Functionalist perspective on education

Functionalist see 4 positive functions for the education system:

• Creating social solidarity (Durkheim)

• Teaching us core values

• Meritocracy (Parsons) and role allocation (Davis and Moore)

• Teaching us skills necessary for work

Creating social solidarity

• This is the feeling that we are apart of something bigger 

• Durkheim argued that school gives us social solidarity. School is a “miniature society” preparing us for something bigger

• For instance learning history gives us a sense of identity 

Learning specialist skills

• These are the specific skills learned in school that would be applied for specific jobs. For instance, learning medicine to become a doctor. 

• Durkheim argued that with the advancing society, a bigger and more complex division of labour is required - organization of work in society. A large car factory would have various different workers, working all different but important jobs.

Teaching us core values

• Parsons argued that school plays an essential role in secondary socialization taking over primary socialisation. He argues that in the family children are judged based on “particular standards” - They are judged by their parents as individuals, with different standards than other children. However, school and wider society judges us all the same.

Role allocation & meritocracy

• Education allocates people to that job that suits them best. The most talented students would go to the most important jobs. This system is deemed as fair as everyone receives the same opportunities and is based on an individual whether they succeed based on their own efforts - meritocracy. 

Positive evaluations of functionalists view on education

All governments since WW2 have recognised the importance of education.

Criticisms of functionalist view on education

• Marxists argue that education is really about transmitting capitalistic values.

• Those that fail at school don’t feel like they belong so often create subcultures and reject school values.