Education - not done Flashcards
Who are the key studies of the education topic?
- Dukheim (functionalist) - unified society?
- ## Parsons (functionalist) -
What do functionalists say is the economic role of education?
Schools and colleges serve the economy by teaching young people the skills and knowledge that they, as future workers, will need in a competitive global economy.
What do functionalists say is the selective role of education?
- The education system filters students according to their abilities and allocates them to jobs based on their abilities and achievements.
- This is known as role allocation.
- Those with high qualifications are the most able and thus rewarded with greater societal pay and status.
- Education is a meritocratic system and provides equal opportunities.
- Social mobility is possible, as disadvantaged students can achieve qualifications and reach a higher social class.
What do Marxists say is the economic role of education?
Education reinforces the class structure:
- working-class children learn skills necessary for lower-status jobs,
- while middle-class children gain the qualifications needed for higher-status jobs.
What do Marxists say is the selective role of education?
- The education system benefits the ruling classes (the bourgeoisie).
- Both teachers and schools reject working-class children who then go on to underperform.
- The education system is not meritocratic, as it doesn’t offer equal opportunities to all groups in society but rather reinforces existing inequalities.
- Social mobility is not possible within a capitalist society.
What do Functionalists and Marxists say about education as an agency of socialisation?
Functionalists:
School is an agent of secondary socialisation through which young people learn a common culture, beliefs and expectations.
Marxists:
Education socialises individuals into accepting the values that benefit the ruling class. E.g. the emphasis on hard work in school prepares future workers to accept hard work as normal in the workplace, as capitalist society is fair and meritocratic.
What do Functionalists and Marxists say about the political role of education?
Functionalists:
By teaching students British cultural norms and values, education promotes social cohesion and helps students identify as British citizens. Students learn to accept the political system and, as adults, can vote wisely during elections.
Marxists:
Only specific political beliefs and viewpoints are accepted in schools. The rejection of radical ideas leads to the acceptance of powerful groups.
What do Functionalists and Marxists say about the social control from education?
Functionalists:
Schools serve as an agency of social control by instilling values like obedience and punctuality, preparing students for compliance with authority figures and rules in adulthood.
Marxists:
Social control in schools and colleges reflects social control in wider society, which benefits those at the top of the hierarchy. For example, obeying a headteacher in school is seen as preparation for obeying a boss at work.
What is the formal curriculum?
- Formal learning of timetabled subjects that are taught in lessons
- The official curriculum is overt and transparent
- The government determines what subject content is taught in state schools
- e.g.direct learning of particular knowledge and skills + the inclusion of core subjects such as maths, English and science
What is the hidden curriculum?
- Informal learning that takes place outside of lessons through interactions between students and teachers in school
- The hidden curriculum is learned without explicit teaching
Examples include:
- learning rules, routines and regulations
- wearing a uniform
- respect for other students’ opinions
- having a strong work ethic
- teaching skills such as punctuality and obedience
What do functionalists believe about the hidden curriculum?
Functionalists view the hidden curriculum as positive as it reflects society’s values and helps students get ready for their place in society and their future careers
What do Marxists believe about the hidden curriculum?
Marxists like Bowles & Gintis disagree with functionalists, as they think this only benefits the ruling class and capitalism
What are 5 aspects of the hidden curriculum?
- Hierarchy
- Competition
- Social control
- Gender role allocation
- Lack of satisfaction
What is hierachy in schools?
Schools are hierarchical institutions with the headteacher at the top of the pyramid and students at the bottom. This reflects the hierarchical structure of society.
What is competition in schools?
Schools prepare students for their place in a competitive society as they encourage competition between students, which reflects competition in society for jobs, material things and status.
What is social control in schools?
During their time in school, students learn to respect authority figures, obey rules, and comply with regulations to accept society’s social controls.
What is gender role allocation in schools?
Gender role allocation in society is linked to expectations, subject choice and gender at school. Teachers may expect girls to perform poorly in STEM subjects, which may discourage girls from entering STEM careers.
What is lack of satisfaction in schools?
Some suggest that the school day consists of mundane and meaningless tasks leading to a sense of powerlessness, which prepares students for mundane jobs in adulthood over which they exert little control.
Generally, what do functionalists believe about the education system?
Functionalists see the education system as performing a number of key roles which are positive and of benefit to society as a whole
What perspective is Durkheim?
Functionalist
What are Durkheim’s key ideas on education?
- Functionalist Emile Durkheim (1973) argues that the education system is vital in creating a unified society
- He argues about 3 ideas: social solidarity, teaching rules + skills for work
What does Durkheim say about social solidarity?
- The main function of education is the secondary socialisation of children into society’s norms and values to ensure members are united together
- The education system performs this role by instilling social solidarity where the individual sees themselves as part of something larger than themselves
- Durkheim argued that subjects like history instil shared norms and values due to a shared past and a commitment to wider society
What does Durkheim say about teaching rules?
- Schools prepare us for wider society where children learn to cooperate with those who are neither their kin nor friends
- Everyone must follow a set of impersonal rules when interacting with others at work and in school
- Through the hidden curriculum, children learn to respect rules in general
- In Durkheim’s view, rules should be strictly enforced for children to learn self-discipline and to see that misbehaviour damages society as a whole
What does Durkheim say about skills for work?
- In a complex industrial society, the production of a single item requires the cooperation of many individuals, each must have the necessary specialist knowledge and skills
- Formal and informal education equips children with the knowledge and skills they will need for their future careers
- This is reflected in the recent changes to the curriculum, for example, the introduction of T Levels, which are 2-year courses that follow GCSEs
- T Levels have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of the industry and prepares students for work
- Some examples include accounting and design, surveying and planning for construction
What are criticisms of Durkheim’s view of education?
- Durkheim assumes there is a shared culture that is transmitted through education and the hidden curriculum but in a multicultural society, there may not be one single culture to be transmitted
- He assumes that students passively accept the values of society that are being taught but some students accept neither school rules nor society’s norms and values
- The education system may not adequately teach skills that are useful in the workplace
- Wolf (2011) claims that high-quality apprenticeships are rare and up to a third of 16- to 19-year-olds are on courses that do not lead to good jobs
Other sociologists argue that the culture being transmitted through the education system does not benefit society as a whole as:
- it benefits the ruling class, according to Marxists
- it is patriarchal, according to feminists
What perspective is Parsons?
Functionalist
What are Parsons key ideas on education?
- Functionalist ideas of the role of education were expanded upon by functionalist Talcott Parsons (1961)
- The education system is the main agency of socialisation, as it is the bridge between the family and society and prepares children for their adult roles
- He argues about: universalistic values, value consensus, and role allocation + meritocracy
What does Parsons say about universalistic values?
- Children have an ascribed status in families (such as eldest, good or bad) and are judged according to particularistic standards
- In society, status is achieved based on personal talent or merit and people are judged according to the same universalistic standards that apply to everyone
- Parsons believes that the education system prepares children for wider society by treating everyone according to the same universalistic standards
What does Parsons say about value consensus?
As an agency of socialisation, schools promote two key values:
The importance of achievement
- Students are encouraged to value high achievement and reward. They are urged to reach their full potential, which eventually helps society as a whole
Equality of opportunity
- The idea that they are competing against one another on an equal footing is promoted to the students. As a result, higher achievers are seen as worthy of their success, while lower achievers accept their inferior status as just
What does Parsons say about role allocation + meritocracy?
- The education system is effective at allocating people to future work roles based on their talents and abilities
- Parsons believed that the educational system was meritocratic because universalistic standards are applied equally and individual status is decided by merit rather than social class, gender, or ethnicity
What are overall criticisms of Parsons view of education?
- Critics of role allocation and meritocracy argue that equality of opportunity is an illusion in an unequal society where wealth and privilege are more important than individual merit
- Those with the best qualifications don’t always get the top jobs in society and many financially successful individuals left school with very few qualifications
- Social class differences in education show that achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability
What are Marxist criticisms of Parsons view of education?
- Marxists argue that the values transmitted via the education system do not benefit society as a whole but instead benefit the ruling class
- The education system can be seen as a form of social control that serves the needs of a capitalist society
What are Feminist criticisms of Parsons view of education?
Feminists have questioned the idea that the educational system is meritocratic but rather perpetuates patriarchy as:
- gender stereotypes exist, particularly in subject choice, textbooks and the curriculum
- the system does not guarantee equal opportunities
- the majority of secondary school headteachers are male
What are criticisms of the functionalist perspective of education?
- Critics argue that functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the school values
- Willis’ research on counter-school subcultures supports this
- Critics argue that the family, peer groups, the media, and religious institutions are some of the other agencies of socialisation that have a greater impact on teaching children norms and values than education.
- Illich (1995) is critical of the education system as it encourages passive conformity so there should be alternatives to schools in teaching the norms and values of a society
What are Marxist views of education?
- Unlike functionalists, Marxists take a critical view of the role of education in society
- Functionalists see society and education as based on value consensus, whereas Marxists see it as based on class division and capitalist exploitation because ruling-class values (such as competition) are taught rather than shared values
Marxists believe that the education system:
- ensures that working-class students are less likely to achieve good qualifications compared to students from dominant groups
- reproduces the existing social class structure
- prepares working-class students for their lower position in a capitalist society, where they learn to accept hierarchy and obey rules
What perspective are Bowles and Gintis?
Marxists
What are Bowles and Gintis’ ideas on education?
- American Marxists Bowles and Gintis (1976) carried out primary research on 237 New York high school students using education surveys
- They also used secondary sources by drawing upon existing sociological and economic theories
They found that:
- schools rewarded students with characteristics such as being hard-working, disciplined, obedient and unquestioning of authority
- students demonstrating greater independence and creative thinking were more likely to gain lower grades
- schools were producing an unimaginative and unquestioning workforce susceptible to alienation and exploitation
.
- They concluded that the key role of the education system was to create and reproduce an obedience workforce that capitalism needs and this is reflected in how schooling is structured and the hidden curriculum
What is the correspondence principle?
Bowles and Gintis used the term correspondence principle to describe the way education and the workplace mirror or correspond with one another
How is hierarchy mirrored through the correspondence principle?
In the education system’s hidden curriculum:
A rigid hierarchy of authority exists among teachers (headteacher, deputy and classroom teacher) and between teachers and students who obey orders.
In the workplace:
There is a rigid hierarchy where a CEO is at the top and different levels of managers below who make decisions and give orders. Workers are at the bottom of the hierarchy.
How is competition and division mirrored through the correspondence principle?
In the education system’s hidden curriculum:
Schools breed competition and division among students through tests, exams, grades, sports, and head student positions. Students learn to accept such values, which prepare them for the workplace.
In the workplace:
There is competition and division in the workplace for promotions, higher pay and differences in status. Competition helps to maintain capitalism.
How is specification and separation mirrored through the correspondence principle?
In the education system’s hidden curriculum:
The curriculum is fragmented into different subjects, and knowledge is broken down into isolated chunks, which may not relate to one another.
In the workplace:
Jobs are very specific and broken down into separate tasks. Employees do their tasks with very little knowledge of what the overall process involves in creating products.
How are boring tasks mirrored through the correspondence principle?
In the education system’s hidden curriculum:
The school day consists of mundane and boring tasks over which students have little power, causing alienation.
In the workplace:
Certain jobs consist of tedious and unfulfilling tasks over which adults exert little control, causing alienation.
How is motivation through rewards mirrored through the correspondence principle?
In the education system’s hidden curriculum:
Students learn to be motivated by external rewards, such as exam results, rather than gaining intrinsic satisfaction from what they are learning.
In the workplace:
Work may not be intrinsically satisfying, so motivation stems from the external rewards of pay and bonuses.
What do Bowles and Gintis believe about meritocracy?
Unlike functionalists, Bowles and Gintis do not believe the education system is meritocratic
- We are led to believe that it treats people fairly and equally so that people don’t question the system
- Universalistic standards are not applied equally and individual status is decided by social class, not intelligence or educational achievement
- The education system disguises the fact that social class is the main factor affecting someone’s income and causes us to believe that those with the highest incomes are deserving of their position
What are criticisms of Bowles and Gintis?
- They assume that students have no free will and passively accept the values taught via the hidden curriculum, but many students reject the values of the school and resist authority figures
- Bowles & Gintis’ research may only apply to the 1970s, as today modern businesses require creative, independent workers capable of taking on responsibility and developing new ideas rather than passive, docile workers
- Many teaching methods encourage creativity rather than rote learning, thus preparing young people for success in a modern economy, although critics argue that it continues to correspond with the workplaces of a different era and no longer prepares people for the modern workplace
- Willis argues that, unlike Bowles and Gintis, education is not a particularly successful agency of socialisation, and it can have unintended consequences that may not be beneficial to capitalism
- Feminists argue that Bowles and Gintis ignore the fact that schools reproduce not only capitalism but patriarchy too
What is Pre-school or early years education?
Primary school reception classes, playgroups, or day nurseries can all offer care and education for children under 5 years. The state may pay for this care, or parents may choose to cover the cost.
What is Primary education?
Infant and junior schools that are mixed-sex or co-educational take children aged 5–11 years. Most primary education is provided by the state, but some schools are private, and fees must be paid.
What is Secondary education?
Schools that are either mixed-sex or single-sex that take children aged 11-16 years. Some have sixth forms attached and educate children up to age 18 years. Most secondary education is provided by the state in comprehensive schools, but some are private fee-paying schools. Students can also attend grammar, free or faith schools.
What is Further education (FE)?
FE mainly caters for young people aged 16 years and above, where students can study for a range of qualifications offered by sixth forms and FE colleges. Students can take A-Levels, BTECs or skills training courses and apprenticeships.
What is Further Education (HE)?
These include universities that provide higher-level academic and vocational courses, such as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
What do young people have to decide to do once they sit their GCSEs at age 16?
either:
- stay in full-time education by going to sixth-form or an FE college
- take up an apprenticeship or traineeship offered by an employer
- seek paid employment with training
What age did the government change the age of participation in education to?
- In 2015, the Government raised the age of participation in education or training to 18 years to ensure Britain remained competitive in a global economy by having a well-trained and educated workforce
- As a result, competition has increased in FE and HE as they are set targets to achieve, such as exam performance so that the quality of education improves within the education sector
What are state schools like?
- All children in England between the ages of 5 and 15 years are entitled to a free place at a state school
- State schools are not based on parents’ ability to pay fees, as these schools receive funding through their local authority or directly from the government
- Students don’t have to travel far to attend state school, whereas students going to private school may have to travel some distance or live away from home in a boarding school
- Because state schools accept students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, their intake is more diverse than that of independent schools
- For students from low-income families, state schools might offer a path to upward social mobility
- State schools are required to follow the National Curriculum
What does the independent sector mean?
The independent sector refers to schools that charge fees, which include:
- private schools
- public schools, which are the older and more famous independent schools such as Eton and Harrow
What are independent schools like?
- Schools that charge fees
- Around 7% of all students attend independent schools
- Private schools are not required to follow the National Curriculum
- Class sizes are smaller than in state schools so students receive more attention and personalised support from teachers
- Resources and facilities are often better than in some state schools (such as Olympic-standard sports halls, theatres for performing arts, IT suites with 3D printers and lots of outdoor space)
- Because academic success is valued and exam results are typically higher than the national average, students are generally very motivated, and many continue their education at a university
What are advantages and disadvantages of the independent sector?
- Some critics argue that it is not morally right to have a private education system which only the rich can afford, as this reinforces inequalities in society
- To guarantee that everyone has access to the same levels and quality of education, the state should provide proper funding for education
- Alternatively, it could be argued that people should be able to spend their money however they choose
- In a free society, the option to send children to an independent school should be available to parents who can afford it
What is the tripartite system?
- The 1944 Education Act set up the tripartite system, which aimed to provide children with a free state education based on their abilities
- Children would be educated according to their academic ability rather than their parents’ financial means under a meritocratic system
- Students were assigned to one of three schools according to their performance on the 11-plus exam
What are the 3 different types of schools from the tripartite system?
Students were assigned to one of three schools according to their performance on the 11-plus exam:
- Secondary modern - which provided general education for less academic children (around 75% of students)
- Secondary technical - which provided practical education, such as crafts and skills for around 5% of all students
- Grammar - which provided academic education for more academic children (around 20% of all students)
What is the comprehensive system?
- A ‘comprehensive’ school was created in 1965 when the Labour government requested that Local Education Authorities (LEAs) restructure secondary education so that all students attended the same kind of institution
- This type of school still exists today, although some LEAs still have grammar schools that require students to take an entrance exam
What are advantages of the comprehensive system?
- Social barriers are broken down when children of different abilities and social classes attend the same school and socialise with one another
- As a non-selective school, comprehensives are designed to cater for children of all abilities, so no child is labelled as a ‘failure’
- As there are no entrance exams, this is a fairer system, particularly for late developers
- They are usually large, so more subject options and facilities are available
- Each school has a specific catchment area, which means that local schools enrol local children
What are disadvantages of the comprehensive system?
- Parental choice is limited, as students are expected to go to the nearest school in the area, regardless of the academic performance of the school
- More able students are held back by the less able, particularly in mixed-ability classes
- Academic working-class children will achieve more at a grammar school than at a comprehensive, as standards are higher due to middle-class values and attitudes
- Comprehensive schools do not break down social class barriers as their intake is from the local neighbourhood, e.g. inner-city schools consist of mainly working-class students
- They are not fully comprehensive because of setting or streaming in particular subjects according to ability, which reflects social class differences
What is vocational education & training?
- Vocational education refers to work-related qualifications and training for students aged 14–18 years
- This is due to evolving economic demands and technological change
- The growth of vocational education and training demonstrates the significance of functionalist beliefs that the educational system must supply the skills and expertise required by business and the economy in the contemporary world
What do vocational qualifications include?
NVQs ranging from Level 1-7 in subjects such as :
- childcare
- health and beauty
- teaching and childcare
- construction and property
- business and management
Applied A levels and Diplomas such as:
- health and social care
- engineering
T Levels, which are 2-year courses that follow GCSEs such as:
- accounting
- finance
- legal services
- marketing
Apprenticeships that combine employment with training and study
What are advantages and disadvantages of vocational education?
- The focus on vocational education and training will result in a workforce that is more qualified and highly skilled, making Britain more competitive
- Vocational qualifications, however, are seen as being comparable to the tripartite system, in which students who do not succeed academically are relegated to lower-status vocational training
- According to Marxists, vocational education is seen as having less prestige than academic degrees and is intended to prepare working-class children to be exploited as workers in a capitalist system
- Additionally, skills training masks the fact that young people with skills have no jobs, as vocational education reduces the number of young people who are NEET
What is homeschooling?
- Not all children participate in mainstream formal education
- One alternative is home schooling or home learning, which involves teaching children at home rather than in a state or independent school
- Home education provides a different learning environment for students who receive their education from parents, sometimes with the help of tutors
- The number of students being home schooled in England has increased from 116,000 in 2021-22 to 126,000 in 2022-23 (Department for Education, 2024)
What are reasons for home schooling?
- Parents may feel that the methods of teaching in school are not right for their child and that they can provide a better education for them at home
- Parents may choose to have their child educated at home because their child is unhappy within a school environment due to bullying or mental health problems (such as anxiety)
- There may be religious reasons so being home educated means there is no set curriculum about how children are taught or what they are taught
- Parents may struggle to get a place for their child in a school of their choice to meet their child’s special needs
What are issues with home schooling?
- There are concerns over the quality of home tuition and its impact on children’s social development
- There is also no regulation in place for home education, as councils don’t monitor children who have been deregistered from school so they cannot offer extra support at home
What is De-schooling?
- According to Illich (1995), schools suppress children and encourage passive conformity instead of helping them grow into creative individuals capable of independent thought
- Illich is in favour of de-schooling, in which the education system should be abolished with students instead participating in self-directed education via learning networks, which would encourage creativity and real learning
A school that has this ethos is Sands School in Devon, one of a few progressive alternatives to conventional education
- Sands School is a democratic school where students and staff run the school together and there is no headteacher
- At Sands, students have freedom of choice as there are no compulsory classes; students are free to learn the subjects that matter to them
What is the National Curriculum?
- The Conservative government’s 1988 Education Act brought about changes that remain essential to the current educational system
- All students aged 5 to 16 years were required to study several core subjects (English, maths and sciences) as part of the National Curriculum, which was implemented in September 1989
- At the end of the key stages, national tests in the core subjects, such as SATs and GCSE exams, were introduced
What are the aims of the National Curriculum?
- To measure students’ performance against national targets so that parents and schools are aware of whether a child is performing above or below the expected level for their age
- To improve the performance of children who are below the expected level and that of schools whose students fall below national targets
- To make it easier for parents to compare and choose between schools, helped by the introduction of school league tables
- To provide greater quality of education by ensuring both boys and girls take the same compulsory subjects to GCSE level, such as science, maths and English
What is the Marketisation in education?
- The 1988 Education Act gave more power to parents to choose which school to send their children to, which is linked to the idea of marketisation
- Schools started running like businesses to raise standards as schools compete with one another for students
- However, Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) argue that marketisation has reinforced the advantages of middle-class parents and has led to social class inequality in education
What are features of marketisation in education?
- school promotion
- league tables
- types of schools
- finances
- parentocracy
What is school promotion and how does it add to the marketisation of education?
Schools promote themselves to attract students by:
- publishing information on their website, such as public examination performance and Ofsted grading
- constructing a prospectus displaying facilities and courses available at the school
- having a presence on social media and holding open days to showcase what they offer and to provide insight into the inner workings of the school
What are school league tables and how does it add to the marketisation of education?
- School league tables are statistical data that compare the examination performance of schools against each other
- The Department for Education publishes them every year, displaying exam and National Curriculum test results
- They allow parents to compare the performance between schools, helping them decide which school to send their child to
How do types of schools add to the marketisation of education?
- There is a wider range of types of schools for parents to choose from, such as free schools, faith schools, and academies
- Parents can consider sending their child to a school outside of their local area
How do finances add to the marketisation of education?
- Schools are funded based on the number of students they attract
- Popular schools receive more funding, have better facilities and therefore attract better teachers
- Businesses can sponsor schools by providing extra funding and work experience opportunities
How does parentocracy add to the marketisation of education?
As parents become consumers of education, they have greater power, such as choosing a school, asking questions at open days, providing feedback and challenging school policies
What is an overall evaluation of the marketisation of education?
- For the past 30 years, the education policies of the Conservative government have improved GCSE results, and no succeeding government has changed the Act’s core principles. suggesting that it is successful
- However, schools increasingly ‘teach to the test’ to look favourably in league tables, which may stifle children’s ability to think critically and laterally
- Focusing on exam results and league table position causes stress for pupils as they are pressured to perform well in their SATs and GCSEs
