theories of education - role

what are the functionalists theories of the role of education

• functions of education

• particularistic vs universalistic standards

• meritocracy

• role allocation

what are the functions of education & sociologist

Durkheim

1. creating social solidarity - through transmitting societies shared culture (norms & values)

school acts as a mini society where we learn to live & work together, we learn the impersonal rules which govern our behaviour

e.g. school houses/teams, British values - promote a collective identity

2. learning specialist skills - education equips individuals with the skills needed so that they can play their part in our complicated labour market;

~ general skills - literacy, numeracy, communication

~ specialist skills - tailed to professions or industries

what is meant by universalistic vs particularistic standards & sociologist

Parsons

school bridges the gap between the family & wider society

~ particularistic standards - rules/judgements that only apply within the family

before starting school a child will learn norms & values based off of their parent’s idea about life

~ universalistic standards - rules/judgements that apply to everyone, in school & wider society, e.g. wearing uniforms

what is meritocracy & sociologist

Parsons

education emphasises the idea of meritocracy (the idea that everyone is given equal opportunities to achieve, & are rewarded through their own efforts) - school/wider society gives us achieved status gained through efforts/achievements - e.g. exams -, not through fixed characteristics like gender or class (ascribed status)

what is role allocation & sociologists

Davis & Moore

inequality is necessary & functional for society - some positions (doctors, engineers) are more important than & require greater skills, so rewards such as higher pay/status act as incentives for individuals to train & compete for these roles

education plays a crucial role in sifting & sorting individuals into appropriate roles in the economy based on their talents & abilities

this ensures that the most important jobs are filled by the most capable individuals - vital for the efficient functioning of society

evaluation of functionalist views

• Marxists - argue that meritocracy is a myth - it reproduces class inequalities, with middle class students having more access to resources & private schooling

• Feminists - girls were historically steered away from science & technical subjects - functionalists ignore gender inequality in schooling

• skill gap - where education systems fail to fullt prepare students for the actual demands of the job market - e.g. the Wolf Report 2011, found at least 350,000 students were getting little to no benefit from the post-16 education system

what are the New Rights views on education & sociologists

Chubb & Moe

education is a tool to meet economic demands, not just a means of socialisation

state-controlled education systems fail to deliver quality education - advocate for schools to be run like businesses, competing to attract ‘customers’ (parents & students) to raise standards

~ parentocracy - giving parents more control over their children’s education, which encourages schools to be more responsive to parent’s needs

what do Chubb & Moe propose

propose a voucher system - where parents receive a voucher for their child’s education, which they can spend at a school of their choice - schools would then be funded based on the number of students they attract, creating accountability

what did Chubb & Moe’s views influence

influenced Thatcher’s Conservative gov in 1988:

1. Ofsted - judging & rating schools

2. league tables - ranking schools

3. formula funding - providing schools with more funding if they attract more pupils

these policies were created with the intent to create competition between schools, raising their standards & educational achievement

evaluation of the New Rights views & sociologist

• Gerwitz - competition between school has benefitted the middle class who use their money & resources to gain access to the best schools

• do not consider social inequalities, e.g. issues around class/ethnicity are the real causes of differential achievement, not the lacking of standards

what are the marxist theories of the role of education

• ideological state apparatus

• hidden curriculum

• correspondence principle

• learning to labour

how is education an ideological state apparatus & sociologist

Althusser

transmits capitalist ideology, ensuring the working class accepts their position in the class structure

does this by persuading the working class that their inequality & lower position in society is inevitable & what they deserve → less likely to challenge or threaten capitalism (serving the interests of the capitalist ruling class - reproducing class inequality & maintaining their dominance)

example of education being an ISA

setting & streaming - students are often grouped into ability sets or streams early on - lower sets are given simplified tasks & fewer expectations

working class students are disproportionately placed in lower sets - over time these students internalise the belief that they are less capable or deserving of success

what is the hidden curriculum & sociologists

Bowles & Gintis

capitalists require a workforce that is hardworking, accepts authority, & who won’t complain when exploited - the main function of school in capitalist societies is to indoctrinate children into these norms & values

does this through the hidden curriculum - consists of the things pupils learn through the experience of attending school, rather than the content in the formal curriculum

what is the correspondence principle & sociologists

Bowles & Gintis

the structure of school mirrors the workplace - education prepares students for their future roles in a capitalist workforce

1. head teacher → CEO

2. teachers → managers

3. students → workers

what was found in the study, learning to labour & sociologist

Willis

study of 12 working class boys

found: their counter-culture opposes the school - they find it boring/meaningless, so they go against its values & rules by smoking, drinking, truanting, disrupting class

they reject the idea that the working class can get middle class jobs by working hard → fail to achieve qualifications → gain working class, low-paid jobs → reinforces class inequalities

why is learning to labour important

challenges other marxist ideas - showing that working class students actively reject school rather than passively accepting capitalist ideology

evaluation of marxist views on education & sociologists

• too deterministic - they see students as passive & lacking free will - fails to explain why many pupils reject schools values

• Willis’ study is extremely small scale - focusing only on 12 boys - risky to generalise his findings

• Morrow & Torres - marxists take a ‘class first approach’, ignoring gender & racial inequalities in schools - class is a ‘zombie category’ because it is not as relevant to peoples lives anymore