Sociology education topic 1 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 

Bourdieu

education helps to maintain the wealth and power of the ruling class by ensuring the educational success of the wealthy. This is achieved in the following ways: 

the major role of the education system is cultural reproduction 

This culture can involve an appreciation of classical music, classical literature, fine art and other aspects of high culture, whereas working class culture is presented as inferior.  

Therefore, the education system is biased in favour towards the culture of dominant classes, devaluating the knowledge and skills of the working class:  

The curriculum and exams in school are based on cultural capital and as a result test the values and knowledge of the ruling class. Therefore, working class pupils are unable to grasp the range of meaning embedded in the ‘grammer accent, tone and delivery’ of teachers

Middle class students will also succeed due to the cultural capital being higher  than the working class. Therefore, upper class children have an inbuilt advantage in education, whereas working class children have an inbuilt barrier to learning.  

Finally, the education system eliminates members of the working class from higher levels of education 

This is done in two ways, examination failure or self-elimination. Due to the lack of cultural capital, working class pupils are more likely to fail exams which prevents entrance to higher education. The working class pupils who may be successful in schools going into higher education, however they will practice self elimination because the pupils often make ‘realistic decisions’ of leaving school at 16 in order to work, recognising the system is against them.  

Bourdieu concludes that social inequality and hierarchy is reproduced in the education system and as a result it is legitimised

Hasley

The role of education should be to create equality of opportunity and meritocracy/

The class system stands in the way of equality of educational opportunities as demonstrated by the effects of the trpartite system.  

The tripartite system tested pupils at the age of 11 and allocated children into either, grammer, secondary or a technical school. Hasley argued that middle class pupils were more likely to get places in grammer schools, providing an acedemic education, as opposed to secondary schools whihc provided vocational education. This discriminated working class pupils and consequently class divisions were reinforced further. The tripartie system was inefficient as it wasted the potential of thr working-class pupils who contribute to the economy  

The solution: Hasley advocated the comprehensive system which was designed to address the problems of the Tripartle system  

In the 1960’s the tripartle system was scrapped and replaced with the comprehensive system which was designed to be meritocratic. Comprehensive schools ensured all students of classes received the same education and curriculum that provided a broad range of general knowledge with the skill of adaptability for changing workforce needs.  

The inequalities made from free market principles being embedded in the education system was disastrous. Furthermore, free market principles have prevented equality in education opportunity.  

Crosland

Crosland was the labour governments education secretary in the 50’s / 60’s and argued that the role of education should be to create equality of opportunity in wider society He made himself well known in public by saying “If it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to destroy every fucking grammar school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland”. 

Crosland initiated calls for the comprehensive revolution int he 1960’s (comprehensivisation)  

He consigned the tripartite system and eleven-plus exam to the scrapheap opening the way for bright children in ordinary backgrounds to get a rounded schooling by introducing the comprehensive system. Until then, ¾ of children who failed the 11 plus were put into a secondary modern on the basis of a single exam, so they would spend the next 50 years ‘working with their hands’ 

A fairer education system would also equalise the distribution of rewards and privileges so as to diminish the degree of class stratification 

Equality and fairness in education and education could actually create greater equality if the system was run properly. In the book ‘the future of socialism’, Crosland argued that a fiarer education would equalise the distribution of rewards and privileges which diminished the degree fo class stratification. If educational success or falue no longer depend on background, then the amount of social mobility would also increase to the ectent that class distinctions would become progressively blurred  

Shultz

Study 3 – Shultz 

By giving everyone an opportunity to learn we can all benefit  

By making societies more meritocratic and ensuring that everyone could leveop their potential would mean people can make their maximum contribution to society. In doing so they woukd encourage economic growth, bringing prosperity to all. Therefore, educations key role should be to equip individuals regardless of social class background with the essential knowledge and skills to make this happen.  

Skills and knowledge are forms of capital 

Capital investment in humans could have the same effect as capital investments in machinery. Therefore, if more was spent on education by the government, the productivity and efficiency of the workforce would increase, and the extra money spent 

 would soon be repaid by the extra contribution made to the economy. This theory is seen in American agriculture, were farms with less educated workforces were not as productive as those with educated workforce 

Unlike physical and economic capital human capital investments are tied to the individuals. 

t going to college and university or on-the-job training are all examples of investments in human capital because they add to a person's productivity over his or her lifetime. Therefore, people with more education and work experience tend to have significantly higher incomes, which is what the theory of human capital predicts.

Czerniawski

Schools are hierarchical structures which reflect social inequality  

This means power is at the top of the organisation, in the hands of the board of governors, head teachers and senior managers. They are also hierarchical in the sense older students have a greater voice and status in schools. However, ‘student voice' is a way of challenging hierarchy by giving students their own institution to run, by doing this, pupils have control over their environment, making them more motivated in school offerings 

The ‘every child matters’ policy encouraged exam boards, schools and colleges to incorporate ‘student voice’ in their practices 

Since the intro of the every child matters labour policy, schools incorporate student voice in their practices e.g. employing and training of staff. Therefore student voice is a useful way to improve democratic participation in schools and in the long term encourage greater democratic participation in society as pupils get older and lead to greater equality in society  

Student voice can be a catalyst for change in schools  

student voice also improves pupils’ self-esteem, self-confidence and status which translates to better performance in schools and the economy. Czerniawski argues with student voice teachers, heads and administrators gain access to specialist and largely untapped knowledge that students have about schools.