StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Issues in Observation of a Public Place - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper 'Issues in Observation of a Public Place' states that this assignment requires a visit to a public place and an observation of that public place for 30 to 60 minutes in order to conduct an analysis of the place in compliance with the three sociological perspectives…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.7% of users find it useful
Issues in Observation of a Public Place
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Issues in Observation of a Public Place"

Functionalists believe that any element of society exists for a purpose and these elements are beneficial for society’s well-being.  A functionalist will view a school (selected public place) as an important element of the society that operates with other elements of the society to stabilize a particular society (Mooney, 2012, p.414). Functionalists will view school in a positive manner and will focus on various positive elements of a school and its contribution to socializing. The positive impacts of a school on individuals are that it helps individuals such as students learn skills such as communication and technical skills. A school even contributes to the stability of the society as instructors in the school promote the notions of competition among students, the importance of attainment, and equivalence of opportunity for all. The skills that a student gains by going to a school add further to the stability of the economy as these skills are then by students in their professional life to attain personal aims and objectives and aims and objectives of the institution they are working for. Another important role played by a school is to decrease the probability of crime as those individuals who gain education even gain the competency to get employment and this employment helps them in meeting their financial needs due to which they avoid considering criminal activity as a means of meeting their needs.

Conflict Theory and Schools

On one end are the functionalists who believe that schools promote equal opportunity for all students and meritocracy, while on the other hand are the conflict theorists who would stand against functionalists’ perspective of schools promoting equal opportunity. Conflict theorists would have perceived a school as an institution that treats students in an unequal manner while benefiting certain students and being a disadvantage for others (Ballantine, 2008, p.12). For example, teachers in a school promote that what is being learned in school will help them in gaining good employment after they complete schooling. But the reality is that not all of the students who attend schools are being employed at high-paying jobs. Some are able to secure good jobs on the basis of merits and various others fail to get employment in a good position because those who are the elites of the society use their power to attain those positions and students end up believing that they themselves might not have been good enough to attain those positions. This does not mean that those who are in the lower social class or those who are discriminated against will continue to bear the wrongdoings against them, at times these individuals tend to revolt, and this revolt results in the stabilization of the society. Conflict theory even asserts that people in authority such as teachers in the classroom set rules and regulations and they are to be followed by students in order to avoid punishment and gain the rewards she has to offer. This was clearly evident in the school I observed; as the teacher was the one who was operating the classroom and students were abiding by what she was saying even when the teacher was not correct. For example, the teachers were holding students sitting at the back responsible for indiscipline even when they weren’t acting in a deviant manner.

Symbolic Interactionism and School

According to the Symbolic Interactionism theory of sociology, people attach certain meanings to events, places, and people and then they act towards these elements based on the meanings these elements have for them. People base their actions on the meanings they have attached to these social symbols and they do not depend on the objective meanings associated with them (Finger, 2001, p.47). The meaning that is placed on a school by individuals of a society is that a school provides education to children regarding various aspects of the society such as skills that are considered necessary for gaining employment in an organization of the society, and norms and values of the society and the schools even provide students with education regarding behaviors that are acceptable to the society and even provides information regarding deviant behaviors. If schools would not have existed, individuals might not have gained the education and skills required to become an employee of a society’s organization and the society would have been crowded with an unskilled labor force working in lower-paying jobs. Creativity is another element that is promoted by schools and the nonexistence of schools would have resulted in a lack of creativity and society would have been surviving without new innovations and things that help individuals in living a comfortable life.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Observation of a Public Place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1479403-observation-of-a-public-place
(Observation of a Public Place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/sociology/1479403-observation-of-a-public-place.
“Observation of a Public Place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1479403-observation-of-a-public-place.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Issues in Observation of a Public Place

Research Methods for Social Epidemiology

This same phenomenon can take place with other factors, such as achievement.... 2006, Methods in Social Epidemiology: Research Design and Methods (public Health/Epidemiology and Biostatistics).... hellip; In epidemiology, observation is the most frequent data-collection method used in qualitative research.... In epidemiology, observation is the most frequent data-collection method used in qualitative research.... First, participant observation (in which the observer is obvious to and involved with the subjects) is less valid than a questionnaire would be for sensitive data....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Research in Public Policy

Researchers aspire to eliminate other factors or variables that might intrude into the observation of the major factors of variables that are being investigated.... A research becomes significant when it is used to show the interrelatedness of a variety of concepts and not simply describes how events take place.... The second method can be based on observation wherein the person does not make use of systematic process to make a generalization....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Participant Observation

The method involves the observation of participants' behavior and requires the participant observer to look closely, listen carefully and ask sensibly (Lofland, 1971).... The researcher has to perform double tasks in order to carry out research using participant observation method i.... he has to act… In order to get a realistic data about the concerned group of people, the researcher has to gain the trust of people and integrate among them so that the presence of the researcher causes less or no changes in their regular Moreover, the concept of participant observation also requires maintaining a reasonable distance between the participants and the researchers so that the process of observation is not affected (Atkinson & Hammersley, 1994)....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Blowing the Whistle on Police Violence

“This article highlights a number of issues related to the witnessing of 'illegal' police violence by researchers” (Westmarland, 2001).... The following paper under the title 'Blowing the Whistle on Police Violence' presents the outcome of a hypothesis on a specific subject....
7 Pages (1750 words) Literature review

Human Observation Project

hellip; This garbage lies uncollected in the streets, causing environmental pollution, inconvenience, and being a public health risk. Although the government applies all This problem is likely to intensify unless alternative approaches are made through campaigns to sensitize people on the need to take care of the environment.... This is a behavior that requires close observation to ensure that urban centers remain without litter on the streets....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Observation of the Behavioral Traits of the Participants

The paper "observation of the Behavioral Traits of the Participants" describes that the entire observation course was a tasking one.... This setting allows me to have manifold advantage points for observation of the classroom activities.... It was not easy to keep the focus on the participants throughout the observation;… I shift my sitting position quietly to the back of the classroom carefully not to cause a disturbance.... n the course of my thirty-minute observation, I was careful not to interfere with the behavioral traits of the participants at hand....
5 Pages (1250 words) Coursework

People Observation in a Public Place

The paper "People Observation in a public place" describes that observing people in a public place can be an extremely learning experience.... hellip; While parks are usually places where people visit to relax their body and mind, it is also a place where people from different social, economic and racial backgrounds gather together.... I had visited the place at 4.... A systematic observation can provide “contextually-rich information about settings in which physical activity occurs” (McKenzie et al....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Science Art and Craft of Nursing

The most important prerequisite for becoming a manager was being in the right place at the right time.... Metaphorically speaking, there have been issues such as the class system and the cultural values that have served the purpose of the rope and tree tethering the vocation....
23 Pages (5750 words) Thesis
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us