Functionalism

What are the three central roles of the education system?(3’s)

1)Formal Socialisation - education system is an official agent that teaches pupils the norms and values of society. This can be done explicitly, through the formal curriculum or implicitly through the informal or ‘hidden’ curriculum.

2)Social Selection - A person is chosen to perform a particular social role or job in society, through their performance in the education system. A person’s capability to perform a particular role is indicated through their qualifications.

3)Skills - Passing of particular talents and abilities which enable the younger generation to fit into the employment sector.

What is the functionalists view based on?

That society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a value consensus, an agreement among society’s members about what values are important.

Who performs particular functions and what does this do for society?

Each part of society, such as the family or the education system, performs particular functions that help maintain society as a whole.

What is organic analogy?

Each part of society performs a particular function which helps maintain society. This is like the way our different organs have specific tasks to perform to maintain the overall health of the body. Functionalists call this ‘organic analogy’.

1) Formal Socialisation

What is the meaning of Formal Socialisation?

Formal Socialisation: Education system is an official agent that teaches pupils the norms and values of society. Functionalists argue the norms and values which get passed on are those that are shared within society, reflecting a value consensus.

i) Social Solidarity- Durkheim

Durkheim the founder of Functionalist sociology, argued the main function of education, through socialisation is the creation of social solidarity.

What do we learn in education that creates a sense of togetherness?

Halls, sports day

Why does society need a sense of solidarity?

Because individuals must feel that they are a part of a single ‘body’ or community.

Without social solidarity, what would happen?

He argues without social solidarity, cooperation would be impossible because each individual would pursue his or her own selfish desires.

What are the two ways this is done?

1) Through formal curriculum - History passing a shared culture

2) Through informal curriculum - assemblies done to show respect

What 2 things does he argue that school teaches us?

They teach us to be:

-good citizens

-patriotic values

What does school acts as and how?

School acts as a ‘microcosm’ as it acts as society in miniature by preparing us for life in wider society.

Evaluation

1) Marxist Althusser - criticises Durkheim as he states that education does not transmit societies culture for the good of people, but for the benefit of capitalism. The education system is an important part of the ISA and the role of the education system is to ideologically control students into capitalist norms and values to make them conform to inequality in society.

ii) Focal Socialisation Agency - Parsons

What does Parson’s do with Durkheim’s ideas?

He draws onto Durkheim’s ideas

What does Parson’s see the school as?

Parson’s sees the school as the focal socialising agency in modern society, acting as a bridge between the family and wider society.

Why is the bridge needed?

The bridge is needed because the family and society operate on different principles.

What social skills do children learn in school and what through?

Children learn the social skills of punctuality and friendship. Such skills are taught through the hidden curriculum.

What is the definition of ‘hidden curriculum’?

Hidden curriculum: Refers to the norms, values and ideas a student is taught indirectly. For example, students do not have a timetabled lesson/exam in punctuality but they are taught this through their time in education.

In the family, what is a child judged by?

In the family, the child is judged by particularistic values, these values differ from one family to another, setting different standards of behaviour.

What do schools and society judge us by?

They judge us by universalistic values, which apply to everyone within society, setting a standard of behaviour for all. For example, punctuality.

What does Parson’s see school and society based on and what does this prepare us to do?

Parson’s sees school as preparing us to move from the family to wider society because school and society are based on meritocratic principles.

What is success based on?

It is based on a person’s merit alone, rather than other social factors.

Evaluation

1) Marxists Bowles and Gintis - criticise Parsons as they believe that the hidden curriculums role is to socialies students into capitalist values of society, for example students learn to be submissive to hierarchy, to do hard work, accept low pay and be obedient workers. They believe school has specific parallels to the workplace contrasting the idea that school acts as a bridge.

2) Social Selection

What is social selection?

Social Selection: Refers to the way a person is chosen to perform a particular social role or job in society, through their performance in the education system. Functionalists argue individuals are selected from a role based upon personal talent, effort and success.

i) Role Allocation and the Neutral Filter - Davis and Moore

What do Davis and Moore argue is necessary?

They argue that inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people. For example, it would be inefficient and dangerous to have less able people performing roles such as surgeon or airline pilot.

Why does society have to offer high rewards for these jobs?

Not everyone in society is equally talented, so society has to offer high rewards for these jobs. This will encourage them to compete for them and society can then select the most talented individduals to fill these positions. Education and wider society reflect values around competition and a suvival of the fittest approach.

What does education do according to our abilities?

Education sifts and sorts us according to our ability. The most able to gain the highest qualifications, which then give them entry to the most important positions. Conversely, those that gain low or now qualifications are only able to enter less important and unrewarded positions.

What is the meaning of ‘neutral filter’?

It means that selection is solely dependent on talent and hard work, rather that any other social factors.

What do Davis and Moore argue social selection is?

They argue that social selection is meritocratic. This is because everyone in Britain has access to a free education, from the same age, it is the law to attend and they are taught the same curriculum. Therefore there is no other reason why some should achieve higher qualifications than others.

Evaluation

1) Marxists Bowles and Gintis - directly criticise this as they believe that the filter is not neutral, in fact there is a ‘myth of meritocracy’. Students are not selected because of their skills and abilities, but because of their social class. It is about who you know, not what you know, proving the system to be bias and not meritocratic.

3) Skills

What is the meaning of skills?

Skills: Refers to the passing of particular talents and abilities which enable the younger generation to fit into the employment sector.

i) Skills in the Workplace - Durkheim

What is the second role of the education system that Durkheim believes?

Durkheim believes a second role of the education system, is for schools to pass on and teach pupils crucial skills which will equip them for the workplace. For example, public speaking.

Why does the school need to tailor the skills of school leavers?

So that they fit the needs of the economy and raise the level of expertise of the work place. Often these skills are passed on through the hidden curriculum. The skills taught in schools which reflect the workplace, adhere to the value consensus.

Evaluation

1) Marxist Finn - would criticise Durkheim as he argued that the real function of the education system is to pass on capitalist skills which keep the social classes segregated.

2) Feminist Skeggs - would criticise Durkheim as she argues that education reproduces and reinforces a combination of gender and social class inequality. In her study she found that females come to see themselves both as suited to feminine caring work and as incapable of middle-class professions. This prepares them for low-paid work such as care assistants and for unpaid women’s work in the home.