Perspectives and Historical and Contemporary Issues in Education
Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator, philosopher, and leading advocate of critical pedagogy, argued in his famous Pedagogy of the Oppressed that, “What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves." Others have criticized our education system as making all students think the same and act the same. What do you think is the purpose of education? Are we effectively achieving that purpose?
View the following video on education in society:
Education In Society: Crash Course Sociology #40 (YouTube - 11:31)Links to an external site.
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=S294zRodS_4
View this video on schools and social inequality:
Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41 (YouTube - 11:26)Links to an external site.
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=hYMk3Bk08NA
Consider the following questions:
How do the different theoretical perspectives view education?
Which one do you think most accurately portrays its purpose in society? Explain your answer.
What do you think are some of the major historical and contemporary issues in education? Why are these important?
How should we address the important challenges facing our education system today?
write approximately 300 words. properly document any citations and references (according to the current APA standard).
Review the Reflection Assignments page for more information on the requirements for this activity.
This activity supports Module Objectives 1 & 2 and Learning Outcomes 3 & 5.
Reflection Challenges in Education
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Reflection Challenges in Education
There are different perspectives on our educational systems. Social conflict theory explains how our education system perpetuates class differences. Children from wealthier backgrounds can go to schools with better resources, perform better and consequently proceed to better universities and do better in life. Social conflict theorists think education acts as a social inequality. The functionalist perspective of education asserts that education is meant to give students the ability to function in society by equipping them with skills and norms to make them wholesome functional citizens. The emphasis of symbolic interactionists is on how people participate in education and how they construct and interpret meaning. Meanings are negotiated and produced through communication throughout the interaction between students and instructors, which is seen as the education process (Crash Course, 2017). Last but not least, critical theorists see education as a tool for liberation and social change. Education is considered a means of empowering people and...