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sociology: education > Role of Education > Flashcards

Role of Education Flashcards

1
Q

describe the basic functionalist theory

A
  • society has basic needs eg social order so social solidarity /value consensus needed to achieve needs
  • social institutions function to socialise helpful members of society to sustain social solidarity
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2
Q

how do functionalists tend to view schools

A

positively

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3
Q

who are the 3 main functionalist theorists for the role of education

A
  • Durkheim
  • Parsons
  • Davis and Moore
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4
Q

what does Durkeik think are the two main roles for education

A

creating social solidarity
teaching specialist skills

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5
Q

describe Durkheims view in how the role of education is to create social solidarity

A
  • school transmits society’s norms and values into new generation as it is necessary to produce social solidarity
  • this is done through overt and hidden curriculum
  • school is society in miniature so society learns to interact with the community and follow rules —> initiation into social duty
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6
Q

summarise Durkheims views on social solidarity into 3 main phrases / concepts

A
  • social solidarity
  • overt / hidden curriculum
  • society in miniature
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7
Q

describe Durkheims theory on the role of education in teaching specialist skills

A
  • pupils must be taught specialist skills to take place in complex division of labour
  • production often involves cooperation of many specialists which promotes social solidarity
  • to get this social solidarity each person must have a specialist skill and role which is gained via education
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8
Q

give 2 critiques of Durkheims social solidarity theory (using two studies)

A
  • Marxists ; dominant culture transmitted which serves ruling class not society
  • Willis and Hargreaves; transmission not always successful eg anti school subcultures actively resisting
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9
Q

give 2 critiques of Durkheims teaching specialist skills theory

A
  • Wolf Review of Vocational Education claims high quality apprenticeships are rare and many vocational courses don’t lead to higher education or good jobs
  • many occupational skills learnt on the job or by company courses
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10
Q

what is Parsons analogy /theory for the role of education

A

-school is a focal socialising agent that acts as a bridge between family and wider society

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11
Q

what are the ways Parsons believes school acts as a bridge

A
  • through socialisation
  • through transmitting values
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12
Q

how does Parsons describe socialisation to be the role of education

A

-with family children are judged by particularistic standards that only apply to them and stays is ascribed
-with wider society individuals judged with universalistic standards and status is achieved based off meritocratic
principles eg hard work in exams
-education helps ease childrens transitions eg meritocratic exams and uniforms promoting equality

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13
Q

describe how Parsons believes transmission of values is a role of education

A

-school transmits two major values :
value of achievement / meritocracy
value of equality of opportunity
-also argues it is society in miniature

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14
Q

give 2 criticisms of Parsons theory using one study

A
  • Wrong; functionalists have over socialised view of people and assume students passively accept values
  • assumes western education systems are meritocratic and existence if private education and inequalities linked to class gender etc challenge this
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15
Q

describe Davis and Moores theory on the role of education

A
  • education system sifts and sorts ppl according to their abilities ; role allocation
  • society offers the talented few incentives to stay in education such as higher salaries
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16
Q

give 3 critiques of Davis and Moores theory on role allocation (using 2 studies)

A
  • achievement closely tied to class/gender/ethnicity eg Bordieu argues m/c have more cultural and social capital which advantages them and allows them to gain better qualifications than w/c
  • Bowles and Gintis; m/c pupils gain better qualifications regardless of abilities and role allocation legitimises inequality in society
  • footballers wages high despite lack of qualifications
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17
Q

give a basic overview of the New Rights ideas

A
  • some are more naturally talented than others
  • education should be meritocratic and competitive
  • school should socialise studies to share values and provide sense of national identity
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18
Q

what is the KEY new right belief

A

the state cannot run an efficient education system; there us too much state control which results in inefficiency national economic decline and a culture of welfare dependency

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19
Q

give 2 reasons why the New Right dont believe the state can run an efficient education system

A
  • state run education is one size fits all and doesn’t meet individual /community or employer needs
  • state run schools not accountable for those who use them; schools with poor results don’t change as they aren’t answerable to consumers so there are low standards and a less qualified work forces
20
Q

what do the New Right believe is the solution to state run schools inefficiency

A
  • schools become more responsive to consumers via marketisation
  • education market forces schools to respond to demands of consumers
21
Q

what New Right theorists argue marketisation as the solution to state run schools inefficiency

A

-Chubb and Moe; introduce market system to state education via a voucher system so each family would get a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice

22
Q

what is Chubb and Moes study

A
  • compared achievement of 60,000 students from low income families in 1000+ state and private US schools
  • suggested education was not meritocratic and state education failed to create equal opportunity as private schools had higher quality education
23
Q

evaluate the New Rights view in the role of education using 2 theorists (3)

A
  • low quality of education to do with lack of funding not state control
  • Gerwitz ; competition benefits m/c who can get children into more restorable schools
  • Marxists ; education transmits ruling. class culture not shared national identity
24
Q

give a basic overview of marxist beliefs

A
  • bourgeoise who own means of production exploit proletariats labour
  • social institutions reproduce and legitimise inequality so proletariat don’t revolt
25
Q

what is the basic marxist view on the role of education

A

-to reproduce and legitimise class inequalities and socialise w/c into culture of failure so they willingly take up full routine work

26
Q

give the 3 main marxist theorists

A
  • Althusser
  • Bowles and Gintis
  • Willis
27
Q

describes Althussers theory on the role of education

A

-school = ISA that reproduces class inequality by teaching capitalism is common sense and natural and to keep w/c as w/c

28
Q

how does Althusser believes school performs two functions as an ISA

A
  • reproduces inequality by transmitting it to each generation and failing each generation of w/c
  • legitimises class inequality through ideology to persuade w/c that inequality is inevitable so they don’t revolt
29
Q

give 2 studies that support Althussers theory on the role of education

A
  • Reay; evident that schools reproduces inequality as m/c do better due to cultural capital
  • Conner et al ; w/c children less likely to go to uni due to fear of debt
30
Q

give 2 critiques of Althussers theory on the role of education using one study

A
  • Giroux; too deterministic, w/c pupils aren’t passive puppets eg Willis study of the anti school lads
  • education harms the bourgeoise as many left wing marxist activists are university educated
31
Q

what is Bowles and Gintis theory on the role of education

A
  • meritocracy is a myth
    -correspondence principle operates through hidden curriculum so school acts as/ prepare w/c for work force
32
Q

describe Bowles and Gintis ideas of the correspondence principle

A
  • hidden curriculum encourages acceptance of hierarchy
  • produces docile workers
  • pupils motivated via external rewards not love of education itself
  • subjects are fragmented like the work routine
33
Q

give 3 studies that critique Bowles and Gintis theory on the role of education

A
  • Giroux
  • Brown et al
  • Willis
34
Q

how does Giroux critique Bowles and Gintis theory on the role of education

A

-w/c resist hidden curriculum and history of trade unionism in UK doesn’t support ideas of worker conformity

35
Q

how does Brown et al critique Bowles and Gintis theory in the role of education

A

-they exaggerate correspondence principle eg modern work requires team work and exams still stress individual competition

36
Q

how does Willis critique Bowles and Gintis theory on the role of education

A

-study of anti school subcultures show that students don’t accept hidden curriculum at school and many have little respect for education

37
Q

give 2 things that support Bowles and Gintis theory on the role of education

A
  • teachers freedom limited via National Curriculum
  • education designed to meet employers needs eg BTECs, work experience ,skills courses
38
Q

what theorist directly criticises Bowles and Gintis

A

Willis

39
Q

describe Willis theory on the role of education

A
  • w/c lads see myth of meritocracy and create anti school culture that challenges dominant views
  • however this behaviour guarantees dead end jobs
40
Q

what is Willis study (overview)

A
  • 12 w/c lads studied using unstructured group interview and observation
  • they had anti school culture and opposed education
  • lads scornful at conformist boys, found school boring and meaningless, disregarded rules and rejected values
41
Q

what did Willis find out in his study regarding the boys boredom in school

A
  • lads anti school culture got them accustomed to boredom in school and didn’t expect satisfaction from work so they could deal with tedious labour
  • acts of rebellion ensured they got less qualifications and unskilled jobs
42
Q

what jobs did the boys in Willis study want and why

A

lads chose to fail to get manual labour jobs with friends and little responsibility ; saw intellectual work as inferiors and effeminate

43
Q

summarise Willis study and theory on the role of education

A

-w/c not passive ; many reject school but due to their rebellion and how they are accustomed to boring work they still end up in dead end jobs

44
Q

evaluate Willis theory on the role of education using a study

A

-Blackledge and Hunt; his sample is inadequate and too small to generalise and he also ignores the range of school subcultures

45
Q

give 2 overall criticisms of marxist theories in education

A
  • not intersectional ; ignore things such as gender and ethnicity
  • w/c viewed sympathetically or as heroes what if Willis lads are just badly behaved kids making bad decisions
46
Q

how would feminists critique theory’s on the role of education

A

school does reproduce /transmit ideas but patriarchal ideas

47
Q

how would post modernists critique theory’s on the role of education

A

marxism and correspondence principle is out of date and we live in a post class society

sociology: education (13 decks)

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