Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explain why sociological theories are useful in practice. First, by relying on Schutz’s social science methodology, it determines two features of sociological theories: theories are abstract propositional knowledge that is methodically acquired by sociologists, and what sociological theories explore is the everyday world in which we live. Next, Merton’s middle-range theory is discussed in terms of its applicability. In particular, two aspects of the self-fulfilling prophecy are covered. This proposition has the power to describe the commonalities that exist in a variety of social phenomena; in this sense, it demonstrates the applicability of the abstract proposition. The other aspect is that the dilemma of predictions cannot be avoided, because humans can act while taking in predictions. This issue implies that, while there is a time when unwarranted predictions can come true, there is also a time when even well-founded predictions cannot be realized. In response to the discussion so far, sociological theory tries to portray the selectivity of action rather than a deterministic world; hence, this article discusses how sociological theory can alter society.
In the second half, it explains how theory has the power to relativize our commonsense knowledge by including the difference between relativization by cross-cultural experience and relativization by theory. Based on this, it discusses the most radical relativist theory, namely social constructionism. The reason for taking up social constructionism is that the world of education is a world of realism. For example, delinquency and other problematic behaviors are attributed to students; consequently, an attempt is made to solve the problem by changing students—an educational response that will lead to a greater reproduction of the problem. A case of developmental disorder in the mechanism of social construction is then discussed. Finally, how sociological theories have the power to diversify the choice of educational practices is explained by introducing one example of such practices that relies on a narrative approach.
