The Role Of Education: Functionalist Perspective (Part 1)

Question 1

What were Durkheim’s two main functions of education?

Answer 1

1. ) Creating social solidarity

2. ) Teaching specialist skills

Question 2

Parsons; Meritocracy

Answer 2

-Parsons (1961) sees the school as the ‘focal socialising agency’ in modern society, acting as a bridge between the family + wider society.
-This bridge is needed as family + society operate on different principles.
-Within the family, the child is judged by particularistic standards (rules that apply only to that particular child). In the family, the child’s status is ascribed (elder son might have most duties + responsibilities).
-By contrast, both school + wider society judge us all by the same universalistic standards, e.g. in society, the same laws apply to everyone + in school each pupil is judged against the same standards.
-In both school + wider society, a persons status is largely achieved, e.g. at work we gain promotion or get sacked through efforts + at school we pass or fail.
-School prepares us for society as they are both meritocratic (equal opportunities for all, hard work = success.)

Question 3

Davis and Moore; Role allocation

Answer 3

-By assessing individuals’ altitudes + abilities, schools help to match pupils to the job they are best suited to.
-Davis + Moore argue that inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people (surgeon + pilot)
-Society has to offer higher rewards for these jobs, encouraging everyone to compete for them + society can then select the most talented individuals.
-Education plays a key part in this process, since it acts as a proving ground for ability. The most able —> highest qualifications = most rewarding jobs.
-Each individual plays a role in society allocated to them.

Question 4

How do femenists criticise the view thateducstion passes on society’s culture from one generation to another?

Answer 4

Femenists may argue school passes on patriarchal values, and disadvantages girls and women.

Question 5

Durkheim; 1.) Social solidarity

Answer 5

-Society needs a sense of solidarity (individuals must feel themselves to be part of a community.)
-Without it, social life + cooperation would be impossible due to each individual pursuing their own selfish desires.
-The education system helps to create social solidarity by transmitting society’s share beliefs + values from one gen to the next.
-For example, Durkheim argues that the teaching of a country’s history instils in children a sense of shared heritage + a commitment to the wider social group.
-School acts as a ‘society in miniature’, preparing us for life in wider society.

Question 6

Durkheim; 2.) Specialist skills

Answer 6

-Modern industrial economies have a complex division of labour, where the production of even a single item usually involves the cooperation of many different specialists (social solidarity).
-For it to be successful, each person must have the necessary specialist knowledge + skills to perform their role.
-Durkheim argues that education teaches individuals the specialist knowledge + skills that they need to play their part in the social division of labour.

Question 7

Evaluation of the functionalist perspective

Answer 7

❌The education system does not teach specialised skills adequately; The Wolf report found that 1/3 of 16-19 year olds are on courses that don’t lead to higher ed.
❌Achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability.
❌Marxists argue that education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of a minority (ruling class).
❌Wrong (1961) states that functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught + never reject the schools values.