Sociology education paper 3

Durkhiem

the positive, functionist view of education is represented by

1. transmission of societqal norms and values - the cirriculum encourages students to have a common value and language system reinforcing the value of meritocracy.

2. creation of social solidarity - schools helps create social solidarity through subjects like history, reinforcing national identity and feeling bigger than yourself

3. schools is a microsm - school helps teach kids that there are rules and values to society with punishments which are made clear and misbehaviour damages society 

4. prepares for the division of labour - education teaches specific workforce skills such as specialisation into subjects, allowing their skills and become interdependent upon one another in order to produce goods ands services 

Parsons

reinforces Durkheim’s view on education:

1. education acts as a bridge between the family and wider society - a mother may ascribe their child as being special, however in wider society universalistic standards apply, with the school helping to ease transition, creating a meritocratic society 

2. education socialises young people into the basic values of society - two major values in schools, the value of equality and opportunity, with all children coming out winners or losers thinking this is fair as they have both had equal chances for success

3. education selects people for their future roles - schools by testing and evaluating students, allow them to match their talents and skills by what they are best suited to

davius and more

education is necessary for society and the economy:

1. education is essential for effectice role allocation: e argue educations is a means of role allocation, but also link the education system directly with the system of social stratification. They see this as a mechanism for ensuring that the most talented and able members of society (e.g. the position with specialist knowledge, skills, experience ferw people can gain) earn high rewards, acting as incentives

2. education sifts sorts and grades individuals - . Education rewards the most talented with high qualifications, which in turn provides entry to those occupants that are functionally most important to society 

3. education runs on meritocratic principles - Stratification and ineuqality are normal, natural and even desirable in capitalist society because there is a limited amount of talent. These talented few need to be persuaded to make a sacrifice (by staying on in education

Saunders

new right / functionalist study on education:

1. societies reward positions unequally for benefit effect - without economic rewards and penalties, the only sanctions available would be those involving threat or use of physical force.

2. Education is run on meritocracy principles: education provides every individual with an equal chance to succeed.  Individuals compete with one another and those with greater achievement receive more merit compared to others.  Individuals are rewarded because of their ability to work hard and for possessing attributes and characteristics which are valued in society. 

3. in society there is an unequal distribution of ability and effort: ldren of middle-class parents may deserve to be more successful than those from the working class because they tend to have greater genetically inherited ability and because they work harder.

Buchman and Tullock 

Competitive market – within a market, there will be multiple businesses in that seciton, these businesses would compete with each other to other the lowest prices

local councils act a s a monopoly because consumers cannot freely choose alternative providers of education. Furthermore, because they are public funded’ the providers cannot go out of the business.

The solution to education is to bring market principles into education, making schools wanting to compete with each other for customers (pupils and parents). It is called public choice theory because we need to increase the choice which parents and students have when it comes to selecting schools 

chubb and moe

a government run education was unresponsive to the needs of pupils and parents and state schools tended to have lower standards. 

The two ways to get out of a state school are:  

1. Paying for private school  

2. Moving to an area with a school parents prefer  

State schools have little freedom autonomy: this is because state schools were accountable to local government councils, which forced their interest into schools rather than the ones of parents and pupils, and government bureaucrats expanded the autonomy of schools / headteachers, restricting their ability to respond to the needs and wishes of parents.

he difference between Buchman and Tullock’s study is that the teachers want to help children and parents but they are not able to due to government control  

marx

, the role of education is to benefit the ruling class by:  

1. education is part of the super structure of society - making int controlled by the infrastructure The bourgeoise are at the means of the superstructure, which they then use on the proletariat to control their infastructure and superstructure. For example the bourgeoise creqated the education system to serve their own interests.

2. education transmits ruling class ideology - This is seen within the hidden curriculum, with the way it spreads ruling class ideology, creating a false class consciousness of reality where the system tells people to be natural, just, and responsible, hiding the nature of exploitation and inequality 

3. the education system helps to maintain and reproduce inequalities in society - Within the education system there are different types of schools- those for the elite and those for everyone else. State schools really prepare working class pupils for the tedium of work by offering boring curriculum that crushes creativity and produces complaint workers. Whereas pupils (middle and upper class) who attend elite schools are taught higher level skills and leadership skills

Althusser

For the ruling class to survive and prosper, the reproduction of labour power is essential. workers need to be reproduced who can be exploited so that the bourgeoise can continue to make profits on capitalism.

Ways education aids this:  

the reproduction of ruling class ideology and the socialisation of workers: the ruling class use education to transmit ruling class ideology (i.e. knowledge beneficial to the bourgeoise). as this is a far more effective way of maintaining control of workers. For example, if the working class accepted their position as ‘natural’, ‘just’ and ‘reasonable’ and failed to realise the true nature of their exploitation,

the reproduction o skills necessary for an efficient workforce - Education not only transmits ruling class ideology which legitimises the capitalist system, it also teaches the necessary attitudes and behaviours that are required for capitalism to survive.

Bowles and Gintis 

Correspondence principle: thew idea that the hidden curriculum shapes the future workforce in the following ways 

1. Produces a subservient workforce of uncritical, passive and docile workers. In fact, conformity is rewarded as pupils who are more conformist receive higher grades compared to being creative and independent 

2. Encourages the acceptance of hierarchy. Pupils have to listen . Pupils have to listen to their teachers, and they have no control over what they study. This prepares them for the world of work as they will have to accept authority and do the jobs the employer wants them to do. 

3. Pupls learned to be motivated by external factors. there is little satisfaction from schoolwork and learning is based mostly on the ‘jug and mug principle’. Therefore, it is not surprising that many pupils do not enjoy the process of schooling and only do it for rewards such as qualification. 

4. School subjects are fragmented e.g. knowledge is packed into different subjects with little connection made between them