Relational Sociology and Research on Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Book excerpt: Brings relational sociology to bear on educational research. Relational sociology was conceived by theorists frustrated by what they viewed as an incomplete accounting of social reality. Torn between notions of structural rigidity, on the one hand, and rational choice individualism, on the other, relational sociologists have sought new units of analysis. Social reality, they have argued, is manufactured through relationships. People are who they are, and society is what it is, not because of some individual or collective “essence” but because of the networks that social beings build among one another. Relational Sociology and Research on Schools, Colleges, and Universities demonstrates the value of introducing new relational methods and epistemologies in educational research. The contributors examine the roles and significance of ongoing transactions among connected social actors—students, peers, families, teachers—in a variety of institutional contexts. The book explores various uses and applications of relational sociology in education, while highlighting its promise to provide fresh insight into intractable problems of inequity in US schools. “I have read few books in my lengthy career where I said to myself: It’s long past time for both scholars and practitioners in the field of education to embrace this innovative theoretical lens both in their scholarship and their everyday practices. But this is such a book. It will be a needed ‘awakening’ for most scholars and practitioners and, in turn, is likely to have a profound impact over time on their scholarship.” — Clifton Conrad, coauthor of Educating a Diverse Nation: Lessons from Minority-Serving Institutions