Page 362 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 362
ear ly school leaving: contempor ary european perspectives
accounts, only includes market-recognised effects of education
and not other costs (e.g. social costs impacting society as a whole
and not directly observable).
ESL as an obstacle to social development
The social benefits of education (social cohesion, social inclusion) lie at the
heart of the EU’s (Lisbon, EU 2020) policy agenda. The Council of Europe
(2008) defines social cohesion as “the capacity of a society to ensure the
well-being of all its members, minimising disparities and avoiding margin-
alisation”. Similarly, the OECD (2011) calls a society “‘cohesive’ if it works
towards the well-being of all its members, fights exclusion and marginali-
sation, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust, and offers its members
the opportunity of upward social mobility”.
While various academic studies have discussed the microsocial bene-
fits of education (social and civic engagement), a sense of belonging, trust,
equality, inclusion and mobility of individual students), the macrosocial
benefits (social development, social cohesion of nation-states, the EU) have
been studied to a limited extent. Green, Preston and Sabates (2003) argue
that, due to their conceptual differences (level and emphasis on the relation-
al properties and social functioning), the macrosocial benefits of education
cannot be simply understood as the aggregation of microsocial benefits.
This fact may at least partly explain the high complexity of the macroso-
cial benefits of education (e.g. social cohesion) and the absence of clarity on
what they actually encompass and how education may affect them.
Green et al. (2004) argue that great variations in definitions and var-
ious meanings within/between national contexts additionally make re-
searching the relationship between education and social cohesion an ex-
tremely difficult task.3 They (2004, p. 124) add that work relating to the
influence of education on social cohesion is often qualitative in nature and
that it is difficult to operationalise and test hypotheses related to learning
and social cohesion within a positivist framework. The OECD (2006) notes
that, while human capital theory links education to economic outcomes
and offers a robust framework for scientific investigation and policy anal-
ysis, there is to date no widely accepted theory linking education to social
outcomes which could at least partly explain the lack of research in this
area (Fernandez Gutierrez & Calero Martinez, 2014).
3 Green et al. (2004) report that the macrosocial concept receives much attention in
sociological theories but there is a lack of attention to it in educational research.
362
accounts, only includes market-recognised effects of education
and not other costs (e.g. social costs impacting society as a whole
and not directly observable).
ESL as an obstacle to social development
The social benefits of education (social cohesion, social inclusion) lie at the
heart of the EU’s (Lisbon, EU 2020) policy agenda. The Council of Europe
(2008) defines social cohesion as “the capacity of a society to ensure the
well-being of all its members, minimising disparities and avoiding margin-
alisation”. Similarly, the OECD (2011) calls a society “‘cohesive’ if it works
towards the well-being of all its members, fights exclusion and marginali-
sation, creates a sense of belonging, promotes trust, and offers its members
the opportunity of upward social mobility”.
While various academic studies have discussed the microsocial bene-
fits of education (social and civic engagement), a sense of belonging, trust,
equality, inclusion and mobility of individual students), the macrosocial
benefits (social development, social cohesion of nation-states, the EU) have
been studied to a limited extent. Green, Preston and Sabates (2003) argue
that, due to their conceptual differences (level and emphasis on the relation-
al properties and social functioning), the macrosocial benefits of education
cannot be simply understood as the aggregation of microsocial benefits.
This fact may at least partly explain the high complexity of the macroso-
cial benefits of education (e.g. social cohesion) and the absence of clarity on
what they actually encompass and how education may affect them.
Green et al. (2004) argue that great variations in definitions and var-
ious meanings within/between national contexts additionally make re-
searching the relationship between education and social cohesion an ex-
tremely difficult task.3 They (2004, p. 124) add that work relating to the
influence of education on social cohesion is often qualitative in nature and
that it is difficult to operationalise and test hypotheses related to learning
and social cohesion within a positivist framework. The OECD (2006) notes
that, while human capital theory links education to economic outcomes
and offers a robust framework for scientific investigation and policy anal-
ysis, there is to date no widely accepted theory linking education to social
outcomes which could at least partly explain the lack of research in this
area (Fernandez Gutierrez & Calero Martinez, 2014).
3 Green et al. (2004) report that the macrosocial concept receives much attention in
sociological theories but there is a lack of attention to it in educational research.
362
