the role of the education system

what are the 4 functions of education according to functionalists

• role allocation

• secondary socialisation

• social solidarity

• skills provision

what is role allocation

the education system sorts and assigns individuals to different social roles based on their abilities and achievements

what is secondary socialisation

learning the social norms and values outside of the immediate family

what is social solidarity

the idea of a well-integrated functioning society where all members have been socialised into shared norms and values

what is skills provision

teaching of skills needed in a modern society

durkheim view of education

education passes on norms and values in order to integrate individuals into society. education helps create social order based on cohesion and value consensus, and to strengthen social solidarity

parsons view of education

describes school as a bridge between the family and adult roles of society. schools pass on a universal value of achievement. parsons says that education selects children into appropriate roles because it’s meritocratic. agrees with durkheims view of agreeing on norms and values

davis and moores view of education

say every society sorts it’s members into different positions. they think there are rules for how education does this - “principles of stratification”. they believe there has to be a system of unequal rewards to motivate people to train for top positions

overall functionalist perspective of education

education is meritocratic. a meritocracy is when social rewards are allocated by talent and effort rather than because of a position someone was born into

marxist view of education

• prepares children for the world of work by giving them skills and values employers need

• passes on ruling class ideology that supports capitalism

• legitimises inequality through ideology

bowles and gintis view on education

say there’s a correspondence between pupil experience of school and adult work. pupils are prepared for the world of work by the school system;

• taught to accept the hierarchy at school

• motivated by grades to do boring work

• school day broken into units

• subservience is rewarded

they also claim the hidden curriculum prepares people for work

althussers view on education

education is part of the ideological state apparatus (IRA). in other words it is a tool of capitalism which is used to pass on the belief that society is fair, even though it isn’t - legitimising inequality. he thinks education produces a docile and obedient workforce who will not challenge authority

willis view on education

education doesn’t turn out an obedient workforce as some kids form an anti-school subculture and cope with school and adult work by mucking about

bordieu view on education

he uses the concept of cultural capital to explain how middle-class children generally go on to fill the top jobs in society

similarity between marxist and functionalist views

• both look at the bigger picture - institution and the whole structure of society

• both ignore social interaction - except willis

• both see education to have a huge impact on the development of a person

differences in functionalist and marxist views on education

overall view of education;

• marxist - legitimate equality

• functionalist - meritocracy and betters people

criticisms of functionalists views

• differential achievement due to other factors (class, gender, etc) suggesting education is not meritocratic

• “who you know” is more important than “what you know”

• doesn’t explain conflict

criticisms of marxist views on education

• exaggerates how much working-class children are socialised into obedience

• most people are aware of the inequality in school and DO NOT believe it is legitimate

feminist view of education

• argues that the hidden curriculum reinforces gender differences

• gender stereotyping in subject choice

• girls outperform boys but boys still demand attention

• men seem to dominate top positions in work

liberal fem view

want equal access to education for both sexes

radical fem view on education

say men are a bad influence, want female-centered education for girls

marxist fem view on education

want to consider gender inequalities combined with inequalities of class and ethnicity

new right view of education

• believe in the power of individual choice, prefer this to the state intervening in peoples lives

• claim the role of a school should be more like the role of a business, compete to attract consumers. new right believes this improves their standards

• state schools don’t have to compete for their consumers which new right believes has caused poor standards