of education. In accordance with it, by education we will understand a stable form of organization of social life and joint activities of people, which includes a set of persons and institutions endowed with power and material means (based on existing certain norms and principles) for the implementation of social functions and roles, management and social control, during which training, education, development and socialization of the individual are carried out with subsequent mastery of a profession, specialty, qualification.

The above definition of education reflects such structural elements of any social institution as: a) the presence of a special form of organization of people’s life activities; b) special institutions for such an organization with an appropriate group of persons authorized to perform the necessary social functions and roles for managing and controlling activities; c) norms and principles of relations between these officials and members of society included in the orbit of action of a given social institution, as well as sanctions for failure to comply with these norms and principles; d) necessary material resources (public buildings, equipment, finances, etc.); e) special functions and areas of activity.

Let us dwell in more detail on the functions of the social institution of education. It, like any other social institution, should be considered multifunctional. This allows him to always be in demand at the level of both society and individual social communities and individuals. Multifunctionality also contributes to the successful implementation of the compensatory tasks of a social institution of education, which means that the institution, in the event of weakening of some functions, can strengthen the effect of others (for example, a decrease in the volume of classroom hours in the educational process should lead to the creation of additional conditions for self-education of students).

There are many interpretations of the functions of education, primarily in pedagogy, philosophy of education and sociology of education, but most often they relate to activity-based, systemic, sociocultural, procedural approaches to their consideration. Without going into discussions on this matter, we will offer the author’s version of the interpretation of the functions of the social institution of education. First, we will divide them into two large groups - external and internal for the educational institution itself, or external and internal.

1.2. External and internal institutional functions of education

The first group of functions “exposes” education to society as a whole, its numerous social institutions, phenomena and processes of an economic, social and cultural nature. Here is the maintenance of stability and balance in the social organism, and the development of production, and the improvement of the professional structure of society, and changes in the social structure, social stratification and mobility, and sociocultural processes, etc.

The second group of functions can be defined as intra-institutional; it concerns processes and phenomena within education itself and is associated with the educational process, its content characteristics, quality, efficiency, socialization of the individual, his upbringing, spiritual and physical improvement and human development, etc.

First, let us characterize the functions of the social institution of education from an external institutional point of view. First of all, it ensures stability and social order in society, and not only in the field of education, but also far beyond it, since it is connected by diverse relationships with other social institutions (for example, the state, production, science, culture, family) and has an impact on they have a strong influence. The Institute of Education interacts with a number of social institutions both directly and directly (illustration of this are the institutions mentioned above), and indirectly, through indirect links (for example, with the institutions of social movements and political parties, sports, etc.).

The named functions of education are of a rather general nature, not specific in relation to individual spheres of social life. Meanwhile, the institution of education performs a number of well-defined economic, social, and cultural functions in society.

Economic ones include, first of all, the formation by the educational institution of the social and professional structure of society and workers who have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities. The Institute of Education influences the economy primarily through appropriate training of participants in the production process - both professional and social. The question is what nature and content of education should be given today from the point of view of its relevance in production and in society. But this is already a problem of professional education, its structure and content, which we will specifically consider in the corresponding chapter. Here one more circumstance should be noted as very noteworthy: already today in developed countries, a significant part of even blue-collar professions require not only secondary, but also higher education, and from the point of view of both professional and production, as well as social and personal needs.

The social functions of education are quite diverse.

Firstly, this is the reproduction and change in the social structure of society, its stratification model in general and its specific elements in particular. Secondly, these are social movements, transitions of groups, layers and people from one social position to another, or, as they say in sociology, social mobility, which takes place largely due to education.

The cultural functions of the social institution of education consist in the use by the individual and the social community of its achievements for the formation and development of creative activity and the improvement of culture.

Education is the foundation of culture not only from the point of view of its development as a social institution and a special sphere of life, but also on a personal level. After all, receiving an education is nothing more than the process of awakening, forming and realizing the needs for the creation, consumption and dissemination of cultural values. It should be especially emphasized that the cultural function of education is the reproduction and development of the material and spiritual culture of the most diverse layers and groups of the population, but above all youth.

It would be wrong to consider education only as a tool for satisfying economic, social, cultural and other needs of a social nature. The institution of education is no less important for a specific person, satisfying his educational interests and needs beyond the goals and objectives related to the development of the economy, politics, social sphere, and culture.

Education is also a value in itself, an end in itself. Now understanding this circumstance is of particular importance for society. It is in this role that education and its variety, self-education, often act as a source of scientific and cultural progress. Unfortunately, in the activities of the social institution of education, this side of it is rarely taken into account, as a result of which the organization and development of education itself suffers, and most importantly, people who do not receive enough spiritual food due to the lack of the necessary conditions for this.

The named functional characteristics of education as a social institution are important for any educational structures. They are all brought together by the function of forming the personal “core” of society. In this regard, it should be specially noted that education contributes to the active implementation of the process of socialization of the individual, without which he will not be able to successfully fulfill the entire complex of social roles. Here we move on to consider the intra-institutional functions of education.

The Institute of Education promotes strengthening social connections and intra-group cohesion among students and teaching staff. It encourages the behavior of social groups that is desirable from the point of view of society in the field of education, upbringing, socialization, professional training, the interaction of these groups within the framework of democratic innovations, pedagogy of cooperation, humanization of the educational process, etc. Within the boundaries of the intra-institutional activities of educational institutions, control is exercised over deviating from the established norms and principles of behavior. In this sense, the most important function of the social institution of education is to streamline and reduce the activities of social communities within its framework to predictable patterns of social roles, to promote the observance of social order and the maintenance of a favorable moral climate in society.

Among the intra-institutional functions of education, it is necessary first of all to name the functions of training, education, development, socialization of the individual, and professional training (including training in a specialty with the achievement of appropriate qualifications for students in it). An important intra-institutional function of education is to ensure its high quality, allowing a graduate of an educational institution to be in demand in the labor market.

We do not set ourselves the goal of a special and detailed discussion of the issue of the intra-institutional functions of education, believing that this is a task primarily not of sociological, but of pedagogical science. Note that in the sociological literature these functions were analyzed in detail in the works of V.I. Dobrenkova and V.Ya. Nechaeva 1. Among the functions they consider are disciplinary training, socialization-education, professional training (with a detailed description of its main stages), legitimation and integration, cultural-generative function, and social control function.

Characteristics of the functions of education make it possible to determine its place and role in public life. Of course, it acts not only as a social institution, but also in its other manifestations, including as a system. Moreover, people most often perceive education as a system that includes various stages, links and levels (preschool, school, vocational, additional education, etc.).

The features of the institutional approach to education become well understood when comparing it with other approaches. This is best done by comparing institutional and systemic approaches, since the latter is most often implemented in the course of analytical, research, management and reform activities in the field of education.

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Studopedia.org - Studopedia.Org - 2014-2018 (0.002 s)…

A social institution is an organized system of connections and social norms that brings together significant social values and procedures that satisfy the basic needs of society.

Any functional institution arises and functions, fulfilling one or another social need.

Each social institution has both specific features and common features with other institutions.

The characteristics of the educational institution are:

1. attitudes and patterns of behavior - love of knowledge, attendance

2. symbolic cultural signs - school emblem, school songs

3. utilitarian cultural features - classrooms, libraries, stadiums

5. ideology - academic freedom, progressive education, equality in education

Main types of education

As for preschool education, sociology proceeds from the fact that the foundations of a person’s upbringing, his hard work, and many other moral qualities are laid in early childhood.

To understand the specifics of this form of education, the position and value orientations of those people who work with children - educators, service personnel - are especially significant, as well as their readiness, understanding and desire to fulfill the responsibilities and hopes assigned to them.

Education as a social institution (page 1 of 5)

But what motivates him in choosing the trajectory of his future life path, what influences this choice and how it changes throughout his life is one of the most important problems of sociology. A special place is occupied by the study of professional education - vocational, secondary special and higher.

Functions of education

1 Social functions of the education system

The place and role of education in society. Education is an institution that promotes the transmission and reception from one generation to another of systematized, generally accepted and generally accepted knowledge. It provides the process of development and self-development of the individual associated with the mastery of the socially significant experience of humanity, embodied in knowledge, skills, creative activity and emotional and value-based attitude to the world. Moreover, this process occurs, as a rule, within the framework of a formal group, in the course of formal “teacher-student” relations.

Education is a special institution, the principles and norms of which are clearly stated, and which combines a special set of statuses and roles, and is also managed by special personnel. By crossing the threshold that separates family from school, a child enters a fundamentally different type of jurisdiction. The family, as it were, “transfers” it to another social institution and a completely different type of institution. There are other norms and rules of behavior at work here, and they apply not only to this child, but equally to all others.

Functions of the social institution of education. Most sociologists believe that the institution of education performs a number of important functions in society (especially modern society).

10. Education as a social institution.

These include:

1) social control function. Schoolchildren or students, while within the walls of an educational institution, experience constant social and psychological pressure, not only from teachers, but also from the classmates around them; they are now the ones who become “significant others” for him.

2) reproduction function, those. reproduction (in the broad sense of the word) of new full-fledged members of society, possessing approximately the same complex of knowledge about the world around them as all other members of a given society and a similar system of values and standards of behavior.

3) intelligence function(development of intelligence) of those members of society who fall within its sphere of influence, i.e. in transferring to them a complex of knowledge that is generally recognized as important and significant - both scientific and otherwise, as well as in developing logical thinking skills. In the words of Nietzsche, “school has no more important task than to teach rigorous thinking, caution in judgment and consistency in conclusions.”

4)function of enhancing social mobility. The Institute of Education is quite rightly considered as one of the important channels of social mobility. In most societies we know, obtaining a formal education is seen as a prerequisite for access to higher status positions.

5) function of forming social conformity. It should be remembered that any social mobility channel has its own filters. At the institute of education, such filters include not only formal exams, but also a test of loyalty to the ruling system and the value system prevailing in it. The Institute of Education not only shapes and disciplines the intellect, it develops in its students the skills of social conformity. Pierre Bourdieu, for example, argues that the school, through its mechanisms for awarding certificates and diplomas, is the key institution through which the established order is maintained in society.

Education in different types of societies. Educational institutions in the societies where they arise are firmly integrated into the general system of social relations, becoming an organic part of it, and social changes occurring in other institutions inevitably affect education.

In primitive societies, the institution of education simply does not and cannot exist. Here, the accumulation of knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for life and their transfer to subsequent generations is carried out exclusively orally and, most often, on an individual basis. Here, a special role belongs to the elderly, who act as guardians, guardians and even - in necessary cases - reformers of morals, customs and the entire complex of knowledge established from time to time that make up the essence of material and spiritual life. The institutionalization of education in a primitive society is, in principle, impossible due to the fact that there is no written language. This is quite important because the lack of writing precludes the unification of a more or less standard body of knowledge, which always lies at the foundation of any formal education.

The formation of educational institutions in traditional societies becomes possible only with the advent of writing.

The institutionalization of education has two aspects: on the one hand, it is the development of a certain part of society’s needs for the assimilation of this accumulated knowledge, and on the other hand, the needs of society itself for further multiplication and expansion of their volume. Both of these needs act as complementary and mutually conditioning each other, like two sides of the coin - the institutionalization of formal education.

Traditional society does not yet have the resources or the motivation of the majority of its members necessary to make literacy universal. As a result, society is divided not only into rich and poor, but also into those who can read and write and those who do not. In the early stages of traditional society, educational institutions were almost exclusively the responsibility of the clergy. The school here cannot yet be considered as the most important channel of social mobility: in any case, it performs these functions to a much lesser extent than such channels as the institutions of the army or the church. The absolute majority of members of a traditional society do not have either the material resources or sufficient motivation to study even basic literacy - their daily life activities do not require this. Among urban residents, the level of education was slightly higher. One of the most important reasons for the inaccessibility of education to the general public was its high cost. The nature of formal education received by members of a traditional society is very clearly differentiated for representatives of its various strata - both in content and quality. Moreover, this is due not only to the existence of differentiation of educational institutions into prestigious and non-prestigious. The point is also that representatives of lower social strata, in the course of their socialization, receive much weaker motivation to increase their intellectual level, most often being completely content with little. So the problems of information justice, associated with the nature of the distribution of its information potential among members of society, are no less complex than the problems of economic or political justice.

In an industrial society, the emergence of a need for mass literacy is due to a sharp strengthening of the law of labor change: the average worker, during industrialization, becomes forced to acquire more and more new knowledge, skills and abilities, if he does not want to be thrown overboard and lose his means of subsistence. Advanced training as a condition for obtaining a higher income and social status, or at least maintaining them at the same stable level, is increasingly beginning to depend on the level of education received (including purely formal). Mass production also requires a massive influx of more or less trained labor, and its rapid development, spurred by constant competition, cannot be satisfied by the previous pace of general and vocational training. As the industrial revolution develops, the nature of its organization begins to act as the most important stimulating factor in raising the educational level of the entire population, along with technology and production technology. At the same time, mass production, requiring mass literacy, simultaneously creates the material prerequisites for its development; First of all, this relates to the reduction in the cost of printed materials, which means the increasing availability of textbooks. Another important factor contributing to the spread of mass literacy was the changes in political institutions caused by the industrial revolution - taking into account the increasing role played by the media in the political process. Ultimately, sooner or later, the overwhelming majority of organizational and material costs for education are borne by the state, as well as the local authorities representing it. Education in the industrial era becomes the most important, if not the decisive, channel of social mobility, which entails significant changes in individual life styles.

In advanced societies approaching a post-industrial state, a fairly clear trend has emerged: here educated people receive more for their work than ever before in history. At the same time, the proportion of members of society with higher and equivalent education is steadily increasing. One of the most important problems that post-industrial societies will face is the exponential growth in the total amount of information that must be learned through formal education. In practice, this question actually breaks down into two relatively independent tasks: 1) how to effectively navigate the growing information flows? 2) how to effectively and completely absorb the information to which you finally have real access? The solution to the last problem has received in practice the name of combating functional illiteracy. This concept means: firstly, the practical loss of skills and abilities in reading, writing and basic calculations; secondly, a level of general educational knowledge that does not allow one to fully function in a modern, continually becoming more complex society. We are talking about those who can put the letters of a written text into words, words into phrases, but are not able to really understand what exactly these words and phrases mean. What is the use of the fact that almost any information becomes quickly available to you with the help of computers and communication networks if you are not able to adequately perceive and assimilate it? Because information, unlike material goods, cannot be appropriated, but must be assimilated, i.e. understood and meaningful, but from the perspective of the information already at your disposal. The very awareness of the problem of functional illiteracy is a sign of a fairly serious progress of society along the path of the information revolution: those societies that have realized it are taking serious measures to solve it; in others it is not yet on the agenda at all. The further, the more the lack of knowledge of computer technologies is considered as a component of functional illiteracy.

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Social institutions of education and science

The education system is one of the most important social institutions. It ensures the socialization of individuals, through which they develop the qualities necessary for essential life processes and transformations.

The Institute of Education has a long history of primary forms of knowledge transfer from parents to children.

Education serves the development of personality and contributes to its self-realization.

At the same time, education is crucial for society itself, ensuring the fulfillment of the most important tasks of a practical and symbolic nature.

The education system makes a significant contribution to the integration of society and contributes to the formation of a sense of common historical destiny, belonging to a given single society.

But the education system also has other functions. Sorokin notes that education (especially higher education) is a kind of channel (elevator) through which people improve their social status. At the same time, education exercises social control over the behavior and worldview of children and adolescents.

The education system as an institution includes the following components:

1) educational authorities and institutions and organizations subordinate to them;

2) a network of educational institutions (schools, colleges, gymnasiums, lyceums, universities, academies, etc.), including institutes for advanced training and retraining of teachers;

3) creative unions, professional associations, scientific and methodological councils and other associations;

4) educational and scientific infrastructure institutions, design, production, clinical, medical and preventive, pharmacological, cultural and educational enterprises, printing houses, etc.

Are you really human?

5) textbooks and teaching aids for teachers and students;

6) periodicals, including magazines and yearbooks, reflecting the latest achievements of scientific thought.

The Institute of Education includes a certain field of activity, groups of persons authorized to perform certain managerial and other functions on the basis of established rights and responsibilities, organizational norms and principles of relations between officials.

The set of norms regulating the interaction of people regarding learning indicates that education is a social institution.

A harmonious and balanced education system that ensures the satisfaction of modern needs of society is the most important condition for the preservation and development of society.

Science, along with education, can be considered as a social macroinstitution.

Science, like the education system, is a central social institution in all modern societies and represents the most complex area of human intellectual activity.

Increasingly, the very existence of society depends on advanced scientific knowledge. Not only the material conditions of society’s existence, but also its members’ ideas about the world depend on the development of science.

The main function of science is the development and theoretical systematization of objective knowledge about reality. The purpose of scientific activity is to obtain new knowledge.

Purpose of Education– transfer of new knowledge to new generations, i.e. youth.

If there is no first, then there is no second. That is why these institutions are considered in close connection and as a single system.

In turn, the existence of science without training is also impossible, since it is in the process of training that new scientific personnel are formed.

A formulation of the principles of science has been proposed Robert Merton in 1942

These include: universalism, communalism, disinterest and organizational skepticism.

The principle of universalism means that science and its discoveries are of a single, universal (universal) nature. No personal characteristics of individual scientists (gender, age, religion, etc.) matter when assessing the value of their work.

Research results should be judged solely on their scientific merit.

According to the principle of communalism, no scientific knowledge can become the personal property of a scientist, but must be available to any member of the scientific community.

The principle of disinterest means that the pursuit of personal interests is not a requirement of the professional role of a scientist.

The principle of organized skepticism means that a scientist should refrain from formulating conclusions until the facts fully correspond.

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Education as a social institution

Education is a purposeful, organized process on the basis of which society transfers values, skills, knowledge from one person (group) to others.

Education, as a social institution, includes ideas and goals related to education, organizations that implement them, governing bodies of these processes, people working in these organizations and governing bodies.

Functions of education in society

Let us recall that the approach of sociologists to the consideration of any social phenomena is distinguished by the fact that sociologists consider them systemically, that is, in connection with other social phenomena. Therefore, the functions of education as a social institution, from the point of view of sociology, do not look quite the same as, for example, from the point of view of teachers.

So, the most important functions of education in society: (according to Smelser)

— transmission of the values of the dominant culture. But there are always many subcultures in society, so there is always a conflict between the goals of education and the needs of various social (ethnic and other) groups, between the center and the periphery, etc.

— a means of social control. School and other educational institutions provide not only knowledge, skills and abilities. But they form certain values and behavior patterns. The current, methodologically well-equipped education actually programs students not only for certain patterns of behavior, but also for certain models of thinking. Therefore, governments in all countries are (or should be) very careful about what and how they teach the younger generation.

— filter device , a way of classifying people according to their abilities and merits. There is also a significant contradiction hidden here. Firstly, the criteria for success in school and in life do not always coincide, but the school always “hangs” a certain label (stigma) on its students and thereby predetermines their life path. Secondly, most schools in the world practice testing children after the 4th grade and subsequent forced distribution of them into different levels of education. The strong ones are selected into “elite” streams and are prepared for admission to universities, the average ones are prepared for admission to secondary vocational educational institutions, and for the rest, the path to further education is practically closed.

Western countries have long understood the harmfulness of such differentiation of children and have adopted (or are trying to adopt) long-term programs for the transition to other models of education, without stratifying children. In our country in Soviet times, such differentiation of children was prohibited, but now, unfortunately, our schools are becoming similar to those that are abandoned in the West.

— investment in the future. In education, as nowhere else, the truth is true: what you put in today is what you get out tomorrow. Therefore, it is extremely important, when developing youth training programs, to correctly predict the needs of the material and non-material spheres of society for 10-15 years in advance.

Factors in the development of mass education

Mass free education (first in primary school) appeared, first of all, in response to the need for a mass literate workforce, after a series of industrial revolutions, as well as in response to democratic revolutions in a number of countries, the end of the 18th, the beginning of the 19th centuries. To participate in political life, non-aristocratic classes needed literacy and the support of the masses. Equal social opportunities have become synonymous with equal educational opportunities. The self-development of the educational institution itself also played a role - a social group of teachers emerged, united by the legitimate interest of raising the prestige of their profession, material support from the state, expanding their influence, etc.

And now we can say that the main factors in the development of education are the needs of the economy, government policy, largely related to a certain ideology, as well as the logic of self-development of the education sector itself.

From the perspective of sociology, three more factors are very significant for the development of education as a social institution:

— degree of centralization of education. The most centralized (that is, there is a single center, for example, the Ministry of Education, which actually prescribes to all educational structures of the country who, what, how, in what time frame, etc. should be taught) education in the world was in the USSR. The most decentralized (there is no center that would prescribe for everyone what and how to teach, so each region determines for itself...) is in the USA.

Like each extreme, centralized and decentralized educational organizations have significant disadvantages. For each country, taking into account local conditions, it is necessary to find the optimal level of centralization-decentralization.

— the ratio of natural sciences/humanities education. Here, too, the “most natural” (that is, subjects of the natural cycle clearly dominate - physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, etc.) education was in the USSR. And in the USA, for example, the “most humanitarian” education (priority to the subjects of the humanities cycle - history, law, art, etc.).

What does this ratio depend on? - first of all, from the policy (dominant ideology) of the government! The USSR, for example, from its very appearance was always at war or preparing for war. Therefore, the state’s order to education was quite specific: to prepare, first of all, the military and labor force for industry (not lawyers, economists, etc., but, first of all, workers and engineers for military factories).

- elitism of education. Elite education means something special and for a narrow circle. In ancient times, all education was elitist: in ancient Athens, fine arts were studied in schools for the elite; in ancient Rome, military leaders and statesmen were trained. What was most valued in them was the ability to think independently, make decisions, etc.

Currently, in all economically developed countries there is free secondary education “for all”, and things are moving towards free higher education. These are the requirements of the economy and the democratic structure of society. However, in a society divided into strata, the elitism of one or another type of education is a completely natural phenomenon. Why? Parents from the upper classes will always be able to provide their children with the best education (the best teachers, the most prestigious schools and universities).

In addition, the powerful of this world have always had and remain fears that “excessive” education will make the poor less adapted to their position in life... The main difference between modern elite and mass schools is that in the elite, first of all, they teach how to manage (by people, social processes), and in mass ones they are taught to obey the managers.

Education and social mobility

There is a stereotype: the better and higher the education received, the greater the success in life. Cross-cultural studies in different countries show that, in general, this is true. However, excellent grades at school and university do not at all guarantee excellent achievements after studying. Research shows that children's social mobility is strongly influenced by their mental abilities, the socioeconomic status of their parents, and the quality of teaching at school. However, the strongest influence is exerted by the values of parents, internal harmony or contradictions in their family life, and their real way of life. Children basically “grab” the lifestyle of their parents and reproduce it in their own lives. This largely explains many cases where children grow up in the same yard, study in the same class, but then one becomes a scientist, the other a criminal, etc.

Prospects for the development of education

Education is a cultural universal, that is, in one form or another, it is always present in the culture of society. As shown above, education is highly dependent on the real needs of the economy, government policies, traditions of society and the institution of education itself. Trends in the development of society will naturally influence the development of education. If society becomes more democratic, then education will be more democratic; if tendencies toward autocracy appear in society, this will also affect education.

Security questions on the topic

What is education – as a social process?

What does education include as a social institution?

What are the functions of education as a social institution in society?

What factors in the development of society led to the emergence of the current form of education?

What is the difference between the goals of elite and mass education?

How does education affect social mobility in society?

The concept of a social institution

For normal functioning, any society needs social stability, which is ensured by the presence of a generally accepted system of norms, rules and values, including ideals, moral standards, faith, traditions, etc.

The mechanism for ensuring the integrity and sustainability of society and social structures is a social institution, which is a set of values and norms with the help of which people’s activities in the spheres of life are managed.

Note 1

Thus, we can say that a social institution is an organization that satisfies the fundamental needs of society.

We can talk about the effective functioning of a social institution if certain conditions are met, namely:

the presence of a system of social norms and rules that govern people’s behavior;
introducing the activities of the institute into the value structure of society, which allows the institute to provide its activities with a legal basis and exercise control over the behavior of members of society;
availability of resources and conditions for its normal functioning

The essence of the educational institution

For the normal functioning of society and the reproduction of its structure, a social institution of education is necessary. It allows the transfer of accumulated social experience, knowledge, values, attitudes, and ideals from previous generations to the next generation, and also contributes to the assimilation of this knowledge and values by the current generation.

Education as a social institution is an independent system that performs the task of consistent training and education of individuals focused on obtaining certain knowledge, values, skills, norms, the essence of which is determined by society and its characteristics.

Modern sociology distinguishes between formal and informal education.

Formal education includes the presence in a society of a system of educational institutions that perform the function of teaching, as well as a state-prescribed educational standard that prescribes the minimum amounts of knowledge and skills required by society. The formal education system depends on the cultural standards and ideology accepted and prioritized in society.
Non-formal education is part of the socialization of a person’s personality, assisting him in mastering social roles and statuses, norms and values, and also promotes spiritual development, that is, non-formal education is the unsystematized acquisition by a person of knowledge and skills that he acquires spontaneously as a result of interaction with the outside world .

Considering education as a social institution, we should talk, first of all, about the institution of formal education.

Functions of education as a social institution

Education serves many functions. Depending on the areas of research, various functions are distinguished, the most common are the following functions:

Spread of culture in society.

This function is to transmit cultural values between generations. Each nation has its own cultural characteristics, therefore the institution of education is a universal means of transmitting and preserving the cultural traditions of peoples.

Socialization.

The Institute of Education is considered one of the main institutions of socialization, since education shapes the worldview of the younger generation. Thanks to the values and attitudes acquired during the educational process, the younger generation becomes part of society, is socialized and involved in the social system.

Social selection.

This function implies, through the educational process, the implementation of a different approach to students in order to select the most talented and capable, which allows young people to receive a status that meets their interests and abilities.

Note 2

Thus, the result of the selective function of education is the distribution of social positions in the social structure of society, and the implementation of this function contributes to social mobility, since obtaining one or another level of education allows one to move higher through the channels of social mobility.

Function of social and cultural change.

This function is carried out through the process of scientific research, scientific achievements, which contribute and changes to the educational process itself, technology, economy, in turn, the educational process also makes changes to the process of scientific research. Thus, one can observe the relationship and interdependence of the educational process and society.

Structure of the education system

The education system is a complex formal organization. It has a hierarchical management system, headed by the ministry staff.

Below are the regional education departments, which coordinate and manage schools and secondary vocational institutions in the region.

Next comes the leadership of schools and educational institutions of the secondary professional level - rectors, deans, directors and head teachers.

The education system is also characterized by specialization of activities. For example, teachers and lecturers differ in the subjects they teach. Higher and secondary vocational educational institutions specialize in their professional and educational programs.

There is also a hierarchy of teaching positions in the higher education system.

Note 3

A feature of education as a system is the standardization of the educational process. Each educational institution operates in accordance with mandatory curricula.

The teacher acts as an administrative leader who organizes and manages the educational process in the group.