1. How are the structural functionalism and symbolic interactionalism related to education?

Structural functionalism stretched that the society is composed of various institutions that are
dependents with each other.
Structural functionalism is dealing with the cultural, social, personality and actions system of every
society. [PARSON]
Cultural system of a society provides pattern maintenance or harmony within the community. Social
system of every society refers to the interaction, cooperation, social gathering of information towards the
completion or attainment of goals. Personality and the action system are the behavioral and the fortitude
organism that performs the actions of every society in a community.
The basic unit of the society is the FAMILY where love, cooperation, integrity, faith and knowledge
begin. The society cannot exist without a family; hence family is the heart of society.
The second most important part of society is the SCHOOL. School performs an important function in
building the society and the nation as a whole. School serves as an institution which provides intellect,
knowledge and competitive education and skills of human resources as the product of the schoolinstitution.Therefore structural functionalism is related to education.
Symbolic interaction sees our selves as an engrave elements in social forces and social structures.
Thus, the social self is an active part of society as a whole.
Therefore symbolic interactionism deals with socialization and interaction of everyone which is the
main core of social dynamic fundamentals.
Symbolic interactionism states that human beings are endowed with a capacity for thinking and is
shaped by social interaction that can be able to learn the meanings and the symbols that allow them to
comprehend and interpret their actions and interactions. These tangled patterns of actions and interactions
make up groups and society.Indeed, symbolic interactionism is related to the process of education because
every one of us had been engrave and part of the formed society of intellect-the school.
Both functionalism and symbolic interactionism are sociological theories i.e. sets of ideas which
provide an explanation for human society. Like all theory, sociological theory is selective because it cannot
explain everything or account for the infinite amount of data that exist. Theories are therefore selective in
terms of their priorities and perspectives and the data they define as significant. As a result, they provide a
particular and partial view of reality. There are a wide variety of sociological theories, and they can be
grouped together according to various criteria. One of the most important of these is the distinction between
structural or macro perspectives and social action or micro perspectives. These perspectives differ in the
way they approach the analysis of society. Functionalism is an example of a macro perspective as it
analyses the way society as a whole fits together whereas symbolic interactionism is a micro perspective
because it stresses the meaningfulness of human behaviour and denies that it is primarily determined by
the structure of society.

2. What are the specific purposes of the school?

Following are some key strategies that may lead to schools accomplishing these personnel office
functions in the societal service of business. They most often include:
Identify basic skills that all students should achieve, skills needed in most jobs in business and
industry
Use tests to rank students or, at minimum, identify students as competent or incompetent on basic
skills
Increase the number of students meeting competence in basic skills.
Assure that the curriculum focuses narrowly on the basic skills rather than curriculum options that
address individual interests and needs

 Facilitate conditions under which students with challenges drop out of the system to reduce costs
Students are nurtured to become adults who have skills, attitudes, and knowledge to be productive
community members, leaders, parents, as well as workers. Heres a short list that schools and
teachers would be about in such schools:
Help students identify their interests and abilities
Support students in setting personal learning goals
Facilitate student involvement and learning in decision-making regarding their own learning and the
use of power and responsibility in the classroom and school
Create a culture of care and community where students learn to support one another and take
responsibility for the well being of each other and the total community
Facilitate students learning together in a diverse groups where they learn how to value contributions
of others and manage productive group work
Teach students who are functioning at many differing levels of ability together in heterogeneous
mixes
Assess student skills and learning styles to facilitate learning and promote personal excellence
These schools provide a specialised educational setting in which learning support plans are

collaboratively developed, implemented and monitored.