Final answer:
Social character education is a component of socialization involving the teaching and learning of societal norms, cultural values, and expected behaviors within the context of a school environment and beyond. It prepares students for a variety of social roles and aims to facilitate social placement and sorting in society while attempting universal access to education.
Step-by-step explanation:
Social character education is part of the broader process of socialization, which refers to how people learn to become proficient members of society. This type of education encompasses learning about cultural values, norms, and expected behaviors by participating in society and its institutions. One of the key institutions for social character education is the school setting, where children and adolescents are not only taught academic knowledge but also societal roles and the social construction of reality. From preschool and kindergarten onwards, schools act as socialization agencies, following the perspective of French sociologist Émile Durkheim, by teaching children to get along with others and prepare them for adult roles within the economy.
Furthermore, social character education includes providing students with the opportunity for social development within standard classroom environments. Students are exposed to various roles such as 'family', 'friends', 'strangers', 'teachers', and 'neighbors', and they learn how objects and ideas function within the society. Also, this education serves functions like cultural transmission, social placement, and sorting, helping to classify and track students based on academic merit or potential, which can often perpetuate social inequalities.
Lastly, it is also important to consider legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act, which underscores the societal expectation of universal access to education, aiming at ensuring a standardized level of education for all students for fair social placement and improved societal roles.