Socioeducational Ideologies of Black Education

Abstract

This essay explores some historico-sociological determinants of social inquiry into Black Education America. It examines the nature and function of some salient modes of thought as they relate to Black Education. The interest here lies trying to ascertain whether or not this social inquiry and its formulations aim at understanding problems of Black Education by trying to explain related socioeducational phenomena. It is argued that even if we admit (for the sake of the argument) that this aim is to better our understanding of Black Education by attempting to explain related phenomena, this aim, albeit some genuine effort to do so, can hardly be realized if we fail to come to grips with the ideological nature and function of dominant modes of thought about Black Education. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to call attention to (1) the realization that many hitherto venerated theories, on closer scrutiny, appear to be essentially cunning socioeducational ideologies functioning as apologetics of the status quo, and (2) that failure to ventilate educational theorizing and research of these ideologies will make efforts to improve Black Education futile, as has been the case since the post-Reconstruction period to date. The notion of used here is borrowed from Karl Mannheim's work Ideology and Utopia. For Mannheim, ideology and ''utopia' refer to antithetical modes of thought of antithetical social groups like upper and lower classes, ruler and ruled, oppressors and oppressed or Whites and Blacks the United States. Ideologies refer to complexes of ideas and thought patterns of socially privileged groups who are in full accord with the existing order and whose modes of thought are incongruent with social