perspectives of education

Question 1

What is Emile Durkheim’s two functions of education? (Functionalism)

Answer 1

Social solidarity
Specialist skills

Question 2

What is meant by social solidarity? (Functionalism)

Answer 2

Members of society must feel part of a single body or community. Schools help to create this by transmitting society’s culture, shared belief and values from one generation to the next. This is done by the hidden curriculum and PSHE lessons.

Question 3

What is meant by specialist skills? (Functionalism)

Answer 3

For social solidarity to work in wider society, we must cooperate with a range of specialists to produce goods. Each person must therefore have the necessary skills to perform their roles and education teaches, individuals the specialists knowledge they will need to perform these.

Question 4

What is Davis and Moore’s role of education? (Functionalism)

Answer 4

Role allocation

Question 5

What is role allocation? (Functionalism)

Answer 5

This is when schools sort and shifts students into adult roles based on their skills and aptitudes. In a meritocratic society access to jobs and power, wealth and status are directly linked to an individuals efforts and abilities.

Question 6

What is meritocracy?
(Functionalism)

Answer 6

Meritocracy means everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve, that means rewards are based on ability and effort, and that those who gain the highest rewards deserve them because they are the most

Question 7

Why is social inequality necessary in education? (Functionalism)

Answer 7

Social inequality is necessary in education so the most talented and knowledgeable fill the most important roles in society.

Question 8

What is Parsons role of education? (Functionalism)

Answer 8

Parsons believed that schools provide a link between the family and wider society which allows students to move from the ascribed status and particularistic values of the home to the meritocratic and universalistic values of wider society.

Question 9

What is the new rights view of education?

Answer 9

The current education system is not achieving its goal and the reason for this failure is that it is run by the state. The state takes a “one size fits all” approach, imposing uniformity and disregarding the concerns consumers (parents/students) have.

Question 10

What is the new right’s solution to the current system?

Answer 10

The new rights believe in the marketisation of education and the solution to the current problem is an “education market”.

Question 11

What do the new rights mean by an education market?

Answer 11

Schools should compete with one another and parents and pupils should be seen as consumers bringing greater diversity, choice and efficiency to schools.

Question 12

What are some examples of influences of educational policy?

Answer 12

1980’s Vocational Education
1988 Education Reform Act:
* Funding formula
* League Tables
New Labour - Academies
Coalition Government
* Free Schools
* Privatisation of Education

Question 13

What is Chubb and Moe’s view on education?

Answer 13

State education is inefficient as it fails to produce students with the skills needed by the economy. It also fails to create equal opportunities of ethnic minorities. Private schools are better and deliver a higher quality education because they are answerable to the parents paying. State education should be run on a voucher system where parents get to choose the school their child goes to and pay for it using the voucher.

Question 14

What is Althusser’s views on the role of education?

Answer 14

Education reproduces class inequality
Education legitimates class inequality

Question 15

How does education reproduce class inequality?

Answer 15

education reproduce class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of wc pupil in turn.

Question 16

How does education legitimate class inequality?

Answer 16

Education legitimate class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause. the function of ideology is to persuade workers to accept that inequality is inevitable and that they deserve their subordinate position in society. If they accept these ideas they are less likely to challenge capitalism.

Question 17

how do the capitalist ruling class maintain their dominant positions through the state apparatus’?

Answer 17

The repressive state apparatus (RSAs) maintains the ruling of the bourgeoisie by force or the threat of it. The RSA includes the police, courts and army. When necessary physical coercion to repress the wc.
The ideological state apparatus (ISA) maintains the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling people’s ideas, beliefs and values. The ISA include religion, media and the education system.

Question 18

What do Bowles and Gintis believe to be the role of education?

Answer 18

The correspondence principle

Question 19

What is the correspondence principle?

Answer 19

the correspondence theory suggests that educational inequality is mirrored within the inequality in the workplace. For example there are head teachers or bosses at the top giving orders to workers or pupils. If capitalism is to succeed it must have an obedient workforce, this is created through education.

Question 20

How does the correspondence principle work?

Answer 20

The correspondence principle operates through the hidden curriculum. You are taught to obey authority, be punctual and learn to compete against others.

Question 21

What is the myth of meritocracy?

Answer 21

Meritocracy is an ideology that legitimates inequality. Actual success in education is abed on social background and parental income not your efforts and ability.