Roles of Theories

Running head: ROLES OF THEORIES 1
Roles of Theories
Name
Institution

ROLES OF THEORIES 2
ROLES OF THEORIES
Theory refers to a proposed relationship between 2 or more concepts. They are statements
that provide the reason why specific facts are related. Sociologists study social interactions,
patterns, and events and then explain the relationship between those events and patterns. They
used theories to help them in explaining why things in the community work as they do (Hoppe &
Colebatch, 2016). This paper will discuss the importance of Theories in my community. It will
also look at key theories of sociology of education and their relevance to the community. Some
of the major theories that will be discussed in this paper include structural-Functionalism,
Conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the
importance of sociology of education theory to communities. Theories may be poorly developed,
incomplete, biased to satisfy needs, and based on inadequate information, but individuals in the
community use them to guide their behavior (Miles, 2015). When theories are accurate, the
predictions of different people will help them relate better with others in the community. When
individuals in the community make decisions about certain issues, formulate policies, and decide
on the necessary action to be taken to help in solving the problems, they normally base their
decision on the theories that relate to those issues and society.
Theories differ in scope and it depends on the scale of the problems that they are intended
to explain. Macro-level theories focus on large-scale issues as well as a large group of
individuals, while micro-level theories focus on specific relationships between small groups or
individuals (Collins & Stockton, 2018). Macro-level theories, for example, conflict theory and
structural functionalism, attempt to describe how the community works as a whole. Grand

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theories try to describe large-scale relationships as well as answer important questions for
example why communities form as well as why they change. Theories offer broad perspectives
that aid in explaining several aspects of community life. Different theories provide solutions to
issues that affect our community.
In my community, the importance of theories cannot be overemphasized. Theories help in
explaining social phenomena. Theories also aid in the decision-making process with regards to
factors that affect my community as wrong decisions usually result from a lack of enough
knowledge of the structure as well as other unusual features of the community (Miles, 2015).
The wrong decisions that are being made may have a negative impact on the lives of people in
the community. Additionally, addressing the challenges that affect the community such as high
criminal rate, alcoholism, needs decision makers or leaders who have adequate knowledge of
these problems as well as their root causes (Gouthro, 2019). Some researchers, while
contributing to issues that affect the community, indicated that theories offer insights on social
subjects or issues, thereby allowing appropriate relevant authority in the community to
effectively and adequately tackle the issues (Warmington, 2019). Sociologists mainly looked at
how my community is structured, how the community has changed and how every individual
work. In essence, theories help individuals understand community as well as knowledge of the
Universe as it grows.
Some of the theories of sociology of education that can help change my community
include: Functionalism; this theory sees the community as a structure with different parts
intended to satisfy the social and biological needs of the people in the community. This theory is
important to my community because it helps people to understand the similarities between the
human body and society. It helps in explaining the importance of working together as a group in