Functions

Question 1

Who are the three functionalists?

Answer 1

Durkheim, parsons, Davies and Moore

Question 2

What does Durkheim say the function of education is

Answer 2

Education plays a vital role in teaching us societies norms and values, which gives us the value consensus/collective consciousness which society needs to operate, without this it would cause anomie. It is a form of secondary socialisation . Education also gives us a sense of belonging called social solidarity by teaching us national heritage.

Question 3

What does parsons say the function of education is?

Answer 3

Extended durkheims ideas, he say education as key to promoting meritocracy. This is achieved through education as it is the bridge between childhood and adulthood. When we are children our status is ascribed, whereas in adulthood we must learn that we have to achieve our status because society is meritocratic. Education moves us from the particularistic standards of the family to the universalistic standards of society

Question 4

What do Davies and Moore say the function of education is?

Answer 4

Parsons suggests that testing allocates us to roles, Davies and Moore similarly suggest that there is a hierarchy of jobs in the jib market and education sorts us into this, meaning the most capable individuals end up in the best jobs

Question 5

Strengths of the functionalist veiws on the functions of education?

Answer 5

Universal- they can be used to explain the education system in any industrialised country
Explains the links between education, work and the economy well
Evidence for Durkheim and parsons views- education does compare us in examinations, in history we do learn about the heritage of our country.

Question 6

Weaknesses of functionalist view on the functions of education?

Answer 6

Education doesn’t give everyone the same norms and values- ie faith schools
Education doesn’t operate on a meritocratic system- not all groups have an equal chance, thing such as class gender and ethnicity can effect this. 
The new right would argue that school doesn’t adequately  prepare children for the workplace

Question 7

What do marxists say the functions of education ?

Answer 7

According to Marxists such as Althusser education is a form of social control, and is part of the ideological state apparatus, which are the agencies which control the proletariat. Education brainwashes children by transmitting norms and values that reproduce capitalism making them believe society is fair when it is not. The education system ensures the working class fail, however they attribute to their own failure due to the myth of meritocracy. It justifies class inequality and reproduces the class system.

Question 8

What is the evidence for the marxist veiws on the functions of education?

Answer 8

Bowles and gintis correspondence principle and hidden curriculum.
They did their study on around 200 us high school pupils, and found that school mirrors the features of work in the following ways;
Teaches us to accept hierarchy, motivation by external rewards, fragmentation of tasks, rewards docile personalities.
The hidden curriculum is the lessons we learned from school which aren’t explicitly taught.

Question 9

Evidence for Marxism- willlis’s study ‘why do working class kids get working class jobs’

Answer 9

He used overt participant observation, and critisised bowles and gintis view that education creates an ideal workforce, or correctly transmit the norms and values needed to support capitalism, however it doesn’t matter as working class boys want to do working class jobs anyways, so capitalism gets reproduced anyway.

Question 10

Strengths of marxist veiws on function of education

Answer 10

Explains myth of meritocracy- education isn’t fair for everyone
Explains links between school and the workplace well

Question 11

Weaknesses of Marxist veiws on functions of education

Answer 11

Too deterministic- not all pupils are passive recipients of capitalist ideology
Doesn’t explain patriarchy
Education has other functions- still education in communist societies so it must serve other purposes
Not all teachers are capitalists like Bowles and gintis suggest

Question 12

What is the new liberalism/new right veiws on education

Answer 12

New right is a political veiws that is strongly influences by neo liberalism. They believe that education should be meritocratic as some people are more talented than others and that education should socialise us into shared norms and values, but that something is wrong with the current state run education system.

Question 13

How do the new right suggest education should be marketised

Answer 13

Parents will be given the right of what school to send their children to
If a child attends a school, that school will receive funding
League tables, national curriculum and standardised tests so schools can be compared
Schools control their own finances, and compete for pupils

Question 14

Strengths of new right veiws on education

Answer 14

They have a strong influence on government policy, they led to the 1988 education act which introduced marketisation

Question 15

What are the patterns of class and differential achievement

Answer 15

Children from working class backgrounds are;
Less likely to be found in nursery schools
More likely to fall behind in literacy and numeracy
More likely to be placed in lower sets
More likely to leave school at 16
Less likely to stay on for higher education (1 in 5 working class children go to uni)

Question 16

What are the external factors fo class and differential achievement

Answer 16

Material deprivation, cultural deprivation, linguistic deprivation, cultural capital

Question 17

External factor to class and differential achievement- material deprivation

Answer 17

This means that children do not have the money and recourses that would give them an advantage in education, such as;

• can’t afford private education
• can’t afford recourses for the home; ONS found that in the poorest households 29% had no computer compared to 99% in the richest
• poor overcrowded housing; Douglas, those in the unsatisfactory conditions had lower educational abilities
• poor diet; Howard found not being able to afford a good nutritious diet has a bad effect on educational achievement
• hidden costs of a free education; tanner said things such as school trips, uniform, calculators may be second hand and could lead to bullying.

Question 18

Strengths of maternal deprivation

Answer 18

It has been highly influential in developing many compensatory education initiatives

Question 19

Weaknesses of material deprivation

Answer 19

Having a lack of money doesn’t always influence academic achievement
Policies aimed at combating deprivation have limited success- ie sure start schemes have had limited success.

Question 20

What is cultural deprivation

Answer 20

The idea that working classes do not have the language or values needed to do well in education so they are placed at a disadvantage.

Question 21

What is Bernstein’s theory of linguistic deprivation

Answer 21

He said that there were differences in working class and middle class language and this influences achievement in education. He said that middle class people talk in elaborated codes and working class speak in restricted codes. This puts working class children at a disadvantage as teachers, text books, assessments are all in elaborate codes.

Question 22

Weaknesses of cultural deprivation

Answer 22

Out of date- speech patterns have declined since his research
Small unrepresentative samples

Question 23

Parental interest- cultural deprivation

Answer 23

Douglas said this is a key factor in educational achievement. He suggested that middle class parents were more likely to visit their children’s schools and encourage them o stay on in education. He measured parental interest in terms of the number of visits they made to school and the teachers opinions of the parents.