Education Flashcards
What do Bowles and Gintis say about the role of education?
Marxist; the education system transmits ruling class values + reproduces class inequality.
- MYTH OF MERITOCRACY; directly counters Parsons’ view on the education system being meritocratic + argue that that meritocracy is a myth. They argue that a meritocratic educational system is impossible to achieve in a capitalist society because WC have less cultural capital = lower ability to network = more cultural deprivation compared to MC students who may have parents working white collar jobs that they can easily attain.
- SOCIAL CONTROL THRU HIDDEN CURRICULUM AND CORRESPONDENCE PRINCIPLE + LACK OF CREATIVE SUBJECTS
The education system has a hidden curriculum by which ruling class values are transmitted to children who are PASSIVE and DOCILE, and so they accept these values which in turn reproduces a capitalist society. The Hidden Curriculum is based on the Correspondence Principle - students are taught to be punctual, this teaches them to be punctual in future industrial society. The Correspondence principle benefits the Bourgeoisie at the expense of the Proletariat, this way individuals can be SOCIALLY CONTROLLED in wider society like they are in school.
- No creativity; thru the above factors(hidden curriculum and correspondence principle etc), students are taught to accept hierarchy = lack of control and creativity.
All these factors legitimise class inequality.
key words summary
- social control
- myth of meritocracy
- correspondence principle
- hidden curriculum
- Passive and docile students
- Cultural capital/deprivation
- Transmission of ruling class values.
CRITICISMS
- Bowles and Gintis focus to much on the negative aspects of education.
-They assume all students are passive and docile - Willis in his '’Learning to Labour’’ study shows some boys subverted school rules rather than passively conform to them and accept them; so the idea of students being passive and docile is false.
- School employs creative subjects eg music and art to produce and foster creative minds needed in the work place.
What does Durkheim say about the role of education?
Functionalist; social cohesion + social solidarity, secondary socialisation, discipline, provides a strong working force
1) SOCIAL COHESION; Education transmits shared societal norms and values and to children preparing them for society, this is known as secondary education which in turn aids social cohesion eg subjects like History transmit shared British norms and values to allow students feel like a part of society, this in turn reduces crime rates and delinquent behaviour, creates a sense of social solidarity.
2) DISCIPLINE thru secondary socialisation; education teaches discipline to student through sanctions and punishments like detentions (another form of secondary socialisation). This way as students are taught to learn to respect the rules in school, they are also taught to respect society’s rules.^^link back to social cohesion
3)PROVIDES A STRONG WORKING FORCE; Education system provides a strong working force by equipping students with skills and knowledge required to conquer and compete in a competitive global economy.
CRITICISMS;
- Marxists argue that rather than societal expectations being transmitted, its the ruling class ideology that is.
- Durkheim is too idealistic with regards to the educational system and ignores things like bullying that will make individuals feel neglected from society.
- Ethnocentric curriculum - no social solidarity but rather exclusion for ethnic minority students.
What does Parsons say about the role of education?
FUNCTIONALIST; education is the main agency of socialisation + the education system is meritocratic.
Education is the bridge between family and society.
1) Schools promote key values; achievement and equal opportunities and this is done through extrinsic rewards that children work for eg points and certificates and punishments eg detention»_space; this prepares them for the reward-punish system in wider industrial societies. - Link to Durkheim - school enforcing discipline.
- Teaches universalistic standards and allows for achieves status.
2)Role allocation through Sieve Theory and social mobility because it is meritocratic - The education system matches students to their future status and jobs based on their talents achievements and academic qualification. This occurs through the sieve system where the most competent students are sieved to attain the most complex and pay-rewarding jobs. The sieve system aids social mobility as it does not function based on class but rather on pure achievement - this provides a meritocratic and equal playing field meaning that irrespective of class students can break out their ‘ascribed status’ and earn their ‘achieved status’.
- Ascribed status and particularistic standards vs Achieved status and universalistic standards; When children are born into families they gain an automatic ascribed status that is associated with their familiar class - they are also raised with particularistic values which are personal to their families. However the educational system allows for achieved status to be gained by students irrespective of class thru role allocation sieve system + meritocracy = social mobility, while simultaneously bridging the gap between the family and society by teaching the students universalistic values of society thru secondary socialisation.
CRITICISMS
- Role allocation and sieve system isn’t always affective due to material deprivation, some students may be really smart but not have funds to go to uni OR people w best qualifications don’t always get top jobs.
What does Halsey say about educational class-based achievement?
No perspective in spec;
- use them to back marxist viewpoint
- Halsey, Heath and Ridge examined social class origins in relation to educational destinations by using a large sample of men (large = representative + reliable, only men = not representative of female) demographic = not representative).
- The Respondents’ social class were based on their father’s occupation and this was divided into three groups: service class, the intermediate class and the working class.
- Through this study they found evidence that social class inequality is prevalent within the education system eg boy from service class was 4x likely to be at school than WC at 16.
So Halsey et al. devised from this 4 factors affecting educational achievement.
- Material deprivation + economic circumstances
eg
* Poor housing may experience overcrowding and less access to tech like computers.
* Students from affluent backgrounds may have access to tuition.
- Parental values and expectations
eg - MC students have parents w professional occupations and may encourage children to strive for this (delayed vs immediate gratification)
- WC students may have less parental interest/support = less educational motivation.
(link to immediate vs deferred gratification).
- Cultural deprivation
- WC students may have less cultural resources and opportunities eg no visits to museums compared to MC
- Cultural capital
*MC students have cultural capital bc they have parents w white-collar professions, so have contacts + support.
*Parents are better equipped to help with homework and monitor homework
CRITICISM
- Functionalists argue that education system is meritocratic and and individual must WANT to succeed irrespective of social class.
Factors affecting educational achievement according to Halsey Heath and Ridge (1980) x3
- Material deprivation and economic status
- Parental values and expectations
- Cultural capital + deprivation
What does Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz say about parental choice and competition between schools?
EDUCATIONAL MARKETISATION
Ball et al. argue that marketisation of the education system and educational reform reinforce the advantages of middle-class parents, thus making education less equal due to cream-skimming and silt-shifting.
- This is because the introduction of league tables have made schools more competitive - schools now want to attract more ‘motivated’ MC parents to attract more ‘able’ students in order to maintain higher places in league tables and perform well in examinations.
- However typically, WC due to business from work may not have the time or even tech to deal with searching for appropriate schools - less cultural capital bc less knowledge on how the education system works, so would rather prefer to send their children to local schools.
- delayed vs immediate grat
- MC = opposite to ^^. They have the cultural capital and material resources to know how to deal with secondary school choices.
- And so through this MC students continue to go to top schools while WC students are at lower-achieving ones, which in turn reinforces the advantage of MC in the education system and makes class-inequality within it more prevalent.
CRITICISM - not all MC students go to top schools, some WC get scholarships to top schools.
Types of school; explain:
what is it, advantages and disadvantages
- Independent/private sector
- State schools
- Primary and Secondary
- The Tripartite System
- Independent sector = fee-paying schools (private schools)
+ Lower teacher to student ratio so more attention towards individual students during lessons
- Elitism provides opportunities for only those from affluent backgrounds, so WC have less access to resources that could aid their social mobility, heightens gap within class in society.
- State schools = non fee-paying schools, eg grammar schools and comprehensive schools
+ Everywhere, students don’t have to travel far to attend a local state school
+ provide upward social mobility for WC students
- Larger teacher to student ratio = less individual attention towards students.
- Intake is socially mixed
The Tripartite system (the 1944 system introduced the 11+ - examination to enter top secondary grammar schools) - Opposite to comprehensive system.
Advantages of Tripartite system compared to comprehensive system;
- Parental choice is no longer limited.
- Academic working class can now achieve better here, aiding upward social mobility.
Disadvantages of Tripartite system compare to comprehensive system;
- Grammar schools produced by Tripartite system are not as large as comprehensive schools
- Grammar schools don’t cater for all children, tho they claim to - cultural capital plays a huge role in who attends what skl and also not typically in WC areas.
Identify and describe what is meant by deschooling?
3 marks
- the critique of traditional schooling systems by advocating for alternative, more flexible approaches to education.
- involving students more creative in educational learning
- ## eg education via self directed learning webs.
Give an example of the correspondence principle
- Wearing uniform in skl = particular dress code in the work place
- Punctuality in skl = punctuality in the work place
- Extrinsic rewards in skl = pay rise in the work place
What does Ball say about teacher expectations and banding?
Stephen Ball (1981) - Interactionist.
Beachside Comprehensive.
- Used Participant observation to undertake a study of a mixed comprehensive school and examine how it was organised (Beachside Comprehensive)
- He focused on two groups of students, 1 that had been banded or streamed by ability, and another which was a mixed ability group.
- He noticed that WC students gravitated more towards lower bands and MC more toward higher bands.
- He also noticed that students behaviours changed over time, WC students in lower bands became negatively labelled by teachers due to their lower expectations for the lower bands (lower band students were also encouraged to have lower aspirations).
- These lower expectations and teacher labelling led to negative impacts on behaviour such as anti-school sub-cultures (link to Willis) etc.- SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
- While mixed ability group was more positive.
Participant observation +
- Rich quantitative data gained
- Room for exploration and reasoning
Disadvantages
- Overt; Hawthorne effect - may affect reliability.
(INTERNAL - AFFECT EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, CONTRAST WITH FEMINIST EXTERNAL, Sue Sharpe - FEMINIST, CHANGE IN ASPIRATIONS FOR WOMEN ETC)
What does Willis say about anti-school/counter-school sub-cultures?
MARXIST; Disagrees with Bowles and Gintis - students aren’t passive and docile, but rather they can rebel and form anti-school sub-cultures.
- In a study of 12 boys school in a WC area located in the Midlands, Willis used participant observation to study these boys.
- During this study, he discovered the existence of an anti-school sub-culture, where contrary to B+G belief, students were not passive and docile, but rather some were deviant, subservient and opposed school rules and values.
- These groups known as ‘‘lads’’ saw white-colour professions as ‘‘effeminate’’ CRISIS OF MASCULINITY
- So gravitated towards misbehaving etc.
- CONCLUSION; rather than class reproduction being due to ALL students being passive and docile, its rather due the rejection of norms by working class boys, leading them to gain working-class jobs, cld be due to the crisis of masculinity.
CRITICISMS;
- group of only 12 BOYS - not representative in number or gender = not reliable
- Feminists would argue that Willis ignored the experience of girls.
Ethnicity and Educational achievement
Some ethnic minorities are less like to to do well in school compared to white European.
This is due to some of the following factors.
- Ethnocentric curriculum; The view that the National Curriculum generally ignores non-europeans literature, art and music, and is biased towards white European culture eg thru subjects like History
-> students may feel undervalued in school and excluded from society
->this may lead to underachievement. - Institutional racism; when organisation fail to provide appropriate service for ethnic minorities due to their origin, culture of colour. It is an UNINTENDED consequence of the way institutions such as school are organised. This may lead to the feeling of being excluded from society -> leading to underachievement in school.
EG underrepresentation of certain races in schools. - Material deprivation
- Cultural factors, give an example of a cultural factor that influences educational achievement of ethnic minorities 3 marks; (school favours unintentionally white European thru ethnocentric curriculum which teaches cultural values of WE, so ethnic minorities may feel excluded or disadvantaged).
Parental values - British Chinese taught to respect older people like teachers, so in skl they do that and are seen as ‘good students’ so are more advantaged and excel.
Cultural capital; immigrants - new to country so less knowledge abt things like museums etc.
Gender and Educational achievement
- Initially boys got better A-levels than girls, this could be due to the Gendered curriculum; STEM subjects catered for boys, and less ‘feminine’ subjects.
- Gradually girls began to do better, this could be due to introduction of laws such as **1975 Sex Discrimination act.
** - Girls now have more role models within the schools and the media, bc females are beginning to acquire more jobs, so now have higher aspirations.
^^ - Rise of feminism - Boys are now underachieving, this could be due to the ‘crisis of masculinity’ because this makes them see their traditional masculine identity as under threat so believe they no longer have a clear cut role in society due to rise of feminism, this results to ‘laddish’ behaviour amongst boys.
REASONS FOR GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SUBJECT CHOICES
- Home-based/Internal; gender socialisation within the home - boys encouraged to do male roles and females encouraged to do female roles and subjects. - CANALISATION
- Sue Sharpe, feminist - changing aspirations.
- School-based; gender stereotyping in textbooks and teacher attitudes + gendered curriculum all encourage girls to gravitate tom certain subjects and boys to more ‘masculine’ subjects.
^^Sue Sharpe saw that girls compared to 1970s - 1990s nowadays are more assertive and aspire to attain more - defy patriarchal norms and values link to these factors^^
What is meant by an ethnocentric curriculum?
The view that the National Curriculum is biased towards the white Europeans, and neglects the views, perspectives and teachings regarding other cultures.
Eg history focuses British history.
This may lead to the feeling of being socially excluded + thus lead to underachievement in skl.
What is meant by the crisis of masculinity?
The phenomenon were males see their traditional masculine identity as under threat because they believe they no longer have a clear-cut role in society.
This could be due to the rise of feminism, and boys may feel low self esteem in school — SO UNDERACHIEVEMENT , which in turn could lead to under achievement or ‘‘laddish behaviour’’.
