This academic essay will discuss on the relationship that exist between social change and

education, with the use of relevant examples. The term social change is used to indicate the
changes that take place in human interactions and interrelations. Society is a web of social
relationships and hence social change means change in the system of social relationships.
These are understood in terms of social processes and social interactions and social
organization. Change also varies in scope, in that it may influence many aspects of a society
and disrupt the whole social system like the process of industrialization has affected many
aspects of society. Some changes occur rapidly but others take a long time. Many of the
western nations took many decades to become industrialized, but developing nations are
trying to do it more quickly. They do this by borrowing or adapting from those nations which
have already achieved it.

According to Hangton, Austin (2005) Today, most of the sociologists assume that change is a
natural, inevitable, ever present part of life in every society. When we are looking at social
change, we are focusing not in changes in the experiences of an individual, but on variations
in social structures, institutions and social relationship. MacIver and Page, “Social change
refers to a process responsive to many types of changes, to changes in the manmade
conditions of life, to changes in the attitudes and beliefs of men, and to the changes that go
beyond the human control to the biological and the physical nature of things.” Thus, any
alteration, difference or modification that takes place in a situation or in an object through
time to time can be called change.

The relationship of education with social change is not a simple, unilateral one, as perhaps
many would like to believe, for education is not only instrumental in bringing about social
change, it is also quite interestingly instrumental in maintaining the status quo. In other
words, education plays with a ‘conservative’ and radical role, i.e., it helps both in
‘maintaining’ and changing different aspects of the social system, Society wishing to change
or modernize itself has to employ a number of means, instruments, institutions, agents or
agencies to achieve its desired goals. Among such means, education is perhaps the most
important. Education provides necessary training in skills and occupations and thus, produces
the needed competent personnel for maintaining the different specialized jobs in modern
industrial, business, educational and research establishments. Not only this, education is
expected to change the values and attitudes of people.
According to Haringhurst (1964), The role of education in bringing about social change or
modernization has led leaders and planners in developing nations to make large scale
provisions of educational facilities for their respective people. We in India, have also seen the
great efforts of our educational planners during the last fifty years of national planning to
expand diverse educational facilities at all levels, and in all regions of the country. Also India
is encouraging exchange of personnel and ideas with developed countries to obtain and
utilize theories; practices and mechanisms of education to achieve a modernized society.
These have resulted in many good things although much change still remains to be brought
about.

More and more people of the lower and middle classes are now making great sacrifices so
that children may get educated and with their education they may be able to make their living
better. Secondly, more and more people of the lower castes are now becoming successful in
uplifting themselves socially and economically by getting education. Education has certainly
enabled them in changing their lives for the better; it has granted them better social status and
opened the flood-gates of aspirations for their children.

According to Karmat (1985), Teachers must certainly help the nation in bringing about long
awaited social change. We have, ourselves, first of all, to become personalities with a high
degree of empathy, achievement motivation, social sensitivity, risk-taking capacity and
similar other attributes of a modern man. It is only then we can activate or generate the minds
and energies of our youth. Teachers can prepare their students for taking their right place in
such a future society. So teachers have to involve themselves whole heartedly in generating
the process of social change.

The idea of social change as the normal and as proceedings inevitably from bad to good and
from good towards better on the way to social perfection be an intellectual heritage from
which the early modern sociologists could not entirely escaped. August Comte had expected
the achievement of the scientific stage of social thought to lead to the emergence of new
social elite, the social engineers, who would apply to human welfare the finding of science,
including those of the new science of the society.

The role of education as an agent or instrument of a social change and social development is
widely recognized nowadays. Social change may take place when human needs change when
the existing social system or network of social institutions fails to meet the existing human
needs and new materials suggest better ways of meeting human needs. Social changes do not
take place automatically or by themselves. As MacIver says, social change take place as a
response to many types of changes that take place in the social and non-social environment.
Education can initiate social changes by bringing about a change in outlook and attitude of
man. It can bring about a change in the pattern of social relationships and institutions and
thereby it may cause social change. Malinowski (1953).

According to Karl Marx, (2002), gave the theory of social change on the basis of his conflict
theory. He says that nature is ever changing, because everything is involved in struggle. As a
result of this struggle, old things get destroyed and new things are born in their place.
Because of these factors the face of the society changes. This struggle leads to the
development of new means and techniques of production resulting into social relation and
birth of new social and economic classes. In fact, nature of matter is dynamic and as a result
of this dynamism,

There was a time when educational institutions and teachers were engaged in transmitting a
way of life to the students. During those days, education was more a means of social control
than an instrument of social change. Modern schools, colleges and universities do not place
much emphasis upon transmitting a way of life to the students. The traditional education was
meant for an unchanging, static society, not marked by rapid changes. But, today, education
aims at imparting empirical knowledge that is knowledge about science, technology and other
type of specializations.

Education was associated with religion. It has, however, become secular today. It is an
independent institution now. Education today has been chiefly instrumental in preparing the
way for the development of science and technology Thus, education has brought about
phenomenal changes in every aspect of man’s life. Francis Brown remarks that education is a
process which brings about changes in the behaviour of society. It is a process which enables
every individual to participate effectively in the activities of society, and to make positive
contribution to the progress of society

According to Mann, Michael (1994), the precise relationship of the education system to
social and economic change is extremely complex and it is almost impossible to draw
conclusions that are not misleading. The concept of education as producing or impeding
social change is enormously complicated by the fact that the education system itself is a part
of society, which is itself changing. Consequently, the real issue is that of the
interrelationship between educational institutions and other aspects of the society. Moreover,
it is this interrelationship which makes it so difficult to use the educational system to produce
conscious or planned social change. The education system cannot be seen in isolation from its
social context. The realization that educational reform is not a universal panacea should not
lead us to minimize the importance of knowledge about the educational institutions in
society. This simply means that the relationship between education and social change is very
complex and no simple generalizations can be drawn regarding them.

In conclusion, education is the major key for social change. Education has been and will
always a big part of social change and it affects our lives daily. It helps us embrace new
ideas, discard harmful practices and improve our societies.
 REFRENCES

Harington, Austin (2005). Modern Social Theory: An Introduction, New York:

Oxford University Press.

Havinghhurst, R.J. (1964). Society and Education, Boston: Allyn Bacon.

Karl Marx (2002). Es-334 Education and Society, New Delhi: The

Director, School of Education.

Kamat, A.R. (1985). Education and Social Change in India, Bombay: Somaiya

Publications.

Malinowski, B. (1953). ‘Anthropology’ in Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, New

York: Macmillan Co. Vol.III.

Mann, Michael. (1994). Macmillan Student Encyclopedia of Sociology, London:

Macmillan Press.