functions of education

Question 1

functionalist view of education

Answer 1

education transmits norms and values for a harmonious society and sorts individuals into their future job roles

Question 2

Durkheim theory of education (functionalism)

Answer 2

education is a form of secondary socialisation, creating social solidarity by allowing for an agreed set of norms and values (collective consciousness)
education is also key to teaching us the specialist skills and knowledge to perform our roles correctly

Question 3

Parsons theory of education (functionalism)

Answer 3

agreed with Durkheim and saw education as a bridge between childhood and the adult world, moving from particularistic standards to universalist in standards
as children we have an ascribed status and education teaches us that society is meritocratic and we learn to gain an achieved status

Question 4

Davies and Moore theory of education (functionalism)

Answer 4

there is a hierarchy of jobs in the job market and education means that the most capable individuals end up achieving the best jobs

Question 5

strengths of functionalist theory of education

Answer 5

• universal theory
• explain links between education, work and economy well
• anecdotal evidence (Parsons - compares us in exams, Durkheim - in history we learn about heritage)

Question 6

weaknesses of functionalist theory of education

Answer 6

• does not give everyone the same norms and values
• Marxists say transmitted norms are only of benefit to capitalism
• education is not meritocratic as not all groups have an equal chance
• New Right says schools do not prepare for the workplace

Question 7

Neo-Liberalism view of education

Answer 7

set of beliefs that apply to the economy, they believe the state should not provide services such as education, health and welfare so governments should encourage competition, privatise state run businesses and there should be little restriction on the free economic market

Question 8

New Right view of education

Answer 8

influenced strongly by Neo-liberalism and functionalism, believe that education should be meritocratic as some people are more talented than others, that education should socialise us into shared norms and values, but they think something is wrong with the current state-run education system

Question 9

Chubb and Moe (Neo-Liberalism/New Right)

Answer 9

US state run education has failed to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups, schooling fails to meet the requirements of the workforce and private schools are better as they have to meet the needs of paying customers (compared achievements of 60,000 pupils from w/c families)

Question 10

how will marketisation be achieved? (Neo-Liberalism/New Right)

Answer 10

• parents can send children to whatever school they wish
• if a child attends a school the school will receive funding for that child
• framework needs to be put in place so parents can compare effectiveness of a school (league tables, national curriculum, standardised tests)
• schools will control their own finances much like a business and compete for customers
• successful schools will generate more income, unsuccessful schools will lose money and eventually shut down
• national curriculum ensures every child is socialised into the correct norms and values

Question 11

strengths of Neo-Liberalism/New Right views

Answer 11

• strong influence on government policy

Question 12

weaknesses of Neo-Liberalism/New Right views

Answer 12

• competition may not improve standards
• illusion of choice for the poor
• education cannot compensate for inequality in society

Question 13

Marxist view of education

Answer 13

education reproduces the class system by making sure the rich children succeed and the poor children fail so the function of education is to justify class inequality by creating the ideology that capitalism is just and reasonable

Question 14

Althusser view of education (Marxism)

Answer 14

education is a form of social control, or part of the ideological state apparatus, and promotes the myth of meritocracy by justifying capitalism to the w/c

Question 15

Bowles and Gintis - correspondence principle and hidden curriculum (Marxism)

Answer 15

suggests that the main function of education is to produce an ideal workforce to benefit the bourgeoisie:
correspondence principal - the idea that the features of school mirror the features of work
hidden curriculum - the lessons that we learn from school that are not explicitly taught (obedience, acceptance of hierarchy etc)

Question 16

evidence of the correspondence principal (Marxism)

Answer 16

• acceptance of authority/hierarchy
• motivation by external rewards
• fragmentation of tasks
• rewards docile personalities

Question 17

Willis ‘why working class kids, get working class jobs?’ (Marxism)

Answer 17

studied 12 working class boys using overt observation for 18 months and found that they adopted a ‘counter school subculture’
this was because schooling was irrelevant to them as they only wanted to do manual jobs which required no qualifications
this does not damage capitalism as the w/c boys wanted to do the jobs and the bourgeoisie could exploit them this way

Question 18

strengths of Marxist view of education

Answer 18

• exposes the myth of meritocracy
• explains links between school and workforce well

Question 19

weaknesses of Marxist view of education

Answer 19

• out of date (Postmodernists suggest that education has become more fragmented)
• education has other functions (exists in communist societies)
• does not explain patriarchy
• not all teachers are capitalists
• too deterministic