Role of Education

Question 1

What is Parson views on the function of education

Answer 1

• sees school as a focal socializing agency which act like a bridge between the family and wider society
• Bridge needed because the family and wider society operate on different principles
• believes school is based on meritocratic principles - e.g. same exam & same pass mark for everyone

Question 2

How does school promote Meritocracy?

Answer 2

• Same test and same pass mark requirement for everyone
• Same National Curriculum
• Status is largely achieved not ascribed like the family
• same set of universalistic and impersonal standards unlike the family where the child is judge by particularistic standards

Question 3

Define Meritocracy

Answer 3

Everyone is given equal opportunities and individuals rewards through their own effort and ability

Question 4

What is the overall view of education from a functionalist perspective?

Answer 4

Education performs functions that helps maintain society as a whole

Question 5

What 2 main function of education did Emile Durkheim identify

Answer 5

• Creating Social Solidarity

- Teaching specialist Skills

Question 6

What is social solidarity

Answer 6

people feeling they are part of the community

Question 7

How does the school achieve social solidarity

Answer 7

• transmits society’s culture, it’s values, norms and shared beliefs from one generation to the next to maintain order. for instance, teachings of a countries history instills in pupils a sense of shared heritage and commitment to wider social groups
• schools acts as society in miniature which prepares pupils for the transition from the family to society thereby promoting social solidarity. for instance, both in school and at work we have to cooperate with people that are neither friends or family. Similarly, both in school and at work we have to interact with other based on a set of impersonal rules that applies to everyone

Question 8

Why does school perform the function of teaching specialist skills

Answer 8

The economy has a complex division of labor which relies on cooperation and social solidarity to flourish. Hence schools teach the specialist skills required for an efficient labor force. For example, doctors needs to be trained with specialist skills in medicine and plumbers in plumbing.

Question 9

What are Davis and Moore view on Education

Answer 9

Schools perform the function of allocating pupils to their future work role by assessing pupils ability and “sifting and sorting” pupils so that the most able pupils get the functionally most important jobs.

Question 10

Criticism of functionalist perspectives on education:

Answer 10

• Education does not teach specialist skill as adequately as Durkheim claims
• Equality opportunities in education does not exist. for example, achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability. Marxist would critique this view as it is only those from U/MC that have the most educational opportunities
• Education does not instils values of society but rather the values of capitalists ( bourgeoisie) which benefits them only as it maintain the hierarch of classes
• Wrong critique functionalist for being to deterministic, in that functionalist wrongly imply that all pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject school’s values
• New Right argues that schools fails to adequately prepare students for work and that they are not taught specialist skills needed for certain professions.

Question 11

What are Neoliberalism View on Education?

Answer 11

• argues that the government should not provide public services such education, health and welfare
• Education should not regulated as a free market economy
• Schools should operate more like businesses
• values of education lies in how well it enables the country to compete in global market economy

Question 12

What are the similarities between Functionalist and New Rights views ?

Answer 12

• believe some are naturally more talented than other
• education should socialize children into shared values
• Should instill a sense of national identity
• favor an education system run on meritocratic principles of open competition
• Education should serve the needs of the economy by preparing pupils for work

Question 13

What is the Key difference between New Right and Functionalist ideas ?

Answer 13

• New right do not believe the current education system is succeeding in performing its functions well because it run by the state

Question 14

What do New Rights argue in regards to Education?

Answer 14

• State Education system imposes uniformity and takes one size fits all approach
• State education system is unresponsive and inefficient to consumers needs (parents/pupils)
• Failing are not answerable to the consumers (parents)
• competition amongst school and empowering parents will bring greater diversity, choice and efficiency needed to create a prosperous economy

Question 15

Evaluation of New Rights perspective on Education:

Answer 15

• competition amongst schools benefit the middle class as they have the cultural and economic capital to full exercise their power. thus able to making informed choices and access to the more desirable school
• Critiques argue the real cause of low educational standards is due to inadequate funds and social inequality not state control

Question 16

How do Marxist view education?

Answer 16

see education as based on class division and capitalist exploitation

Question 17

What does Marx believe and hope?

Answer 17

believe and hope for a revolution where the proletariats would overthrow the capitalist system and create a more classless, equal society

Question 18

What work under capitalism like?

Answer 18

alienating, unsatisfying and poorly paid but the proletariat have no control but to deal with it as they own no means of production

Question 19

How does Marxism see Education overall?

Answer 19

See it as functioning to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism

Question 20

Describe Althusser theory of ISAS

Answer 20

Althusser believed that no class could stay in power for an extensive period of time just by force, but ideology is a much more effective form of social control. Therefore, the ruling class maintains power in 2 main ways

Question 21

What are the 2 main ways Bourgeoisie maintain power explain

Answer 21

• Repressive state apparatus - force (army, police)
• ideological state apparatus - indoctrinating individuals by controlling their values, idea and belief via media , religion and education

Question 22

What 2 function does the education perform in Althusser’s view

Answer 22

• reproduces class inequality by failing each successive generation of W.C pupils
• Legitimizes class inequality via ideologies such as meritocracy and inequality is inevitable

Question 23

What does capitalism require and how is it achieved?

Answer 23

• requires hardworking and obedient workforce that is too divided the authority of the ruling class
• achieved via the hidden curriculum

Question 24

What is correspondence theory?

Answer 24

• it’s the link and mirror between the social relationships in the workplace and in education

Question 25

What is the hidden curriculum?

Answer 25

consists of subtle and implicit messages pupils learn through the experience of attending school rather than what they are specifically taught through the National Curriculum

Question 26

define meritocracy

Answer 26

everyone has equal an equal opportunity to achieve as rewards are based on effort and ability

Question 27

What are the critiques of Meritocracy

Answer 27

Marxist believe it legitimizes inequality because it makes it appear that the ruling class deserve the success they have got and that the working class are poor due to their lack of effort in school

Question 28

what are the features of counter-school subculture

Answer 28

• see no value is gaining qualifications
• sexist and racists
• manual labor is seen more worth than non-manual
• believe school is a “con”
• smoke and drink
• find school boring and a place to have a “laugh”

Question 29

What does Willis Believe about education?

Answer 29

believe school serves capitalism but argues that some WC pupils do see through the ideology and resist such attempts of indoctrination by forming counter-school subcultures

Question 30

Evaluation of Marxist approach of education

Answer 30

• Marxist approaches contrast with each other about how legitimatization of inequality take place: Bowles and Gintis take on a deterministic point of view whilst Willis argues pupils can resist school, but yet it still leads them into working class jobs
• Willis study only used 12 boys and so is not true representative of all similar school boys

- Morrow & Torres criticize Marxists for taking a ‘class first’ approach that sees class as the key inequality and ignores other kinds such as  gender and race thus argues Marxists must explain 
how education legitimizes all forms of inequality.

Question 31

what a positive evaluation from Willis’s study

Answer 31

Willis’ work led onto other researches about how education leads to other forms inequalities. For example, Conneley explored how education reproduces both ethnic and gender inequality