Social change is a concept many of us take for granted or don't really even understand. No society has ever remained the same. Change is always happening. We accept change as inevitable, and it is, end of story, right? Well, not exactly.
Sociologists define social change as changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions. These changes occur over time and often have profound and long-term consequences for society. Well-known examples of such change have resulted from social movements in workers’ rights, civil rights, women's rights and LGBTQIA+ rights, to name just a few. Relationships have changed, institutions have changed, and cultural norms have changed as a result of these social change movements. That's pretty heady stuff. Don't you think?
What interests me, and what I hope interests you, is our collective power to influence social change.
What is the Main Purpose of Social Change?
While we accept that change is constant, we do not have to accept that we are powerless in its wake. It is the extent to which we care about the direction of social change that we can try to shape it and help to create the kind of "change we wish to see in the world." Whether or not Gandhi actually uttered these words doesn't matter. What matters is that the phrase begs the question, what kind of change do we wish to see in the world?
One person’s opinion about what is good or positive social change might well be another person’s idea of bad or negative social change. For example, those who believe in a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a fetus to term fight fervently for that right and believe wholeheartedly that it is a decision to be made between a woman and her doctor, while those who oppose abortion believe firmly in the righteousness of their cause, too, and have built a movement that can claim victory in the overturning of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade.
Institutions have changed, cultural and political norms have changed, and personal relationships have changed as a result of the collective power of people determined to make what they believe to be positive social change. Not all agree, but there can be no denying that it has been an activist movement powered by citizens working together to make change.
As executive director of the 50-year-old nonprofit, Global Citizens Circle (GCC), I think every day about the question of what kind of change I want to see in the world as I work to carry forward the mission of the organization to foster constructive change in our communities, our nation and our world.
I imagine that our partner and host institution, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), also thinks about this question on a daily basis as it seeks to "transform the lives of students."
source: https://www.snhu.edu
2. 2
Change is an enduring historical force
with noticeable variation through.
Change may be hardly discernible or
easily observable; it may be
constructive or destructive; but
whatever its nature it occurs
everywhere and every time.
3. 3
Role of Education in Social change or Education as
an instrument of social change:
Education is considered as one of the most powerful
instruments of social change and control. Education can
remove darkness of ignorance and narrow-mindedness of
human mind and infuse new ideas, new light and new
direction for change and development. It can dispel darkness
of ignorance, indifference and inactivity of human mind and
develop new hope and aspiration
4. 4
Role of Education in Social change or Education as
an instrument of social change:
From sociological point of view education has threefold
function for such change and development. Firstly, it helps in
preservation of work while knowledge, culture and heritage
of
the past. Secondly, it helps in the transmission of desirable
cultural elements in the new generation. Thirdly, it also helps
in the dissemination of new knowledge and experience for
new invention and creation of society. These three fold
activities of education are therefore bringing about
necessary changes of society and control its undesirable
5. 5
Three fold functions of education for social
change
1. Preservation of social heritage:
So far as preservation of worthwhile knowledge and heritage of
society is concerned, education is of vital importance. Young boys
and girls go to school for reading and writing and through this act
they acquaint themselves with the desirable elements of their social
culture. The curriculum meant for children is designed in such a way
that it includes knowledge and experience of the society. Duty of the
teacher is to present his students with art, science and literature,
history and culture which the society had inherited throughout the
ages. Any new development or progress may be possible only when
the new generation imitates the thought, feeling and activity
of the past society
6. 6
Three fold functions of education for social
change
2. Transmission of desirable culture:
Education is responsible for transmission of desirable elements
of culture in mind of the new generation. It may be noted that all
the social and cultural heritage of the past society are not
wholly acceptable to the new society. The new generation does
not want everything what their previous generation used to
practice. They want only the helpful and desirable elements of
culture of the past and avoid the undesirable one. Here
education must have to make conscious control of social
heritage. It must carefully examine which elements or items of
the past experiences have their capability of developing the new
generation towards social progress
7. 7
Three fold functions of education for social
change
3. Disseminations of new knowledge:
Education is responsible for dissemination of new
knowledge and experienced in mind of the society.
Every new society carries with it that genius who can
contribute to new creation and new invention for social
progress. Education should give new light and a new
direction in mind of those geniuses through which new
thought, ideas and activity and new creation may
emerge. It is due to suchcreativity that old faith, belief
and the way of life are changed and new activity and
thought are going to develop.
8. 8
From the above analysis it is evident that education is
the powerful instrument of social change and
development. In the absence of it society would have
remained stagnant and its change and improvement
would have come to a halt.
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