Role and Function of the Education System - 3.1 Flashcards
What is the General Outlook of the Functionalist Approach on Education?
> Consensus approach and focuses on positive functions of education
> e.g. creating social solidarity, teaching core values and work skills, and role allocation/meritocracy.
Outline 4 Key Functionalist Thinkers and what they advocate?
> Durkheim (Socialisation and Social Solidarity)
Parsons (US and PS and Meritocracy)
Davis & Moore (Role Allocation)
Blau and Duncan (Human Capital)
Explain Durkheim’s Ideas of Socialisation through Education?
- Education System’s society in miniature
- Teaches individuals specialist skills and values, to prepare them for workplace.
Explain Durkheim’s Ideas of Social Solidarity through Education?
- Notion ppl feel they belong to society, they feel part of a group.
- e.g. teaching countries histories instills in children a sense of shared heritage and commitment to a wider social group.
Explain Parsons Ideas of US and PS through Education?
- Schools provide a link vs family and wider society,
- Allowing pupils to move from particularistic values of home to universalistic values of wider society.
Explain Parsons Ideas of Meritocracy in Education?
Education fair as it’s meritocratic, all have same chance & personal talent or merit decides social status, if we work hard enough.
Explain Davies and Moore’s Ideas of Role Allocation in Education?
- Education allows meritocratic selection for jobs.
- Acting as a sieve
- Schools identify most capable students, allocating them to jobs based on talent and qualifications.
- Inequality is needed, so people are motivated to work hard.
Explain Blau and Duncans Ideas of Human Capital in Education?
> Defined as stock of skills, talents, creativity, making someone an economic asset to society.
> Education provides trained, and flexible workforce.
> Enables person to be allocated to job, best suited to abilities
> Making most of their talents, maximising productivity.
A03 Functionalism Sociologists
> Wolf Review of Vocational Education > Wrong > Hargreaves > Interactionists > Marxist
How does the Wolf Review of Vocational Education undermine Functionalist Theories of Education (AO3)
Claims high-quality apprenticeships are rare, and 1/3 of 16-19yr olds are on courses, not leading to better jobs
How does Wrong’s view undermine Functionalist Theories of Education (AO3)
Argues they have oversocialized view of ppl as mere puppets, wrongly implying they accept everything they’re taught
How does Hargreaves view undermine Functionalist Theories of Education (AO3)
education promotes competition and individualism, not shared values.
Why is Davis & Moore idea of Role Allocation invalid?
Other factors apart from qualifications, e.g. social contacts, influence labour market.
Why is Parsons idea of Meritocracy a Myth?
Class, Gender & Ethnicity all influence educational achievement
How does Discrimination in Education undermine Functionalist Theories of Education (AO3)
Schools discriminate vs some groups e.g. black people through institutional racism, prevents them from achieving.
How does Interactionists views undermine Functionalist Theories of Education (AO3)
Say they’re too deterministic, pupils don’t passively accept values, some reject and rebel vs them.
How do Marxists criticise Durkheim’s view of Social Solidarity?
Not shared values, but values of ruling class
What is the General Outlook of the Marxist Approach on Education?
- Reproduces class inequality.
- Legitimates class inequality.
- Works in the interests of capitalist employers
Outline 4 Key Marxist Thinkers/Views and what they advocate?
> Althusser: (ISA, Reproduction and Legitimation of Inequality)
Bowles and Ginits (Correspondence Principle)
Hidden Curriculum
Willis (ASS)
Define the Marxist idea of the Hidden Curriculum
Things pupils learn informally from going school to instil correct attitudes needed for work in capitalist system
What are examples of things learn’t through the Hidden Curriculum at school?
- Respecting Authority
- Punctuality
- Competition
- Having a ‘work ethic’
Explain Althusser’s Ideas of Impact of ISA through Education?
- Schools part of ISA, brainwash WC into accepting exploitation
- Spreading dominant ideology of capitalism.
- Thus instilling belief it’s normal to prevent revolution.
Explain Althusser’s Ideas of the Legitimation of Social Inequality through Education?
- Money decides how good an education you get, but ppl don’t realize as schools spread the ‘myth of meritocracy.’
- If we fail, we believe it is our own fault, as we feel system is fair when in reality it’s not
- Thus have effect of controlling WC, as kids grow up believing they had fair chance they’re less likely to rebel and create a revolution.
How does Education reproduce inequality?
Fails each generation of WC pupils, ensuring they end up in same position as parents.
Explain Bowles and Ginits ideas on the Correspondence Principle
- Belief education mirrors workplace in a capitalist society, to prepare WC for manual jobs.
Briefly outline 4 Examples of how School corresponds to exploitative nature of the workplace
- Passive subservience of pupils to teachers = Passive subservience of workers to managers.
- Alienation: Pupils lack control over education = workers lack control over production.
- Motivation by external rewards (grades not learning) = being motivated by wages not joy of the job
- Fragmentation
Explain the idea of Fragmentation in relation to the Correspondence Principle
> Only teach you a little bit of everything at school = workplace
> Where employees only taught a little bit about company as employers fearful if they tell them too much, they’ll take advantage and set up competition vs them.
Explain Paul Willis’s Study of the Lads ASS
> Consist of students who rebel vs school.
> Develop delinquent attitudes vs academic aims, of a school.
> Desired manual work, believed it was proper work.
> Jobs earholes would get were all same and pointless.
What values did the Lads in Willis Study have?
- Lads felt superior to teachers and other pupils
- Didn’t care about work, more to ‘having a laff’
- Tried to bunk as many lessons as possible = status in the group
How is Willis Study of the Lads’ attitudes Ironic?
Irony is by resisting school’s ideology, ASS guarantees they’ll fail, ending up in manual work, working in favour of capitalism.
A03 Marxism Sociologists
> Postmodernist > Post-Fordism > Radical Feminism > McRobbie > Interactionist > Giroux > Floud and Martin > Saunders > Morrow and Torres
How does the Postmodernist undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
Marxism is outdated, correspondence principles no longer operates, where Marxist see inequality, there’s really diversity and choice.
How does the Post-Fordism undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
- Believes correspondence principle no longer operates.
- Education’s responsive to the needs of individuals, workplace no longer needs passive workers.
- It needs creative workforce able to use technology.
How does Radical Feminism undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
Reproduces patriarchy.
How does McRobbie undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
Females are absent from Willis’s study and 12 boys is unrepresentative.
How does Interactionist undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
Say they’re too deterministic, pupils don’t passively accept values, some reject and rebel vs them
How does Giroux (Neo Marxist) undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
- Don’t believe WC are passive robots to employers, and accept everything they’re taught
- So not entirely molded by capitalist system
- Believes theories e.g. correspondence principle are too deterministic.
- Existence of ASS, Truancy and Exclusion show hidden curriculum and correspondence principle as failed.
How does Floud and Martin undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
- Exaggerate effect education system has on WC achievement
- Say Gov policies e.g. comprehensives improved opportunities for WC
How does Saunder undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
- Claim MC educational success due to biological differences.
How does Morrow and Torres undermine Marxist Theories of Education (AO3)
- In postmodernist society, Students create own identities rather than being influenced by class,
- e.g. increasing NO of trans-students.
Outline a Key NR Thinkers and what they advocate?
> Chubb and Moe (Voucher System)
What 2 things does New Right believe in?
Marketisation and Parentocracy
What is the problem with the state running of Education according to NR?
> State can’t meet ppl’s needs.
> Education inevitably ends up as ‘1 size fits all’ not meeting individual and community needs, or need 4 employers to have skilled workers.
> State Run - Schools with bad results aren’t answerable to consumers, result is lower standards and unqualified workforce.
Define Marketisation of Education
Process of introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition into education system.
What happens in Marketisation of Education?
> Schools run like business, competing for pupils.
> Rather than pupils going school in local catchment area.
> Schools that get most pupils will get extra funding.
What are the Benefits of Marketisation of Education?
> Skl’s answerable to parents, as they have to be more efficient as they’re competing with other schools.
> Introduction of League Table and Ofsted Report give parents more info to choose right school and provides incentive, for schools to work harder.
What were Chubb and Moe’s findings in relation to Education?
> Stats show kids from WC families do better in private schools, so state education, not meritocratic.
> Parents can’t do anything about failing schools, controlled by state.
> Private Schools have better quality education as they’re answerable to paying customers.
What did Chubb and Moe propose the intro of?
> So they proposed intro of a voucher system, giving control to parents, where each family will be given voucher to buy education from school of their choice.
What is the benefits of the Voucher System?
Vouchers skl’s only source of income, incentivising them to provide quality education.
Explain the Limited of Role of the State in Education, what should do they still be responsible for, according to New Right?
> Commissions Educational Services putting them up for contract and deciding which private bidder gets the contract.
> Set targets and monitor performance to ensure private providers meet certain standards e.g. Ofsted inspections
> Set National Curriculum all schools must teach
How do Functionalist and New Right views on Education compare?
> Believe some ppl are naturally more talented than others
> Agree education should be run on meritocratic principles of open competition.
> And education should socialize pupils into shared values and provide a sense of national identity.
Outline the Criticisms of the New Right view of Education?
> Gewirtz: Restrictions on Parental Choice
> Low Educational Standards, due to inadequate funding of state school, not state running
> Marxist argue education, imposes values of ruling class, not shared national identity
> National Curriculum too ethnocentric and restrictive on teachers and schools
