Paper 1 - The Role Of Education

Question 1

What 3 functions does Durkheim say education provides?

Answer 1

Social solidarity, Social mobility and specialist skills

Question 2

What is social solidarity?

Answer 2

Social solidarity is where there is a collective conscience, where people are brought together.

Question 3

What are specialist skills?

Answer 3

They are skills for the workforce after education.

Question 4

What is social mobility?

Answer 4

This is where people can move up in society and up the hierarchy.

Question 5

What two functions does education serve according to Parsons?

Answer 5

Secondary socialisation and Meritocracy.

Question 6

What is secondary socialisation

Answer 6

This is where school bridges the gap between home and wider society. Also it teaches the norms and values of society.

Question 7

What is meritocracy?

Answer 7

This is a system where each pupil has an equal chance of succeeding and its based on effort and ability.

Question 8

What is educations function according to Davis and Moore?

Answer 8

Role allocation, this is where people are people are set up for an economic status that reflects their talents.

Question 9

Evaluate Functionalisms view of the education system.

Answer 9

\+ Identifies education as the central part of social structure
\+Acknowledges it is a key role in secondary socialisation
- Marxists would say there is little inequality as the education system benefits middle class more
- Marxists would argue we are ideologically conditioned into values of middle class,

Question 10

What is the New Right’s main reason why the education system isn’t working well yet?

Answer 10

There needs to be more marketisation and open education up to competition.

Question 11

What were Chubb and Moe’s 3 main claims about the education system.

Answer 11

Disadvantaged groups are treated worse and there is an inequality.
Education fails to produce pupils with skills for the economy.
Private schools give higher quality education due to there being paying customers.

Question 12

What do the New Right believe the state should do in education?

Answer 12

1. Impose a framework on schools for them to complete. This allows reports by OFSTED for parents to see which schools is best.
2. Impose a national curriculum to socialise into a single culture heritage.

Question 13

Evaluate the New Right

Answer 13

+ There policies have influenced todays education system.
+Has given pupils more choice to which school to go to and make sure its the best one.
- Gerwitz and Ball argue marketization favours middle class students far more.
-Critics argue its because of lack of funding rather than state control that is the reason why education is not doing well.

Question 14

What are the functions of education according to Bowles and Gintis?

Answer 14

The hidden curriculum and the correspondence principle.

Question 15

What is the hidden curriculum?

Answer 15

Something the teachers don’t directly teach but is used to socialise pupils into the values of the middle class.

Question 16

What is the correspondence principle?

Answer 16

Where the principles of the education system mirrors the values of the workplace.

Question 17

What is the myth of meritocracy?

Answer 17

Bowles and Gintis argue that meritocracy is based on ability, effort and class.

Question 18

Louis Althusser describes education as an ideological state apparatus. What is this?

Answer 18

This is where the education system brainwashes us to follow the values of capitalism.

Question 19

What does Gramsci say education promotes?

Answer 19

A dominant hegemony

Question 20

Why does Bourdieu say education is favoured towards the middle class?

Answer 20

There is a middle class habitus in education.
Education rewards those with more cultural capital.

Question 21

What does Rikowski argue?

Answer 21

That education has become commodified and has been turned into a product to be bought and sold.

Question 22

Name 3 ways how education has become commodified.

Answer 22

Stationary sold by school.
Text books are paid for.
Schools bought by businesses.
Guest speakers paid for.

Question 23

Name a study that helps illustrate Marxism’s view of education.

Answer 23

Paul Willis’ the lads study.

Question 24

Name 2 strengths of Marxist’s view of education.

Answer 24

Identifies similarities between the education system and the workplace.
Offers profound argument of the myth of meritocracy.

Question 25

Name two weaknesses of the Marxist view of education.

Answer 25

Hickox say Bowles and Gintis make assumptions about the hidden curriculum.
Fails to understand the amount of policies to help the working class (EMA, EAZ)

Question 26

What view do interactionalists take? And what methods would they use in research?

Answer 26

A micro view (Small scale).

Observations, interviews, case studies.

Question 27

What do interactionalists believe cause poor results in education?

Answer 27

Labelling and self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 28

Summarise Beckers study.

Answer 28

Teachers had an ‘ideal pupil’. He used aggressive interviews on 60 teachers and found their ideal pupil was from middle class background.

Question 29

Summarise Rosanthal and Jacobson’s study.

Answer 29

They conducted a field experiment selecting 20
% of pupils. They said that group would have rapid academic success. They found teachers focused on this group more than other pupils.

Question 30

Summarise Lacey’s study.

Answer 30

They found those in lower sets had lower self-esteems. Those labelled as failure would be more likely to form an anti-school subculture.

Question 31

Summarise David and Gillbourn’s study.

Answer 31

They found black and working class students were more likely to be put in lower sets even if they attained the same grade as their counterparts.