Education

Question 1

What is education?

Answer 1

Education is the process by which the collected knowledge of a culture is passed on to people, usually children.

Question 2

What are the rules surrounding compulsory education in the UK?

Answer 2

In the UK, all children between the ages of 5 and 16 must receive an education, but they do not necessarily have to go to school. They may be educated at home.

Question 3

What is informal education?

Answer 3

All societies educate children; in the past this would have been done by parents in the home, or through normal daily activity. This type of education into the SKILLS OF ADULTHOOD is informal education. It can also take place in clubs or non-assessed situations.

Question 4

What is formal education?

Answer 4

Modern societies have highly developed education systems with professional educators working in complex institutions and often preparing pupils for public examinations. These systems pass on formal education, in which there is a curriculum and formal assessment of learning.

Question 5

What is the debate in society about formal education and who are the debates influenced by?

Answer 5

There is a significant debate at all levels of society as to the purpose of education and what essential knowledge should be passed on.
- These debates are very much influenced by the beliefs of the people who are in power and their beliefs about what children need to know

Question 6

What are seven historical and social reasons for the development and continued government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 6

• Child labour
• Vocationalism
• Public health
• Economic trade
• Military capacity
• Training in cultural values
• Religious reasons

Question 7

Why is child labour a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 7

If children are in school they are protected from exploitation of employers of child labour

Question 8

Why is Vocationalism a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 8

Children can be trained for work and the needs of employers

Question 9

Why is public health a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 9

Children from poorer families can be offered basic nutrition and encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle

Question 10

Why is economic trade a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 10

British manufacturing and business requires a trained workforce if it is to maintain its position as a world leader in trade

Question 11

Why is military capacity a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 11

Historically, Britain was a military nation engaged in frequent wars abroad. It required soldiers with a basic education and a good standard of health

Question 12

Why is training in cultural values a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 12

The requirement of schools to promote the well-being and culture of children is explicit in most educational legislation

Question 13

Why are religious reasons a reason for the development and government funding of the education system in Britain?

Answer 13

It was thought that if children could be taught to read the Bible, it would improve their moral behaviour

Question 14

How do structural theory viewpoints look at education and what are these theories?

Answer 14

They look at education in terms of the role it plays in society rather than the mechanics of how it takes place
- Functionalism, Marxism, feminism

Question 15

Briefly, what is the functionalist view of education?

Answer 15

Functionalism is not critical of the education system. It sees education as a tool by which society sorts out children so that the most able will take on the best jobs.
- It sees education as MERITOCRATIC in that it provides a LADDER OF OPPORTUNITY for the best students to achieve well

Question 16

Briefly, what is the Marxist view of education?

Answer 16

Marxism views education as a source of social inequality and a tool of an unequal social system.
- The inequality in educational opportunity socialises people into accepting that some people have more access to power and wealth than others

Question 17

Briefly, what is the feminist view of education?

Answer 17

Feminism views the education system as oppressing women and suggests that it exists to socialise children into traditional gender patterns which perpetuate gender inequality.

Question 18

How do social action theories look at education and what are these theories?

Answer 18

Social action theories have little to say about the organisation of the education system and knead focus on the relationships within the school and how these influence the attainment of children
- Interactionism
- Postmodernism

Question 19

Briefly, how does Interactionism view education?

Answer 19

Interactionism looks at the RELATIONSHIPS between teachers and pupils, and between pupils. In particular, it is interested in how teachers LABEL pupils as successful or not successful and the impact that this labelling has on the self-identity and self-esteem of pupils.

Question 20

Interactionism can appear to be deterministic, if it suggests that children are not active participants in the process of labelling. What does deterministic mean?

Answer 20

Some theories suggest that people have little or no choice about how to behave, social structures and expectations determine behaviour.
- The opposite of this is ‘free will’
- In practice, we can choose how to act but we need to be aware of the possible social consequences of our behaviour

Question 21

Briefly, what is the postmodernist view of education?

Answer 21

Postmodernists are similar to interactionists, focusing on what happens within schools. They see teachers and pupils as ‘CONSTRUCTORS’ of knowledge. This means that in schools realities are constructed for pupils and this is how values are passed on.

Question 22

When considering the role and function of education in contemporary society, it may be useful to consider a highly successful education system that is very different from the one that British children experience. What is an example of this?

Answer 22

The education system in Finland, which is viewed as being one of the best in world; often earning the highest scores in international tests of maths, science and reading, beating nations like the UK and USA by a long way.

Question 23

What is the underlying principle of the Finnish education system and what are some ways in which they uphold this?

Answer 23

All citizens should have the right to education;
- Education is free, all children have the right to educational support if it is required and the same opportunities should be available regardless of wealth, ethnicity or age
- Financial support is offered to all pupils if they require it and many children have access to free meals and free transportation to school
- Children attend schools that are closest to their own homes

Question 24

What do the Finns believe about the education system?

Answer 24

The education system should encourage children to be active participants in society and that education is a way of helping them become good citizens.

Question 25

Finns believe that people should be lifelong learners so that the whole child is cared for. Explain how and why this is put into practice in the education system.

Answer 25

Health, music, art, special education and sports are all of equal importance in the education system. It is believed that this will not exclude anyone from learning and will encourage people to give their best to education.

Question 26

Explain how the teaching profession is viewed in Finland.

Answer 26

Teaching is a high status profession and well-paid, so there is serious competition for places on teaching courses.
- Only the top graduates apply for teaching training and they are given free training. There may be up to 1,000 candidates for jobs, however.
- Teachers only teach for four hours each day and are allowed two hours each week to train and update their skills.

Question 27

What are two other ways in which the Finnish education system differs from the British education system?

Answer 27

• There is very little homework, though children are actively encouraged to read for pleasure.
• Schools are relaxed and very clean

Question 28

Why is the example of the Finnish system relevant to an understanding of British society?

Answer 28

Because education is seen as central to the development of the whole society. Patterns of attainment for all children in Finland are good and teaching is viewed as an important job.

Question 29

What did Phillip Jackson find when he studied the socialisation that influenced children in schools?

Answer 29

If children wish to succeed, they do not only require information, but they also need to conform to acceptable behaviour in the school system, i.e. conform to the hidden curriculum (high attendance, teamwork, being on time)

Question 30

What did Pat O’Neil add to the findings of Phillip Jackson?

Answer 30

That to succeed children require information such as how to get along with teachers and other learners, how to cope with boredom, and how to conform.

Question 31

What did feminist sociologist Dale Spender point out about the hidden curriculum?

Answer 31

In the 1970s, reading books in schools separated social groups such as girls/boys by demonstrating norms e.g. girls cooked and helped their mothers, while boys took part in activities that were more exciting and dangerous.

Question 32

What did Abbott and Wallace argue about gender socialisation in schools?

Answer 32

Although many teachers are women and therefore act as role models for girls, those in authority are more likely to be men and therefore reinforces the idea that men are in positions of power. Boys receive this subliminal message, with some undermining female roles in their future

Question 33

While sociologists and political thinkers are not necessarily agreed on the functions of the education system, some themes do emerge from most public policy. What are they? Make reference to Marxist and Functionalist thinking where applicable.

Answer 33

That education should:
- Provide opportunities for children, though Marxists would tend to put more emphasis on equality of opportunity than functionalists do

• Sort children in terms of their ability to learn and then provide the correct type of educational opportunities. Functionalists would prioritise this function.
• Prepare children for adult life, most particularly for work, this is known as vocationalism
• Help children to become active participants in society and to live healthy and productive lives as citizens of their country

Question 34

What did Emile Durkheim claim about the education system?

Question 35

What do functionalists feel education does for children in terms of socialisation? What is the Marxist outlook on this?

Answer 35

Bridges the gap between the close personal relationships of family life (primary socialisation) and is their first introduction into the less emotional and more universal relationships of adulthood.
- Children would be introduced to the shared cultures of their society and thus would learn their place in the social world. Marxists see this socialisation as part of brainwashing children into accepting social inequality

Question 36

What are some of the ways in which much of children’s socialisation into the rules of wider society takes place within schools and the education system?

Answer 36

• The National Curriculum is a basic outline of what you need to know about your own culture
• Much of the education that takes place in nurseries and primary schools is concerned with teaching children how to get on with their peer group and teaching them the basic rules of social interaction, as well as teaching them formal skills

Question 37

Societies require a workforce with advanced skills in order to develop economically. What role did different functionalist thinkers feel schools had in providing this workforce?

Answer 37

Durkheim
- Suggests that schools ensure that students are equipped with the skills needed by the economy of the country

Talcott Parsons
- Said that schools allocate roles to the more talented and that the education system has a sorting and sifting function. This idea is known as meritocracy

Question 38

What do Marxists such as Althusser believe about the education system and social control?

Answer 38

Schools form part of the ideological state apparatus because they teach the ideas of the ruling class.
- Children are taught to obey teachers, and this reproduces the world outside the classroom where they will obey their employers, therefore also reproducing class inequalities

Question 39

What did Durkheim believe about the education system and social control?

Answer 39

He was in favour of very strict discipline in schools. His logic was that offenders affected the whole school group, so by strict punishment they would learn to act in the interests of society. They needed to understand that offences have a major impact on society.

Question 40

How do functionalists and Marxists view rules that pupils are subject to in schools, e.g. school uniforms or dress codes?

Answer 40

• Durkheim sees them as reinforcing social cohesion and group norms
• Marxists see them as part of the process of training children not to be rebellious

Question 41

What are seven functions of education in contemporary society?

Answer 41

• Agency of secondary socialisation
• Allocation of children to different social roles
• Preparing children for adult work
• Provide opportunities for children
• Instilling social values in children
• To provide training in logical thinking
• Transmission of cultural heritage and knowledge