EDUCATION AS THE PERFECT INSTRUMENT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
According to international schools in India Social changes can start on an unconscious level, but they can quickly progress to the conscious level. The alterations, on the other hand, do not last for a long period at the unconscious level. They may be launched on an unconscious level, but their approval occurs on a conscious level, and it is only at this level that changes become widely accepted in a group, society, or nation. Education has a dual purpose.
To begin with, it causes the individual to be frustrated with his or her current situation. It trains him to be on the lookout for change, encourages depression, and thus unconsciously prepares people to accept change when it is provided. Second, education does not end with the individual's preparedness for a shift. It also permits an individual to take conscious steps toward bringing about improvements in society.
A number of social reformers, including Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahatma Gandhi, worked tirelessly at the grassroots level to bring about societal transformation. All of the reformers recognized the importance of a solid educational system in order to keep up with the rapid pace of societal development. A reform movement differs from more radical social movements like revolutions. A reform movement is a type of social movement that aims for gradual change, rather than rapid or fundamental change, in certain aspects of society.
Education serves three purposes in terms of growth and development from a sociological standpoint. For starters, it aids in the preservation of prior work, knowledge, culture, and tradition. Second, it contributes to the transmission of valuable cultural aspects to future generations. Third, it aids in the distribution of fresh knowledge and experience in order to foster new inventions and societal creativity. These three-fold educational initiatives are thereby bringing about necessary societal reforms and controlling undesired aspects. The following are the three functions of education for social change:
PRESERVATION OF SOCIAL HERITAGE
Education is critical for the preservation of society's valuable knowledge and traditions. Young boys and girls attend school to learn to read and write, and while doing so, they get acquainted with the desirable aspects of their social culture. The curriculum for children is constructed in such a way that it incorporates societal knowledge and experience. The teacher's job is to introduce his students to art, science, literature, history, and culture that society has accumulated over time. Any fresh development or progress may be feasible only if the next generation imitates the previous society's thoughts, attitudes, and behavior.
So, from this perspective, education is nothing more than a large-scale imitation process. It is only through such imitation that the desirable components of massive human culture may be preserved and protected.
TRANSMISSION OF DESIRABLE CULTURE
Education is in charge of instilling desired cultural aspects in the minds of future generations. It should be highlighted that the previous culture's social and cultural history is not entirely acceptable to the current society. The younger generation does not wish to practice all that their predecessors did. They only want the beneficial and desirable aspects of ancient civilization and avoid the unfavorable ones.
Education must take careful control of social heritage in this case. It must carefully assess which features or aspects of previous experiences have the potential to help the new generation improve socially. It's worth noting that as society evolves, new dreams, aspirations, and needs emerge in the public consciousness. In light of this, education must be able to actively control, design, and select aspects of social legacy to pass on to future generations.
DISSEMINATION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE
Education is in charge of disseminating new knowledge and experiences in society's minds. Every new civilization brings with it a genius capable of new innovation and invention for the advancement of society. Education should provide those geniuses a new light and a new direction in their minds, allowing fresh thought, ideas, and activities, as well as a new invention, to emerge. Old faith, beliefs, and ways of life are changing as a result of such innovation, and new actions and thoughts are emerging.
There are several examples of this reality throughout history. The extraordinary person with the new society's creative genius provides his unique thinking and ideas for others to follow. Gandhiji, Karl Marx, and other socio-political and religious reformers have all been successful in bringing about social change and growth at different times. As a result, it is clear that education has the ability to distribute new knowledge and ideas in order to promote societal change and progress.
