Sociology of education: definition, subject and tasks

As a separate discipline, the sociology of education was formed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. E. Durkheim, D. Dewey and a number of other sociological scientists came to the conclusion that it was necessary to analyze the problems that were associated with the role and functions of education. At the same time, it is the subject and object of study of pedagogy and psychology, history and philosophy, where each science examines the facet that is relevant to it. Sociology is based on generalized information, but without which other sciences can not function fully. Along with this, the sociology of education sets itself a specific task:

• Studying needs in the training system;
• Assessment of the quality and level of knowledge and their social significance;
• Analysis of the attitude of society to a functioning system;
• Influence on the reform of education;
• Determination of the degree of its influence on the dynamic development of spiritual needs.

Accordingly, this science is interested in the public side of the education system: how a person is included in groups and occupies certain positions, mastering roles. In accordance with this, the sociology of education is an integral system of sociological knowledge, which consists of three levels:

• General theoretical and sociological level;
• Including special sociological theories;
• Consisting of empirical sociological research.

Based on general theories of the general level, there are cognitions of the middle level, To which the studied branch belongs.

Defining the subject of the sociology of education, the emphasis is on its social nature: the system of education as a social institution in which all systems and subsystems are in active interaction, there are distinct connections between systems and sublevels.

The object of this branch is education as a social phenomenon: people, organizations and their role in the system. Here we can talk about the environment where the functioning of educational processes takes place, where the subjects interact through training sessions.

Studying this system, sociology isolates the functions that underlie Activities:

1. Transfer to subsequent generations of accumulated knowledge. This function is to be implemented through the family, educational institutions.
2. Ensuring the continuity of social experience. The human experience, anchored in skills, acquired knowledge and skills, is in the present, but at the same time actualizes the past and leads to the formation of the future.
3. Assimilation of values, which are determined by the prevailing culture.
4. Development and disclosure of the abilities of an individual personality, which are prerequisites for the successful performance of a particular activity.
5. Assistance in the movement of a person with a certain level of acquired knowledge and skills to a higher social status, thanks to which the impact on mobility in society.

Thus, the sociology of education is a branch of sociological knowledge that determines the role and place of education in the system of social reproduction.