Learning: A Social Process

In this paper, I am going to explain what is learning? Whether it is really a social process or not? This essay will entail my arguments in either favor or against the title of the topic. I will give proclamations as to why I agree with the statement and why not? I will also put forward some arguments in an attempt of explaining the thesis statement. Relevant facts and figures will be given in the context. In order to explain the topic, certain related theories to the process of social learning will also be the subject of study.These theories will be discussed in the most appropriate context. I will discuss important points of the theories in an attempt to cover all the required aspects.

Learning is whenever someone tries to act and learn some knowledge, skill, value and behavior and an attempt modify it. It goes on while the people pass through different life stages from schooling to personal development to get education and training. All the activities and operations that are carried out by the individuals while interacting with one another come under the heading of social process. So, in social processes people interact and coordinate with one another and as a result of social process, they not only learn things but also establish relationships.

“To analyze the concept of learning as social process with respect to our interaction and communication with others in the context of theoriesand literature given by various scholars”

Whenever people interact with others they get into the process of learning so, while they are socializing, they are learning as well. This concept of learning as a social process is supported by many fields of study like anthropology, sociology and psychology. When people are getting their education in schools and colleges or are playing, socializing in parties, they are learning side by side. These setups are societies, communities, work organizations, work places and class room environments. A lot of studies and researches are done to support the idea of the topic. A study conducted by Linda et al in Standford University is also of the same view.

Based on interactions between individuals, it is stated that learning is a social process. The examples for these interactions can range from the relation of student with teacher to large research teams in industries. So social learning is a typical concept from what people learn individually. This concept is applied as a result of the studies done by Talcott in the field of sociology, Edmund Husserl in the field of philosophy and many others.Authors stated that learning a social process and not an individualistic process because people learn better in groups by interacting with others. That is why all learning institutions like schools and colleges make these groups and interactions of students with their colleagues and teachers. This is why students, are not asked to read and learn at home individually but to become the part of these interactive groups. If the learning would have been possible individually then institutions would have used these processes or the people would not have chosen to go either toschools or to work places. This concept of learning as a social process has been put forward by many researchers and writers.

In addition to it, Vygotsky’s Theories of learning also supports the idea of collaborative learning and communication. He further explained his verdict with the help of teachers and students behavior in the process of learning.Teachers communicate his/her message with the help of directed conversation while students express their views with the help of language. Language aids them to be intentional rather than impulsive in their attitude to compositeglitches.When the teacher associates his/her instructional program by interests and experiences of students then will be more involved with the application of ideas thus, accelerated their learning process. Consequently, knowledge is constructed on the base ofinteraction & communication and it can be shaped with our capabilities and core competencies which are exhibited in our dealings. These core competencies become part of our culture and language is the major element of cultural activities, rational and thinking like reading and writing (Tharp, 2000).

According to social learning theories, models are important sources for learning new behaviors and for achieving behavioral change in existing settings. Julian rotter constructed many theories based on psychosis, behaviorism and developed learning theory while Albert bandura expanded the rotter’s ideas. Albert bandura which proposed a theory that observation can occur in relation to three models; live model (In which an actual person is representing the desired behavior), verbal instruction (In which an individual describes the desired behavior in detail and instructions about how to engage in that behavior) and symbolic (In which means of the media including movies, televisions, radio, internet etc. are used. This type of modeling involves real character demonstrating the behavior).Furthermore, Bandura also proposed that this process involves several steps that are attention, retention, reproductionand motivation (Bandura, 1973).

Albert presented his theory in 1977, according to which learning is to be done with the interactions of environment. This process deals with observational learning which means that when people live in an environment and interacts with it in different ways then automatically learning habit develops. Imitation of models is the common behavior among people of all age groups whether adults or children. Children usually seek more from their surrounding like by watching TV, from parents and also interacting from other people around them. It means behavior automatically changes as the environment changes moreover; it is also clear from this concept that learning is a social process (Bandura, 1977).

·         Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.

·         Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall

   Tharp, R. G., Estrada, P., Dalton, S., & Yamauchi, A. (2000). Teaching transformed: Achieving excellence, fairness, inclusion, and harmony. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.