education

Question 1

Formal education

Answer 1

• takes place in schools and uni’s

- people learn knowledge and skills for a wide range of subjects

Question 2

Informal education

Answer 2

-where people learn knowledge and skills by what is happening in life

Question 3

F: serving the needs of economy

Answer 3

Importance:

-education teaches knowledge and skills future workers will need

Question 4

F: facilitating social mobility

Answer 4

Importance:
-education system allows people to move up or down the social ladder. gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds can achieve good qualifications and move to a higher social class

Question 5

Fostering social cohesion

Answer 5

-schools reinforce social ‘glue’ or social bonds that unite different people in society

Question 6

Selection and role allocation

Answer 6

-education system works like a sieve, grading students and allocating them to jobs based on individual merit, abilities and exam results

Question 7

Durkheim’s key ideas on education

Answer 7

• main function to pass on societies norms and values.
• children learn to accept rules through school rules through punishments
• equips kids with skills they will need for future work

Question 8

Criticisms of Durkheim

Answer 8

• some students don’t accept school rules or societies norms and values
• education doesn’t always teach skills that prepare students for future workplace roles
• Marxists argue that education convey benefits to the ruling class rather than society as a whole.
• some feminists argue that schools transmit patriarchal culture

Question 9

Parson’s key ideas on education

Answer 9

-its the main agency of socialisation. acts as bridge between family and society and prepares children for adult role
-in society status is achieved and people are judged by universalistic standards that apply to everyone
ES preps kids by treating them like society would
-schools promote achievement and equality of opportunities, imp in wider society. society needs a system to reward people diff based on achievements. people accept this as they have been through school and as long as there are equal opp

Question 10

Criticisms of parsons

Answer 10

• Marxists argue that education system transmits values that benefit dominant groups in society
• some feminists question if education system is based on meritocracy and if it provides equal opportunities
• critics question how far role allocations are effective or meritocratic. people with the best qualifications dont always get the best jobs

Question 11

Role allocations

Answer 11

-ES matches individuals to their future jobs and status in society based on talents and abilities. in meritocracy, most able reach the top

Question 12

Functionalist view on social mobility (agree)

Answer 12

• parsons said that one function of education was meritocracy, the harder you work, the better you do meaning people who work go up in class and people who don’t go down. all people enter class system on merit.
• education enables social mobility as class is based on effort in education not birth
• seemingly strong but with criticisms
• Marxists and feminists are critical and say there is no meritocracy

Question 13

Feminist view on social mobility (disagree)

Answer 13

• disagrees with functionalist view as its based on patriarchal system who favours men
• girls overachieve boys in almost all parts of education and therefore more women should be in upper class however more men are in higher paid jobs and more women are in poverty
• expectations on women to be ‘housewives’
• 95% of top roles in the country are occupied by men (even though women outperform them)
• education doesn’t enable social mobility as its based on gender than meritocracy and not linked to education, strong argument
• criticism-change is happening

Question 14

Marxist view on social mobility (disagree)

Answer 14

• says society was set up to benefit the most powerful an keep the poor in place
• Bowles and Gintis tried to show that all education did was teach kids working class skills for working class jobs: obedience, being on time, acceptance of the powerful positions
• education prepares people to not have social mobility
• say meritocracy is a myth to keep people working hard

Question 15

Why upper class achieve better and lower achieve worse

Answer 15

• private schools have easier exams
• working class tend to achieve less, parents have less opp to support
• class has impact on education not the other wat around

Question 16

Educational differences between ethnic groups (patterns of achievement)

Answer 16

• students from some minority ethnic groups(Chinese, Indian) achieve better results in exams than others (Black Caribbean, Pakistani)
• some ethic differences in achievement between ethnic groups may reflect class differences
• White working class boys achieve the lowest GCSE grades compared to other ethnic groups

Question 17

Home factors (patterns of achievement)

Answer 17

• material deprivation
• cultural factors
• cultural capital
• parental values

Question 18

Material deprivation

Answer 18

-students from minority ethnic groups are more likely to experience this. econ circumstances may affect achievement

Question 19

Cultural factors

Answer 19

-schools are seen as places where white mainstream norms and values are dominant. students from minority backgrounds may be disadvantaged

Question 20

Cultural capital

Answer 20

-parents from minority backgrounds may be disadvantaged that they cant help children eg. homework as they come from a diff background

Question 21

Parental values

Answer 21

-British Chinese parents value education, students develop high educational aspirations and get positive self esteem from being good students as they want to respect parents

Question 22

School factors

Question 23

Longitudinal studies(advantages)

Answer 23

• follows same group of people over time. after first initial interview or survey takes place, follow up ones are carried out at intervals over the next several years
• allow researchers to study changes in peoples behaviour, values and opinions overtime

Question 24

Longitudinal studies(disadvantages)

Answer 24

• relatively expensive and time consuming
• problems maintaining contact with original sample over time
• people may change their minds and decide to withdraw from study

Question 25

Covert observations

Answer 25

• group members aren’t aware that they are taking part in a study. this may be the only way to study criminal groups
• critics argue that sits unethical as it invades peoples privacy and not based on informed consent

Question 26

Official statistics

Answer 26

• numerical info collected and used by government and agencies to make decisions about society and economy
• favoured by Positivists because they allow to spot trends, find correlations and make generalisations.
• less room for subjective biases of the researcher to interfere

Question 27

Bowles and Gintis

Answer 27

• main role of education is to reproduce workforce with needed qualifications to meet needs of capitalist economy
• schools produce unimaginative and unquestioning workforce with necessary attitudes for exploitation
• those who are independent and show creative thinking are more likely to get lower grades
• this happens because of the way school is structured and the hidden curriculum

Question 28

Correspondence principle

Answer 28

-describes the way education and work connect in a capitalist society

Question 29

Girls improvements