Singapore University of Social Sciences

Sociologists perceive education as a social institution that shares an interdependent relationship with other social institutions like family, religion, and others. As the primary site of socialisation outside the family and a key site for knowledge production, education has wide implications for individuals and societies. This course aims to offer a critical discussion on the functions, processes and practices relating to education, engaging local and international examples whenever relevant. The study of education in this course can be classified into three broad themes: education as a social institution, education as a site of cultural reproduction, and education as change and development. It introduces both classical and contemporary Sociological theoretical perspectives on education to provide theoretical conceptualizations within which educational structure, practices and processes can be discussed and analysed. Then the social context within which schools operate as well as the formal structure of schools are investigated. The course then opens up further discussions on meritocracy and social stratification, social identities and socialization, cultural reproduction, hidden curriculum and informal system, higher education and development, educational in the international context.