the role of education Flashcards
functionalism, neoliberalism, marxism, the market
what is functionalism
a consensus view that sees society as being essentially harmonious. It argues:
- society has basic needs e.g. social order and social solidarity to survive, if not society was disintegrate
- social institutions e.g. educational perform positive functions for society and individuals, by socialising new members in a way to sustain social solidarity
- functionalism as a conservative view of society
Durkheim (social solidarity and skills) - functionalism
argues educational performs two basic functions:
- promotes social solidarity, without which society would fall apart. By transmitting society’s shared culture, education binds people together, enabling them to cooperate. Teaching common history and shared rituals shows pupils their shared past and common purpose, and teaches them to follow universalistic rules essential for societal cooperation
- prepares young people for work, equipping individuals with the specific skills needed to participate in work in a modern economy. The specialised division of labour requires people to undergo long periods of training for specific occupations in industrial societies.
Parsons (socialisation and meritocracy) - functionalism
argues that the school is the ‘focal socialising agency’ of modern society
- secondary socialisation: during primary socialisation within the family, each child is treated differently, as if they are ‘special’, but wider society cannot function in this way, as everyone has to be treated the same e.g. all are equal before the law. Education teaches universalistic standards, acting as a bridge between family and wider society, socialising individuals into shared values of a meritocratic society
- meritocracy: based on individual achievement (everyone achieves status through own efforts and abilities) and equal opportunity (for every individual to achieve their full potential)
society in miniature
schools is a miniature version of wider society- both are meritocratic, as in school, individuals succeed or fail depending on their own ability and effort. This prepares them for life in modern society and its economy, which is competitive and individualistic.
Davis and Moore (role allocation) - functionalism
argue the main function of education is the selection and allocation of individuals to their future work roles:
- some people are more talented than others
- some work roles are more complex than others, requiring greater skill
- the most talented people need to be allocated the most important roles for society to function
- there are higher rewards for these jobs, to motivate people to strive for them
- meritocracy in education allows everyone to compete equally. It ‘sifts and sorts’ individuals so the most talented get the best qualifications, and are allocated the most important jobs
- therefore, society is more productive due to the most able people being allowed into the most important roles
human capital theory
modern industrial society is technologically advanced, so the skills of the workforce are its main economic asset. A meritocratic education system is the best way to develop a sufficiently skilled workforce and thus create greater economic efficiency and higher living standards
criticisms of functionalism
- Marxists argue the values transmitted by education are not society’s shared values, but rather those of the ruling class
- education is not meritocratic, as schools discriminate against some groups e.g. wc and ethnic minorities, not giving them equal opportunity to achieve
- Hargreaves: argues schools place more value on competition and developing individuals than on developing a sense of social solidarity, as Durkheim claims
- it can be difficult to see the link between subjects studied at school, and what is required of workers in their jobs, as education doesn’t necessarily equip people for future roles
- interactionalists argue the functionalist view of socialisation is too deterministic, as not all pupils passively accept the school’s values. some reject and rebel against them
- a person’s ascribed characteristics (class background, gender, ethnicity) are more important in determining their income later in life than is their achievement in school.
what is neoliberalism
belief the state should not provide education. A free-market economy encourages competition and drives up standards, and schools should be more like businesses, operating in an education market.
what is the new right
- belief some people are more talented than others
- agree with functionalists that education should be run on meritocratic principles of open competition
- belief education should socialise pupils into shared values and provide a sense of national identity
- belief older industrial societies e.g. Britain are in decline, partly as a result of increased global economic competition
new rights- one size fits all
believe the state cannot meet people’s needs. In a state-run education system, education inevitably ends up as ‘one size fits all’ that does not meet individual and community need, or the needs of employers for skilled and motivated workers
lower standards
state-run schools are not accountable to those who use them- parents, pupils, employers- so they are inefficient. Schools that get poor results do not change because they are not answerable to their consumers, resulting in lower standards and a less qualified work force
marketisation as the solution
- seen by the new right as the solution, by making schools more responsive to their ‘consumers’
what is marketisation
the introduction into areas run by the state e.g. education, NHS of market forces or consumer choice and competition between suppliers e.g. schools, hospitals
what does the new right argue marketisation would do
creating an ‘education market’ forces schools to respond to the needs of pupils, parents and employers. e.g. competition with other schools means that teachers have to be more efficient, as a schools’ survival depends on its ability to raise the achievement levels of its pupils
Chubb and Moe (consumer choice)
- Chubb and Moe’s 1990 data shows that pupils from low-income families do about 5% better in private schools, suggesting that state education is not meritocratic
- state education has failed to create equal opportunity because it does not have to respond to pupils’ needs
- parents and communities cannot do anything about failing schools while the schools are controlled by the state
- private schools deliver higher quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers: the parents
Chubb and Moe’s solution
introducing a market system into state education, giving control to consumers. This should be done via a voucher system in which each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice
the new right’s view on the state’s reduced role in education
- the state should create the framework for competition between schools e.g. publishing league tables, setting national curriculum
- the state still has to ensure schools transmit society’s shared culture through a curriculum that emphasises a shared national identity e.g. teaching of British history
criticisms of the new right
- although school standards, by measured exam results, have risen, there are other possible reasons for this improvement apart from the intro of a market
- critics argue that low standards in some state schools are the result of inadequate funding rather than state control of education
- Gerwitz: argues that competition between schools benefits the mc, who can get their children into more desirable schools
- Marxists: argue education imposes the culture of a ruling class, not a shared culture or ‘national identity’ as the New Right argue
what is marxism
a conflict view that sees society as being based in class divisions and exploitation
marxist core beliefs hey Roxy xoxo
- in capitalist society, there are two classes: the ruling class (capitalists/ bourgeoisie) and the subject class (working class/ proletariats)
- the capitalist class owns the means of production (land/ factories) and make their profits by exploiting the labour of the wc
- this creates class conflict that could threaten the stability of capitalism or even result in revolution to overthrow it
- social institutions (e.g. education, mass media, religion) reproduce class inequalities and play an ideological role by persuading exploited workers that inequality is justified and acceptable
Althusser (the ideological state apparatus)
claims the state consists of two elements which help to keep them in power:
- the repressive state apparatus (when necessary to protect capitalist interests, the state uses forces to repress the wc via the police, courts, army)
- the ideological state apparatus (controls people’s ideas, values and beliefs, including religion, mass media and the education system)
what two functions does the education system do as an ideological state apparatus
- reproduction (reproducing class inequality, by failing each generation or wc pupils in turn and thereby ensuring that they end up in the same kinds of jobs as their parents)
- legitimation (justifying class inequality by producing ideologies (sets of ideas or beliefs) that disguise its true cause. Education tries to convince people that inequality is inevitable and that failure is the fault of the individual, not the capitalist system)
Bowles and Gintis
- capitalism needs workers with the kind of obedient attitudes and submissive personality-type that is willing to accept hard work, low pay and authority
- they see the role of the education system in capitalist society as reproducing an obedient, exploitative work force that will accept social inequality as inevitable and fair. To achieve this, successive generations of workers need these ideas firmly planted in their minds, which is the function of the education system
- argue that there is a close correspondence between relationships in school and those found in the workplace. This similarity creates new generations of workers ready to accept their lot and serve capitalism
the correspondence principle
Bowles and Gintis: schooling takes place in ‘the long shadow of work’, as the relationships and structures found in education mirror to those of work:
- school: alienation through pupils’ lack of control over education, work: alienation through workers’ lack of control over production
- school: hierarchy of authority through head teachers, teachers, prefects, pupils work: hierarchy of authority through boss, supervisor, workers
- school: extrinsic satisfaction through rewards rather than interest in the subjects studied work: extrinsic rewards through pay rather than satisfaction in the job
- school: fragmentation of knowledge into unconnected subjects work: fragmentation of work into small, meaningless tasks
- school: competition and divisions among pupils work: competition and divisions among workers through differences in status and pay
