functionalist views on education Flashcards
bridge
Parsons and Durkehim argue that school acts as a bridge between life within the family and society as a whole.
universalistic standards
standards that apply to everyone
how an individual is judged in life, correlating to their achieved status
particularistic standards
standards which apply to particular people
how an individual is judged within the family, correlating to their ascribed status.
norms
what is considered normal by a certain culture, unwritten rules
values
a culture’s way of discerning right from wrong
ascribed status
the status given at birth or assumed involuntary later in life
achieved status
a status which is obtained through one’s hard work
socialisation funtion
functionalists such as Durkheim saw schools’ function of secondary socialisation is a way of creating social solidarity.
meritocracy
- A system in which people are rewarded proportionally for the amount of work they do
- Functionalists argue schools are meritocratic as they offer everyone an equal opportunity and instill the value of achievement
- Parsons argues that meritocracy instills the two main values and prepares children for the transition into universalistic standards.
economic function
the economic function of schools is to create a workforce with specialised skills and ensure people are allocated to the correct roles, according to Durkheim and Davis and Moore
society in miniature
Durkheim saw schools as a model of the social system as individuals interact in terms of a fixed set of rules
equality of opportunity
- A system in which everyone’s chance of success is equal
- Parsons argues that this is one of two main values that are taught in schools
integration
when different cultures come together to form one
social solidarity
- Durkheim believed that the main function of schools was to create social solidarity, instilling a sense of commitment to the social group through learning history
- learning history creates a link between the individual and society by bringing the history of their society to life.
role allocation
- A system of allocating roles which best suit people’s attitudes and capabilities
- School is seen by functionalists as the major role-allocating system as it is based on meritocracy and exam grades prove an individual’s capability