One of the first and most influential sociologists, Emile Durkheim, observed that education played the role of cultural determination in socialization and was responsible for nurturing the society’s collective values and beliefs in the growing generation. Education also allowed reproducing the existing society in terms of its structure, stratification, or distribution of material resources and political power (Hoenisch, ch. 1-2). The present paper is intended to discuss the educational systems of the United States, Mexico, and religious communities and demonstrate the accuracy of sociological views on this social institution.
In the United States, education is divided into several stages: Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, and Post-Secondary. Attending school is compulsory for children aged between eight and fourteen-fifteen in most states. Because U.S. education is de-centralized, most decisions concerning curriculum design in public schools are made at the state or local levels, whereas the federal authorities are responsible for providing only the general guidelines (e.g. education structure, general expectations from students).
Private schools are different from the public predominantly in the fact of the existence of tuition fees and the autonomy of public institutions in curriculum development. Although U.S. education is proclaimed to be secular at least in public structures, private institutions founded by churches are entitled to establish independently the level of religious influence on course programs. One of the distinctive features of American education is deep involvement with community and public activities (e.g. encouraging volunteering for the community or socially useful out-of-school clubs). Another characteristic is the mainstreaming or integrated teaching of children with and without special needs (or mental disabilities).
Statistically, graduation rate from high school is 77%, i.e. much lower than in other developed countries. Although Durkheim wrote almost one hundred years ago, education was strictly structured according to students’ abilities (Hoenisch, ch. 5), the U.S. system is not dominated by “able-ism” at the first sight, as even the results of standardized testing does not affect one’s graduation. At the same time, a number of private educational structures are extremely selective and enroll students on the basis of their performance. Moreover, the two preconditions for entering most colleges and universities are the proof of the aspirate’s interest and experience in combating social problems and high academic attainment. By stressing the importance of involvement into community activities, the institution of education imposes on learners the local society’s beliefs, patterns and expectations, as Durkheim contended (Hoenisch, ch. 3). In addition, due to the fact that from Durkheim’s and Pareto’s perspectives (Delaney, p.2), performance standards of sponsored education (private schools) are much higher than those in public structures, one can assume that education still remains stratified, i.e. more affluent citizens can afford higher-quality training and orientation.
In Mexico, education is highly centralized and regulated exclusively by the government, so this country has no public schools. According to Pareto, the selection procedures in educational system are almost identical to those which exist in the governing elites (Delaney, p.2). In Mexico, this selection is performed through the introduction of ostensibly convenient and beneficial distance education, as the history of this program suggests that it is used predominantly by students from rural and poor families, and that the levels of distance learner achievement are two times lower as compared test results showed by the children who consistently attend the school. Clearly, rural and low-class youths are prevented from joining the governing elites; moreover, the provision of lower-quality education to rural students also allows controlling urbanization and preserving traditional family structure and roles classically attributed to agricultural societies, as Durkheim also assumed (Hoenisch, ch.3).
In the Amish religious communities of the United States, the providers of education are “closed” private community schools, to which neither teachers nor students from the secular society have no access. Amish students taught the basics of reading, math and science, but receive no technology training, as technological development is rejected by the religious maxims of the Amish people. After the eighth grade, adolescents receive less organized community-run training in farming and housekeeping; for instance the workshops on pork dressing belong to the educational practice of Amish communities. Thus, segregated Amish education allows preserving the patriarchal family values, religious beliefs and reproducing the society which denies technological development, in accordance with Durkheim’s model (Hoenisch, ch.3). Moreover, the community education system obviously reflects the views of community leaders who normally assume the leadership and instruction-related responsibilities at school.
Works cited
Hoenisch, S. “Durkheim and Educational Systems”. 2009. Web.
RAND Education. Education in Mexico: Challenges and Opportunities. 2009. Web.
Delaney, J. “Pareto’s Theory of Elites and Education”. 2009. Web.