the role of education Flashcards
what does Durkheim say about the functions of education?
promotes social solidarity: transmits society’s shared culture, education binds people together and enables them to cooperate
prepares young people for work: industrial societies have specialised division of labour which requires people to undergo long periods of training for specific occupations
what does Parsons say about the role of education?
secondary socialisation: acts as a bridge between family and wider society, teaches universalistic standards compared to particularistic standards of the family e.g. in society same laws apply to everyone, similarly in school everyone sits the same exam and pass mark the same
meritocracy: individual achievement, everyone achieves their status through their own efforts and abilities, equal opportunity
what did Davis and Moore say about the role of education?
role allocation, some people are more talented than others, some work roles are more complex than others and require greater skill, for society to function effectively talented individuals need to be allocated to most important jobs
education system ‘sifts and sorts’ individuals so most talented get best qualifications and are allocated to most important jobs
what are criticisms of the functionalist perspective on education?
education is not meritocratic because schools discriminate against some groups e.g. working class and black pupils and don’t give them an equal opportunity to succeed
difficult to see a direct link between subjects at school and what is required of workers in their jobs, education doesn’t necessarily equip people for future work roles
too deterministic, not all pupils passively accept the school’s values, some reject and rebel against them
what does the new right/neoliberalism say about the role of education?
state should not provide education
a free-market economy encourages competition and drives up standards
schools should be more like businesses and operate in an education market
how are new right ideas similar to functionalist ideas?
they believe that some people are naturally more talented than others
they agree that education should be run on meritocratic principles of competition
they believe education should socialise pupils into shared values and prove a sense of national identity
why does the new right criticise state run education?
one size fits all: state cannot meet people’s needs, does not meet individual and community needs or the needs of employers for skilled and motivated workers
lower standards: state-run schools not accountable to consumers (pupils and parents) so are inefficient, schools that get poor results don’t change because not accountable so lower standards
what is the new right’s solution?
marketisation, introducing market forces of consumer choice and competition
creating an ‘education market’ will make schools more responsive to their consumers e.g. competition between schools means teachers have to be more efficient
what did Chubb and Moe say?
New Right, state-run education failed because:
state education has failed to create equal opportunity because it doesn’t have to respond to pupils’ needs
parents can’t do anything about failing schools while they are controlled by the state
private schools deliver high quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers (parents)
what was Chubb and Moe’s solution?
introduce a market system in state education, give control to consumers
via a voucher system where each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice
vouchers would be schools main source of income so would have to compete to attract parent’s vouchers
what do the New Right see as the role of the state?
limited role
create the framework for competition between schools (e.g. by publishing league tables and setting national curriculum)
ensure that schools transmit society’s shared culture through a curriculum that emphasised a shared national identity (e.g. British history)
criticisms of New Right
low standards of state schools are result of inadequate funding rather than state control
Gerwitz argues that marketisation benefits middle class, who can get children into desirable schools
Marxists say education imposes a culture of ruling class not shared culture of ‘national identity’
what does Althusser say?
the state consists of two elements which help to keep them in power:
- repressive state apparatus: when necessary state uses force to repress working class via police, courts, army
- ideological state apparatus: controls peoples, ideas, values and beliefs via religion, education system
education system performs two functions as an ISA: reproduction - reproduces inequality by failing working class pupils so they end up in the same kind of jobs as their parents legitimation - legitimates inequality 'myth of meritocracy'
what do Bowles and Gintis say?
capitalism needs obedient and submissive workers who are willing to accept hard work, low pay and authority, accept social inequality as fair
correspondence principle: between school and work creates generations of workers who accept and serve capitalism e.g. hierarchy of authority
hidden curriculum: correspondence principle operate through the hidden curriculum, not directly taught, taught through everyday workings of the school
myth of meritocracy: prevent people recognising their exploitation and revolting, claims everyone has equal opportunity and this who gain highest rewards are most able and hardworking, in reality, success based on class background
what does Willis say?
rejects Bowles and Gintis correspondence principles, rather than passively accepting ruling-class ideally, working-class pupils may resist indoctrination
counter-school culture: flouted schools rules e.g. smoking, truanting as a way of resisting schools authority
similar to shop floor culture of male manual workers, identify strongly with male manual work so see themselves as superior to girls and conformist pupils
