The Role and Function of Education (2) Flashcards
Up to what age is the education compulsory in the UK?
18
What is a sixth form college?
Further education.
What is the National Curriculum? When was it introduced?
Board scheme of work set by the government that schools have to follow.
It was introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988 by Kenneth Baker.
What does co-educational mean?
Both genders together in one school.
What do we mean when we talk about “special educational needs”?
Children that have a condition that effects them learning - physical and/or mental.
What do we mean by “educational achievement”?
The extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals.
How might gender affect a child’s experience of education?
Labelling - boys labelled as lazy and don’t want to learn so the teachers don’t teach them as much as they do the girls.
What are the different theoretical perspectives on the role and function of education?
Functionalism - consensus. New Right - political. Marxism - conflict. Feminism - conflict. Interactionism - micro. Postmodernism - choice.
What are the explanations of the different theoretical perspectives?
Functionalism: consensus; schools function for the needs of society and promote social order.
New Right: political; schools are important for meritocracy and promoting traditional values.
Marxism: conflict; schools reproduce social class inequalities and support capitalism.
Feminism: conflict; schools reproduce gender inequalities and support patriarchy.
Interactionism: micro; schools and teachers label pupils and produce self-fulfilling prophecies and pupil subcultures; classroom interactions is observed in detail.
Postmodernism: choice; schools and learning are ‘customised’ to meet the diverse needs of parents and pupils; ‘one-size fits all education’ is outdated.
How do functionalist see society?
Functionalists see society as integrated as a whole. To functionalists every institution in society performs a positive function and they assume that this helps society to run smoothly.
What is the metaphor often used to describe functionalism?
Functionalists see society built up and working like a human body, made up of interrelated parts which function for, or contribute to, the maintenance of society as a whole.
Who was the founding father of functionalism?
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917).
What do functionalists agree on?
Norms and values (value consensus).
What are functionalists views?
Macro Structural Consensus Durkheim: social solidarity and skills Parsons: Meritocracy Davis and Moore: Role allocation
What are the key functionalists points?
- Functionalism is a structural consensus theory.
- The founding father was Emile Durkheim.
- He compared society to a living things to explain who society worked.
- This he called the organic analogy.
- Every system in society has a positive function.
- Every system is essential to the whole (indispensable).
- Every system is interdependent (rely on each other).
- Any system without a function will eventually disappear as it is no use.
What were the ideas of Durkheim?
‘Living individuals to society’ (school is a mini society).
School teaches ‘social rules’ that apply to all (norms/values and expectations).
In school people learn to ‘feel’ part of a larger group (social integration).
People learn specialist work skills (division of labour) in school.
How is school like society?
SCHOOL:
Head teacher/pupil hierarchy
Rules and regulations
Punishment for not doing what you are told
Put in a class with people beyond your family who you are expected to get along with
Uniform
Rewards for hard work eg exam results, rewards
Competition is encouraged
WORK/SOCIETY;
Boss/employee
Employment rules and police/laws
Punishment for not doing what you are told
Have to get on with people you don’t necessarily know/like
Uniform
Rewards for hard work, eg bonus/payrise/promotion
Competition is encouraged
How did Talcott Parson describe school?
As a bridge - education is a bridge that helps children see how to survive in the world. Before education the family is what help guide them but it is not very successful because they try and shelter them from the outside world.
What is meant by the term Social Solidarity?
Education teaches us to understand that we are part of a society, otherwise society wouldn’t work. Education transmits society’s culture and socialises us into a value consensus.
What is meant by the term Specialist Skills?
Durkheim also believed that education teaches you skills that your parents can’t. Some of these skills are necessary for specific jobs (an advanced division of labour) and parents do not have the specialist knowledge.
How did Durkheim see education?
Durkheim saw schools as society in miniature in which individuals learn to interact with others and follow a fixed set of rules. This provides preparation for later life when individuals will have to get on with others and comply with the rules of society,
What are the 3 main functions Parsons believed education had?
- It is a bridge between the family and wider society.
- It socialises children into the basic values of society.
- It selects people for their future roles in society.
What is Ascribed Status?
A trait or characteristic people possess as a result of the circumstances of birth. E.g. knowledge, caring, generous, lazy, etc.
What is Achieved Status?
A status that we either earn or choose and that is not subject to where or whom we where born. E.g. hardworking, honest, etc.
What are Particularistic values?
Values that are individual to that person e.g. king, good sense of humour, etc.
What are Universalistic values?
Values that all people in society are judged on e.g. hardworking. motivation, etc.
What is meant by the term Meritocracy?
The idea that everyone is given an equal opportunity and individuals achieve rewards through their own effort and ability.
What are some Particularistic values?
Treated differently Treated according to your position in the family Treated individually May get favourable treatment Dress as an individual Food –eat the food YOU like perhaps
What are some Universalistic values?
Everyone treated the same
E.g. examiners mark the same way for everyone
Nobody given preferential treatment (in theory)
School uniform is the same for everyone (is it?)
Everyone has to do the same work/exams
What the views of Davis and Moore of education?
The view education as a means of role allocation. Education ‘sifts and sorts’ people according to their abilities so that the most able gain high qualifications and can progress to doing the most ‘functionally important jobs’ in society.
The most important jobs are more highly rewarded motivate the talented to work hard to achieve those positions.
What are the strengths of functionalism?
- Structural perspective enables analysis to move beyond the level of the classroom or individual school.
- Links schools to systemic needs of the wider society.
- Identifies schools as transmitters of knowledge, norms and values and as a selecting mechanism.
What are the weaknesses of functionalism?
- Other perspectives, such as Marxism, believe that education only passes on the ideology of the ruling class.
2, Socialisation only seems applicable to countries that have a dominant culture. In countries that are multi-cultural such as it’s hard to see how education could reconcile differences. - Interactions criticise functionalists for their over socialised view of pupils that sees them as passively accepting all they are taught.
- We do not have a meritocracy as functionalists suggest. For example, ability and effort are not the only factors that determine achievement, so does gender, class, ethnicity etc.
- Some sociologists argue that the knowledge and skill taught in school are not particularly useful for life at work.
- Some studies suggest that not all pupils conform to society’s norms and values through education and therefore don’t succeed in socialising them (e.g. Paul Willis)
What are the evaluating points of functionalism?
- Equal opportunity in education does not exist, achievement in influenced by social class, ethnicity and gender.
- Marxism argue education transmits the ruling class ideology so only capitalists benefit.
- Doesn’t consider that some students reject school values (anti-school subcultures).
- Ignores individual free will-success partially due to individual decisions not just structural forces.
- Feminist argue it ignores patriarchy within education.
What is the meaning of the time of the false class consciousness?
A term used by some Marxists for the way in which material, ideological, and institutional processes in capitalist society mislead members of the proletariat and other class actors.
What is the Marxists view of education?
Marxist believe it is education that keeps the workers work and the owners own. Social institutions such as education reproduce class inequalities and play an ideological role by persuading alienated students and exploited workers that inequality is justified and acceptable.
What are the Marxist perspectives of education and what do they mean?
Macro - society shapes individuals.
Conflict - society is divided by two, unequal social classes; ruling class operate elite recruitment via extended family networks and attendance of public school and Oxbridge.
Structural - individuals are controlled by society; education is ideological, promoting false consciousness and meritocracy as a myth.
Economically deterministic - all society’s institutions such as education reflect and reinforce the economic (capitalist) base.
What are the two main functions Marxists see education as performing?
Economic - reproduces inequalities e.g. trains working class pupils to do the working class jobs and encourages the children of the wealthy into positions of power. Ideological - it convinces pupils that their success is based on meritocracy rather than class.
What are the Marxist perspectives on the role of education?
- There are 2 classes in capitalist society.
- Education reproduces, perpetuates capitalism.
- Education brainwashes us so we are ready to become docile workers.
- Athusser - Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) - legitimating inequality.
- Bowles and Gintis - correspondence principle - what you do at school affects what you do as a job.
- Willis - learning to labour.
- Bourdieu - cultural capital.
What are the two classes capitalism is based on conflict?
Proletariat - the workers.
Bourgeoisie - the owners.
How did Louis Althusser see the education system?
Althusser sees the education system as part of the ideological state apparatus. He claims that education, along with other ideological state apparatuses such as the family and the mess media, reproduce class-based inequalities by creating the belief that capitalism is somehow 'normal', 'natural' and 'just'. The school system is purposefully designed to fail working class pupils. This enables the reproduction of the class system, because the sons and daughters of the working class tend to remain working class.
What does Bourdieu believe that the main function of education is and why?
Like Althusser, Bourdieu argues that the main function of education is to reproduce and legitimise ruling class into a 'culture of failure' so that they take up, without question, routine and dull work. This is because the education system favours the culture of the middle class (e.g classical music and serious literature) rather than popular culture (e.g. Harry Potter, Ed Sheeran).
What are the strengths of Althusser and Bourdieu?
- Unveils the interests of the dominant and powerful groups in shaping schooling.
- Reveals the undeclared agenda of schooling. But, so do functionalists.
- Documents resistance by students to negative labelling.
What are the weaknesses of Althusser and Bourdieu?
- Are the working class ‘cultural dopes’ - do they just accept it?
- Tends towards conspiracy theory - are schools purposefully failing students?
- Does the current educational system have no advantage at all? What about role allocation?
- Karabel and Halsey point out that our educational system is remarkably similar to those in communist countries e.g. Cuba.
The educational system reproduces the next generation of workers in which to ways?
- The hidden curriculum.
2. The ‘myth’ of meritocracy.
What is the hidden curriculum?
The things learnt in school that are taught unintentionally.
What does the hidden curriculum do?
Get people to respect authority.
Encourages competition.
Gets people to work for rewards.
Gets people behaving in a particular way with peers/teaching.
