Term 1

Question 1

What is a functionalists views of education?

Answer 1

A functionalist highlights positive function of education. For society to examine how schools help to promote value consenus in society by socialising people into its norms and values.

Question 2

What does value consenus mean?

Answer 2

Where everyone agrees on the same norms and values eg, commiting crimes and racism.

Question 3

What is asciribed status?

Answer 3

The status you were born with eg, King or Queen.

Question 4

What is achieved status?

Answer 4

The status you have worked for eg, Sir or Dr.

Question 5

What are universalistic standards?

Answer 5

Same rules for everyone eg, you can’t murder.

Question 6

What are particularistic standards?

Answer 6

Rules that only sertain people get, they arent equal eg, little sibbling has to go to sleep earlier.

Question 7

What is meritocracy?

Answer 7

When you earn promotions through hard work (the American dream), as long as you work hard your effort will get a reward.

Question 8

Name some functionalists:

Answer 8

Durkheim
Parsons
Davis and Moor

Question 9

What was Durheims perspective on society?

Answer 9

Solidarity and skills, society in a minature.

Question 10

What was Parsons perspective on society?

Answer 10

Meritocracy. Where the government or the holding power by people selected acording to merit.

Question 11

What was Davis and Moore’s perspective on society?

Answer 11

Role allocation.

Question 12

What examples does Durkheim give to show that the education system creates social solidarity by transmitting society’s culture, norms and values?

Answer 12

The teaching of a countries history instils in children a sence of shared herritage and commitment to the wider social group.

Question 13

What examples show that school is like society in a minature? (Durkheim solidarity and skills)

Answer 13

Preparing us for life in wider society eg, both in school and at work we have to cooperate with people who are neither like family or friends.

Question 14

Why does Durkheim say that indeviduals need specialist skills?

Answer 14

Modern industrial economies have a complex division of labour where the production of even a single item usually involves the cooporation of many different specialists. Education teaches indeviduals the specialist skills and knowledge that they need to play their part in the school division of labour.

Question 15

What are some critisisms of Durkheim’s work? (solidarity and skills)

Answer 15

Some poeple may like social isolation.
Society isn’t equal eg, wealth and gender.
Not everyone has the same history eg, culture diversity.
Universalic values, some people may have access to higher possitions.
Qualification, are they woth it out of school.
Not meritocratic.

Question 16

What is education the bridge between according to parsons (meritocracy)?

Answer 16

Family and the wider society

Question 17

How are standards different in schools and famillies according to Parsons (meritocracy)?

Answer 17

Within the family the child is judged by particularistic standards eg, rules that apply to only one child. Schools judge us all by the same universalistic and impersonal standards eg, same laws apply for everyone.

Question 18

How is status different in schools and family according to Parsons (meritocracy)?

Answer 18

In the family the childs status is ascribed, fixed at birth eg, an elder son and younger daughter may be given different rights or duties because of age and sex. In schools a persons status is largely achieved and not ascirbed eg, in a test you pass or fail through your own efforts.

Question 19

How does school prepare us for wider society according to Parsons (meritocracy)?

Answer 19

School and society are both based on meritocratic principles, where everyone is given an equal opportunity and indeviduals achieve rewards through their own effort and ability.

Question 20

What are some critisisms of Parsons (meritocracy) work?

Answer 20

Head teachers are unlikely to offer research that might undermine the image of offering equal opportunities to all their students. Teachers may feel unable to reveal anything about their school thats contrasts. It doesnt matter how hard someone works they might not make it eg, descriminated againt. Some indeviduals might already know people that could give them a head start.

Question 21

How do Davis and Moore (role allocation) claim that schools prepare students for their furure work role?

Answer 21

Schools perform the function of selecting and allocating pupils for their future work roles by assesing indeviduals aptitudes and abilities.

Question 22

Why do Davis and Moore (role allocation) belive inequality is necessary?

Answer 22

To ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people eg, it would be inefficent and dangerous to have less able people performing roles such as surgeon. Not everyone is equally talented.

Question 23

What do Davis and Moore (role allocation) mean by “education is a proving ground for ability”

Answer 23

Education is where individuals show what they can do.

Question 24

According to Davis and Moore (role allocation) how does school “sift and sort” based on talent?

Answer 24

The most able gain the highest qualifications which then gives them to the most important and highly awarded positions.

Question 25

Which sociologists support the Work of David and Moore (role allocation)?

Answer 25

Peter Blau and Otis Duncan (1978) augue that modern economy depends for its prosperity on using its “human capitol” - its workers skills.

Question 26

What criticisms are ther of wDavis and Moore’s (role allocation) work?

Answer 26

Not everyone gets the same opportunities eg. privet schools, books. Ignores sexism in the work place eg, “women can’t have sertain jobs.

Question 27

Marxism and education is based on what?

Answer 27

Class devision and capitalist exploitation.

Question 28

Who are the capitolist/bourgeosie?

Answer 28

The minority class.
Employers who own the means of production.
Make profit by exploiting the labour of the majority.

Question 29

Who are the working class?

Answer 29

Forced to sell labour as they have no way to produce goods on their own.
Poorly paid, unsatisfied.
No controll over the power of them.

Question 30

What is education seen as (in marxism)?

Answer 30

Class devision and capitolist exploitation. A way to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism.

Question 31

What are the two class systems Karl Marx described capitalism as?

Answer 31

The capitalist class.
The working class.

Question 32

What does capitolist exploitation create potential for?

Answer 32

Class conflict eg, is workers realise they are being exploited they may demand higher wages, better working conditions or even the abolination of capitolism itself.

Question 33

What does Louis Althusser (1971) belive?

Answer 33

The state consists of two elements or “apparatuses” both which serve to keep the bourgeoisie in power.

Question 34

What are the two elements or “apparatuses that serve to keep the bourgeosie in power?

Answer 34

The repressive state apparatuses.
The ideological state apparatuses.

Question 35

What is the repressive state apparatuses?

Answer 35

Maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie by force or the threat of it eg, the police, coutes and army.

Question 36

What is the ideological state apparatuses?

Answer 36

Maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefes eg, religion, media and the education system.

Question 37

What two functions does Althusser belive the education system performs?

Answer 37

Reproduces class.
Legititmates class.

Question 38

How does Althusser belive education reprodues class?

Answer 38

By transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn.

Question 39

How does Althusser belive education legitimates class?

Answer 39

By producing ideologies taht discuise its true cause. The function of ideology is to persuade workers to accept that inequality is inevitable.

Question 40

Who developes Althusser’s ideas further?

Answer 40

The American Marxists Bowles and Gintis.(1976)

Question 41

What do Bowles and Gintis (1976) argue?

Answer 41

That capitalism requires a workforce with the kind of attitudes, behaviour and personality-type suited to their role as alienated and exploited workers are willing to accpet hard work, low pay and orders from above. Role of the education system in capitalist society - to reproduce an obediant workforce that will accpet inequality as inevitable.

Question 42

What are some criticisms of Marxists perspection of education?

Answer 42

Ignores culture.
Criticise conditions of the working class.
Determinism - people are robots but they aren’t people have free will and aren’t expecting to get exploited.

Question 43

Who did Bowles and Gintis study?

Answer 43

237 New York school students.

Question 44

What did Bowles and Gintis find when they studied 237 New York school students.

Answer 44

Schools reward pricisely the kind of personality traits that make for a submissive, complient worker. Schooling helps to produce the obediant workers that capitolism needs. They do not belive that education fosters personal development.

Question 45

What do Bowles and Gintis argue about schooling and work?

Answer 45

There are close parallels between the both in capitolist society. Both places are hierarchies which head teachers or bosses at the top making decisions and giving orders and workers or pupils at the bottom obeying.

Question 46

What do Bowles and Gintis refer to the parallels between schools and workplace as?

Answer 46

Examples of the “correspondence principle”.

Question 47

How do Bowles and Gintis argue that the correspondence principle operates through the education system?

Answer 47

All lessons are learnt in school without being directly taught eg, simply through the everyday workings of the school, pupils become accustomed to accepting hierarchy and competition.

Question 48

What does Phil Cohen (1984) argue?

Answer 48

Youth training schemes serve capitolism by teaching young workers not genuine job skills, but rather the attitudes and values needed in a subordinate labour force.