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My perspective on the ‘sociological theory of education’ is based on the structural functionalism theory of Emile Durkheim (Bessant &Watts 2007, p. 41). I agree with Durkheim’s view that the underlying role of education as one of socializing people into mainstream society (Theories of Education, 2020).

In the perspective of structural functionalism, the society is like a human body and institutional structures of the community such as schools, churches and family behaves like body parts such as the kidney, lungs, and eyes. Each element has its function, and if any part is malfunctioning the whole body/ society structure will be threatened ( Bessant & Watts, 2007, p. 41).

Formal and informal education is a significant part of society. This “moral education,” as Durkheim called it, has helped bring together people from diverse backgrounds to form a more cohesive social structure (Theories of Education, 2020).

I do not agree with my chosen theorist Antonio Gramsci’s view that the education system is being used as a tool in the capitalist society to maintain the status quo.  I support the belief that preserving the balanced, cohesive society is in the best interest of all beings. My own experience refugee students who were disadvantaged and let down in the society due to lack of support. With the correct support system to develop skills and job training of those disadvantaged people may find an employment and become valuable members and supporting the coherence of society.

I do agree with Antonio’s view that informal education plays an essential part in one’s self-awareness and cultural awareness and is crucial to the intellectual part of everyone’s life (Burke,1999-2005). In my cultural background, informal training is highly valued and has helped me to shape social values, such as respecting elders which is an integral part of my life.

As an educator, I work with devised cohorts of students including matured refugee students which allowed me to understand the role of education within the principles of structural functionalism. The learners learn for better future and aspiration.

Refugee students struggle due to low English skills, dealing with past traumatic experiences, social and cultural norms such as Arabic women needing to stay at home. As a trainer, by providing and support, and encouragement, I have seen refugee students perform very well and with the new skills they gain at TAFE, become very productive members of the society and support the cohesive social structure.

It’s a privilege to be a part of their educational journey, and I share my knowledge and skills to improve the            livelihoods of these students and to see them as a part of the cohesive social structure makes me extremely happy.

References

 

Bessant, J., & Watts, R. (2002). Sociology Australia. (2ND ed.). Crow’s Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2007.

Burke, B. (1999, 2005) ‘Antonio Gramsci, schooling and education’, The encyclopaedia of pedagogy and informal education,http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-gram.htm.

Theories of Education. (2020). Retrieved from cliffsnotes.com: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study- guides/sociology/education/theories-of-education

 

 

 

Figure 1: Photograph of Antonio Gramsci (infed.org, (2012).

“The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum, a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” (Antonio Gramsci quotes, n.d.)

 

Antonio,s Early  life

Born in 1891 Sardinia, Italy Antonio Gramsci was the fourth son of a clerk in the registrar’s office. But his father was sent to prison for five years, and Antonio’s upbringing became very hard due to poverty in the family. As a child, Antonio was regularly ill, and his anguish was multiplied by the physical deformity. Though his early education was disturbed due to ill health and poverty, after his father was released from prison, he resumed his education. He won a scholarship to the University of Turin (Gramsci, n.d).

Young Antonio Gramsci

Young Antonio joined the Italian Socialist Party in 1913. Gramsci did not complete his university education, but was trained under Antonio Lebriola at the University as a Hegelian Marxist, and studied the interpretation of Karl Marx’s theory intensively as a “philosophy of praxis” (Cole, 2019).

Travelling to Vienna in 1923 and meeting Georg Lukács, a prominent Hungarian Marxist thinker, and other Marxist and communist intellectuals and activists shaped his intellectual work.  By 1926, he became the head of the Italian Communist Party (Cole, 2019).

                            Figure 2:  Construction: Day 37. Lopez, (2013).

Theory of Cultural Hegemony- 

Gramsci is most renowned for his theory of Cultural Hegemony; His theory describes how the state and ruling capitalist class uses cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. The capitalist society, in Gramsci’s view, develops a dominion culture using ideology rather than violence, economic force, or pressure. Hegemonic or dominant culture propagates its values and norms so that they become the “ruling” values of all and thus maintain the status quo of the capitalist society undermining the other cultures which are dominant in community. This dominant power is therefore used to secure consent to the capitalist order, rather than forced control using force to maintain order. (Antonio Gramsci, n.d)

                 Figure 3: Gramsci and Hegemony Birdsquidtoo , (2019).

 Antonio’s view on Education-

Gramsci views that the educational institution as one of the fundamental elements of cultural hegemony in modern Western society (Cole, 2019). According to Gramsci, the school system was just one part of the system of ideological hegemony in which individuals were socialized into maintaining the status quo. It helped to keep the dominance of the capitalist power base. He believed that the school must relate to everyday life and to achieve educational success, the active participation of the students is paramount. His viewed informal educators as playing an essential part in one’s self –awareness, social awareness and crucial to the intellectual part of everyone’s life. (Burke, 1999, 2005).

 

Figure 4 Children’s class. Lopez, (2013).

References:

Antonio Gramsci. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.gpedia.co/en/gpedia/Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci. (n.d.). In Your Dictionary. Retrieved from        https://biography.yourdictionary.com/antonio-   Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.goodreads.com: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2438.Antonio_Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci. (2012) Retrieved from    https://infed.org/mobi/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/gramsci_pd.jpg

Birdsquidtoo,(2019).  Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/socialism/comments/9w5s6l/gramsci_and_cultural_hegemony/

Burke, B. (1999, 2005) ‘Antonio Gramsci, schooling and education’, the encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education Retrieved from, http://www.infed.org/thinkrs/et-gram.htm

Cole, N, (2020). Biography of Antonio Gramsci. Retrieved from http://www.throughtco./antoniao-gramsci-3026471

Lopez,(2013) Construction day, Retrieved from  https://www.dailyserving.com/2013/08/hashtags-on-the-political-in-art/

Lopez, R (2013) Children’s Class, Retrieved fromhttps://www.dailyserving.com/2013/08/hashtags-on-the-political-in-art/

Ernest L. Boyer (1928- 1995) was the Chancellor of the State University of New York, as United States Commissioner of Education and as President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Boyer has been awarded more than 140 honorary doctorates for his work done to the education industry (Honan, 1995).

In 1990, Boyer proposed to expand the description of “scholarship” into four modules. Ernest Boyer, working very closely with Eugene Rice, suggested that the definition of scholarship to be extended to include research and three additional forms of scholarly work – integration, application and teaching’ (Grassick, 2002)

The Boyer model of Scholarship (Boyer 1990) provides with a framework for higher education providers such as TAFE with degree programs and Universities to consider scholarship, four distinct yet codependent modules:

• Discovery– building current knowledge through traditional research that adds to the stock of human knowledge and also to the academic environment of a higher education provider.
• Integration– understanding the use of knowledge across disciplines and connecting research so that it is useful outside discipline limitations and can be incorporated into a larger body of knowledge.
• Application– using knowledge to support individuals, the public and the professions in solving issues connecting scholarship with practice.
• Teaching and learning – a central element of scholarship involving the progress of well-informed and knowledgeable teachers, leading to teaching that promotes active and critical learning in students based on advances in a discipline or knowledge about effective teaching and learning and course design practices in a field. (TEQSA, 2017)

Industry currency is essential for TAFE teachers in Hospitality and retail baking sector; research is one of the activities assisting in maintaining industry currency. within the area of baking researching through industry forums, workshops, exhibitions websites, and associations to learn new trends, new technologies, new processes and mythologies Research assists in providing students with the latest information and current industry knowledge.

 

TAFE can support the integration of skills of the trainers through workshops to share knowledge and will l provide better understanding between disciplines and support TAFE to provide better services to students and staff. (Hornsby, 2018)

TAFE can assist the community by identifying problems and provide solutions form the expertise of the trainers and research activities. As an example, students at Melbourne Polytechnic- Group of students worked with South Australian wine company to investigate new ways to capture volatile organic compounds and ethanol produced by fermenting wine and recycle them into useful products.TAFE can support the industry by connecting scholarship with practice.  (VTA Doing applied research, 2019).

A core principle of the TAFE should be the development of teaching models practices and approaches which help the student to achieve the best learning outcomes. As trainers, we can share knowledge through blogs and other presentations such as Power points.TAFE should support publications of textbooks, resources, innovative teaching materials.

More funding must be provided to TAFE for industry-driven research in TAFE to maximize the sector’s participation in Australia’s innovation and industry sector. Funding in research will help to improve the outcomes to the stakeholders in VET education sector.

 

References

Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. The Carnegie Foundation.

Glassick, C. E. (2002 ). The Four Scholarship. HERDASA News .R https://www.herdsa.org.au/sites/default/files/HERDSANews20022401.pdf etrived from

Hansby, D. ( 2018, Jan 22). The Boyer Model and You. Retrieved from youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAljQoYGwMM

Honan, W. H. (1995, December 9). Ernest Boyer, National Leader In Education, Dies at 67. Retrieved from New York Times : https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/09/nyregion/ernest-boyer-national-leader-in-education-dies-at-67.html

TEQSA. (2018). Guidance Note: Scholarship . Australian Government .Retrived from

Victorian TAFE Association. (n.d.). Applied Research and Innovation in VET. Retrieved from VTA: https://www.vta.vic.edu.au/doctest/governance/resource-materials/876-wfcp-ar-ag-discussion-paper-applied-research-and-innovation

 

Globalization generally refers to the movement by which different economies and societies develop in to more closely unify to free trade and services (Nezhad, Irani, 2011). Globalization also presents many challenges and opportunities to the Australian TAFE sector. Providing skills to the international student market and reskilling staff lost jobs due to manufacturing jobs exported to other counties with cheap labour and tax incentives.

In recent history, the Toyota assembly plant in Altona in Victoria closed down, and the closure of the plant resulted in Toyota’s staff drop from almost 4,000 to 1,300 people. (ABC, 2017). These staffs need to find new jobs with a new set of skills as Australian Motor manufacturing is overdue to higher labour cost and competition from overseas. Most of these have been working in assembly lines doing repetitive jobs with limited skill sets. It is a challenge to retrain mature people for a set of new skills TAFE needs to rethink how to train these people for new employable skill sets. TAFE and the trainers need to change the training methods, models and approach to suit the needs.

Furthermore, the Education sector has become a major export to the Australian economy. Australia has been a popular choice for students from South East Asia. China is leading with the highest number of students followed by India. Malaysia, Nepal, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand. (SBS Urdu, 2016). In 2017, VET sector with 27% (217,700 foreign students) enrolled; sector also had a robust growth over 2016 (17%). The English-language sector enrolled 19% of all international students (155,450) but grew by only 3% over 2016(ICEF Monitor, 2018).

TAFE must maintain the relevance and quality of the programs to attract international students and support the local students and the industry. As a teacher in TAFE, have experienced the difficulties of trying to train local students alongside international students reasons such as language, cultural, religious, training packages issues and expectations. Teachers must manage cultural difference with respect and with sensitively, showing acceptance and embracing the difference as a positive experience to local and international students.

English being the second language for many international students. Students finding hard to comprehend the subject content and assessment activities as a teacher we can suggest extra English support available with the TAFE.

In the multicultural education setting such as Australia diversity and different views must be valued by trying to understand the thinking behind different points of views. Avoid discrimination or being bias, stereotypes a student will feel comfortable to study in a new environment with ease. Presenting all students with a range of viewpoints, and provide students with practical strategies to explore difference and values for mutual benefits will assist the students and trainers. Teachers and students must use language and gestures carefully to avoid any misunderstanding.

Some TAFE colleges celebrate religious and cultural festivals to support diversity and understand the culture. TAFE can consider intercultural communication skills in professional development activities and invite guest speakers from diverse backgrounds for presentations to improve the understanding of the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the students.

Globalization provides TAFE with opportunities and challenges, and Australian TAFE must be ready to deal with the changing world of education. State and Federal Governments must support the TAFE to deal with the challenges. Australia is a destination for students from many developing counties for educational needs because of its proximity and multicultural society. More must be done to accommodate these needs while maintaining quality and relevance in the Australian TAFE Education.

Reference

abc. (2017, oct 3). Retrieved from Toyota workers out of jobs as car manufacturer closes Altona plant: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-03/toyota-car-production-ends-altona-after-50-years-manufacturing/9007624

Australia welcomed more than 600,000 foreign students in 2017( 13 Mar 2018 ) Retrieved from ICEF Monitor: https://monitor.icef.com/2018/03/australia-welcomed-600000-foreign-students-2017/

China is the most significant source of international students in Australia. Can you guess which country is next? (2016, 4 16). Retrieved from SBS URDU: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/most-international-students-come-to-australia-from-these-countries

csu. Global Citizenship (2018). Retrieved from: https://interact2.csu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/orgs/O-Global-Citizenship-Hub/master-files-proof-v4/index.html

Farhad Nezhad Haj Ali Irani, M. R. (2011, june). Globalization and Challenges; What are the globalization’s. Retrieved from International Journal of Humanities and Social Science.

Globalization and Challenges; What are the globalization’s. (2011, june). Retrieved from International Journal of Humanities and Social Science.

 

Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone is keeping busy. I decided to add a recipe for anyone who wants to make bread at home

you need

an oven , baking tray, cloth to cover the dough, pair of strong hands and a bowl and love to make your own bread.

Ingredients

• 7 g active dry yeast
• 300 g  warm water
• 10g sugar
• 10g salt
• 10g oil or butter
• 500 g bread flour or strong flour

method 

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast 5g sugar in warm water; let stand until bubbles form on the surface. keep in a warm place
• mix together remaining sugar, salt, and bakers flour.
• Stir oil and warm water/yeast mixture add the flour to the water and knead to form a soft dough. if you feel it’s hard to knead the dough in one go mix for about 10 min and leave the dough to rest covered with a wet cloth or cling wrap.
• for the first time bread makers, this may look hard but resting your hand every 5-6 min will help
• Mix the dough for further 10 min until you see a smooth and elastic and clear surface.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface;
• Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in 2  greased 9×5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours in a warm place
• make sure preheat the oven to 200c
• Bake at 200c ° until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped or has reached an internal temperature of 95c °, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool
• enjoy a slice  hot with a blob of good butter
• please ask any questions if you need more information

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