The Role Of Education In Society Flashcards
Functionalist perspective
Consensus approach (means genuine agreement amongst people). According to functionalists, society is like a biological organism with interconnected parts held together by a value consensus. Each piece performs a vital role in maintaining balance and social equilibrium for the continuity of society.
Durkheim (1903) identified 2 main functions of education:
1. Social solidarity:
- Individual’s members must feel part of a single body/community.
- Social life and co-operation would be impossible without it.
- It helps transfer and transmit society’s cultures.
- Acts as a ‘society in miniature’ preparing children for wider society later in life.
2. Specialist skills:
- Noticed that an advanced economy needs a complex division of labour promoting social solidarity.
- Education teaches children skills and knowledge to play part in the economy.
- They learn diverse skills but then specialise in a particular skill.
• Parsons (1961) sees it as a focal socialising agency where the child is judged by particularistic/universalistic/impersonal standards
• Given equality of opportunity and are rewarded via efforts and ability.
• Davis and Moore (1945) sees it as device of selection and role allocation.
○ Argue that inequality is NECESSARY to ensure the roles and encourages competition.
Marxist perspective
- A Marxist view of society is based on class division. Marxists view education the same way, saying that education is based on class division and capitalist exploitation. Traditional Marxists view capitalism as a two-class system; the capitalist ruling class (the bourgeoisie) are a minority class that holds the most power in society and owns the means of production, and the working class (the proletariat) are forced to sell their labour to the ruling class. This, in turn, creates class conflict and raises class consciousness.
- Capitalism persists because the ruling class can control society through the education system. Education legitimises class inequality by producing and reproducing ideologies that create false class consciousness among the exploited working class.
- According to Althusser, the state is the means by which the capitalist ruling class maintains power. The state consists of two separate apparatuses: the repressive state apparatuses (RSAs), which maintain power through physical force or the threat of force; and the ideological state apparatuses (ISAs), which use beliefs and ideas as a means of control. Education is an essential ISA that reproduces and legitimises class inequality by ensuring the working class is in a state of false class consciousness
Bowles and Gintis: Hidden curriculum
They argue that education casts a ‘long shadow of work’, meaning there are close parallels between work and school. School mirrors or corresponds with the workplace as they both involve reward, punishment, uniform, and hierarchy. The correspondence principle operates through the hidden curriculum; Lessons on punctuality and behaviour are not formally taught to pupils, but pupils eventually internalise and accept them. This is essential because capitalism requires obedience and workers-compliance.
Feminist perspective
- Feminist theories emphasise the exploitation and marginalisation of women and girls. Feminists argue that education is an agent of secondary socialisation that enforces patriarchy and the subjugation of women and girls.
- Liberal feminists celebrate the advancement of girls’ education and highlight progress that has been made in the attainment gap between girls and boys, and education today is used to promote gender equality.
- Radical feminists, on the other hand, highlight the gender inequalities that still exist in society and education. Subjects are still gendered, and the curriculum transmits patriarchal norms and values. Girls in schools are subjected to gendered violence while the media creates moral panic about the underachievement of boys. The focus on the underachievement of boys is a distraction and reflects the domination exercised by boys and men.
- Marxist and socialist feminists argue that through the hidden curriculum, pupils are taught capitalist patriarchal values, and to accept their subjugation. Boys are taught to dominate and exploit girls.
- Feminists agree that current sociological research and theories are ‘malestream’, meaning most people are preoccupied with understanding and explaining things through boys and men’s experiences. They focus heavily on boys and marginalise and devalue the experiences of girls in the education system.
What are the critics saying of functionalism?
- The education system doesn’t teach specialist skills adequatley failing young people for the world of work.
- Meritocracy is a myth and equal opportunities doesn’t exist.
- Marxists argue that education in a capitalist society only transmits the ideology of the minority
- Feminists argue that education in a Patriarchal society only transmits male values.
Neoliberal and New Right perspective
An economic doctrine which has major influence on education policy. Neoliberals argue that marketing education creates competition which helps improve schools. Neoliberals advocate for restricting state involvement in the lives of citizens and believe the state should not be responsible for providing education.
Proponents of the new right are conservatives who have adopted neoliberal ideologies. They also believe that education should reflect the market and the state should not provide education for every child, simply because it cannot do so. It argues that the state cannot offer everyone adequate education, meaning that children from wc families get left behind.
Marketing education offers wc families opportunities that the current system cannot provide. It also makes schools accountable to parents who are seen as consumers. It argues that state involvement stunts innovation, making us unprepared for the global market.
Marketing education raises standards, which improves attainment and fosters social and cultural innovation as schools and educational institutions are constantly responding to the market. This also helps create a competent workforce and leads to greater diversity.
Sum up of new right: The new right do NOT believe the current education system is meeting goals.
They favour free market and the marketisation of education.
They believe inequality is inevitable as some pupils are naturally more able the others.
They believe education should socialise pupils into shared norms, values and identities.
Criticism of the New Right
- Reinforces and increases class inequalities
- social inequality ad inadequate funding of state schools is the reason for low standards
- causes class inequalities and devalues ethnic cultures and promotes patriarchy
correspondence principle
The social structure of schools reflects their society.
Bowles and Gintis depicted education as “the long shadow of work”. They believed the parallels between work and school, such as fragmented work-schedules and social hierarchies, are purposeful.
They argue there’s a close relationship between social relationships in school and those in the work place.
They believe there is a hierarchy in schools eg. teachers correspond to bosses in the work place.
School reward obedience, punctuality and hard work and so does a boss.
What is primary socialisation?
The family provides primary socialisation and teaches norms and values of society, before going into the education system
What is secondary socialisation?
Parsons sees educations main focus as secondary socialisation and believes that school acts as a bridge between the family and wider society, this is known as BRIDGE THEORY.
What is role allocation?
Functionalists, Davis and Moore believe a key function of education is to select and allocate pupils to their work roles. By assessing individuals abilities, schools help match them to the job they’re best suited to.
Davis and Moore say inequality is necessary to ensure that the most talented roles in society are filled by the most talented people.
What is a free market
A free marker suggests that schools should compete against each other for clients (pupils.) For every pupil a school enrolls they receive funding. By doing this, the standard of education should go up in schools, otherwise they will fail to attract pupils and receive no funding. (marketisation).
Postmodernist perspective
Usher et al, (1997) states that school’s are now paying closer attention to individual learning styles of students. One reason for this is the increase of multiculturalism which has led to individual identity becoming more fluid. This has impacted on a shift away from a ‘one style fits all’ educational approach and has now instead introduced alternatives, e.g. faith schools. Globalisation has also impacted education as governmental policies are introducing global ideas to improve our system.
- They criticise the National Curriculum for being too prescriptive and outdated, suggesting it is not capable of preparing individuals for a rapidly changing, diverse world.
- Traditional hierarchal structures in schools, such as the division between teachers and students, are viewed as contradictory to the notion of individual autonomy and equality.
Criticisms of postmodernist perspective
- Critics highlight that the approach may lead to a lack of social cohesion as a common education experience helps bond society together.
- It is argued that schools must teach a common body of knowledge to ensure equality of opportunity, particularly for disadvantaged students.
- The postmodernist critique of education is a micro approach and also limited by its focus on the nature of knowledge and curriculum content, often ignoring issues of social class, race, and gender inequalities in education.
Chubb and Moe (1990) and the role of the state
They argue that state-education had failed in the United States because:
It hasn’t provided equal opportunity and failed the needs of disadvantaged kids
It’s unproductive - fails to produces pupils with the skills needed for an efficient economy
Private schools - deliver higher quality because they are accountable to the consumers (parents)
Their evidence showed - low-income pupils did 5% better in private-education than in state-education
Concluded from their findings, Chubb and Moe advocate the introduction of a market system. This will give the consumers (parents) better control and allow the forces of the market to shape education to meet their needs and improve efficiency.
They propose a system where families receive vouchers to spend on a school of their choice - this forces schools to be compliant with the wishes of the consumer. Schools would have to attract customers (parents) by improving their product (teaching).
