5. Theory (Not As Importnt For Mocks) Flashcards
Durkheim (Functionalist)
- Believes education performs the role of secondary socialisation
- It teaches universal norms and values (rather than the particular norms and values which are taught by primary socialisation in the family).
- Education does this by: instilling social solidarity, teaching rules and how to follow them, teaching specialist skills
- Children learn about their place in a bigger picture; they learn about punishment and self discipline and how to play their role in society
Parsons (Functionalist)
- Believes as well as secondary socialisation, education has the important function of role allocation, sorting people into the most appropriate jobs for adult life
- Parsons argues that education does this meritocratically
- The education system rewards effort, those who work hard are most intelligent get the highest qualifications which gets them access to more responsible jobs which are higher paid
Davis and Moore (Functionalist)
- Like Parsons, Davis and Moore focused on sorting and meritocracy
- They emphasised the importance of a system of unequal rewards
- Social stratification leads to intense competition to get to the top and get high paid jobs
- This is the process which facilitates meritocracy and effective sorting
Evaluation of functionalist views
- Marxists oppose as they ask where the ‘shared values’ come from (they argue it is bourgeoisie ideology)
- Outdated- society and education have both changed since these theories were written
- Marxists argue that meritocracy is a myth and the education system really reproduces class inequalities
- It is not always the case that those with the best qualifications get the best-paid jobs
New right and education
- Agreed with functionalists about how education should be, but argued that by the 1970’s it was not functional: Government polices had focused on equality (of opportunity and outcome) rather than meritocracy, left wing teachers and councils were teaching radical values rather than those shared by wider society
- Argued that schools should compete against each other and be more accountable to parents
- Chubb and Moe argued private schools succeeded more as they were answerable to paying parents
Evaluation of New Right
- Some sociologists worry about excessive competition in schools as the ‘losers’ are the children
- The reasons for good exam results in private schools are more complex than role of market and power of parents e.g. much more funding
- New Right imposed the National Curriculum which goes against their ideology
Louis Althusser (Marxist)
- Believed education is part of the ideological state apparatus
- It spreads bourgeois to ensure the workers are in a state of false class consciousness
- This prevents revolution
- It does this through both the formal and hidden curriculum e.g. both through content of what’s being taught and through rules
- Similar to Durkheims argument that the values education teaches only benefits the bourgeoisie
Bowles and Gintis- Correspondence theory (Marxist)
-Believe there is a deliberate correspondence between school and work; aspects of school mirror aspects of work in order to prepare people for exploitation under capitalism
Hierarchy: Headteacher down to pupils-similar structure in companies e.g. managers
Motivation: Motivated by extrinsic rewards like qualifications- motivated by pay
Passive and docile: schools train pupils to be passive and docile- qualities bosses look for in workers
Evaluating correspondence theory
- Conducted in 1976- workplaces have changed a lot now
- Schools have also changed a lot- pupils encouraged to take part in school democracy and school governments
- Marxists would argue that the ‘pupil voice’ is only an illusion of democracy and its not actually listened to
Paul Willis: Learning to labour (Marxist)
- A case study of Midlands school boys, he called ‘the Lads’. They formed a anti-school subculture where they messed around and mocked peers- didn’t value educational success
- They saw school as being for middle-class children
- School taught them how to cope with exploitation by ‘having a laugh’
- Neo Marxist theory
Cultural capital (Marxist)
-Capital is usually used to refer to money Pierre Bourdieu: -Cultural asserts provide people with power -Middle class and wealthy pupils have cultural assets that help them succeed in education and society -Cultural capital is sometimes perceived as intelligence; this can lead to a positive label -Habitus- the culture or worldview associated with a particular social class rules, structures, discipline -Middle-class teachers find it easier to relate to middle class pupils -Some aspects of working class habitus may be perceived negatively
Evaluating Marxist views of education
- Lots of people working in education are on the left and would not spread capitalist ideology
- An increasing number of teachers are working class so would understand more about habitus and language codes
- There is lots of evidence of people being socially mobile because of meritocratic opportunities in education
- However, there is more evidence of people not being socially mobile
Liberal feminism and education
-Feminists agree with functionalists and Marxists that education transmits values, but they argue it transmits patriarchal values
HEATON AND LAWSON (1996)
-Education teaches patriarchal values through the formal curriculum (e.g. traditional family structures in textbooks) and the hidden curriculum (gender stereotypes in various aspects of school, including gender division of labour in schools- female teachers and male head teachers)
-Improvements have been made due to feminism. Girls now outperform boys in school and there is much more equality in schools
Michelle Stanworth (liberal feminist)
-Teachers have higher expectations of boys and are more likely to recommend boys for higher education than girls who perform at the same academic level. This is because boys tend to get better roles in companies
Radical feminism and education
- Radical Feminists argue that the education system is still fundamentally patriarchal
- It continues to marginalise and oppress women by imposing gender norms on children, reinforcing patriarchal messages and normalising womens subjugation in society
- By the time girls leave school they see sexism and patriarchy as normal and natural and not something to fight against
