In this topic, I would like to share three Western theories and perspectives on Education. Unlike the Islamic perspectives that combined Materialism and Spiritualism in their education, the Western views focused on the value of Materialism only.
In short, the students from elite families have more opportunities to have a high-paying job than the working class.
The first theory was introduced by Karl Marx (1818-1883) is the Conflict Theory. In this theory, those with the most resources have more power and authority over others. As a result, those with less power live in inequality and power struggles.
Karl Marx labeled the upper class as bourgeoisie and the working class as the proletariat. The working class is affected the most as their only source of income is from the elites, who own businesses to earn a profit, while the proletariat works for wages.
The Conflict theory also happened in school, where the school administrations pay more attention and give opportunities to rich students and students with excellent academic achievement in education than the 'naughty' students. Naugty is a standard label for students with poor families who make trouble in school and fail in all subjects.
Next, the Functionalist Theory of Emile Durkheim. This theory seems to be more optimistic and unrealistic than the previous theory. The theory is structural and emphasizes shaping people's behavior through socialization.
Besides, the theory of functionalism aims to achieve the shared goals of society. However, the theory did not focus on the possibility of conflicts happening within the society. This is why the functionalist theory is unrealistic.
As for the education institution setting, the school helps all students regardless of their family background in achieving their dream to pursue study in higher education and prepares them for real-world & jobs.
Lastly, the Post-Modernist View. The Post-Modernist View is focusing on the rapid change & uncertainty in society. For example, the family structure now is different from the previous era. Some students have no parents, or divorced parents, etc. Some have to support themselves for education since they have absent parents.
To recapitulate, society now is less stable, more fragmented, and fast-changing. The role of parents in educating their children from the past was shifting to the responsibility of the school. Now, the school is in charge of observing the development of students in both academic and curriculum aspects.
The Post-Modernist View proposes an up-to-date version of the education system in accordance with the change in the structure of society. Hence, the education system presents a diversity between the students and helps them individually with diverse teaching methodology; High-level thinking, Research involvement, Cooperation learning, Differentiation of instruction, Service experiences, and Characteristics education.
