role of education Flashcards
func - 2 main functions of education - who says them
Durkheim
social solidarity
specialist skills
social solidarity and the sociologist
func
Durkheim -
society needs a sense of solidarity, its individual members must feel part of a community
how does the education help to create social solidarity
func
by transmitting society’s culture - shared beliefs and values - value consensus
social solidarity evidence AO2
func
Durkheim argues that the teaching of a country’s history instils in children a sense of shared heritage and commitment to a wider social group
specialist skills and the sociologists
func
Durkheim -
modern economies have a complex division of labour where production requires cooperation of specialists
education teaches individuals the specialist knowledge and skills they need to play their part in the social division of labour
secondary socialisation and sociologist
func
parsons
sees school as acting as a bridge between family and wider society
bridge is needed because the family and society operate on different principles.
whereas both school and wider society judge us by the same universalistic standards = school gives us shared values
secondary socialisation - AO2
func
an elder son and a younger daughter may be given different rights or duties because of differences of age or gender
meritocracy and sociologist
func
parsons
individual achievement - everyone achieves their status through their own efforts and abilities
equal opportunities - every individual has the opportunity to reach their full potential
role allocation and sociologists
func
davis and Moore
schools perform the function of selecting and allocating pupils to their future by assessing individual’s abilities
inequality is necessary to ensure the most important roles are filled by the most talented people - the meritocratic system allows everyone to compete equally
functionalist AO3 (4pts)
equal opportunity does not exist - achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability
functionalists see education as a process that instils the shared values of society as a whole, whereas marxists argue that education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of a minority
functionalist have an ‘over-socialised’ view of people as mere puppets of society. they wrongly imply that pupils passively accept the way they’re taught
new right - func aren’t achieving these goals because the school is run by the state
new right key beliefs
the state cannot meet people’s needs and that people are best left to meet their own needs through the free market
they favour marketisation for this reason
similarities between new right and functionalism
some people are naturally more talented than others
favour an education system run on meritocratic principles
education should socialise pupils into shared values
one size fits all
new right
impose uniformity and disregarding local needs
local consumers have no say so the state education system is unresponsive
solution = marketisation
marketisation and sociologists
new right
chubb and moe
market system in education to put control in the hands of the consumers - allow them to shape schools to meet their own needs
each family given a voucher to spend on buying education = forces schools to become more responsive as vouchers would be main source of school’s income. would compete to attract customers
two roles of the state
new right
1. impose a framework on schools within they have to compete - ofsted, league tables
2. state ensures that schools transmit a shared culture - national curriculum
