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Sociological Concepts in recognizing the credentials of immigrants to Canada
Sociological Concepts in recognizing the credentials of immigrants to Canada
Sociology is a discipline with many dynamics and concepts to it. Concepts define sociology. In regard to recognizing the credentials of immigrants to Canada, social theoretical concepts apply in different spheres. The Structural functionalism has several concepts. The two main ones relating to the credentials of immigrants to Canada are the social system and cultural system. Social system refers to a situation whereby actors are interacting in a particular environmental condition, whereas a cultural system is governed by a set of shared beliefs, values and worldviews which influence the livelihoods of a group of people. Immigrants to Canada require to know about the cultural orientation of the Canadian people so that they can deal with cultural variances. This also entails the social structure in the country so that they can feel part of the social system that is considered norm.
Social conflict is a theoretical approach by Max Weber, Karl Marx and other scholars. The two main concepts affecting immigrants to Canada are the Critical Conflict Marxist theory and the Weberian Analytical Conflict theory. The Critical Conflict Theory indicates that a society is hierarchically structured into exclusive groups, while the Analytical Conflict theory analyzes the stratification in society by viewing society as multi-dimensional; that is, it comprises of different interest groups, status groups, classes and parties. These are also matters of consideration for immigrants to Canada. Symbolic Interaction entails the emphasis of human interaction where one is entitled to choose what they deem suitable to them and assuming the perspective of the generalized order in which a society or community lives in. In immigration, individuals have to go to a new society hence they have to interact with other people. In doing so, immigrants learn the norm of a society and try to adjust to the same.
The phenomenology theory comprises of the concept of relativism vs. relationism. Relativism emphasizes that there is no standard way to make judgments of right and wrong. These are specific ideologies found within a particular society depending on their underlying social systems of ideas and worldviews. It recognizes that we are all subjective and objective in our thinking. Relationism on the other hand understands that idea systems are innate within human beings and they govern ways and patterns of thought. The other concept is sociological approach which looks at the evolutionary development of social ideological systems during a specific historical period. Jones, P., Bradbury, L. & LeBoutillier, S. (2011). These concepts should be part of recognizing the credentials of immigrants to Canada since they analyze pattern of thoughts of social groups within different localities. This is important as immigrants come from a different societal setting and are intending to belong to another different community.
Rational choice theory entails the need or wants for more good than bad. The two main concepts are that all choices made by individuals are out of a rational process and for some individuals; all their rational choices are governed by an array of motivations like happiness, and human desire like happiness. In the thinking process, individuals desire to be as rational as possible in making various choices. On the other hand, rational choices are influenced by human desires which vary according to a person’s priority. Some individuals make rational choices like immigration to fulfill their desire of happiness or go to what they consider better environments. In recognizing the credentials for immigrants to Canada, the thinking and expectation of the immigrants is a consideration. This is because rational choice influences individual’s thinking as well as the choices they make for their welfare. Recognizing the credentials of immigrants to Canada should hence entail the various social considerations.
Reference
Jones, P., Bradbury, L. & LeBoutillier, S. (2011). Introducing Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity Publishers.
Sociolinguistics In The Classroom Setting
Sociolinguistics In The Classroom Setting
Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u Language and Communities PAGEREF _Toc379201746 h 1Language and Instruction PAGEREF _Toc379201747 h 2Language Variation Issues PAGEREF _Toc379201748 h 2
Language and CommunitiesLow, H., Nicholas, H., & Wales, R. (2010). A Sociolinguistic Profile of 100 Mothers from Middle to Upper-Middle Socio-Economic Backgrounds in Penang-Chinese Community: What Languages Do They Speak at Home with Their Children? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 31(6), 569-584.
Multilingual development was the focus of these articles, with slight deviation to analyze the multicultural development, however, the findings on the one hundred mothers from different social and economic societies in Malaysia provides clear pictures of the main factors at play in multilingual and multicultural development in children. Most of the children were between 6 to 36 months. The findings in this study were mainly focused on language background and multilingual mother’s usage of language with their children. The focus of the paper was predominantly on how multilingual mother chose the best language to communicate with their children.
The study was instrumental in determining the language that most mothers prefer, and the language experience that mothers in Penang use. The study is also useful for predicting the language pattern and shifts in various households. The major problems that the researchers identified includes of sociolinguistic information. This led to difficulties in the determination of the reason of language prioritization in homes. On the other hand, the researchers also realized that there exist knowledge gaps in the explanation of the cause of diversity. However, the researchers realized that there are factors that influence mixed language development.
Language and InstructionYiakoumetti, A. (2007). Choice of Classroom Language in Bi-dialectal Communities: To Include or to Exclude the Dialect? Cambridge Journal of Education, 37(1), 51-66.
This journal of education manly focused on the inclusion, or exclusion of dialects in education. This stems from the argument about the use of codes instruction among the bi-dialectal societies. The researcher explored the use of standard varieties, the bi-dialectal education, and non standard dialect when passing instruction. The participants were given language learning delivered in two dialects. It was found out that there was a significant correlation between passing instruction and variety in dialects in classroom settings. Therefore, it is important to use variety in dialects when passing instruction in classroom settings
Language Variation IssuesLi, X. (2010). Sociolinguistic Variation in the Speech of Learners of Chinese as a Second Language. Language Learning, 60(2), 366-408.
The basis for this research was native Chinese speakers why were the participants in the research. There was also another group of participant to whom Chinese was not their first language. The study was predominantly focused on the use of morph syntactic particle: the DE. However, it is imperative to note that in many in formal speech it is not easy to find DE, because it is usually deleted in comparison to the usage of DE in formal settings. It was found that it is easy for people with many years of classroom experience to create a sociolinguistic correct speech in authentic situations. The analysis also explored methods used in studying languages using then active speakers as baseline. The study investigated sociolinguistic variability in various speeches involving advanced learners and the intermediate leaners of mandarin Chinese as second language. The study was instrumental in analyzing language variations.
Socio-Economic Injustice Impacts on Society, Especially Children
Socio-Economic Injustice Impacts on Society, Especially Children
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Socio-Economic Injustice Impacts on Society, Especially Children
The social setup in which people are born is predetermined externally by various agents. This aspect makes life unfair and challenging to specific groups born in disadvantaged and complex socio-economic status in society. It becomes tough to navigate through life because of the various constraints due to their placement as far as the social status is concerned. The issues associated with socio-economic and their implications on the disadvantaged groups are well discussed in the book The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara. The author picks Harlem as the geographical region for the story and 70s era because the area was less privileged than the rest of the neighborhoods. Bambara addresses some of the socio-economic issues, how it affects the subjects, how they are beyond the control of its subjects, and what it means to live under such unfavorable conditions. The book focuses on Miss Moore taking in a couple of kids from the neighborhood under her wing and exposing them to a different and much better lifestyle than the one they grew up in to motivate them and enhance their living standards altogether (Bambara, 1995). Miss Moore strives to show them a positive side of life where they can dare to dream, be hopeful, and work hard to make them a reality. The story depicts how socio-economic injustice plays a vital role in the growth and development of children in society. This paper aims to discuss and analyze some of the socio-economic issues and how they impact children both physically and psychologically. in the modern world.
According to the story The Lesson by Bambara, people living in the slums are disadvantaged socioeconomically and struggle to make ends meet hence subjecting their children to poverty states and locked up minds. Children and parents face socio-economic challenges that limit their potential and abilities to improve and enjoy their lives. Statistics show that the marginalized communities, especially African Americans, occupy most of the geographical regions termed socioeconomically disadvantaged. Black people as a minority have reported the highest poverty rates, which stand at 19.5%, followed closely by the Hispanic community at 14.7% (Mathiarasan & Hüls, 2021). According to the United States Census Bureau, there is a positive correlation between socio-economic status and race or ethnicity. Children born in such neighborhoods go through many challenges while growing up. They are likely to experience many mental and physical health problems that could potentially damage their lives and perceptions as adults.
Lack of a proper nutritional diet is likely to affect children’s growth, intelligence, and productivity in different aspects of their lives. Parents living in poor neighborhoods struggle to get stable employment opportunities and eventually settle on odd jobs that consume most of their time and pay less (Landrigan et al., 2010). For this reason, the income earned is less compared to the family needs that require their attention. It becomes difficult to afford a balanced diet despite being an essential part of their growth. Children require naturing and close monitoring as they grow up because they are vulnerable and unable to make significant decisions for themselves. However, these children are forced to be on their own and fend for themselves in a society full of insecurity, threatening their overall wellbeing. Their parents are at work half the time, so they are either in school or at home without any supervision from an adult. It is very risky for them because such children can easily be misguided by malicious society members whose interest is to take advantage of them and dump them. They can engage in criminality, drug and substance abuse, violence, and sexual activities that can have dire consequences to their lives and future.
Living in a lower Socio-economic status also affects the cognitive development of children. Research claims that low living standards affect the academic performance of children below the age of two across cognitive measures. These children are forced to be adults before their age to take of themselves and their siblings in the absence of their parents. They are brought up in harsh environments that do not focus on their individuality, self-love, and potential in academics and social life (Kordas et al., 2018). The brain development of children in disadvantaged socio-economic status is relatively slow because they do not get exposure to positive and informative tools to facilitate their growth.
Consequently, children have a hard time concentrating and focusing on their academic work. They record poor grades at school and gradually begin to detest school. The feeling of inferiority as far as their school results are concerned prompts such children to want to quit their studies and stay at home or engage in illegal activities. Additionally, these children might adopt wanting behaviors as a coping mechanism to help them feel better about their situation at home. Bullying or unruly character can be adopted in this case to divert their minds off of the challenges they are facing due to the socio-economic challenges facing them and their families and is beyond their control. Research determines that perpetrators of bullying in school, exceptionally high schools torture their peers to seek attention from parents and teachers as far as their mental health is concerned.
Social-economic injustice denies children access to proper education and, most of the time, lack the motivation to succeed and better their lives and their families. Since most parents in these regions struggle financially, they can only afford to take their children to public schools (Hurtado, 2018). Nearly all the schools located in low-income neighborhoods are poorly constructed and equipped. Additionally, these schools are overcrowded, making it challenging to facilitate learning ad understanding of concepts in class. The ratio of children to instructors is disproportionate, making the instructor’s work overwhelming. This aspect negatively impacts the teacher and the student. It will be difficult for a teacher to pay individual attention to all the children in their class because of the overpopulation problem. Additionally, the burnout from handling too many students affect teachers’ productivity and efficiency in delivering knowledge to the children. As if that is not enough, these schools have limited facilities that help expand children’s knowledge base and discover their talents and abilities. Resource centers like libraries are scarce, and the school management does not give co-curricular activities like music, sports, drama serious attention because of inadequate resources to erect such establishments. To make matters worse, Parents to these students also focus their finances on providing food and shelter and forget other needs like toys that facilitate learning and attires that boost children’s confidence and elevate their mood and receptiveness to learning.
Conclusion
It is undeniable that socio-economic injustice causes harm to the people it affects, and the children carry the most burden from it. They are mentally disoriented and suffer emotional damage that affects their perceptions and adulthood. To protect children’s mental health and facilitate a healthy transition into adulthood, the government needs to work hand in hand with parents, fulfill their responsibilities and meet halfway. The government should develop strategies that ensure all schools in the country are up to standard, have the appropriate population size, and have all the necessary tools and instructors to facilitate learning. On the other hand, parents should prioritize the safety of their children and be there for them despite the challenging situations at home. They must understand that home is the safest place a child can be. Additionally, couples should consider family planning to avoid financial strain due to increased family size and scarce resources.
References
Bambara, T. (1995). Lesson (1st ed.).
Hurtado, A. L. (2018). Health Impacts of Environmental and Socio-economic Factors on Vulnerable Groups in Mexico (Doctoral dissertation, University of York).
Kordas, K., Ravenscroft, J., Cao, Y., & McLean, E. V. (2018). Lead exposure in low and middle-income countries: perspectives and lessons on patterns, injustices, economics, and politics. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(11), 2351.
Landrigan, P. J., Rauh, V. A., & Galvez, M. P. (2010). Environmental justice and the health of children. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine: A Journal of Translational and Personalized Medicine, 77(2), 178-187.
Mathiarasan, S., & Hüls, A. (2021). Impact of Environmental Injustice on Children’s Health—Interaction between Air Pollution and Socioeconomic Status. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 795.