Education perspectives

Durkeim social solidariity (functionalist)

beliefsnecessary in society to be part of a community that has shared norms and values, and that education provides it

Says education does this by transmitting shared beliefs and values from one generation to the next

Durkheim specialist skills (functionalism)

Argues that education gives pupils knowledge and skills needed for work

Economies have complex divisions of labour, so school helps pupils to get the skills needed to fulfull their place in the workforce

Parsons: Meritocracy (functionalism)

Argues that school bridges the gap between the family and wider society - children have to learn society's principles

Particularistic standard - only apply within family
Universalistic standard - apply to everyone

Believes school / wider society gives us achieved status gained through effort, not ascribed status like gender or social class

Meritocracy at school helps us move from family to wider society, meritocracy is where everyone is given equal opportunities, and are rewarded through their own efforts / ability

New Right similarities to the functionalist view

Some people are naturally more talented than others
Favours the meritocratic system
Education should socialise us into shared values

New right believe marketisation is solution

education as a market
competition between schools = empowering consumers = more diversity, choice and efficiency
Schools ability to meet the needs of all consumers will also be increased if education is marketized

Evaluation of the new right perspective

Ball - argue competition between schools only benefits the mc - because they can access better schools using their cultural and economic capital

Critics - the real cause of lower education standards is lack of funding, not state control

marxists - argue there's no shared culture in education, only ruling class culture

Karl marx (marxism)

argued that education revolves around class division and capitalist exploitation - it isn't based on consensus

Class conflict - workers realise they're being exploited so they demand higher wages, better conditions, or no more capitalism

Marx thinks the proletariat will unite to overthrow capitalism

Ideological state apparatus (marxism)

term used for institutions such as education, churches, family which serve to brainwash people into accepting that capitalist ideology as commonly held and socially just.

Bowles and Gintis Hidden curriculum (marxism)

defined as the ideas and views that are taught informally, and usually unintentionally, in a school system.

• passive subservience of pupils to teachers corresponds to Passive subservience of workers to managers

• Acceptance of hierarchy (authority of teachers)  corresponds to Authority of managers

• Motivation by external rewards (grades not learning)  corresponds to being Motivated by wages not the joy of the job

Marxist perspective on education

Largely agrees with functionalists on the role of schools - socialisation and allocation role. however disagrees as believes it is in favour of the ruling class

Believes schools transmit the norms and values of ruling class

Holds that school socialises student to believe capitalistic values can be viewed as the norm and something to aspire to

Believes that schooling reinforces class inequality ; assessment systems (meritocracy) within schools ensure that wc students are allocated to the jobs that reflect their class position

Prevents working class from realising that the school system operates unfairly towards them

Education as an ideological state apparatus (Althusser)

reproduces class inequality - education system reproduces class inequalities between ruling and wc. This is because each generation of wc pupils fails at school and is thus prepared for an appropriate role allocation and class position in society, thereby ending up in the same jobs as previous ones

Legitimising class inequality - education system justifies class inequalities as students accept capitalistic ideology. Tries to convince everyone they have an equal chance of success with the fault being on the individual

Correspondence principle

Bowles and Gintis see education as being controlled by capitalists and serving their interests, whereas functionalist see education as benefiting society as a whole.

Bowles and Gintis suggested that there was a correspondence between values learnt at school and the way in which the workplace operates. The values, they suggested, are taught through the ‘Hidden Curriculum’.

Myth of meritocracy

Marxists argue that in reality money determines how good an education you get, but people do not realise this because schools spread the ‘myth of meritocracy’ – in school we learn that we all have an equal chance to succeed and that our grades depend on our effort and ability. Thus if we fail, we believe it is our own fault. This legitimates or justifies the system because we think it is fair when in reality it is not.

This has the effect of controlling the working classes – if children grow up believing they have had a fair chance then they are less likely to rebel and try to change society as part of a Marxist revolutionary movement.