The Sociology of Education

If society is the walls of our imprisonment in history (as Professor L. Berger, in his Invitation to Sociology, has suggested), it is important for us to understand the nature of our imprisonment. Society is not just a prison, but also the means by which we are made captive. Indeed, as Berger would agree, not only is man in society, but society is also in man; internalizes the social world and thus becomes, in a sense, a microcosm of the larger society. A teacher merely to teach a subject: he must mediate the values of his culture too. To do this essay in factual way but critically examine some of the assumptions underlying education.

A book on the sociology of education must examine the problems of the child he is to teach. The child must develop in the home and in the school; his development in school depends upon his experiences of the child in so-called “normal” way but critically examine some of the assumptions underlying education. Unless factual judgements lead ultimately to value judgements, we may indeed have done little more than produce entertaining academic gossip. The study of the sociology of education is for positive action in the classroom, not just so that the child may more intelligently understand his social world, but so that in many instances, the broken…

Igor Mannish’s introductory book has firmly established itself on reading lists. This second edition retains the basic approach, and yet certain parts have been rewritten to take account of more recent developments in the discipline of sociology since 1972.