Education Flashcards
How do functionalists believe education contributes to society?
Teach norms and values
Uniforms lead to less bullying
School symbol and motto make students feel like a family.
What did Durkheim claim about education?
Education produces social solidarity
School is a socialisation experience
School operates as society in miniature.
What are examples of how the curriculum changed to meet the need of work?
Apprenticeships
Collages-Vocational
Correspondence Principle
Subservient workforce-rules, punctuality, uniform
Multicultural education.
What did Parsons argue about education?
That it is a bridge for children to cross to grown-up society.
School is meritocratic.
What did Davis and Moore argue about education?
It is a means for selecting and shifting people to different levels-Role allocation
Whose who fail only have themselves to blame.
What is an evaluation of Durkheim?
Many people do not get socialised and do not turn to crime and get no qualifications.
What is an evaluation of Parsons?
Not all people turn to crime, many schools give bad advice.
What are evaluations of Davis and Moore?
Schools aren’t meritocratic.
What is universalistic values?
Everyone is taught the same values in common settings such as school.
What is particularistic values?
Particular to individuals taught in places such as the family.
What did Althusser say about education?
That there are 2 apparatuses the upper class use to control the WC.
What are the 2 apparatuses called that Althusser claims the upper class use?
Repressive state apparatus
Ideological state apparatus
What is the repressive state apparatus?
The bourgeoise use physical force such as army, police or courts to control the WC.
What is the ideological state apparatus?
Where the upper class use values and beliefs to control the WC through religion, mass media or education.
What are education’s two functions according to Althusser?
Reproduces class inequality by failing each successive generation of WC pupils
Legitimates class inequality by persuading workers to accept the inequality is inevitable.
What did Bowles and Gintis claim about education?
The correspondence principle
Meritocracy is a myth
What is the correspondence principle?
That education mimics the workplace.
What is the hidden curriculum?
Teaches norms and values such as punctuality, obedience, queuing, manners and deadlines.
How does Hierarchy in school reflect in the workplace?
Authority of the higher ups.
How is alienation reflected in the workplace?
Workers lack of control over production.
How is extrinsic satisfaction shown in the workplace?
Satisfaction form the pay not the actual job itself.
How is fragmentation shown in the workplace?
Fragmentation of work through the division of labour into small meaningless tasks.
How is competition reflected in the workplace?
Through differences in status and pay.
Employee of the month.
What is the acronym of evaluation?
Dated
Reliability
Ethics
Ecological validity
Applicability
Method
Sample representativeness
What are the strengths of the Marxist view of education?
Recognises that education is not positive force for everyone.
Exposes the myth of meritocracy.
Bowles and Gintis provides evidence to support their claim.
What are the limitations of the Marxist view of education?
Doesn’t recognise that some WC have used education to achieve social mobility.
Ignores that schools reproduce patriarchy not just capitalism.
Takes deterministic view-assume pupils have no free will.
What do functionalists think education serves ?
The needs of society as a whole
What do marxists believe education serves ?
The needs of capitalism
Which sociological perspective believe that education allows the talented students to rise to the top and therefore everyone has equal opportunity to succeed ?
Functionalists
Which sociological perspective believe that education is a tool to reproduce the class system and restrict the opportunity of the w/c ?
Marxists
What do functionalists believe education produces ?
Integrated members of society with shared norms and values
What do marxists believe education produces ?
Obedient workers
What do the new right believe about education ?
Similarly to functionalists they believe that education is meritocratic and that competition is important for maintaining a high standard of education
How do the new right believe that too much state control in education can be solved ?
Schools and colleges become self-governed which encourages them to be better to surpass competition form other schools
How do the new right believe that welfare dependency can be helped through education ?
Increasing competition to give people more incentive to work harder and have more choice
How do the new right believe that lowering taxes can improve the education system ?
If the taxes are lowered then more people can invest in private education
What is Chub and Moe’s study which supports educational consumer choice ?
They found that the American education system failed to create equal opportunity and that private schools consistently do better as they are answering to paying parents, they said that if parents had more control then both the quality and efficienty of education would be improved
What are some evaluations of the new right perspective ?
-Competition benefits the m/c
-Inequality and under-funding is causing low standards rather than state control
-parental choice contradicts the national curriculum
-Marxists see the new right perspective as imposing the culture of a dominant class rather than a shared national culture
What did Willis find about education ?
He studies the 12 “lads” and found that due to teacher labeling they rejected education and formed anti-school subcultures leading to them all working in manual labor jobs due to a lack of qualifications
What percentage of the higher professional class (U/C) are achieving 5 grade 4-9 in GCSEs ?
77%
What percentage of the Intermediate class (M/C) are achieving 5 grade 4-9 in GCSEs ?
53%
What percentage of the Routine class (W/C) are achieving 5 grade 4-9 in GCSEs ?
33%
What do current statistics suggest about working class underachievement ?
The working class under-achieve much more than the middle and upper classes
What are some possible explanations of working class underachievement ?
-Material deprivation
-Immediate vs deferred gratification
-Poor housing leading to illness e.g. mold causing respiratory issues
-Setting and Streaming
What is meant by external factors ?
Factors outside of the school that are causing under-achievement
What are some examples of external factors that are affecting education ?
-Cultural deprivation
-Material deprivation
-Language differences and barriers
What is meant by an internal factor ?
Factors inside of the school that are affecting education
What are some examples of internal factors that are affecting education ?
-labeling
-Self fulfilling prophecy
-Subcultures
What is material deprivation ?
A lack of money and the things it can buy that are necessary for educational success
What is cultural deprivation ?
A lack of certain norms, values, skills and attitudes that are needed for educational success
What are some examples of material deprivation in education ?
-no laptop
-lack of printing facilities
-poor housing
-crowded living space
-poor area
What are some examples of cultural deprivation in education ?
-Not visiting the library
-Not visiting museums
-lack of routine
-Not appreciating the value of education
What is Harker’s supporting study for material deprivation ?
She found that poor quality housing led to educational underachievement, this is due to a lack of study space, less space to play as a child impairing cognitive ability, more disruption due to moving house, health hazards, higher rates of parents with mental health issues
What is Howard’s supporting study for material deprivation ?
Young people from poorer homes are more likely to have dietary deficiencies which leads to a weak immune system and low concentration and energy levels
What is an evaluation of Harker’s study for material deprivation ?
This may be more of a cultural problem than a material problem
Pupil premium means that children are given a balanced meal in school and therefore this may be less of a problem
What is Blanden and Machin’s supporting study for material deprivation ?
Working class children are more likely to engage in fights and tantrums which will lead to them spending more time being sent out of the classroom
What are some evaluations of Blanden and Machin’s study for material deprivation ?
-Stereotyping the W/C to be aggressive
-Overgeneralised
What is Bull’s study which supports the effect which equipment and uniform have on achievement ?
He focused on the cost of free schooling which included the equipment costs and cost of school trips in education, he found that children whose parents could not afford the additional costs achieved lower than those whose parents could afford all additional costs
What is Tanner’s study which supports the effect of equipment and clothing on education ?
The children whose parents can only afford basics tend to become isolated and are often stigmatised and bullied, this is because equipment and funding extra-curricular activities such as art or music can be expensive
What fraction of children are classed as poor (living in households with an income 60% below the median) ?
1/3
What are some examples of policies which were introduced to try and close the gap between classes in education ?
-Education action zones
-Excellence in Cities
-Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursary
-Sure start
-Pupil Premium
What is the policy - educational action zones ?
Established in 1998 to try and maximize the opportunity in urban and rural areas, it supplied teaching staff and was implemented for 6 months with a possibility to be extended for 2 years
How successful were educational action zones ?
They had limited success as it only lasted a total of 5 years due to a lack of sponsors
What is the policy - excellence in cities ?
Established in 1999, costing £500 million in an aim to raise the standard of education and promote inclusion, it provided support and mentors in cities
What is Callender and Jackson’s study which supports the fear of debt being a reason that the working class underachieve ?
The working class avoid debt and are in a household where they are much less likely to receive help from home to afford additional costs this means that less people from working class households are willing to go to university and therefore it is more difficult for them to achieve social mobility
How successful was the excellence in cities policy ?
It was successful as it did raise levels of achievement and provided support to areas which needed it
What is the policy - Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursary ?
Trialed in 1999 and fully rolled out in 2004, it aimed to cover the basic costs of education such as books and transport, it gave students £10-30 a week
How successful was the Educational Maintenance Allowance/Bursary policy ?
It was partially successful as although it made educational more affordable and accessible, it had to be replaced to save £330 million
What is the policy - sure start ?
This was introduced in 1998 by labour, sure start centers provided free services and support to families it offered a space for children to play and learn skills but also a place where children could have health visits
How successful was the sure start policy ?
It was mainly successful because it did improve children’s development and the amount of access parents had to a variety of different services however, may had to be closed down in 2010 due to austerity
What is the policy - pupil premium ?
This was introduced in 2011 with an aim to reduce costs for low income parents, this includes free school meals and reduced costs for school trips
What is some support for the idea that material deprivation is an explanation to working class underachievement ?
-There is a strong correlation between household income and achievement
-This theory has led to social policies being introduced to try and reduce the influence of material deprivation on educational achievement
What are some ideas that disprove the theory of material deprivation being a reason for underachievement ?
-The research only shows a correlation and not a cause
-There are still a high number of students from working class backgrounds that achieve highly in education
-There are more factors that affect achievement than just material deprivation
What is Douglas’ study which supports cultural deprivation as an explanation to working class underachievement ?
There was a correlation between the degree of interest shown by the student’s parents and their achievement,
W/C parents visited schools less often, less likely to encourage further education and were perceived by teachers to be less interested
What are some criticisms of Douglas’ study which supports cultural deprivation as an explanation of working class underachievement ?
-The study is dated as it was conducted in the 60’s
-It is deterministic
-There may be a reason as to why parents can’t visit the school such as if they were working shifts
-Parents may not encourage further education as they cannot afford the cost rather than them not valuing it
What might be the explanation as to why children from lower class backgrounds are up to 1 year behind children from the upper classes from age 3 ?
W/C parents may have less time to read to their children and have less money which could mean they can’t afford the same services as the upper classes, this may lead to material deprivation causing cultural deprivation
What were the three areas that Feinstein found that middle class parents give their children a better headstart than working class parents ?
-Parenting style
-Parents educational behaviours
-Use of income
What did Feinstein find about how parenting style differs between the middle and working class ?
Working class parents are more inconsistent in terms of discipline which leads to their children having poor behaviour and self control