The Role of Education – Functionalism

DURKHEIM:

• Social solidarity:

  • Individuals need to feel part of a single body or community. Otherwise social life and cooperation would be impossible – each person would pursue their own selfish desires.

  • Education helps to create social solidarity as it transmits society’s culture from one generation to the next (secondary socialisation).

  • School acts as ‘society in miniature’ – preparing us for life in wider society.

• Specialist skills:

  • Modern industrial economies have a complex division of labour where the production of just a single item usually requires the cooperation of many specialists.

  • This promotes social solidarity, but for it to work, each individual must have specialist skills and knowledge required for their role.

  • Education therefore teaches individuals specialist skills and knowledge needed for performing their part in the social division of labour.

EVALUATION OF DURKHEIM:

• Marxists argue that education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of a minority – the ruling class.

  • This therefore disagrees with Durkheim’s principle that education instils the shared values of society as a whole.

• The Wolf review of vocational education (2011) claims that high quality apprenticeships are rare and up to a third of 16-19 year olds are on courses that don’t lead to higher education or good jobs.

  • This therefore suggests about Durkheim’s theory that perhaps the specialist skills we learn in school aren’t all the ones we need or aren’t adequately taught.

PARSONS:

• School teaches meritocracy:

  • Cracy = rule

  • Sees school as the ‘focal socialising agency’ in modern society, acting as a bridge between the family and wider society.

  • This is required as family and society operate on different levels and children need to learn a new way of living if they’re to cope in the wider world.

  • Within the family children are judged by particularistic standards.

    • Their status is ascribed – elder son is given different rights and duties to a younger daughter.

  • School and wider society judge us by universalistic standards.

    • E.g the same exam is sat by all and marked with the same criteria so therefore status is achieved.

  • School is therefore preparing us to move from the family as like wider society it’s based on meritocratic principles.

  • In meritocracy everyone is given an equal opportunity and individuals achieve rewards through their own effort and ability.

EVALUATION OF PARSONS:

• The common saying ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know’ would dispute Parson’s theory because many people in the work field have gained that position from the connections they have with other people and it’s not gained based on their ability and effort.

  • This would give an advantage to people from wealthy families, people who own businesses, people who have community-related jobs.

DAVIS AND MOORE – ROLE ALLOCATION:

• Schools perform the function of selecting and allocating pupils to their future work roles.

• Focus on the relationship between education and social inequality.

• Argue that inequality is necessary so that the most important roles are filled by the most talented people.

  • Jobs like ‘surgeon’ and ‘airplane pilot’ could be dangerous if not. They require more talent and therefore offer higher rewards.

• This then encourages competition for these roles, which aids the selection of the most talented.

  • Education is the proving ground for ability, it’s where the individuals show what they can do.

• Blau and Duncan called this human capital.

  • Modern economies depend on human capital for prosperity.

  • Education does this best – each person is allocated to the role that suits their abilities and makes the most effective use of their talents and therefore maximises productivity.

HUMAN CAPITAL:

• Competition for higher roles which have higher rewards which aids the selection of the most talented and best suited to the role. Assigns worth to the individual based on the skills they have within society.

TUMIN’S EVALUATION OF DAVIS AND MOORE – CIRCULAR ARGUMENT:

• How do we know that a job is important?

• Because it’s highly rewarded.

• Why are some jobs highly rewarded?

• Because they’re more important.