The Role of Social Institutions in Society Essay

The Role of Social Institutions in Society - Essay Example In some societies, however, the educated are viewed with mistrust. Regardless of the view others have of education and educated individuals, it cannot be denied that formal education influences values in a society relative to the importance of material culture, the acceptance of unfamiliar or opposing values from other cultures and the importance of self reflection. Formal education is often the mechanism where the rules concerning social behavior and expression is taught in a society. An interesting aspect of education and social transmission of values that could be tested would be the ability and willingness of people to work cooperatively in a group to accomplish an unfamiliar task. The experiment could be designed so that groups of individuals would be paired with other individuals with similar educational experiences and level of attainment. Measurements could be made to see if there were different levels of cooperation between groups of different educational attainment levels. The scientific method starts off with a scientific question that needs answered. A hypothesis is formed that can be tested. An experiment is devised that will isolate the variables the scientist hopes to study. As the experiment is conducted, data is compiled.