education 1 - role and functions

Question 1

what are the five functions of education according to functionalists?

s…
f…
s…
s…
r…

Answer 1

1. secondary socialisation
2. focal socialising agency
3. social solidarity - durkheim
4. specialist skills - durkheim
5. role allocation - davis and moore

Question 2

what are the three functions of education according to marxists?

l…
r…
c…

Answer 2

1. legitimising class inequality - althusser, bowles and gintis
2. reproducing class inequality - bourdieu
3. creating passive workers - bowles and gintis

Question 3

examples of how schools mirror the world of work (creating passive workers)

hierarchies…
uni…
motivation…
alien…
comp…

Answer 3

hierarchies of power
uniform
motivation through extrinsic rewards
alienation
competition

Question 4

what are the four ways schools reproduce patriarchal ideology according to feminists?

male…
subject…
leadership…
uni…

Answer 4

male gaze
subject choice
school leadership being male dominated
uniform policies

Question 5

evaluation of the functionalist view on education

myth of…
universalistic standards…
marxism and feminists…

Answer 5

1. marxists aregue that meitocracy is a myth. a student’s background determines their success. eg large number of unemployed graduates
2. the claim that schools promote universalistic standards is false, not all students are judged the same. eg. ethnicity
3. marxists and feminists argue education teaches ruling class and patriarchal values

Question 6

evaluation of the marxist view on education

postmodernists/diversity…
feminists…
focuses too heavily on…

Answer 6

1. postmodernists argue the marxist view of churning out workers is outdated - more competition and people need a range of skills. education reproduces diversity
2. feminists argue education reproduces patriarchal ideology. eg. most teachers are female + head teachers are male
3. marxist theory focuses too heavily on class differences and ignores gender + ethnicity

Question 7

evaluation of the feminists view on education

girls get better…
liberal feminists…
marxists…

Answer 7

1. girls get better exam results than boys - this suggests it’s not patriarchal
2. liberal feminists say school has improved eg national curriculum and same core subjects. gov initiatives like GIST and WISE - girls taking science and tech
3. marxists argue school spreads capitalist ideology