Education Flashcards
name and describe the two functions of education
- social- secondary socialisation, teaches manners/ to submit to authority, how to make friends
- economic- teaches skills for work, sorts people into appropriate jobs, provides childcare for working parents
what are Durkheim’s views on education?
functionalism
* education passes on norms/ values to children
* creating social order through consensus
what is Parsons’ view on education?
functionalism
* it is the bridge between the family and wider society
* education is meritocratic because it teaches children the value of achievement
how does education serve/ support capitalism?
- prepares you for exploitation in the workplace
- justifies inequality (prioritising/ serving bourgeoisie)
- passes on ruling class ideas
what is Bowles & Gintis’ theory on education?
marxism
* correspondance theory
* norms and values learnt in school are needed for work
* school has boring repetitive lessons that are rewarded by high grades
* work has boring repetitive shifts that are rewarded by wages
* education teaches to accept a hierarchy and to work for rewards
who made the correspondance theory?
bowles & gintis
who believed education is meritocratic?
parsons
who believed education was the bridge between the family and wider society?
parsons
who believed that education passes on norms/ values through secondary socialisation?
durkheim
who believed education creates social order through consensus?
durkheim
how does education reinforce the patriarchy?
- hidden curriculum
- gender stereotyping by subject choice
- shows men in positions of power (majority male headmasters and female teachers)
- girls outperforming boys even though studies show teachers pay more attention to male students
criticisms of the functionalist perspective on education
- overlooks how gender/ class/ ethnicity affect advancement in society
- do we live in a meritocracy?
criticism of the marxist perspective on education
ignores how some working class people succeed
criticism of the feminist perspective on education
white liberal feminism ignores how gender intersects with class and ethnicity
characteristics of a comprehensive school
- state/ government/ tax funded
- educates all children
- access to the same levels
characteristics of academies (schools)
- tax funded
- most secondary schools
- they control their spending and curriculum
- educate everyone
characteristics of free schools
- tax funded
- very few
- can be set up by anyone e.g. parents, businesses
- control over spending/ curriculum
- started in 2010
why should private schools be allowed?
- parents can choose how to spend their own money
- better facilities
- academic culture
- smaller classes
- better opportunities
why shouldn’t private schools be allowed?
- increase social inequality
- social divide
- takes away motivation for the government to invest in state education
- most schools don’t follow the national curriculum anyway
what is de-schooling?
the idea that schools should be abolished and replaced with an informal education system
name important education policies in order and when they were made
- forster act 1870
- butler act 1944
- comprehensive movement 1965
- sex discrimination act 1975
- education reform act 1988
- new labour 1997-2010
- conservatives 2010- present
what is the forster act?
- created elementary schools (free), replacing voluntary church schools
- compulsory attendance for ages 5-10
what is the butler act?
- created tripartite system
- consisted of grammar schools, secondary technical schools (vocational), secondary modern schools
- 11+ exams to get into grammar school
what is the comprehensive movement?
- switched tripartite system to comprehensive schools
- introducing catchment area
- mixed ability
- more academic children sat exams
what is the sex discrimination act in education?
- girls and boys allowed to study the same subjects
- this impacted school admissions
what is the education reform act?
- introduced marketisation of education- ofsted, league tables, parentocracy
- introduced national curriculum and GCSEs
what is the new labour act in education?
- labour party attempt to reduce inequality
- education maintenance allowance- poorer students paid £30/ week to do A-levels
- free childcare for pre-schoolers
- tuition fees for uni
what is the conservative act in education?
- increased marketisation
- scrapped EMA
- tuition fees increases
- free school meals
- grading system changed
what external factors effect achievement in education?
- gender/ socialisation
- material deprivation
- parental attitudes
- language
- job market/ current economy
- education policy
what internal factors effect achievement?
- school ethos
- hidden curriculum
- setting/ streaming
- labelling theory/ self-fulfilling prophecy
- subcultures
what were skelton’s ideas on education?
feminism/ focus on gender- boys prefer science subjects because they are seen as more difficult/ higher status than “softer” subjects chosen by girls
who though that boys prefer science subjects because they are seen as more difficult than “softer” subjects chosen by girls?
skelton
what were murphy & elwood’s views about education?
feminism/ focus on gender
* early socialisation impacts subject choice
* boys read hobby books/ informative texts
* girls read stories about people
* so boys prefer science
* and girls prefer english and social sciences
who thought that early socialisation impacts subject choice?
murphy & elwood
what was mitsos & browne’s view about education?
feminism/ focus on gender
* teaching is now feminised- studets are more looked after/ cared for
* boys may feel excluded in female dominated environment but studies show this is rare
who thought that teaching has been feminised?
mitsos & browne
what were willis’ views on education?
marxism
* working class “lads” create anti-school subcultures
* this sets themselves up for manual jobs
* more focussed on “having a laff” than doing well
who thought that working class “lads” create anti-school subcultures?
willis
how have patterns of gender and achievement changed over time?
- before the 1920s, boys did better in school
- but now there are more jobs for women, new laws and more female role models
what subcultures do girls have according to mcrobbie?
they chat in their bedrooms with friends which develops communication skills
what were halsey, heath and ridge’s view on education?
marxism/ focus on class
* that other external factors influence educational success because of class inequality
* parental encouragement
* grammar schools are in middle class areas (affecting catchment area)
* wether families can afford uniform and school trips
who suggested alternative external factors that could affect educational achievement because of class inequalities?
heath, halsey and ridge
what was bernstein’s view on education?
marxism/ focus on class
* working class children lack language skills to succeed
* elaborated code- used by middle class (complex sentences, larger vocab, correct grammar)
* restricted code- used by working class (simple sentences, limited vocab, grammar/ mistakes)
who thought that working class kids lack language skills to succeed in education?
bernstein
what was ball’s view on education?
marxism
* mixed ability classes teach towards the middle
* working class gravitated to lower bands
* makes them anti-school
* they get fewer qualifications
* tbh is reproduces class inequality
who thought that mixed ability classes taught towards middle ability causing working class to become anti-school?
ball
what ethnicities are highest achieving in education?
chinese and indian asian
what ethnicities are lowest achieving in education?
white students on free school meals, black caribbean, bangladeshi, pakistani
what is an ethnocentric curriculum?
type of educational curriculum that is based on the cultural values and perspectives of a particular ethnic or cultural group
* focus on the history, culture, and achievements of the dominant group, often to the exclusion or marginalisation of other groups
