MT3 - Theories on the role of education

Question 1

Durkheim - two functions of education

Answer 1

1. Promote social solidarity by transmitting society’s culture, norms and values to new generations and are ‘society in miniature’ as they prepare children for life in the wider world.
2. Passes on specialist skills as education teaches individuals the specialist knowledge and skills needed by employers due to the complex division of labour.

Question 2

Parsons - two functions of education

Answer 2

1. Bridge between the family and wider society as children get used to being judged on meritocratic (rewards are based on effort and ability) and universalistic (everyone is treated the same) standards that prepare them for wider society because society is meritocratic and rewards are based on effort and ability instead of ascribed status like the family in which individuals are judged by particularistic standards.(everyone is treated differently)
2. Secondary socialisation as it passes on society’s norms and values to younger generations.

Question 3

Chubb and Moe

Answer 3

The education system is failing its purpose of carrying preparing students for the world of work because it is run by the state - Chubb and Moe this can be solved through the marketisation of education because this will increase parental choice so schools will have to compete to get excellent results and raise standards in order to attract the most consumers (parents and students).

Question 4

New Right

Answer 4

New Right Sociologists believe that the state should have two main roles in education.

1) Providing a framework within which schools compete against each other such as the publication of exam results and Ofsted inspections.
2) Making sure that all schools transmit shared values by imposing the National Curriculum on all schools so pupils are integrated into the same set of values.

Question 5

Bowles and Gintis

Answer 5

Role of education is to produce an obedient, unquestioning workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable through:

Reproduction of class inequality:

1. correspondence principle mirrors the workplace through things such as Competition, Hierarchy, Alienation - lack of control, Fragmentation - division and Extrinsic rewards
2. hidden curriculum teaches students unwritten rules, values and normative patterns of behaviour e.g obedience to authority and punctuality

Legitimacy of class inequality: myth of meritocracy - people succeed from heir hard work and natural ability thus the blame is put on the individual not on capitalism so the working class do not rebel.

Question 6

Althusser

Answer 6

Althusser: education is part of the ideological state apparatus (a part of the superstructure which controls peoples ideas through the family, education, religion, mass media)
It fulfils this function by:

1) Reproducing class inequalities: by failing each successive generation of the working class so they can’t better themselves. Thus, the poor stay poor and the rich, e.g. through setting foundation level exams.
2) Legitimising class inequality – by producing ideologies (ideas and beliefs) that disguise the truth. So the working class think the system they live in is just and fair, e.g. you failed because of your low attendance, lack of revision,..

Question 7

Marxists criticisms

Answer 7

Theory is deterministic - Marxists students passively accept the ruling class ideology and assumes students passively follow the ruling class ideology when, in fact, students have free will and can see through the ideology

Over-emphasises the influence of class and ignores other factors which lead to social inequality in education such as gender, ethnicity and sexuality.

Question 8

Spender

Answer 8

Teacher interaction with students: Spender argues that girls get less attention than boys in the classroom and have to wait longer for what attention they do receive. This is a reflection of the domination that men have in society as a whole as those without power are always the most vulnerable and tend to play a submissive role.

Question 9

Kelly

Answer 9

Students’ interactions with each other: Kelly argues that boys take control of science and technology lessons, for example by monopolising (obtaining exclusive possession) equipment for experiments and this limits the female students’ abilities to participate fully in science lessons.

Question 10

Feminists criticisms

Answer 10

Feminists tend to ignore the improvements made to the education system since the 1960s which have decreased gender inequalities.

Feminists over-emphasise the influence of gender and ignores other factors which lead to social inequality in education such as class and ethnicity.