Studies

Durkheim

A functionalist. He argued that the hidden curriculum teaches value consensus. For example, students learn the importance of conforming to rules when they get punished for being late, misbehaving or not handing in work on time. For example, students learn that working hard is a norm through sanctions, such as a detention for not completing homework, and rewards such as praise for high marks in exams. When students take part in sports, they learn the value of competition and teamwork, as success and being a team player are often celebrated, for example, in assemblies or on sports day. These are all examples of informal social control (the way society regulates individual behavior and enforces social norms through everyday interpersonal reactions rather than official laws or state punishment).

Davis and Moore

Functionalists. Education teaches us the value of meritocracy, this describes a society whereby jobs and pay are allocated based on an individuals talent and achievements rather than social status. They therefore believe that students who work hard gain the best results, and this is rewarded with better jobs and pay. Parsons connects this theory to the idea of role allocation (the sorting of people into the roles that they will go on to perform in life). The functionalist approach therefore suggests that those people that achieve success in employment have earned their success due to hard work and talent.

Bowles and Gintis

Marxists. Agree that there is a hidden curriculum, however they cristice functionalists by arguing that it teaches the values if the ruling class, so we learn to be conformist, passive and fo accept hierarchy which reflects the need of the ruling class to have a controllable workforce. They define the education system as a ‘giant myth-making machine’. Students have differing experiences of school and leave with different qualification, and in some cases, none. Marxists think that these students are encouraged to believe that their failures are of their own making, rather than a result of an unfair system. The myth is that everyone can succeed if they put the work in; Marxist argue that this simply isn’t true. Therefore, Marxist believe the hidden curriculum is a powerful tool in maintaining the unfair capitalist state.

Becker

An interactionist. Believes that education teaches us about the labelling theory (how we stereotype and stigmatise a certain group). This can be applied to education in relation to teachers applying labels on their pupils in terms of their ability, potential or behaviour. These labels can be positive or negative and can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy (when individuals become the label that is attached to them). According to other interactionist theorists such as Mead and Goffman humans will act and perform in front of others as they are aware that they are likely to be judged and labelled on their behaviour. Therefore, education teaches us to be very aware of our behaviours and how others will interpret our actions.

Valerie Hey

How peers control eachother using informal sanctions. She analysed notes sent in classrooms and listened to interactions between teenage girls, finding that they excluded and insulted peers they felt were not conforming to expectations. She found that clique tend to form among girls of the same social class, and within each social class clique, the norms and values differed. For example, working class girls called eachother ‘slags’ if they were seen as too promiscuous and ao their sexyal behaviour was controlled via this sanction, whereas middle class girls gave each other more encouragement to be sexually adventurous. It was a norm for working class girls to dress in a more provocative way, often using more makeup and wearing more revealing clothes than the middle class girls who were more likely to dress more casually. These different norms and values led to animosity between the groups. This demonstrates how peer groups control each other informally since the way in which they change behaviour is no explicit or written down, and the sanctions are subtle.

Elizabeth Poole

Conducted research on another agent of socialisation, which allows us to consider whether other agents are more influential than peer groups. She looked at Islamophobia in the media and tried to work out who is most affected by the Islamophobic headlines and stories that sometimes appear in the press. She compared two groups: the first group mixed in multicultural peer groups and so had friends who were Muslims, and a second group, who knew no Muslims themselves. Found that group one were more likely to reject Islamophobic newspaper reports believing them to be sensationalised and exaggerated, whilst group two were more likely to believe the links made between Islam and terrorism, and were more likely to seeing all Muslims as dangerous. Concludes that peer influence is more influential than media influence, since those with Muslim peers were able to negotiate the complex messages within newspapers. However the media was very powerful for those without a multicultural peer group in this research.

However, peer group influence is not always positive as shown in Smith et al.'s study of cyber bullying. They found that 20% of their sample of about 100 children (who completed a questionnaire in 14 schools across year groups 7-10) had experienced cyberbullying. Girls reported more bullying behaviour than boys (which differs from findings about face-to-face bullying). A third of the victims failed to tell anyone about the bullying, which shows how vulnerable youth are.

Sherry Turkle

Believes that the increasing time we spend on social media is having a negative effect on our identity and relationships. The media can be a strong influence on our thoughts and actions, and it is no doubt of increasing importance, as it is ever present in our lives. Believes that we are in danger of becoming isolated in the digital world and as a result we less likely to have strong face to face relationships. Calls our failure to communicate properly in real life being 'alone together' whereby we may be in the same space but we are all on our individual devices, which they believe is a less satisfying way to communicate and will lead to the breakdown of families and relationships.

However, they are criticised for failing to see the positive way in which the media can bring people together, especially people who need social media to maintain relationships over long distances, and for marginalised groups who can meet people like themselves on social media.

Natasha Walter

A prominent feminist and while Turkle focuses on the media's negative impact on all members of the modern, industrial society, She focuses more specifically on the negative impact upon women. She published a book called 'Living Dolls', arguing that a new sexism is becoming increasingly acceptable as women are judged more on their physical appearance. A hypersexual culture is materialising where women are increasingly portrayed as sexual objects rather than as people with intelligence, desires and needs. This culture is the result of the media such as Instagram and TikTok which has an overemphasis on sexualised clothing for young girls and programmes about cosmetic surgery. Sexualised images of women are all over the media and the internet has made pornography readily available. She is concerned by the increasing pressure on young women to 'look good’ which may account for increased instances of eating disorders. Walter is highly concerned that pornographic sites such as Pornhub and Only fans is creating unrealistic expectations of women and sex

However, post-feminists like Hakim would criticise her for failing to recognise that women are exercising more sexual freedom and are choosing to engage in a hypersexual culture and that is a break away from traditional views of femininity held in the past. Hakim controversially introduces the notion that both men and women should use their erotic capital - being attractive and desirable within the traditional notions of attractiveness - to get on in life. Thus, women should embrace any opportunities they have to use their sexual capital to gain popularity, climb the career ladder, and so on.

Tony Sewell

Argues that the media is extremely influential in shaping ethnic identity among disaffected African-Caribbean youth in British inner cities and is probably partly responsible for educational underachievement and the levels of exclusion found in this group. He argues that some African-Caribbean male identity is focused on being a 'hyper-male' and gangstabecause of the influence rap stars. He argues that they often compensate for the lack of a father figure in the lives of many of these teenagers (50% of black British families are single parent families). Rap stars are often seen as role models to this group -media and social media coverage of them portrays them as successful; they appear to be happy and have a high level of wealth, driving expensive cars and residing in large houses with pools. He believes they_ are responsible for encouraging young African-Caribbean males to subscribe to a consumer culture which views material things such as clothing and trainers as more important than education, as well as being hypersexual, homophobic, misogynistic and focussed on gang culture. He argued that rap stars needed to clean up their act to avoid leading a generation of young black men into a life of crime.

However, rap culture may well influence all ethnic groups since it has become much more mainstream in recent years. Hyak suggests that white boys and men are increasingly likely to want to role model themselves on black street culture too.

Julie Burchill

Has been particularly critical of the practice of head covering for Muslim women. Writing in the Guardian she commented, 'such women carry round with them a mobile prison'. The role of Islamic culture and beliefs in the social control of young women has been controversial. According to the Quran, women should exercise religious modesty or hijab because their attractiveness might lead men astray. Many writers, including some Islamic feminists, have argued that this has been misinterpreted by men to mean that women must cover their bodies and faces in the presence of men who are not relatives, with the patriarchal motive of controlling women Western commentators also are critical of the practice, seeing it as evidence of repression

However, Sociologists like Helen Watson suggest that the veil is not a symbol of oppression but freedom. Muslim women choose to wear it to liberate themselves trom the ‘male gaze' where women are judged by what they look like. Watsons research shows that most Muslim women veil because they themselves chose to, so she rejects the notion that this is imposed by fathers, brothers and husbands.

Paul Ghuman

Outlines some of the socialisation practices of the first generation of Asian parents, who followed Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. Children were brought up to be obedient, loyal, and respectfulof their elders and community around them. Social conformity was demanded, and children learned to be inter-dependent rather than individualistic which was seen as a threat to the authority of the head of the family. The choice of education was to be left in the hands of their parents who were considered to know best the interests of their children and their future. The choice of marriage partner was thought to be best left to parents and children were taught the drawbacks of dating and courting, the dangers of pre-marital and promiscuous sex, and the perceived disadvantages of love marriages. Religious training was very important because it reinforced the above and stressed humility rather than self-pride and assertiveness. The role of the mother tongue is seen as crucial in maintaining links between generations and in the transmission of religious values Children were socialised into following these norms and values through deliberate instruction, i.e. being told or expected to attend sessions with language tutors after school. Children therefore tend to be bi-lingual and are often able to use both the mother language, for example, Urdu, Punjabi Gujerati or Hindi, and English inter-changeably,

However, other research has found some young British Asians are rebellious and certainly not all British Asian families operate with stricter control. Research by Modood demonstrate how many second and third generation children from minority backgrounds are moving away from traditional norms and values of their culture. Some British Asian men and women do not conform to the expectations of their parents; for example, there is some evidence that many men have sex before marriage without their parents' knowledge. This shows Ghuman's research cannot be generalised to all British Asians.

Formal socialisation

This is when management takes responsibility for socialising employees, for example, they may provide training courses to develop the necessary work skills. In addition, they usually lay down norms about appearance, attitudes and behaviour, for example, wearing a shirt and smart shoes.

Informal socialisation

This is the socialisation provided by our peer groups at work. They introduce us to the informal culture of the workplace. They have their own rituals, such as playing jokes on newcomers; sending them to the stores to fetch a tin of ‘tartan paint’, for example. They also have their own norms, many of which may not be approved by management. For example, trying to slow down the pace of work by bullying or mocking any colleague who works too hard.

Gannon

Suggests that she believes older women are discriminated against in terms of their age and their gender. She believes women’s status is reduced after the menopause reflecting society's tendency to see women in terms of their sexuality and childbearing usefulness This is an example of the informal social control women face.

Waddington research

Canteen culture is the term given to describe the informal culture of police officers as they hang around the station or spend their off-duty hours together.

Shows how canteen culture can help socialise police officers. They learn from listening to other officers telling their 'war stories' - how they overcame tricky situations - and pick up practical advice such as 'you can't always play it by the book'. Waddington argues that this canteen chat helps police officers deal with their stressful job. It boosts their occupational self- esteem by giving them a 'heroic' identity (they are out there on the front-line bravely facing 'trouble') It reinforces their sense of 'mission' (they are doing a valuable job by fighting crime). It also celebrates certain values that are essential in police work such as a 'macho' emphasis on physical strength and courage.

Skeggs

Work can act as an agent of re-socialisation, meaning we change our norms as a result of being introduced into a new environment with different expectations.

Carried out research with a group of working-class women retraining to become health care workers. She found that as their training progressed, the women were re-socialised into new behaviours. For example, although they wore skirts, high heels and make up outside of work they began to realise this was not the norm' inside of their new career and adapted their dress code to fit in; they imitated the women already in the profession and began to wear demure clothes and less make up. Her work supports this idea that gender and class have a link.