School and Society (Thinking About Education Series)

In the revised and expanded second edition of "Schools and Society", authors Walter Feinberg and Jonas F. Soltis invite teachers and administrators to develop their ability to question basic aspects of the relation between school and society and to understand different approaches to educational research. They suggest that unless educators understand how social, economic, and political forces influence what happens in schools and what researchers investigate, they will not be empowered to assume responsibility for educational reform. Three major theoretical frameworks are presented as starting points for exploration: functionalism - posits that the schools' primary function is to socialize students so that they conform to the norms and practices of society; conflict theory - asserts that the schools are supported and used by those in power to preserve inequitable class relations; and interpretist approach - suggests that the purposes of individual actors and the social meanings they share with others determine how a social situation is interpreted and understood. As in other volumes in the "Thinking about Education Series", a final "Cases and Disputes" chapter provides realistic case studies, dialogues, and open-ended questions designed to stimulate thinking about the issues embedded in current school- and society-related problems, including curriculum reform, social justice, and competing forms of research.