education perspectives - functionalism Flashcards
Briefly what are functionalists perspectives on education
Focus on positive functions of education
What are the four positive functions that education performs according to functionalists
creating social solidarity
teaching skills necessary for work
teaching core values
role allocation and meritocracy
How does education create social solidarity according to functionalists
part of something bigger - Durkheim
done through learning subjects such as history and English which give us a shared sense of identity
Durkheim - ‘ school is a society in miniature’
prepares us for life in wider society
example - in school and at work we have to co operate with people who are neither friends or family which gets us ready for dealing with people at work in later life
How does education teach us to learn specialist skills for work
functionalists
at school individuals learn a set of diverse skills necessary to fit the complex division of labour
example - all start of with learning the same subjects then pick certain ones we specialise in for GCSE and onwards
vocational education teaches specific skills required for certain jobs such as engineering
Durkheim believed schools taught and encourage a wide set of skills to students to fir the modern economic system
How does education teach pupils core values according to functionalists
Parsons - schools is a ‘focal socialising agency’
central role in secondary socialisation
parsons said this was necessary as the family and wider society work in different principles and children need to adapt to fit and function in wide society
in family children are judged with particularistic views - standards by their parents which only applies to them as an individual child. Parents often adapt rules to suit the child’s unique abilities
schools and in wider society individuals are judged based on universalistic standards meaning they are judged by the same exams and same laws as everyone else. Schools set them up for this
How does education enable role allocation
functionalist
education allocates people to the most appropriate job for their talents and qualifications
ensures that the most talented are allocated to the occupations most important in society
How does education enable meritocracy
functionalist
Role allocation is seen to be fair as there is equality of opportunity
meaning everyone has a chance of success and it is the most able who will succeed through their own efforts
functionalists believe that meritocracy is extremely important for peace in society as people will only accept status and wage differences
meaning those in lower status jobs believe that they have a fair chance in climbing the ladder and getting a higher status and getting a better paid job
What are the positive evaluations of the functionalist view on education
education is more ‘work focused’ - increasing the amounts of vocational courses example- post 16 education shows a lot of diverse courses being offered
link between education and economic growth good education system benefits wider society
criticisms of the functionalist view of education
marxists argue the education system is not meritocratic because :
wealthier students from higher sociology-economic backgrounds are still shown to get better results than poorer students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
evident even in 2022
marxists would also argue that the functionalist view of education is ideological
this is because it focuses on only the positive functions of education and ignores all negatives
functionalist perspective developed in late 19th century during modernity
shift to postmodernity society has changed and the school system has also adapted with it
example- schools today focus more on developing the individual rather than responsibilities that individuals should adopt towards society
meaning education now is more about the individual and less about solidarity
ignores negative sides of school such as bullying and some who it doesnt work for and get permanently excluded
contemporary evidence to evaluate functionalism
ebacc
shift to the Ebacc
government plans to make 90% of pupils sit GCSEs from the Ebacc suite of subjects by 2025 resulting in more of a similar experience of education for 14-16 year olds
contains a more narrow range of subjects
this move away from allowing students to have more choice in what they an study could lead to more of shared collective conscience and therefore solidarity and value consensus
pointed out that this will result in more students from deprived backgrounds studying subjects not on the approved ebacc list because such students will most likely take 7 not 9 GCSE
meaning poorer students being excluded from creative subjects and pe whilst richer more able students do the seven ebacc subjects plus 2 or 3 others of their choice
more likely that affluent students will get better results in their ebacc and have more rounded results whilst poorer students will only end up with weaker results
net effect of making students sit a narrower range of subjects is an increase in the inequality of outcomes along class lines which goes against meritocracy as it reproduces class inequality
contemporary evidence to evaluate functionalism
problem with prevent and british values
problem with prevent and british values
requirement to teach british values in schools started in 2015
emegred out of the prevent agenda
required schools to intervene when they suspected (mainly Muslim) children were being radicalised and drawn into terrorism
government defines british values as democracy etc and the theory behind getting students to understand this means to create a new tolerant and respectful national identity based on these values and help prevent radicalisation and terrorism
OFSTED - british values embedded into the curriculum and taught through subjects such as english and history where students learn about historical struggles for democracy and the mergence of civil society
contemporary evidence to evaluate functionalism
apprenticeships
according to 2021-22 apprenticeship data the total number of people doing apprenticeships in 2021-22 was 750000
main sector was health and social care and business administration
majority of people are under 25 suggesting that apprenticeships are working alongside more traditional further education and higher education institution which as colleges and universities to further perform role allocation
numbers of people doing apprenticeships arent sufficient to suggest that work based learning is undermining role allocation function being performed in colleges and universities
Durkheim - education and the transmission of shared values
one of the two functions
education creates a feeling of social solidarity in the individual which creates a feeling of belonging to a wider society
teaching of history provides a link between the individual and society linking them to their social past and developing in them a sense of commitment to the social group
Durkheim- education and social rules
school serves a function that family cant
school is only institution capable of preparing children for membership into wider society
does this by enforcing rules which are applied to all children and children earn to interact with each other based on these shared rules acts like a miniature society
argues that school rules should be enforced with punishments for those who broke school rules
also believed that by explaining why punishments were given to rule breakers children would come to learn to exercise self-discipline because of fear of punishment and also seeing the damage that deviant behaviour can do to the group as a whole
Durkheim - education and the division of labour
argued that teaching specialised skills is required for a complex division of labour
pre-industrial - skills passed on through family meaning formal education was not necessary
modern industrial society- more scientific knowledge was needed making schools more necessary
social solidarity in industrial societies is based largely on interdependence of specialised skills
manufacture of a single product requires a combination of a variety of specialists
solidarity is based on cooperation between people with very different skill sets and school is the perfect place for children to learn and get along with children from different backgrounds
