Sociology is the science of society with its institutions. It is considered at one of the youngest social science.

The word sociology was used for the first time on Augusta Comte, a French Philosopher; in 1842 the word sociology is derived from the Latin word Logos meaning science. So the Etymological meaning of sociology is the science of society.

In order to understand the meaning of sociology fully, let me give a few definitions. Ginsberg: Sociology is the study of human interaction and inter relation their conditions and consequences.

Ward: Sociology is the science of society.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Fairchild: Sociology is the study of relationship between man and his human environment.

Ogburn: Sociology is a body of learning about society;

Kimball Young: Sociology deals with the behavior of man in groups. In short we can say that sociology studies in its totality the cultural heritage.

Features of Sociology:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

1. Sociology deals with man’s life as a whole.

2. Sociology is a science, but not a pure science like Physics and chemistry, it is a social science.

3. It is a theoretical and not an applied science.

4. It is a positive science and not a normative science.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

5. the subject matter of sociology is society rather than the individual.

Relationship between Education and Sociology:

Education and sociology are very much related to each other. It was Emile Durkheim who first clearly indicated the need for a Sociological approach to the study of education. Durkheim considered education to be something social in character, in it origin and in its functions. As a result the story of education relates more clearly to sociology than to any other science. Since needs of the society change continuously, education must also change, the needs of different societies differ, so also the pattern of education in different societies has to differ. What is implies is that social forces determine the nature of education, so the relationship between education and sociology is of vital importance. Let me make a mention of a few aspects.

The relationship between the two is shown as under.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Education a social Process: Education is a social process. Changes In the behavior of the child are bought about in accordance with the different social conditions.

Personality development a result of social process: Education aims at the all round development of the personality of the individual. Personality does not develop in vacuum. It develops with the interaction of social forces, which are the domains of sociology. So there is a relationship between education and sociology. Socialization a result of social process: Education socializes the individual. The process of socialization takes place through the role played by family, school and other agencies Sociology also studies the process of socialization. So the relationship between education and sociology is very vast.

Curriculum based of social needs: Sociology provides suggestion about reforming curriculum. It says that curriculum should be based on social needs and values and keeps new concepts into consideration and revises the curriculum from time to time according to the changing needs of the society.

Human being common subject of both: Human being is the subject of both the education and sociology. With one discipline along with him, a complete study of the human being is not possible so the relationship between the two is clear.