Education Flashcards
what is homogeneity
togetherness, sameness, similiarity
unity or agreement among people
what are the two main functions of education according to durkheim
special skills: school teaches individuals the skills necessary for the future occupations eg looking after your body through pe
social solidarity: belief that education is there to transmit society’s norms and values through teaching history, which provides a sense of heritage. also schools acting as a miniature society allows peoples to learn to cooperate and follow rules
what is meritocracy
idea that society is based upon how hard you work and everyone has an equal chance of doing well
describe parsons ‘bridging the gap’
education bridges the gap between family and wider society:
family- particularistic skills (your own) and ascribed status (given)
education- gradually intoduces people to a new way of living through new attitudes, expectations, etc
society- universalistic values (applies to everyone, equal) and achieved status (meritocratic, earnt)
what is davis and moores view on meritocracy
they believe that education legitimises inequality through ‘sifting and sorting’ people into positions in society (allocated roles based on ability). meaning that some people make it to higher positions in society than others, some naturally ( eg surgeons) but education is still a barrier- meritocracy
what are the criticisms of davis and moore
marxists argue that meritocracy is a myth and that everyone has an equal chance of doing well, ethnic and gender differences, young people are still maturing and their chances should be based on actions took while developing
evaluate the functionalist view of education
-wolf reviewed that 1/3 of 16-19 year olds are on courses which dont lead to specific jobs
-marxists see the school as serving the ruling class and their ideology,
-official statistics show that some groups do less well eg working class boys
what is neoliberalism
economic ideology which argues that the state should not provide sevices such as education, health and welfare. schools should become more like businesses and compete for business to drive up standards
what do NR theorists see as the role of the state when it comes to education
to impose frameworks such as ofsted and to make sure the school transmits culture through the nation curriculum
evaluate the NR view on education
-competition benefits middle class through cultural and economic capital to access best schools
-some argue that the standards are low due to social inequality and lack of funding which has been cut
what is the marxist view on education
society and education is based off class and education reproduces and legitimises inequality for working class pupils, meaning they accept poorly paid jobs
what is repressive state apparatus
the states way of physically keeping control over citizens eg military or justice system
what is ideoloical state apparatus
states way on control through passing on ruling class ideology such as religion, the media and the family
what is the new right approach
political view which incorporates neoliberal economics; they believe that competition between schools will bring them greater choice, responsiveness and raise educational standards
what do Chubb and Moe say about about the state in terms of education
they believe that state education is unresponsive to the needs of pupils and have lower standards on average, whereas private education has to please their customers to survive and therefore tends to have higher standards
what do Bowles and Gintis say about the role of education
they argue that education reproduces an obedient workforce, they studied students and found that creative
students compared with ones with obedient behaviours had much lower grades. education encourages obedience and stance personal growth
what is the correspondence principle
idea that education is controlled by capitalists and serve their interests (close relationship with work)
what is the hidden curriculum
informal messages that come out of schooling e.g. conformist peoples are rewarded higher than nonconformist pupils
what is the myth of meritocracy
belief that success or failure is based on merit, whereas in reality the class background determines how they do in education
criticisms of bowles and gintis’ view of education
-cannot prove that the hidden curriculum actually exists
-not all students with in education obey e.g. Willis’ study on the lads
-ignore gender and ethnic factors
outline Willis‘ study on the lads
-studied 12 working class boys (the lads)
-he found that they tried to resist ruling class values by misbehaving but will eventually end up in low paid working-class jobs
what is fordism
an economic system which is based upon mass production on assembly lines; marxist view assumes that workers are being prepared for this system
what was the historical background of educational policy
-prior to the industrial revolution there were no state-run schools, education was only available to the wealthy who went to feepaying schools, while poor students went to schools run by churches or charities
-the industrial revolution increased the need of an educated workforce; in 1980 schooling was made compulsory from ages 5 to 13
-however this was not equal: working class studied maths and English as they only needed that for factory work however middle class had academic curriculum is preparing them for professional jobs
what year was the tripartite system introduced
1944
what were the aims and details of the tripartite system
-aim to have a better educated workforce and allowed all students to a free, state run education
-introduced a meritocratic system (education based on academic ability rather than money)
-introduced three types of schools; grammar (20%) modern (75%) and technical (5%).
-the secondary school you went to was decided by an exam that you took at 11 years of age
strengths of the tripartite system
-allowed resources to be better targeted
-exposure to cultural traditions
-less ability to feel inferior and less likely to be held back
limitations of the tripartite system
-80% of students felt like failures at age 11
-children start to develop after 11 so why are the futures determined at such a young age?
-exams favoured middle-class students (elaborated code, capital, etc)
-divided students from different backgrounds
when was the comprehensive system introduced
1965
what were the aims in details of the comprehensive system
-aims to ensure all students had an equal education, no matter their ability
-introduced by Labour government
-both sexes attended the same schools
-no entry examinations
-Schools served catchment areas
strengths of the comprehensive system
-what education for all; fairness
-brings together children from different classes and backgrounds
-no entrance examination
-larger schools; cheaper to run for state
-serves catchment areas
limitations of comprehensive system
-no choice of schools for parents
-students dumbed down by curriculum
-setting divide within classes
-some catchments on more middle class than others, note equality for working class
what is marketisation
process of introducing market forces such as customer choice and competition into education (adopted by neoliberalists and new right
what is parentocracy
system where parents have choice about what school their child attends, new right argue that it is key to drive up standards. schools must compete to be the best quality and to get enough applications and therefore funding
give examples of policies that support marketisation/parentocracy
-publication of league tables and ofsted reports (allow parents to choose between schools)
-formula funding= all schools receive the same amount of money for each pupil; more students means more funding
-specialist schools eg science, language schools which allow more choice
-increased and introduction of tuition fees to higher education
how do some policies lead to inequality within education?
-will bartlet: cream-skimming: schools selecting higher ability students who gain the best results and therefore cost les to teach
-silt-shifting: offloading students with learning difficulties who are expensive to teach and get poorer results