Studied by 5 people
Socialisation
Education socialises individuals with the norms and values of society. Expected behaviours are encouraged. This prepares the individual for a life in society and creates a sense of solidarity through consensus. For example, punishments for bad behaviour and respecting seniors.
Preparation for the world of work
Education gives skills to young people to prepare them to work. This means that they become valuable to society, generate money, and progress industry. For example, communication skills, basic literacy, numeracy, and ICT skills.
Meritocracy
This means that those at the top deserve to be there. Education is perfect for organising young people ready for responsibility they will have as adults, highly skilled individuals are funnelled into important jobs for the best outcomes for society. For example, sets and grades.
Childcare
Some functionalists argue that the education frees up parents so that they are able to work. This benefits society as people contribute to the economy whilst children are kept safe. For example, the 9-5 model of schools and wraparound care such as breakfast clubs allows parents to work
Role Allocation
School identifies specific skill sets in individuals. School is able to organise people in this way and prepares them for when they leave school. For example, subject choices become more specialised throughout life, from around 4 GCSEs, to 3 A-Levels, to 1 degree. This means that people end up in jobs that suit their skills, society has the right people in the right role.
Every Child Matters: Change for Children
November 2004, the DfES set a national framework for schools and local authorities to ensure that all children are safe, healthy, enjoy and are active in life, can make a positive contribution to society and are economically active.
Emile Durkheim
Argued that most institutions in society work in sync with eachother and these help to shape moral responsibility in young people and to give them a sense of loyalty to the society.
Davis and Moore (1945)
Argue that education allocates people to the most appropriate job for their talents using exams and qualifications. They argue that some jobs are more important for society and so have more stringent criteria to do them. Education systems help to identify those that can do these complex and important jobs.
Talcott Parsons
Explains how schools train individuals to have skills for the world of work. Education has usually reflected this, for example in the 1980s when schools started to be given computers by the local authority because many work placers were already using computers.
Talcott Parsons
Says that education helps students to adopt a meritocratic approach to achievement. Parsons says that children share this value (value consensus) which helps members of the same society have similar shared goals.
Citizenship
The GCSE citizenship was introduced to schools in 2002
British values
The promotion of British values began after the terrorist attacks in London in 2005. After the attacks, the government introduced a number of policies and initiatives and aimed at promotion British values in schools, including the PREVENT program.
Functionalism assumes the education system is consistent
We know that schools are not consistent in how they project norms and values. In an ideal world all schools are the same but that simply isn’t true. For exmaple, some schools may not have the resources to sort students into different sets, teachers have different values, and schools have different strictness levels.
Lack of evidence
Most sociological ‘evidence’ isn’t research at all, but theories on the ideal version of education. For example, Parsons and Durkheim.
Assumes all students are the same
Functionalism failes to recognise the advantages that some students have outside of education that contribute to school success. This is a Marxist critique.
Assumes that education is meritocratic
Functionalism assumes that education is meritocratic but systems in place dont always reward the most deserving. Marxists believe that meritocracy is a myth and that education isn’t a level playing field. For example, wealthier people can afford tutors and private education.
Socialisation doesn’t create value consensus
Marxists say that schools promote values and norms that will make people obedient workers - they say that school is like a training ground for workers - not for the benefit of the society but the benefit of the elite in society, for example respecting people who are seen as superior and the idea of meritocracy.
Bourdieu
Argued that the working class are tricked into accepting their position in society.
Bowles and Gintis
B+G argued the ‘correspondence theory’ - that what goes on in schools directly corresponds with what goes on in the workplace. Children are prepared for the monotony of a 9-5 job through the 8-3 schedule along with repetitive, dull tasks.
