Education Flashcards
Colin Lacey
Lacey was an interactionist
Found that teachers immediately differentiate their students into two groups;the high achieving and the low achieving
Lacey argues that this process results in the polarisation of the two groups and once labelled the students grades began to reflect the teachers attitude towards them
Lacey said this causes the development of pro-school and anti-school subcultures
Labelling theory has only been researched using small samples in a small range of school
Alice Sullivan
Tested bourdieu cultural capital theory by administering 465 questionnaires to pupils nearing the school leaving age
She recorded their parents social class based on occupation and looked at the types of books and TV they consumed
She concluded that students were more successful if they read complex fiction, watched arts, science and current affairs documentaries
There is evidence that watching political affairs improves attainment and provides evidence for bourdieu theory
Davis and Moore
Davis and Moore are functionalists
Argues that education is a device for selection and role allocation
He says that inequality is needed to ensure that the most important jobs are filled by the most talented and skilled people
Individuals can use the education system as a proving ground to show society what they are capable of which allows society to allocate them to the correct occupation
One Criticism of Davis and Moore is that they assume education is a total meritocracy however school does not provide equal opportunities for all students due to material and cultural deprivation
Durkheim
Durkheim is a functionalist
He argues that society needs a sense of solidarity and individuals must feel part of one unified body
Without social solidarity, cooperation would be impossible as each individual would only pursue their own selfish desires
The education system helps to create a sense of social solidarity by transmitting shared values such as a collective heritage through history and a collective language through English so members of society can communicate efficiently
This theory can be considered outdated as today culture is so diverse that it would be impossible to teach unified values for example RE can no longer teach a sense of shared religion as their are many different religious beliefs residing in modern society
Althusser
Althusser was a Neo-Marxist
He argued that due to the middle class controlling all aspects of society including the government and education, all educational policy reflects capitalist values and therefore all students are ideologically controlled
He argued that the educational system is an ideological state apparatus which makes students accept two vital notions which are essential to maintaining capitalist control
The first notion is that it’s important to follow the rules of superiors
The second is the myth of meritocracy; success and failure is a fair reflection of talent and effort which makes students of the working class take responsibility for inequality and not society
These two notions create a passive and obedient workforce who will comply with capitalism and not start a revolution
It could be argued that Althusser is a Conspiracy theory as it assumes that teachers are purposefully indoctrinating students into being a passive and obedient workforce when many have backgrounds in sociology and if this was true than why are we allowed to learn about it at college
Bourdieu
Used the term cultural capital to explain why the middle class is more successful in education
Cultural capital- the attitudes, values and language of the middle class that gives them an educational advantage of the working class
He argues that the middle class holds the cultural capital necessary to succeed in education and that the education system transmits middle class values
Bourdieu assumes Clear cut class difference which may not exsist today
Most Marxists criticised Bourdieu for steering away the focus on economic and structural inequalities of capitalism
Parsons
Parsons was a functionalist
Argues that the family is the primary socialising agency rather than education
He therefore says that education acts as a bridge betweeen family and wider society which is needed as the family and society operate on different principles (in the family a persons status is ascribed where in society, status is achieved)
School prepares us for life in the wider society as both school and society work on a meritocracy which is needed to allow for social mobility and justifying social inequality
Parsons theory does not take into account the existence of NEETS
Becker
Becker is an interactionist who believed that labelling is the main cause of under-achievement
Argues that the “ideal” pupil is one who conforms to middle class standards of behaviour and teachers perceive working class behaviour as evidence of indiscipline
Becker notes these behaviours become internalised resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy
Cannot explain why some individuals reject their labels
Thatcher and baker
Thatcher and baker were part of the new right movement
They wanted equal opportunities for all through the tripartite system and comp schools
They argued that in order to provide equal opportunities they must raise educational standards across the country and did so by generating competition through OFSTED and publication of results
It could be argued that the national curriculum is ethnocentric and too restrictive on schools therefore not providing equal opportunities
Kelly
Kelly was a feminist
Focused on a particular part of the patriarchal curriculum. She notes that their is particular genders language in textbooks and teaching
She concluded that women are invisible in science textbooks and dependent on men in children’s textbooks
She also concluded that teachers I still patrichal values when talking to the class by using masculine pronouns such a “guys”
One good thing about this theory is that it has made significant contributions to the education of females and girls are now encouraged to take STEM subjects
Buchanan and tullock
Buchanan and tullock were part of the new right
The proposed the public choice theory
The public choice theory states the bureaucracy and democracy are likely to provide inefficient services because the producers dominate the decision making and not the costumers
They saw the education system as a state monopoly where consumers cannot freely choose which school to send their child to
They argue that giving the public a choice in which school to send their child too will generate competition between schools raising education standards and putting the decision making in the hands of the parents
One Criticism of this theory is that competition may benefit the middle classes but the poorest students may not be able to travel and become limited to a centralised number of undersubscribed and failing schools
Sugarman
Believed in cultural deprivation
Argued that the working class and middle class families had different values of gratification
He argued that instant gratification was valued by the working class over deferred gratification as the working class culture involved in seeking pleasure now rather than sacrificing it for later
Middle classes prefer deferred gratification in order to be rewarded in the future due to the types of careers middle class parents hold which typically have more structure and involve long term planning and project work
Sugarman assumes that most WC people share collective values but cannot explain why some WC pupils achieve higher especially when one sibling succeeds more than the other from the same household
Diane Reay
Looks at issues of attainment for a level and university students.
She notes how WC students are less likely to go to university. She argues that this is due to a lack of finances
If WC students do go to university they are more likely to go to local universities to reduce travel and living costs and usually work during the degrees in order to substitute their loans
She concluded that this often means that working class students fail to go to the most prestigious universities due to financial pressures
Student loans are designed to give extra to those with parents that cannot afford to support them although arguably it still does not reach the cost of living
Sylvia Walby
Walby is a feminist
Argues that social inequality of class and ethnicity implicate what it means to be a women in modern society
We have to combine patriarchal, capitalist and racism to understand how girls are affected by the education system
An evaluation of Walby is that now she focuses on criminal justice which indicates that her theory is now outdated
Ball et al
Showed how middle class parents are able to use their cultural capital to play the system
They ensured they made a good impression with head teachers on open days to make sure their child got into their first choice of school
