How the Zambian Educational system reinforce social stratification in society

Historically, the purpose of formal schooling has centered on the transmission of knowledge from one generation to another. With the industrial revolution came the complex division of labour, resulting in new skill requirements for occupations. At the same time, education was used to transmit a national identity to pupils. Therefore, this academic writing is an attempt to explain in detail how the Zambian education system reinforces social stratification in society.

In sociology of education, social stratification is a concept involving the classification of people into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions; a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions. When differences lead to greater status, power or privilege for some groups over the other it is called Social Stratification.

Modern society views education as an important societal resource and a means of achieving the goal of egalitarianism. Education is looked upon as a means of raising the social status of an individual in various ways. It is accepted as a basic human need to have a desirable quality of life.

Conflict theories engage in a critical perspective of social phenomena, paying particular attention to inequality and power differentials between social groups while critiquing dominant ideologies. With regard to the education system in Zambia, conflict theorists are far more skeptical of the meritocratic structure and operation of the institution. Proponents of this perspective believe that formal schooling functions largely to reproduce existing social inequalities through both its manifest and latent functions.

The Zambian education system with respect to the manifest function of education recognizes the importance in teaching students the informal rules of socialization. The manifest function of schooling is the cultivation of human capital amongst the student body. As society becomes increasingly advanced, it is vital that students ensure they have mastered the required skills, knowledge, and training necessary to remain competitive in the labour market (Banks, 1973).

In addition, in an increasingly knowledge based economy, education is considered instrumental in preparing young people for their transition into the labour market, as well as retraining older generations in search of new careers.

Entry into formal schooling is, for most Zambian children, their first experience of large scale socialization outside of the family. Part of the latent function of schooling is to teach students the importance of four basic norms: independence, achievement, comparison, and universalism. For example, Dreeben (1968) in Banks (1973) uses the model of testing to emphasize the importance of independence. While the institution of the family typically encourages dependent relationships and fosters a collective environment, cooperative efforts on a test would be considered cheating in the Zambian education system, as well is an in the majority of roles taken on by adults in the labour market.

As explained by some scholars, the classroom allows for an “initial equalization of the contestants” highlight the principle of “equality of opportunity” within the education system, while comparing schooling to taking part in a foot race.

There are also other ways in which the Zambian education system makes it clear to pupils to know how they are evaluated based on their school performance. Learners too come to understand that rewards are associated with performance. The status they will come to occupy is related to how well they perform tasks to which they are assigned (Harris, 1999).

Accordingly, technical function theory and the functional theory of stratification explain that the manifest function of formal schooling is to provide students with the necessary human capital required to fulfill specific positions in the labour market.

The functional theory of stratification supports the increasing demands in human capital for employment purposes. This theory states that specific positions in the labour market require a particular set of skills, and that these roles can only be filled by those with innate ability, or those who have obtained the necessary training for the job (Ballantine, 1993).

The introduction of formal schooling assumed the role of socialization and the creation of a sense of social cohesion among students as a latent function. While society is composed of many agents of socialization, including the family, stratification within the Zambian education system religious congregations, and informal peer groups, the classroom is the primary institution through which individuals are taught and trained to function as contributing members of society.

Overall, functionalist theories emphasize the meritocratic structure of the education system in creating equal opportunities for success for all students regardless of the social barriers they may face outside of school. With the industrial revolution came the division of labour and the development of a complex and highly individualized society (Ashley et al., 1970).

It has been stated that all participants in education system are required to complete an identical set of tasks, which will be assessed by an impartial arbitrator, who will evaluate each individual’s work on the same set of standards. Learners are sorted as early as their primary school years; individual ability and differential performance, over family background, as the main determinant of their stratification along the achievement axis.

According to functionalist theories, success in the classroom is largely based on achieved rather than ascribed status. In the past, individuals were able to inherit prestigious positions in society through family lineage; however, in contemporary society there are fewer opportunities for this type of nepotism or inherited success. This shift to a merit based society is made possible through the practices of the Zambian education system (Pavalko, 1976).

Functionalists propose that education creates a level playing field for people of all backgrounds, as a product of the system’s meritocratic structure. Moreover, this perspective suggests that formal education fosters social cohesion and stability among students. Proponents of functionalist theories state that education is essential in providing individuals with the necessary human capital to prepare them for the workplace (Banks, 1973).

Functionalist theories take the position that social phenomena and institutions exist to meet the needs of and contribute to the order of society. As such, functionalist theorists maintain there is a strong relationship between what is learned in schools (through both manifest and latent functions), and the application of these skills and abilities in the labour market (Ottaway, 1960).

Those in favour of functionalist arguments support the claim that the education system works to prepare students for their transition into the workplace, through the development of the necessary skills and abilities they need to succeed. Arguments made by conflict theorists claim that formal schooling is a means of social control through which the system reproduces social inequalities.

More recently, the function of education has shifted its ability to level the playing field for all regardless of class, gender, or race ethnicity. It is assumed that institutions of education promote a meritocratic structure that allows those who work the hardest to succeed and secure the most prestigious positions in society.

Formal schooling has significant consequences in determining the stratification and opportunities for the social mobility of individuals in the labour market. Both manifest and latent functions of education reflect the assumptions of what different groups of students need to learn in order to prepare them for the labour market (Ballantine, 1993).

In addition, the Zambian education system helps to reinforce an acceptance of inequality and education prepares each social class differently, depending on the roles they will play when leaving school. This means teaching the appropriate skills but also the appropriate values for each social class. Primary and secondary schools in particular, teach different values to different social classes.

Social stratification within the school, commonly known as streaming, refers to the division of school children into age groups according to ability and intelligence. The Zambian education system reinforces social stratification in society as brightest children are made to form one class while those that follow in ability form another class. The children are divided into groups, purely according to the merit of the individual.

Finally, this essay has attempted to explain in detail how the Zambian education system reinforces social stratification. The practices that are done in the Zambian education system such as grading of learners according to their ability, training them how to take up some roles in the society after school and so on, clearly shows that the this education system reinforces social stratification in society.

REFERENCES:

Ashley, J.B., et al. (1970). An Introduction to the Sociology of Education. London: Macmillan and Co Ltd.

Ballantine, J. H. (1993). The Sociology of Education: A Systematic Analysis (3^rded.) Englewood cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Banks, O. (1976). The Sociology of Education (3^rded.). London: B. T.

Harris, S. (1999). Careers education: contesting policy and practice. London: Sage Publications

Ottaway, A.K.C. (1960). An Introduction to the Sociology of Education. New York: Humanities Press.

Pavalko, R. M. N. (1976). Sociology of education (2nd Ed). Florida: Peacock publishers INC.