Educational Systems

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 33, Heft 2, S. 261-284

Abstract

The educational system as such has been neglected in the sociology of education, which decreasingly addresses this social institution as a whole. The origins of educational systems, why they have different internal structures & external relations to society, & how differences in structural characteristics affect operations & processes of change have received little theoretical attention. Following a brief examination of the 'old' & 'new' sociologies of education, & efforts to provide a synthesis of the two, three modern strands in sociological theory are examined in relation to educational systems: neo-Marxism, neofunctionalism, & neo-Weberian sociology. Certain modern developments in each can contribute to a proper sociology of educational systems, although with some theoretical elaboration. An adequate theory of educational systems would deal with both their origins & operations; the morphogenetic perspective is recommended as a general framework. Modified AA.