Social Change or Continuity—Problems in Social and Cultural Futures

Abstract

If we accept as a preliminary hypothesis Freire’s¹ contention that every educational practice implies a particular viewpoint on the educator’s part and an interpretation of man and the world, the assessment of present and future educational practices cannot be made apart from the most fundamental judgement about values and purposes in society. This requires us to attempt an analysis of a) the influence of social forces upon educational goals, and b) the contribution we can realistically expect from education in achieving social goals. This paper is an attempt to apply one possible approach systematically to these problems, and to suggest some possible questions relating to theoretical and policy issues of work on futures in society and education. We begin in Chapter I with a discussion of some of the general problems of analysing social and educational futures and suggest a possible sociological approach. This is followed in Chapter II by an elaboration of the particular framework adopted, and a discussion of a number of hypothetical social models which may be constructed with this framework. The analysis in Chapter III then concentrates upon two main social alternatives for Europe which we have developed with reference to tendencies in present society, and especially the cultural system.

“The world which is rising into existence is still half encumbered by the remains of the world which is waning into decay; and, admist the vast perplexity of human affairs, none can say how much of ancient institutions and former manners will remain, or how much will completely disappear.”

Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America