--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Education has a social specificity of its…" description: "\"“Education has a social specificity of its own that centres on the conditions for the acquisition of knowledge that can never be reduced to politics, e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg" --- # Education has a social specificity of its own that centres… ![“Education has a social specificity of its own that centres on the conditions for the acquisition of knowledge that can never be reduced to politics, economics or problems of administration (Bernstein 2000).” quote by Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg) > ““Education has a social specificity of its own that centres on the conditions for the acquisition of knowledge that can never be reduced to politics, economics or problems of administration (Bernstein 2000).”” [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Education uniquely shapes knowledge acquisition beyond political, economic, or administrative constraints. **In simple terms:** Education transcends politics and economics. Key Takeaway Focus on education’s distinct role. Themes education knowledge autonomy Mood analytical critical Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - curriculum design - teacher training - community learning programs Key Concepts social theory policy analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can education stay independent? - What limits exist in knowledge acquisition? A Different Perspective Political pressures may still influence curricula. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Specificity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specificity/) ## Related quotes > [Education is the social bedrock for the hopes and dreams of our children and the foundation that is necessary for their future prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/education-is-the-social-bedrock-for-the-hopes-and-dreams-of-our/) [John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/) > [Education without social action is a one-sided value because it has no true power potential. Social action without education is a weak expression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/education-without-social-action-is-a-one-sided-value-because-it-has-2/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We destroy the most hallowed of relations, when we replace home education by social.And your education! Is not that also social, and determined by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-ciszek/we-destroy-the-most-hallowed-of-relations-when-we-replace-home/) Walter Ciszek > [The public is not cognizant of the real value of education, and does not realize that education as a social force is not receiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-public-is-not-cognizant-of-the-real-value-of-education-and-does/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The conception of education as a social process and function has no definite meaning until we define the kind of society we have in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-conception-of-education-as-a-social-process-and-function-has-no/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Alas! how much there is in education, and in our social institutions, to prepare us and our children for insanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/alas-how-much-there-is-in-education-and-in-our-social-institutions-to/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Public education is a great instrument of social change. Through it, if we so desire, we can make our country more nearly a democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bryant-conant/public-education-is-a-great-instrument-of-social-change-through-it-if/) [James Bryant Conant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bryant-conant/) > [What nutrition and reproduction are to physiological life, education is to social life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/what-nutrition-and-reproduction-are-to-physiological-life-education/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-is-a-social-process-education-is-growth-education-is-not-a-2/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [I believe that the school is primarily a social institution. Education being a social process, the school is simply that form of community life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/i-believe-that-the-school-is-primarily-a-social-institution-education/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not a preparation for life but is life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/education-is-a-social-process-education-is-growth-education-is-not-a/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [ It has been difficult for \[young people in the U.S.\] to connect the dots between rising tuition costs and other assaults on their dignity… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/it-has-been-difficult-for-young-people-in-the-u-s-to-connect-the-dots/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Education without social action is a one-sided value because it has no true power potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/education-without-social-action-is-a-one-sided-value-because-it-has/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I think something that I can't name about our media has made us move away from that kind of specificity and that kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-think-something-that-i-can-t-name-about-our-media-has-made-us-move/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Being able to communicate what your vision is clearly and with specificity is the most important thing a director can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-slade/being-able-to-communicate-what-your-vision-is-clearly-and-with/) [David Slade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-slade/) ## More by Michael F.D. Young > [“Dialectics, Engestrom states, reverses the direction of conventional logic: instead of seeing 'concrete' phenomena as something sensually palpable and 'abstraction' as a conceptual or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/dialectics-engestrom-states-reverses-the-direction-of-conventional/) [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) > [“In his excellent and extremely comprehensive text, Engestrom (1991) locates Vygotsky's ideas within a dialectic approach, which was undoubtedly the framework that Vygotsky himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/in-his-excellent-and-extremely-comprehensive-text-engestrom-1991/) [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) > [“The lessons for sociologists of education that I draw from my comparison of the UK and South African cases are (i) that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/the-lessons-for-sociologists-of-education-that-i-draw-from-my/) [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) > [“Engestom argues that in any classroom, workplace or community it is possible to develop what he refers to as 'theoretically grounded concepts' which go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/engestom-argues-that-in-any-classroom-workplace-or-community-it-is/) [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) > [“At the same time, it has to be recognized that the conditions for this objectivity are not easily won. They cannot rely on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/at-the-same-time-it-has-to-be-recognized-that-the-conditions-for-this/) [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) > [“Outcomes-based qualifications, if seen as a basis for the curriculum, lead almost inexorably to an extreme version of social constructivism which in effect does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/outcomes-based-qualifications-if-seen-as-a-basis-for-the-curriculum/) [Michael F.D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) [Explore all 7 Michael F.D. Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Education has a social specificity of its own that centres on the conditions for the acquisition of knowledge that can never be reduced to politics, economics or problems of administration (Bernstein 2000).”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael F.D. Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/education-has-a-social-specificity-of-its-own-that-centres-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/education-has-a-social-specificity-of-its-own-that-centres-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/678/michael-f-d-young-53019_knowledge_education-has-a-social-specificity-of-it_1672461.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Education has a social specificity of its own that centres on the conditions for the acquisition of…” — Michael F.D. Young", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael F.D. Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-f-d-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Education has a social specificity of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/education-has-a-social-specificity-of-its-own-that-centres-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-f-d-young/education-has-a-social-specificity-of-its-own-that-centres-on-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```