As already noted, at this stage of the development of society in the Republic of Belarus, a transition is taking place from a traditional society to an industrially developed and dynamic society, the most important feature which is its constant change, development.

In a traditional society, the leading process is reproduction cultural and historical experience of mankind, in the dynamic - the process development personality, public consciousness and society as a whole. However, the existing education system still mainly performs the functions of reproducing culture, transmitting knowledge, cultural patterns that formed the experience of previous generations. We can say that education prepares a person for life in the past or in a traditional society, but, meanwhile, he will have to live in the future - a new, dynamic society that is constantly developing and fundamentally different from its previous state. This is one of the main contradictions of education both in our republic and in the countries of the CIS and far abroad.

This problem can be solved through a radical change in educational practice, modernization of the pedagogical process at all levels of the education system. To determine the ways of reforming educational practice, it is necessary to consider in more detail the issue of the distinctive features of the education system inherent in a traditional and dynamic society.

Education in society implements two main functions:

1) reproduction(culture, experience, activities of people);

2) development(society, personality).

The first function is carried out by theoretical(knowledge) model of education, the second - universal(ability or activity).

Theoretical model education ensures the transmission of cultural and historical experience from generation to generation; reproduction of “ready-made”, “complete” knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for an individual to implement the functions existing in society (cultural, social, economic, etc.). Through a theoretical educational model, the consciousness of a person with a specific type of worldview is determined and formed: values ​​and ideals, principles and lifestyle, specific knowledge, skills and abilities ... A striking example of such a model of education is the Soviet school, which was focused on the formation of a single Marxist-Leninist worldview, communist ideals and values ​​among students. This theoretical model of education was consistent with society traditional type and has other names: traditional or subject-oriented.

The sphere of education is also a mechanism for the development of an individual and society as a whole. This development mechanism is implemented through universal educational model by preparing people for an independent life in a constantly changing situation, innovation activities through the development of thinking, consciousness of the individual. The universal model of education is aimed not so much at transferring knowledge, skills, and abilities to students as at developing personal abilities to obtain this knowledge and apply it in new conditions .

In other words, the emphasis in the content of education should be shifted from the development of specific knowledge to development. universal personal abilities. Hence, other names for this model of education follow - universal or ability , innovative or student-centered. In a dynamic society, important for the individual are, first, the ability to work in an uncertain situation - to independently and adequately solve new problems arising in new conditions. Secondly, the ability to personal self-change and self-development, in particular, to self-formation own worldview, towards continuous self-education. System-forming for both groups of abilities is the personal ability to self-determination - social and cultural That is, some personal universal abilities with the help of which a person can independently make a choice and build himself and his own life activity, form personal ideals, life principles, worldview. These universal abilities also include: the ability to reflect; thinking; dialogue; analyzing the situation and defining goals, methods and means of achieving them; understanding other people and sharing productive activities... Many researchers (Yu.V. Gromyko, PG Shchedrovitsky, NG Alekseev and others) distinguish two groups of universal abilities: 1) the ability to act in unique (new, constantly changing) situations; 2) the ability to communicate, productive cooperation and collaboration. Thus, the implementation of a universal educational model ensures not only the appropriation of cultural and historical experience by students, but also the development of their personal abilities to master new ways of thinking and activity, and relationships between people. This universal or ability model of education is characteristic of dynamic society(see diagram 3).

Let us give comparative analysis theoretical (traditional, knowledge, subject-oriented) and universal (ability, activity, personality-oriented) models of education, as well as define distinctive features activities of the teacher in these educational models (see tables 2,3).

The main functions of education in society

Education is the process of formation and training of a person, aimed at the formation and development of his mental and physical capabilities, the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

The state is interested in ensuring that every citizen has an education that meets the accepted standard. Without education, the active participation of citizens in public life, in production, in all spheres of state activity, in connection with which, in many states, education is compulsory. The state encourages and develops art, ensures freedom for citizens creative activity. Three functions of the state in education should be distinguished, namely:

1. Promotion of education development (participation in the development of new curricula, new standards of secondary education);
2. Monitoring the quality of education (checking schools, conducting a unified state education);
3. Rendering assistance to cultural institutions (financing of palaces of culture, libraries, etc.).

Education is a social institution, one of the substructures of society. The content of education reflects the state of society and the transition from one state to another. Currently, this is a transition from the industrial society of the twentieth century. to the post-industrial information society of the XXI century. The development and functioning of education is determined by all factors and conditions of the existence of society: economic, political, social, cultural, etc.

Education reflects such structural elements of a social institution as:

1. the presence of a special form of organizing the life of people;
2. special institutions for such an organization with an appropriate group of persons authorized to perform the necessary social functions and roles for the management and control of activities;
3. norms and principles of relations between these officials and members of society included in the orbit of action of this social institution, as well as sanctions for non-compliance with these norms and principles;
4. the necessary material resources ( public buildings, equipment, finance, etc.);
5. special functions and activities.

In general, the main functions of culture and education can be roughly divided into:

• socio-cultural aimed at the development of the spiritual life of society, where high school plays a decisive role, because it not only directly affects the formation of the personality, but also lays a sense of social responsibility, allows you to preserve, develop, broadcast spiritual heritage.
• socio-economic associated with the formation and development of the intellectual, scientific, technical and human potential of society, with social stratification;
• socio-political, the implementation of which allows to ensure the safety of society in its broadest sense, social control, social mobility, sustainable development of society, its internationalization and involvement in general civilization processes.

It should be noted that the interaction and interweaving of the above functions is quite high. The main criterion for education is the consistency of knowledge and consistency of thinking, manifested in the fact that a person is able to independently restore the missing links in the knowledge system with the help of logical reasoning. Through education, culture is transmitted from one generation to another. Thus, it should be said that the main function of education is to convey the values ​​of a particular culture.

Education, like any social subsystem, has its own structure. So, in the structure of education, one can distinguish:

• educational institutions (schools, colleges, universities);
• social groups (teachers, students, students);
• educational process (the process of transferring and assimilating knowledge, abilities, skills, values).

Also, education can be classified:

1.depending on the amount of knowledge gained and the achieved level of independence of thought:

• initial;
• the average;
• higher.

2.depending on the nature and focus:

• general - gives knowledge of the foundations of the sciences about nature, society, man, forms a dialectical-materialistic worldview, develops cognitive abilities. General education provides an understanding of the basic laws of development in the world around a person, educational and labor skills necessary for each person, a variety of practical skills .;
• professional - mastering certain knowledge and skills in a specific profession and specialty;
• polytechnic - introduces the basic principles modern production, develops skills in handling the simplest tools that are used in everyday life and everyday life.

In addition to preschool, general and vocational education, they sometimes distinguish:

• additional education, which takes place in parallel with the main one - circles, sections, Sunday schools, courses;
• self-education - independent work to acquire knowledge about the world, experience, cultural values. Self-education is a free active path of cultural self-improvement that allows you to achieve the best success in educational activities.

According to the forms of training during structuring, there are full-time, part-time, external, individual plan, distance forms.

Thus, education is one of the main aspects of human life. Through education, the transfer of culture from generation to generation is carried out. At the same time, the state plays an important role in the development of education and cultural life of a person, because without its assistance this process is impossible.

The main trends in the development of education in the modern world are determined by the collective will of the states that have signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The satisfaction of the interests of the individual, as the highest humanistic function of education, is also the basis for the proposals of the UNESCO Association of Universities. The humanistic function should receive its development precisely at the time when many states left power. totalitarian regime... The economic approach (as an ideological postulate) significantly deforms the implementation of the functions inherent in education and the real educational policy. This approach links education only with its socio-economic function - servicing the production sector and socio-cultural infrastructure by professional workers. at various levels qualifications. But in the conditions of cardinal changes in the world as a result of the rapid complication of social, political, spiritual and cultural life, the introduction into circulation of information about complex processes of a global nature, in order to adequately navigate, and even more so consciously participate in these processes and make correct value judgments, be well educated. The relationship between the level of development of society and quality characteristics the composition of the population was described back in the 1920s by P. Sorokin. In his famous work "The Current State of Russia" we read: "The fate of any society depends primarily on the properties of its members. A society consisting of idiots or mediocre people will never be a prosperous society. Give a group of devils a magnificent constitution, and yet this will not create it is a wonderful society ... a society consisting of talented and strong-willed individuals will inevitably give more perfect forms of community. "

It can be assumed that with the development of a commercial structure within the framework of education, the humanistic function will develop more intensively, since budgetary educational institutions in classic version fulfill the order of the state, being between the requirements of social efficiency and the need to form a full-fledged personality, non-state ones fulfill the order of society, exercising the rights of parents and the pedagogical law of independent subjects of education, thereby contributing to the formation of civil society. The main thing is that our society does not turn into a single class of intelligentsia, otherwise there will be no one to work. And in our country there is such a tendency.

In the most different areas activities increasingly require not qualifications, but competence, which can be viewed as a kind of sum of skills inherent in an individual and including qualifications in the strict sense of the word, social behavioral characteristics and the ability to work in a group, initiative and willingness to take risks, the ability to make decisions , calculate them possible consequences and be responsible for them. Therefore, such an aspect is considered necessary in the professional function of names. The university system today needs to "equip" the graduate, except for purely professional knowledge, skills, ability to navigate in the ever-increasing flow of information, also the ability to communicate, the ability to work in a team and be ready to resolve conflict situations, to constantly update and replenish knowledge. At the same time, teachers should "supply" in conditions when a fundamental transformation of the main teaching function has taken place: it has ceased to be a source of information and even its interpreter. Today he is a kind of guide. It is no longer possible to stock up on knowledge and, using methodological innovations, calmly broadcast them, replenishing only from time to time, since there is a rapid flow of information. Thus, the change in the requirements for the training of highly qualified specialists automatically "pulls" along with it the problem of the teaching staff, which is forced not only to improve their qualifications, but to radically transform. Intensively (although not always effective) ongoing reforms are focused primarily on enhancing the flexibility and variability of the higher education system. They provide for the development of different types educational institutions and various areas of training for future specialists. In this way, the function of social and cultural change was transformed. With the transition to the system of external assessment testing, education acquired the status of the most important means of social mobility, acting as a channel for massive social movements from one social group, strata to another. Crisis trends in society have also determined the development of the socio-cultural functions of education. The curriculum includes courses in philosophy, sociology, political science, history. Attention to the formation of the environmental consciousness of future specialists has increased. A number of Western universities have introduced an independent discipline "Social Ecology", based on a systematic approach to social and proper environmental problems.

The influence of those university scientists and teachers who consider it necessary to strengthen the formation of the spiritual qualities of the individual, to develop students' ability to see the world in a holistic manner, to realize the importance of urgent social problems and interpersonal relations, to master a sense of social responsibility, is gradually increasing. For this purpose, the "playing" of various life situations and human relationships in small groups is widely modeled using sociometric procedures. Interesting experiments of this kind are carried out in a number of Western European countries. Humanitarization of the content of education in the natural sciences and technical areas study is very expressively manifested in the United States, where in the past the training of specialists in most universities was of a purely pragmatic, narrowly professional nature.

Yuri Vasilievich Dyachenko

Conclusion

As a summary, we can conclude that education in the modern world, thanks to its functions, plays an integrative role in the formation of social communities, social institutions of society, the formation of an interacting personality. Education is the only institution of society on which the largest number relationships between social communities and their representatives. Education is the leading motive in every activity. Entrepreneurship, etc., plays a significant role in the capitalist development of society. Thanks to investments in quality education, the power of the country's economy is significantly increasing. Education prepares ready-made patterns of behavior for humanity and conditions the possibility of their development. It is thanks to education that knowledge, information, and, consequently, opportunities are exchanged between strata of society, between collectives, states, people; this is how the communicative function of education is carried out. Any functions of education determine interaction, integration in society, which determines the humanitarian function of education, from which all other functions of the institution of education originate, the role and significance of which in society is very significant.

The functions of the institute of education can be conditionally divided into socio-cultural, socio-economic, socio-legal. Moreover, these functions are mutually enriched. The division is just conditional, since there are functions that are not included in any of the classes or that can be numbered into several.

The role of these functions is that the humanistic function determines the development of the education and upbringing system in the post-Soviet space; due to the fact that the dissemination of information has become significant, it is required to graduate not narrow-profile specialists, but competent individuals, due to which the socio-cultural functions of education and the function of social and cultural change are transformed, which already presupposes the humanization of the educational process and more flexible training of qualified personnel in educational institutions. It must be remembered that education is the key to everything ...

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The definition and disclosure of the essence of the functions performed by education in society is of theoretical and practical interest and is included in the subject field contemporary problems education. Existence different approaches to the definition and description of the functions of education is explained by the difficulties of their institutionalization, the dynamics of development, as well as the variety of theoretical concepts of the development of educational systems.

Education as a social institution performs a specific set of functions focused on specific social needs. Needs refracted through social interests societies and groups, take the form of a social order. Analysis of the structure of the social order reveals a number of its essential properties: more frequent turnover due to social and cultural dynamics, inconsistency due to multiple sources, acceptance of the leading order on formal organizational indicators, "shift of goals" in bureaucratic management, pedocentrism and orientation to one of the parties personality development.

Differences in the definition of the functions of education are also due to the fact that its social return is postponed in time. The vagueness of the criteria for its effectiveness expands the possibilities of interpreting the functions of education, which is reinforced by the contradictions of group interests.

Another problem in the study and description of the functions of modern education is that excessive determination functional model social order leads to underestimation or exaggeration of certain functions of education.

An important aspect of the functional imbalance is the ratio of formal and non-formal education. For centuries, the school has tried to counter the results of out-of-school socialization, as the dominants of the out-of-school environment diverged significantly from the goals of the school.

The most common classification functions of education.

Socialization of the younger generation... The Institute of Education is designed to ensure social stability and integration of society, since its functioning is directly related to the satisfaction of the fundamental needs of society in the socialization of its members and preparing them for various social roles, the occupation of certain social positions.

Reproduction and transmission of culture. The implementation of this function lies in the fact that through the institution of education, cultural values ​​are transmitted from generation to generation. Throughout the history of mankind, education has been the main tool for enlightening society. When implementing this function, it is important to take into account that the culture of each nation has its own national and ethnic characteristics, therefore, the education system plays an important role in maintaining and preserving national consciousness.

Formation in the young generation of value orientations, attitudes, life ideals prevailing in a given society... Thanks to the implementation of this function by the institution of education, the younger generation is socialized and integrated into the existing social system... Teaching language, the history of the fatherland, literature, the principles of morality and ethics serves as a prerequisite for the formation of a generally shared system of values ​​in a person, thanks to which he learns to understand other people and himself, becomes a conscious member of society.

Social selection... The structure of the educational process is arranged in such a way that it makes it possible already at the most initial stages carry out the differentiation of students. The process of selection, selection of the most capable of learning students is carried out modern system education, as it were automatically, since the very internal microstructure of education has its own main task selection and differentiation of young people not only according to their abilities and talents, but also in accordance with individual interests, opportunities, value orientations. The consequences of the selection process carried out by the institute of education are extremely important, since its end result is the placement of people in different positions in the social structure of society. Through this, reproduction is achieved in the renewal of the social structure of society, without which the normal functioning of the latter is impossible. Another important aspect of the process of social selection is that it triggers the mechanism of social mobility; getting a profession, taking a social position in the structure of a particular organization, as a rule, opens up a professional career path for many people, moving up the ladder of job hierarchies. The education system, mainly higher education, serves as the most important rope of social mobility. The level of education is the most important indicator of a person's social status in modern society. At the same time, some researchers ascribe a negative role to this function of education, since it reproduces the existing social inequality in society.

The function of social and cultural change. This function has always been characteristic of the education system, but it is especially evident in modern conditions. This function is implemented in two interrelated ways. First, through the inextricable link between education and research. Possessing the highest scientific potential, contributing to scientific progress, the education system has always made and continues to make a significant contribution to the enrichment and expansion cultural heritage society. Secondly, in modern conditions there is an integration of science, education and production, the result of which is the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. Educational institutions are increasingly becoming research centers that carry out theoretical and applied research, experimental development commissioned by government departments and industrial firms. Along with this, the development of scientific research contributes to the improvement of the education system, since new scientific ideas and discoveries are included in educational programs, provide an increase in the quality of training of specialists.

Ensuring economic growth... Education is gradually turning into a full-fledged subject of market relations, which stimulates the transformation of its structure and the modification of its functions.

According to another approach, the functions of education are considered in a broader aspect - as a category that reflects the content of the activities of individual elements social system, i.e. the functions of education are revealed within the framework of this approach as social. Among basic social functions of education include:

socio-economic, associated with the development of human capital, meeting the needs of the labor market for professional personnel, the formation and development of the intellectual, scientific, technical and personnel potential of society;

socio-political, the implementation of which allows to ensure the safety of society in its broadest sense, social control, social mobility, sustainable development of society, its internationalization and involvement in general civilization processes;

cultural, aimed at the development of the spiritual life of society, where education plays a decisive role, because it not only directly affects the formation of the personality, but also lays a sense of social responsibility, allows you to preserve, develop and broadcast the spiritual heritage. The research interest in this case is the grouping of functions and their content.

Socio-economic functions... The strategic success of a society is determined not only by the formation of a wide range of scientific, technical, humanitarian and artistic elite, but also by the achievement of a high educational level of the population and an increase in the quality of human capital. At the same time, the economic approach also acts as a significant obstacle on the path of adequate awareness of the value of education, the priority in the implementation of proper social and cultural-creative functions. Taken as an ideological postulate, it significantly deforms both the implementation of the social functions inherent in education and the real educational policy. This approach links education only with its socio-economic function - servicing the production sector and socio-cultural infrastructure by professional workers of various skill levels.

Among the most important socio-economic functions of education is the formation of the intellectual and personnel potential of society.

Socio-political functions. Not only socio-economic, but also socio-political functions of education undergo an essential transformation, which is associated with drastic changes as inside educational system, so in that external environment that influences her.

Major political cataclysms at the end of the 20th century have significantly changed the environment for the functioning and development of education. This led to the fact that more and more often there was a mention of a new function that education performs in modern society. It is on ensuring national security. In the new geopolitical conditions, the army and other power structures have become by no means an exhaustive factor for the security of countries. True security, taking into account the progress of world civilization, is determined today by the level of development of human resources as the main prerequisite for the creation of its scientific, economic, socio-cultural and spiritual potential. It is in this direction that rivalry unfolds in the 21st century. developed countries and entire regions for leadership, and, consequently, for the level of their own security, preservation of sovereignty and integrity. In the light of these prospects, education and science, their scale, level and quality are becoming the leading, decisive factors in the development and ensuring national security.

Cultural and creative function. In the context of the deepening integration of scientific knowledge, the existing rigid division of education into humanitarian, natural science and technical clearly reveals its vulnerable features. At the same time, the question is not reduced only to organizational aspects - it fits into a much broader problem: it is determined what contribution the education system should and can make to the development of culture and spirituality, what is its cultural and creative mission. The controversy continues around the complex of these questions. There are diametrically opposite positions regarding the humanization of education.

The influence of supporters of the development of the ability of education to form the spiritual qualities of a person, the ability to see the world in a holistic manner, to realize the importance of urgent social problems and interpersonal relations, to master a sense of social responsibility is gradually increasing. The curriculum includes courses in philosophy, sociology, political science, history. Attention has increased to the formation of the ecological consciousness of future specialists, etc.

The youth problem: education as a means of overcoming generational conflict.

The process of introducing young people to basic social values ​​has various forms and levels, but the leading positions here belong to education.

If we agree with the status of education as an institution of socialization, then we should consider its fundamental capabilities in achieving those goals and solving the tasks that face it in this regard. This presupposes a clear understanding of where, into what kind of society young people are going to "grow into", whether they will contribute to the development of this society tomorrow or build a fundamentally different one - their own.

This, firstly, will determine the understanding of what from our cultural heritage we must and will be able to convey to her and what she, in turn, will take from the proposed signs; secondly, it will show not only what kind of information will make up the content that it will perceive and master as a resource for its own development, but also what forms of implementation of this content will be the most effective, maximally guaranteeing the achievement of socially significant goals, the formation of socially necessary values.

The current social state of our society gives rise to conflict and protest among young people. Demographic trends characterize an environment of extreme disadvantage (falling fertility, rising mortality, shrinking life expectancy, increasing the number of divorces, childless and small families, etc.) affecting young people not only as such, but also as a population group that primarily ensures their reproduction ... She begins to respond to a situation of deterioration in her living conditions and threats to her existence not only by reorienting behavior, choosing different norms and values ​​than before, but even by direct rejection of all forms of sociality and socialization. In these conditions, it is necessary to change the system of main life guidelines. And this will certainly affect the most fundamental characteristics of education as an institution of socialization. After all, if you understand the desire of young people to go abroad not as a petty desire for an easy life in a field cultivated by someone else's labor, but as social phenomenon, then this means to recognize it as a reflection in the mass consciousness of the unacceptability of the existing conditions of life. After all, even those who are ready to stay apply different standards to assessing reality, form their own lifestyle. The traditional principles and values ​​of their parents are no longer a guide to action for them, but rather the opposite.

Overcoming the distrust of young people in our education system, which is an abstract, formal value for them, and by no means an incentive to actively assimilate knowledge, is possible only if the interests and capabilities of generations are combined. We are now unable to pass on to young people not only our former social values, but even his own social experience, since it was formed in a fundamentally different system of ideological guidelines and does not work in another axiological system.

Now the subjectivity of youth has clearly manifested itself, including as an object of socialization. It is not just taking into account its characteristics and opinions, but informally including it on equal terms in the process of restructuring social institutions, in the development of ways of their further development... This, in turn, requires the creation of completely new forms of social communication, a high degree of awareness, forecasting and understanding which solutions will find an active response in the youth environment and form into an objective, directed and controlled process, and which ones will be rejected.

2.

Yuri Vasilievich Dyachenko

Introduction

Education is learning, enlightenment; a body of knowledge obtained by special training. School, preschool and higher, basic and special educational institutions, as well as various subjects that influence the development and learning process of the individual, specialize in the presentation of teaching. "School" is greek word meaning "pastime", "leisure". And it’s not just that: in the education system, a young person is up to a quarter of a century under the control of teachers, educators during school and outside school hours. Therefore, the task is precisely for education to form law-abiding citizens who respect norms, traditions, and government institutions. True, there are other points of view on this score. In 1971, Ivan Illich's book "The Society That Refused Education" was published in the USA. The author proposed to abolish compulsory education, to prohibit asking for documents on education when applying for a job. In his opinion, the school does not develop the child, but prepares parts for the social machine, suppresses the personality. This raised the question of the reform of education and its limitation: what is right in the education system and what this system should contribute to an industrial developing society. In other words, it was necessary to define and clearly delineate the functions of the education system.

Such scientists as Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Herbert Spencer paid considerable attention to this issue. According to Emile Durkheim, the main function of education is to convey the values ​​of the dominant culture. According to Max Weber, the social functions of education are associated with economic, political processes that occur in society at this stage. For example, take education during the occupation. It was after the occupation regimes of Nazi Germany, after the Second World War, that the problems of education entered a new stage of their development; sociology of education emerged as an independent area of ​​knowledge.

At this stage, the functions of education are occupied by Ya. Shchepansky, V.A. Koneva, N. D. Sorokin and others.

Entry into the European space, the signing of the Bologna Treaty, the introduction of a credit-modular system, the development of educational institutions of an innovative type require a new approach to the phenomenon of education, and before finding new organizational forms of training and education, updating the content of the educational process, it is necessary to highlight the functions of education and their role in modern society. This is the purpose of my essay.

So, the purpose of my work, I set the study of the main functions of the institution of education and their role in modern society.

1 Education as a social institution

The objective determinant that determines the need for the emergence of social institutions is the social division of labor, which gives rise to the need for a particular social institution and which is realized in the process of conscious purposeful activity.

Social institutions appear in society as large unplanned products of social life. How does this happen? People in social groups are trying to fulfill their needs together and are looking for this different ways... In the course of social practice, they find some acceptable patterns, patterns of behavior, which gradually, through repetition and evaluation, turn into standardized customs and habits. Over time, these patterns and patterns of behavior are supported by public opinion, accepted and legitimized. On this basis, a system of sanctions is being developed. From time to time, members of the community or social group can collect, systematize and provide legal confirmation of these practical skills and patterns, as a result of which institutions change and develop.

Based on this, institutionalization is the process of defining and consolidating social norms, rules, statuses and roles, bringing them into a system that is capable of acting in the direction of satisfying some social need.

Institutionalization is the replacement of spontaneous and experimental behavior with predictable behavior that is expected, modeled, regulated.

In the early stages of human development, education existed as a type of activity and was carried out directly in the process of fulfilling labor and social obligations. Nevertheless, the language contributed to the accumulation of more and more knowledge, the amount of which increased exponentially, and the transfer of it at different social levels, even by representatives not directly involved in this field of activity. Knowledge increased and it had to be systematized for its full transfer from generation to generation and between strata of society. The corresponding social institution began to deal with this; science, education and upbringing have turned into another kind of activity.

A social institution is organized system ties and social norms, which brings together significant social values ​​and procedures that meet the basic needs of society.

The concept was introduced by Herbert Spencer. In his opinion, a social institution in society performs the function of regulating social processes and phenomena in order to maintain stability between them. Later T. Veblen, J. Renard, R. Heilbronner consider social institutions as groups of people united joint idea, a sense of solidarity, etc. to perform a function. Then this concept passes into the framework of a system of norms that regulate people's behavior or a system of social roles: behavior and social relations... For example, I will cite the statement of American scientists P. Horton and C. Kant: “an association is an organized group of people, while an institution is an organized system of behavior, or, in other words, an organized system of social relations that includes common values ​​and procedures that are in accordance with with the general needs of society. " The formation of social institutions is inextricably linked with the process of division of labor and the differentiation of sensory-objective activity (improvement of language, for example). It is the coordination of joint efforts that gives rise to the institution of society. Therefore, institutionalization has a self-task not only to develop rules, social norms that ensure the process of activity, but also the presence of certain organizations within which the activity is carried out. Following from this, Ya. Shchepansky, V.A. Konev explain the social institution as a system of institutions.

So, an institution is a kind of human activity based on a clearly developed ideology, a system of rules and norms, as well as developed social control over their implementation. Institutional activity is carried out by people organized in groups or associations, where the division into statuses and roles is carried out in accordance with the needs of a given social group or society as a whole. Institutions thus maintain social structures and order in society.

Education is a social subsystem with its own structure. As its main elements, educational institutions can be distinguished as social organizations, social communities (teachers and students), the educational process as a type of socio-cultural activity, as well as: the presence of an objective status of people in a certain field of activity, a set of roles performed by people associated with within the framework of a given social institution (if the status is determined by objective needs, then the social role acts as a process of its implementation), the presence of a social norm, which expresses the measure by which the standard of behavior of people is determined, their activities are assessed and sanctions are determined. But also social norms are the conditions of choice role behavior and the way to measure it (encouragement and censure); they organize and regulate the activities of people and their relationships within the framework of a single social institution.

Education as an institution is determined by two aspects - social and cultural, - the first reflects the structural side of a social institution, the second - the functional side, a certain way of its activity. Their interaction determines the development and self-preservation of the institute. Here we will dwell on the second in more detail.

2 Functions of the Institute of Education

Function (from Latin - execution, implementation) - the purpose or role that a certain social institution or process performs in relation to the whole. The function of a social institution is the benefit that it brings to society, i.e. it is a set of tasks to be solved, goals to be achieved, services provided.

If an institution, in addition to benefit, brings harm to society, then such an action is called dysfunction. An institution is said to be dysfunctional when some of the consequences of its activities interfere with the performance of another social activity or other institution. Or, as my sociological dictionary defines dysfunction, it is “any social activities making a negative contribution to maintaining the effective operation of the social system ”. For example, economic institutions, as they develop, place increased demands on those social functions to be carried out by the educational institution. It is the needs of the economy that lead in industrial societies to the development of mass literacy, and then to the need to train more and more qualified specialists. But if the institute of education does not cope with its task, if education is very poorly organized, or if it does not prepare the specialists that the economy requires, then society will not receive either developed individuals or first-class professionals. Schools and universities will release routineists, amateurs, half-witches, which means that the institutions of economics will be unable to meet the needs of society. Therefore, the activity of a social institution is considered as a function if it contributes to the preservation of stability and integration of society. The functions and dysfunctions of social institutions are obvious, if they are clearly expressed, are recognized by everyone and are quite obvious, or latent, if they are hidden and remain unconscious for the participants in the social system. Explicit institutional functions are expected and necessary. They are formed and declared in codes and fixed in the system of statuses and roles. Latent functions are the unintended result of the activities of institutions or those who represent them. Explicit functions indicate what people wanted to achieve within the framework of this or that institution, and latent ones - what came of it. The explicit functions of the school as an institution of education include: acquiring literacy and a certificate of maturity, preparing for a university, teaching professional roles, and assimilating the basic values ​​of society. But the institute, the school also has hidden functions: acquiring a certain social status that will allow a graduate to climb a step above an illiterate peer, establishing strong friendships in school, supporting graduates at the time of their entry into the labor market. Not to mention a whole host of latent functions such as shaping the interaction of the classroom, hidden curriculum, and student subcultures. Explicit, i.e. rather obvious, the functions of the institute of higher education can be considered the preparation of young people for the development of various special roles and the assimilation of the value standards, morality and ideology prevailing in society, and implicit - the consolidation of social inequality between those who have higher education and not having one.