Functionalism And Education Flashcards
Who made and adapted the organismic analogy?
Spencer created it and Parsons adapted it
What is an example of the organismic analogy
If an institution is failing, you’ll likely see decay and ruin in the whole system (eg: high crime levels)
What does Durkheim say about the education system?
It created social solidarity and value consensus, transmitting the society’s culture/ideologies down to younger generations as well as preparing children for wider society
What is value consensus
It’s all the people in society agreeing on what is important, the goals for everyone.
What are the two standards suggested by Parsons?
Particularistic standards and universalistic standards
What are particularistic standards
It’s rules for every child, the child’s status is fixed from birth. Children get away with more purely because of their status as the child in the family
What are universalistic standards?
It’s that the same law applies to everyone, in society and school one’s status is achieved through hard work
What does Parson view society as
He views society as meritocratic - in the education system, everyone is given equal opportunities for success and individuals achieve rewards through ability and effort.
What does Schultz say about education?
That it teaches individuals specialist knowledge and skills that they need to play their part in the social division of labour
What are functionalists?
They are structural consensus theorists that believe that society positively imposes things on us and controls the population, we’re a product of that control.
- top down theory
What are the key ideas of functionalism?
Organic change
Meritocracy
Social institutions have positive functions
What is the organismic analogy?
It is that social institutions work together like an organ system, they are all of equal importance for the body (society) to function, society cannot function without ALL the social institutions.
What is the key idea by Schultz?
It’s the development of Human capital
What was the key idea by Davis and Moore?
Selective role allocation
What did Schultz say about human capital?
That it benefits the wider economy and maintains society as the education system ensures that the most talented and qualified people end up in jobs that matches all their skills (all can succeed in our specialised paths)
What did Davis and Moore say about SRA?
They argued that inequality is NEEDED and necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people
How does SRA benefit society?
It encourages people to compete for the most talented jobs and improves the workforce
What is an act to support SRA?
The new vocationalism act of 1979 that aimed to provide society with skilled workforces by creating schemes within the education system that prepared students for work
What is an example of vocationalism?
The variety of different courses for example there are bricklaying courses that specialise in learning the skills for that job.
What do Marxists think about new vocationalism?
They argue that such schemes only benefit capitalist companies who benefit from cheap labour and also lowers the aspirations of young children by giving them low skilled jobs.
Why has the functionalist perspective been criticised?
It idealises education as in reality, the system is not equal - the influence of class, gender and ethnicity.
What do Neo Marxists think of the education system?
They argue against functionalism in that schools only transmit the ideologies of the ruling class and further suppresses the working class.
What’s an example of the neo Marxist criticism?
The increase of university fees making it impossible for lower classes to afford higher education and raising it’s availability only to the elite class
What do the New right think about education?
Education fails to prepare young people for work as the state control of education discourages efficient competition and choice
