What is the Relationship between Sociology, Psychology, and Education?

The relationship of these three disciplines have always been a subject of both debate and inquiry. The following essay is solely one opinion on the relationship between the three. A discipline is a branch of knowledge studied within an institution of higher education. Many see the term, “education” as a profession while Sociology and Psychology are disciplines. This essay will focus on, “education” as a discipline within the curriculum at any given institution of higher education.

The discipline of education focuses on the word, “pedagogy” which to me simple means the art of teaching. Pedagogy is the study of a “skilled individual’ in the method and practice of teaching an academic discipline. Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions (Myers,2015). A psychologist would study the pedagogical style of an individual professor and how effective it is in to achievement of learning objectives. For example, some professors lecture, others use the Socratic method, while many like to divide their students into groups. Within the discipline of Education many argue about which method achieves consistently the desired learning outcomes. Personally I prefer the good old,” lecture style” sprinkled with “the Socratic method”. While online my preference is making students write till I can hear the echoes of their anger while basking on the beach thousands of miles away. Academic freedom allows us to implement the pedagogy that matches our individual skill set. Psychologist tell us that the, “lecture style” really works for professors who are “charismatic”. Psychologist tell us that, “the Socratic method” fits those professors with an,” authoritarian personality” much like the rigorous Professor Kingsfield in the classic film, “The Paper Chase”. While the professor who prefers groups has more of an,” democratic style ‘’ of pedagogy. My esteemed colleagues at GMC fit one of the above teaching styles or a combination.

Sociology is the scientific study of individual and group behavior and the institutions that mold that behavior” (Kendall, 2012). A sociologist would look at the institution of education at the macro level. For example, a sociologist would study how the learning outcomes of an institution such as Catholic University differ tremendously from the learning outcomes of Bob Jones University a Baptist college. For that matter a sociologist would point out the macro institutional differences between a private college Emory University versus University of Georgia. Also sociologist would examine the differences in day to day life at a public high school in suburbia versus public high school in the inner city. A conflict sociologist would quickly focus on how a SWAT team surrounds the perimeter of the inner high school.   Sociologist would study controversial topics within education such as whether “institutionalized racism” exists within educational institutions. One could also focus on patterns of sexual harassment that could be prevalent at certain institutions. A sociologist versed in the law would be interested in Title IV or Tile VI and whether they should be applied against bigoted educational institutions. For example, the patterns of sexual harassment that exists today at the University of California at Berkley are currently being exposed and scrutinized by the Guardian Newspaper in London, England.

Many in academia argue that Sociology and Psychology are cousins in the world of higher education. A college class called, “Social Psychology” would be an example of that. Many theories on human behavior overlap between Sociology and Psychology. Theories on human behavior are like pieces of a jig saw puzzle with no one theory explaining human behavior fully. One must take the theories like jig saw pieces and lay them on top of a table. Even when we match the hundreds of theories on human behavior the puzzle is never complete. The reason is,” simple” human beings are complex and behavior changes with time and circumstance. For example, with the advent of all this technology human behavior has transcended many theories in Sociology and Psychology.  A great debate for the three disciplines would be social media and online education. Dr. Sherry Turtle psychology professor at MIT and author of,” Alone Together” argues that too much social media and online education hurts the “cognitive growth” of 17 to 24 year olds. A sociologist would agree and say a healthy balance would be a good compromise. While a college administrator with M.S. degree in Education would say, “It is better than no education at all. Students who would never have had an opportunity for a college education now do”. Let’s end with quote from Steve Jobs,” It is technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, and that yields us with a result that makes our hearts sing”.

Michael Granata M.A.  (GMC Online College)

References:

Kendall, Diane “Sociology in Out Times” 9^th Edition, (Wadsworth Learning 2014)

Myers, David “Psychology” 11^th Edition, (Prentice Hall Publishing 2015)