Education Flashcards
1
Q
Parsons view on education
A
It forms a bridge between the family and society by socialising them to develop a meritocratic view of achievement.
Family - particularistic standards
Society - universalisatic standards
Education helps ease the transition
2
Q
Durkheim view on education functions
A
social solidarity
- school transmits society’s shared beliefs and values to give a sense of community
- school is a ‘society in miniature’
specialist skills
- schools teach the skills required for a modern labour industry
3
Q
Davis and Moore view on education
A
- Allocates people to their correct place in society (role allocation) by using exams
- Ensures most talented are in most functionally important jobs in society eg. doctor
- Everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed in society.
- School also teaches pupils about the social stratification of society - those with the highest paying jobs get rewarded more than they should, this encourages meritocracy
4
Q
Evaluation of functionalist view on education
A
- myth of meritocracy - Bowles and Gintis
- fails to recognise the diversity of values and beliefs - the powerful are transmitted through education
outdated
5
Q
Neoliberalism view on education
A
- the state should not provide education
- schools should have a business approach to raise standards - privatisation to encourage competition
- the value of education is based on how well it enables the country to compete in a global marketplace
6
Q
New Right - Chubb and Moe view on education
A
- parents should be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice
- schools would need to compete to attract ‘customers’ by improving their product
- educational standards would go up
7
Q
Gerwitz and Ball - evaluation of new right view on education
A
- competition between schools benefits MC who can use cultural and economic capital to access high achieving schools
8
Q
Althusser view on education
A
Education is an ideological state apparatus - it legitimises and reproduces class inequalities by transmitting capitalist and ruling class values disguised as common beliefs eg. competition
9
Q
Bowles and Gintis view on education
A
correspondence principle
- schools share similarities with workplaces - hierarchies with workers or pupils obeying their superiors, working for extrinsic rewards etc.
- prepares WC pupils for their role as exploited workers
- operates through hidden curriculum
the myth of meritocracy
- everyone doesn’t have an equal opportunity to succeed as the main factor determining financial success is family background, not ability
10
Q
Bordieu view on education
A
- Working class duped into accepting their failure and lack of social mobility
- Education values middle and upper class culture eg. literature, classical music
- Acts as symbolic violence against WC
11
Q
general evaluation of marxist view on education
A
- pays no attention to inequality based on gender or ethnicity
- some subjects require critical thinking eg. sociology
12
Q
Brown evaluation of marxist view of education
A
work requires much more teamwork now than obedience to authority so doesn’t correspond to school
13
Q
Willis study in a school
A
- studied anti-school subculture in group of boys
- saw themselves as superior to teachers and pupils who conformed
- valued WC masculinity eg. manual work
- their rebellion in school still meant they ended up reproducing class inequality by working factory jobs
- hidden curriculum doesn’t always succeed in socialising pupils into ruling class ideology
14
Q
Bernstein - Cultural deprivation
A
Restricted code - used by WC families - predictable, short grammatically incorrect sentences
Elaborate code - MC - grammatically correct, wider vocab, more varied
- gives WC disadvantage as elaborated code is used in textbooks and by teachers
15
Q
Bernstein and Young - cultural deprivation
A
- MC mothers are more likely to buy educational toys, books and activities that encourage reading skills and stimulate intellectual development
- WC homes may lack these resources, leaving them without the skills to achieve highly in school
16
Q
Douglas - Cultural deprivation
A
- WC parents place less value on education, less ambitious, less interest, visit schools less
- attitude to education may be poor
- therefore their children do not value education either
17
Q
Sugarman - cultural deprivation
A
- WC have a different subculture to MC
4 key features: - fatalism - there is nothing you can do to change their situation
- collectivism - place more value on belonging to a group rather than individual success
- immediate gratification - seek pleasure in the moment rather than prioritising rewards in the future
- present-time orientation - the present is more important than the future which can hinder growth
18
Q
Ball - parentocracy
A
- Myth of parentocracy
- makes it appear that all parents have the choice of what school to send their child to
- cultural and material differences make this impossible
19
Q
Keddie evaluation of cultural deprivation
A
CD is a myth - WC children are culturally different not deprived and schools should recognise that and build on the strengths
20
Q
Blackstone and Mortimore evaluation of cultural deprivation
A
WC parents attend less parent meetings and seem less involved because they work longer hours or are put off by MC atmosphere of schools
21
Q
Flaherty - material deprivation
A
nearly 90% failing schools are in deprived areas
money problems are a significant factor in children’s non-attendance
22
Q
Tanner et al - material deprivation
A
- WC families may struggle to afford uniforms, resources or school trips which can lead to social exclusion and impact their participation in education
23
Q
Housing - material deprivation
A
- In WC houses there can be more overcrowding leading to lack of focus on homework
- families constantly moving around can affect achievement due to disrupted education
- Cold, mouldy and damp housing causes ill health and more absences
24
Q
Howard - material deprivation
A
children from poorer areas have a lower intake of energy which can lead to low concentration and weaker immune systems meaning more absences
25
Calendar and Jackson - fear of debt
- nationwide survey of 2000 ppl - WC children were more 'risk averse' and saw more cons than pros to going to uni
- WC 5x less likely to apply to uni
26
Reay - fear of debt
- Wc students more likely to apply to local unis, live at home, save money, look after parents, work part time
- non-Russel group unis
27
Bordieu - cultural capital
- both cultural and material factors contribute to educational achievement
- education favours MC culture and perceives WC as inferior
- MC more likely to have intellectual interests and understanding of the education system
28
Hoggart - cultural capital
- WC interests and leisure - popular music, literature and hobbies are not valued by the education system
-MC norms dominate schools making it harder for WC to succeed
29
Gerwitz - cultural capital
3 types of parent choosers:
- Privileged skilled choosers - middle class parents with an understanding of school admissions
- Semi-skilled choosers - WC parents ambitious for their children but lack cultural capital
- Disconnected-local choosers - WC parents who lack cultural capital
30
Archer - girls and symbolic capital
- status, recognition and sense of worth we obtain from others
- girls performing WC feminine identities (boyfriends, being loud, glamorous) gain symbolic capital from peers
- this conflicts with school and prevents them from achieving highly
31
Evans - WC girls
- studied 21 WC sixth form girls
- 40% girls on FSM got 5 GCSEs
- 67% girls NOT on FSM got 5 GCSEs
- girls wanted to go to university to help their families - part of 'caring' WC feminine identity
- go to local uni - part of WC habitus as they're near family
32
Heaton and Lawson - gendered division of labour
- the hidden curriculum passes on patriarchal values
- traditional family structures in textbooks
- subjects aimed towards specific genders
- genders split during PE
- gender division of labour in school - predominantly female subject teachers and male headteachers
33
Kelly - gendered subject choice
Kelly argues that science is seen as a boys’ subject because:
- Science teachers are more likely to be men.
- The examples used to teach concepts often draw on boys’ rather than girls interests (such as using sports
balls to demonstrate the orbit of the planets).
- In Science lessons, boys monopolise the apparatus and dominate the lessons.
34
McRobbie - impact of feminism on girls' achievement
- studied girls' magazines in 70s - emphasised importance of marriage and not being single
- Feminism changed the traditional stereotype of a woman's role. Images of women as assertive and independent in media - increases girls' ambition and explains improvement in girls' achievement
35
Changes in the family - impact on girls' achievement
- increased divorce rate, lone-parent families, decrease in marriage
- women becoming more financially independent and taking on breadwinner role
36
Sharpe - changing girls ambitions
- interviewed girls in 1970s - low aspirations, educational success is unfeminine, appearing ambitious is unattractive , prioritised marriage over a job
- interviewed girls in 1990s - prioritised a career and supporting themselves rather than being dependent on a husband's income
37
Sewell - explaining black boys underachievement
- 1990s - 57% black Caribbean households are lone-parent, compared to 25% white households
- Causes them to lack discipline from a father and makes them vulnerable to peer pressure
- drawn into gang culture which emphasises a macho form of masculinity to gain respect
- This leads to them rejecting the authority of teachers and not doing school work to not appear effeminate compared to the ease of making money through gang-related crimes
38
Palmer - material deprivation - ethnicity and achievement
- almost 50% EM children live in low income households compared to 25% white children
- EM almost twice as likely to be unemployed
- EM are at greater risk of mat dep because they often live in areas with lower wages, may lack qualifications or language skills recognised by UK employers
- cultural traditions such as Purdah in Islam prevents women working outside the home
39
Leech and Campos - material deprivation
- MC parents can afford to move to the catchment areas of more desirable schools
- gives MC advantage
40
Rex - racism in wider society
- EM more likely to be forced into substandard accommodation than white people of the same class
- This can mean overcrowding, mould and other factors which affect achievement
41
Wood et al - racism in wider society
- sent 3 job applications to 1000 vacancies - 2 used names associated with minority ethnic groups
- only 1 in 16 EM applications were offered an interview compared to 1 in 9 white applicants
42
Gillborn - teacher racism and institutional racism
- teachers had 'radicalised expectations' of black pupils, expecting them to have more disciplinary problems so misinterpreted their behaviour as threatening their authority
- They were then placed in lower sets where they were given less teacher attention
- These expectations also limit EM access to opportunities such as the 'gifted and talented programme' or higher streams as their selection is dependent on teachers
43
Lupton - Asian pupils' over-achievement
Asian households uphold values of respect and authority in the home which are reflected in school - they respect teachers as they do with their parents
44
Becker - labelling
- interviewed 60 Chicago high school teachers
- they judged pupils against an image of the 'ideal pupil'
- work, conduct and appearance were key factors
- middle class closest to ideal
45
Rist - American kindergarten
- teacher used info about children's background to seat them
- The Tigers - MC, neat, clean, near her, more encouragement
- Cardinals and Clowns - further away, low level books, read as a group not individually, WC
46
Gillborn and Youdel - setting
WC and black pupils less likely to be percieved as having ability, placed in lower sets and lower tier GCSEs - denying opportunity for good grades and widening class gap
47
Rosenthal and Jacobson - labelling
- Picked 20% students at a primary school and told teachers they were 'spurters'
- after returning a year later, 47% of these children made significant progress compared to the others
48
Fuller - self-negating prophecy
Studied group of black girls in a London school who were labelled as unintelligent
- they rejected their label and worked hard to prove their teachers and the school wrong
49
Mitos and Browne - girls' achievement
Girls spend more time on coursework and homework
- introduction of national curriculum and GCSEs meant more coursework
50
tripartite system 1944-1970s
- free secondary education
- removed inequalities in access to education from fees that poor families couldn't afford
- selection for one of 3 types of secondary school done by 11+ exam - disadvantaged groups
51
Comprehensivisation 1970s
- single type of secondary school accepting children of all abilities
- eg. academies, free schools, faith schools, community schools
52
compensatory education
- aimed to pick out disadvantaged children in education because of social class background by providing extra help and treatment to help compete more equally
- eg. pupil premium, education action zones
- however, education cannot compensate society - Bernstein
53
how do schools select middle class after School Admissions Code that banned such selection?
- persuade parents from WC backgrounds that school wouldn't suit children
- expensive uniforms
- school literature hard to understand for parents with poor literacy
- complex admissions
- not promoting school in poorer areas
54
how has neoliberalism influenced education policy?
- they believe the state should play minimal role in public services such as education and they should operate as businesses in private market
55
how has globalisation influenced education policy?
- policies increasingly formed in global context using PISA tests as evidence
- changes to national curriculum
- EBacc (GCSE choices)
- equip children with the skills to compete in a global market
56
evaluation of privatisation
+ efficient schools - raises standards to attract pupils
+ more parental choice
- money drained from education into private profit
- more inequalities by avoiding disadvantaged pupils who might threaten league tables
57
marketisation of education
- 1988 Education Reform Act
- independence - schools running own affairs and act like businesses
- competition - compete for pupils
- choice - parentocracy - given choice of school rather than decisions from council
- Ofsted inspections
- National curriculum
- League tables
58
conservative government 1979-1997
- marketisation policy
- management of schools by governors and teachers not local authority
- formula funding
- open enrolment - had to accept pupils until full
- national curriculum
- Ofsted
- league tables
59
labour government policies 1997-2010
- more money for schools
- Education Action Zones in disadvantaged areas
- Education maintenance allowances
- specialist schools (all secondary schools encouraged)
60
Conservative - lib dem coalition policies 2010-2015
- more academies
- free schools
- pupil premium
- EBacc
- national curriculum reform
- GCSE, AS, A level reform
- higher performance targets for schools
61
evaluation of marketisation
- Ball - Myth of parentocracy - middle class gain most from parent choice - higher income, cultural capital, covert selection from high performing schools discourages disadvantaged backgrounds
- Gillborn and Youdell - educational triage - schools try to maintain league table position by concentrating attention on most likely to succeed (MC) and not the disadvantaged
- does not help weakest schools improve, as they lose money and lack resources to turn school around
- less control over planning, quality and supply of schools, little regulation for covert admissions
62
Bartlett - evaluation of marketisation
- high achieving schools have the ability to cream-skim and silt-shift their potential pupils
- this helps maintain their league table positions by allowing them to choose the most high-achieving pupils
