functionalist views on education Flashcards
bridge
Parsons and Durkheim argue that school acts as a bridge between life within the family and society as a whole
univeralistic standards
standards that apply to everyone
how an individual is judged in life, relating to their achieved status
particularistic standards
standards which apply to particular people
how an individual is judged within the family, correlating ot 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 function
functionalists such as Durkheim saw schools’ function of secondary socialisation is a way of creating social solidarity.
meritocracy + fucntionalist views
• 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
• 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
value consensus
an agreement on the main values of society
hierarchy
an unfair system in which a ruling minority have the advantage
proselytising
attempts to religiously convert an individual
multicultural society
a society which contains many individuals from different cultures to each other
social stratification (Davis and Moore)
• Davis and Moore argue that social stratification ensures that the most talented rise to the positions that are most functionally important to society.
• they argue school is important as it is the proving ground for ability
• they also argue that people are incentivised to work towards this through high rewards.
specialised division of labour
a labour force with a large number of specialised occupations
this relies on schools in industrial societies, while in pre-industrial society, it relies on parents pasing down skills to children
criticisms of Durkheim’s views:
• assumes societies have a shared culture that can be passed on (in multicultural societies this is prominent)
• marxists argue that the education system beneifts the ruling class more than society as a whole.
• some researchers argue school encourages individual competition rather than solidarity and co operation
criticisms of Parsons:
• fails to consider that the values passed on by the education system might benefit a ruling minority
• his view that schools operate on meritocracy is debatable
criticisms of Davis and Moore:
• the relationship between occupational reward and academic achievement isn’t very close
• the claim that the education system grades people in terms of ability is doubtable.
• there is evidence that suggests social stratification prevents the education system from grading people according to ability.
Blau and Duncan: human capital
• our modern life and economy depends on ‘human capital for prosperity.
• human capital = the skills of a worker.
• in a meritocratic system, national prosperity can only be achieved when people’s talents are used effectively.
• the education system enables this, benefitting the economy and the individual. (because it sorts people’s strengths meritocratically through assessment)
