Three Sociological Theories

Three Sociological Theories For my discussion the issue I have chosen is inequality in education. Inequality in education has been an issue that our country has been dealing with from the earliest of times, it continues today, and will continue to be an issue in the future. In this paper I will explain education through the three major paradigms in sociology.
Education through the view of a functionalist tells us that our children are being prepared for the roles they will have in society. A functionalist view basically says that every person has the equal chance to succeed and that it is up to each individual on how successful they will become. According to functionalists, the people who try the hardest and put in the most work, will be the most successful. They also believe that the education system provides the social norms and values needed to be functional in society. It is not difficult to see the flaws we find in this theory. Students do not start off with an equal opportunity to succeed.
This is view focuses more on a micro-level perspective such as interactions between individuals and the meanings we assign to the situations throughout our lives. A good example is the interaction between teachers and students. This is where we can find an issue, some interactions actually hinder our ability to be successful in life. For example, a teacher may favor certain students in his/her class and without trying begins to set higher expectations for those she favors and lower for the rest of the class. The students being favored by the teacher will most likely be more successful than those who were not. The development of us as individuals is a social process, and we change through interactions so it is understandable that not everyone learns at an equal rate because not everyone is being treated