1970년대 영국 교육사회학의 논쟁적 흐름의 시사

1970년대 영국 교육사회학의 논쟁사는 교육사회학 발전에 의미 있는 시사점을 제공한다. 신교육사회학을 주창한 학자들은 선동적 교육사회학에 근거한 조직개편식 정책으로는 교육 불평등과 사회경제적 불평등을 해소할 수 없다고 비판하면서 학교지식과 교사-학생 상호교섭의 개혁을 통한 변화를 모색하였다. 이후 영국 교육사회학은 개혁의 대상 측면에서 개인적 구조적, 그리고 속도 측면에서 점진적-급진적 접근으로 나뉘었다. 개인적ㆍ급진적 변화를 추진한 신교육사회학은 사회구조의 견고함을 경시함으로써 낭만론으로 격하되었으며, 구조적ㆍ점진적 변화를 시도한 구교육사회학은 점진적 방안이 구조에 아무런 영향을 미치지 못함에 따라 보수주의론으로 비판되었다. 한국 교육사회학자들은 이 논쟁사를 통해서 ①교육이 정치적 속성을 갖고 있으며 ②이론과 정책이 밀접하게 관련될 때 양쪽 모두 발전할 수 있음을 배울 수 있다.

In the early 1970s, British sociologists of education had participated in a great dispute about the legitimacy of sociology of education. This dispute was triggered by the `new sociologists of education`, who criticized the traditional sociology of education for not being effective in accomplishing equality of educational opportunity and equal society. Stressing the significance of educational knowledge, they claimed that the major topic of sociology of education should be an inquiry into the social organization of knowledge in educational institutions.<BR> New sociologists of education dreamed of constructing an equal society through radical changes in education, which came of newly selected and organized school knowledge and humanistic teacher student interactions. They thought that conscious teachers could be powerful agents bringing equality of educational opportunities and equal educational results. However, they were criticized by old sociologists of education as being naive romanticists. New sociologists of education reflected on their own theoretical assumptions. which had not given any serious considerations to the structural factors caused by capitalist society. After the mid 1970s, they recognized that teachers and schools are under the control of the ruling class in capitalist society and have revised their theories making use of Marxist ideas and concepts.<BR> The history of British sociology of education after the 1970s suggests in a meaningful way that neither the structural approach nor the individualistic approach is enough to understand educational phenomena in modern capitalist society. It is obvious that both macro and micro approaches are necessary to understand educational phenomena and to construct a new society through educational changes. Korean sociologists of education have been remiss in reviewing and discussing meaningful theories. If they pay more careful attention to the dispute of the British sociologists of education in the 1970s, they can catch concepts, theories, and perspectives which are useful for developing Korean sociology of education.