Why Study Sociology of Education?

There are several answers to this question. Someday you may be a professional in the field of education or in a related field; you will be a tax payer, if you aren’t already; you may be a parent with children in the school system; right now you are a student involved in higher or continuing education. If you are sociology major, you are studying education as one of the major institutions of society; if you are an education major, sociology can give you a new perspective on your field. You may be at college in pursuit of knowledge; or it may be that this course is required, or you need the credit, or the teacher is supposed to be good, or it fits into your schedule. Let’s consider these reasons further.

Ⅰ.Teachers and Other Professionals
In 1990, of all college graduates, 104,715, or 10 percent, were graduated in the field of education, and many hold teaching positions. Many other college graduates will teach in their respective academic fields as social work and business have regular contact with schools when dealing with clients and employees.

Ⅱ.Taxpayers
Taxpayers finance schools at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. Almost 100 percent of the bills for physical plants, materials, salaries, and other essentials come from tax monies. In 1989, revenues for schools, a large amount of which is from sales, income, and property taxes, come from three sources: 6.2 percent from federal government, 47.7 percent from states, and 46.1 percent from local funds. (Of course, there are variations within and between states.) Sociology helps taxpayers know about the school system.

Ⅲ.Parents
Forty percent of our population are in the primary parenting years of 18 to 44; the average size of families in 1984 was 2.7 members, meaning that the average family has one child. According to the Gallup polls on adult