Education- Functionalism Flashcards
What does Durkheim identify as the two main functions of education?
-Social solidarity
-Teaching of specialist skills
What is meant by social solidarity?
-Individuals need to be part of a community
-Without social solidarity, social life and cooperation would be impossible as everybody would pursue their selfish desires
How does the education system create social solidarity?
-Society culture (shared beliefs and values) are transmitted from one generation to the next
Give an example of the education passing on society’s culture
-Teaching the country history instils a sense of shared heritage and commitment to a wider social group
How does the school act as a society in miniature?
-It prepares us for life in wider society
-We have to cooperate with people who are not our family or friends
-We have to interact with others according to a set of impersonal rules that apply to everyone
How does Durkheim argue that specialist skills are important in education?
-Individuals are taught specialist knowledge and skills they need to play their part in the social division of labour
-Division of labour involves cooperation which promotes social solidarity
What does Parsons argue is the main function of education?
Meritocracy
What does Parsons argue about universalistic and particularistic standards? (secondary socialisation)
-That, while the family judges a child on particularistic standards (rules only apply to a particular child), school and wider society, judge us by universalistic standards
-This means that all the rules and laws in society apply to everyone, similarly, each student in school is judged against the same standards, for example, all sitting the same exam and the passing mark is the same for everyone
What does Parsons argue about a person’s status?
-In both school and wider society status is usually achieved not ascribed
-In work, you can work your way up the ranks and in school you can pass or fail a class through our efforts
What is meritocracy and how does it prepare us for wider society?
-Meritocracy- everyone is given equal opportunity and individuals achieve rewards through their efforts and ability
-School prepares us to move into wider society from the family as they are based on meritocratic principles
What do Davis and Moore argue about role allocation?
How does the human capital link to this?
-Inequality is necessary to ensure that the most talented people fill the most important roles in society
-Not everyone is talented so it encourages competition so society can select the most talented
-Education is also a competition as the people who gain the highest qualification have the most highly rewarded positions
-Schlutz argues high levels of spending on educational training are justified as they are important for a successful economy as they develop peoples skills
How can you evaluate Durkheims claims?
-The education system does not teach specialist skills adequately enough
-The Wolf review of vocational education claims that high-quality apprenticeships are not common and 1/3 of 16-19 year-olds are on courses which do not lead to higher education. good jobs
-Although education can be diverse because of a hierarchy of schools and unis which separate social classes
How can you evaluate Parsons’s meritocracy?
-Enough evidence to show that equal opportunity does not exist as it is influenced by external and internal factors such as class differences and labelling
-Hargreaves believes education promotes competition and individualism rather than shared values
Why do Marxists disagree with the functionalist view?
Education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of the minority, the ruling class
How do interactionalists (such as Wrong) argue against functionalists?
-They have an over-socialised view of society and that people are puppets in society
-Pupils may not accept what they are taught and accept the school values
