Functionalist Theories Of Education

Question 1

Functionalism is a consensus theory which sees society as being essentially harmonious. It argues that…

Answer 1

• society has basic needs, including the need for social order.To survive, society needs social solidarity through everyone sharing the same norms and values otherwise, society falls apart
• social institutions such as education perform positive functions for both society and for individuals, by socialising new members of society and by helping create and sustain social solidarity
• functionalism is a conservative view of society. Functionalists tend to focus on the positive contribution education makes to society

Question 2

What two key questions do Functionalists about education?

Answer 2

1. What are the functions of education as a whole

2. What are the functional relationships between education and other parts of the social system?

Question 3

Durkheim two main functions of the education system:

Answer 3

• creating social solidarity

* teaching specialists skills

Question 4

Social solidarity explained

Answer 4

• Durkheim sees the major function of education as the transmission of society’s norms and values from one generation to the next
• this is necessary in order to produce social solidarity. This is where individual members of society feel that they belong to a community that is much bigger than they are
• The school is a society in miniature. I’m school the child learns to interact with other members of the school community and to follow a fixed set of rules. This experience prepared the child for interacting with members of society as an adult and accepting social rules

Question 5

Durkheim - Teaching specialist skills explained

Answer 5

•Durkheim argues individuals must be taught specialist skills so that they can take their place within a highly complex division of labour in which people have to co-operate to produce items

Question 6

Criticisms of Durkheim - Marxists

Answer 6

-argue that educational institutions tend to transmit a dominant culture which serves the interest of the ruling class rather than those of society as a whole

Question 7

Willis and Hargreaves criticism of Durkheim

Answer 7

-studies show that the transmission of norms and values is not always successful. Some students openly reject the transmission of norms and values is not always successful. Some students openly embraced values which were the opposite to those of the school and conformist students

Question 8

Parsons two major functions of society:

Answer 8

1. Through the process of socialisation, education acts as bridge between the family and wider society
2. Education helps to socialise young people into the basic values of society

Question 9

Education as a bridge between the family and wider society explained:

Answer 9

• I’m the family, children are judged according to particularistic standard that apply only to them. Their status within the family is also ascribed
• In wider society, the individual is judged against standards which apply equally to all members of society. For example, laws apply to all equally. Also, status is achieved through merit rather than ascribed
• education helps to ease these transitions. The exam system judged all pupils on merit, and school rules such as wearing uniform are applied to all pupils equally

Question 10

Education socialising young people into the basic values of society explained:

Answer 10

• schools transmit two major values:
• the value of achievement - everyone achieved their own status though their own effort
• the value of equality of opportunity for every student to achieve full potential

Question 11

Criticisms of Parsons - Dennis Wrong

Answer 11

-argues that functionalists such as Parsons have an ‘over-socialised view’ of people as mere puppets of society. Functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all that they are taught and ver reject the schools values

Question 12

Criticisms of Parsons - meritocratic

Answer 12

-Parsons assumes that Western education systems are meritocratic, they reward students primarily on the basis of objective criteria such as achievement, ability and intelligence. The existence of private education and inequalities tied to social class, gender and ethnicity challenges this view

Question 13

Davis and Moore - education and role allocation

Answer 13

• see education as a means of role allocation. The education system sifts and sorts people according to their abilities
• the most talented gain high qualifications which lead to functionally important jobs with high rewards
• leads to inequalities in society, but this is quite natural and even desirable in capitalist societies because there is a limited amount of talent. The talented few need to be persuaded to make a sacrifice (by staying on in education rather than earning a wage) and society therefore offers inventories through the promise of greater rewards, such as higher salaries

Question 14

Criticisms of Davis and Moore

Answer 14

• intelligence and ability have only a limited influence on educational achievement. Research shows achievement is closely tied to issues of social class, gender and ethnicity
• Bourdieu argues middle class students possess more cultural and social capital and therefore are able to gain more qualifications than working class students
• Bowles and Gintis reject the functionalist view that capitalist societies are meritocratic. The children of the wealthy and powerful obtain high qualifications and well-rewarded jobs irrespective of their abilities. The education system disguises this with its myth of meritocracy. Those denied success blame themselves rather than the system. Inequality in society is thus legitimated (made to be appear fair)
• the range if class differences in educational achievement suggest that not everyone actually has the same chance in education