The role of education in society Flashcards
Davis and Moore
Role allocation - Davis and Moore argue that education allocates people to the most appropriate job for their talents, using examinations and qualifications. They argue that some jobs are more important to society than others (CEOs), and that education helps to identify the people capable of doing such jobs.
2012 research (Pisa)
2012 research (Pisa) placed the UK 26th out of 65 countries in terms of maths ability for 15-year-olds, 23rd for reading and 20th for science. Even if societies need the education system to provide the workforce with skills, that does not always mean it will succeed in doing this.
Louis Althusser
Althusser argues that education is an ideological state apparatus (ISA). Its main function is to maintain, legitimate and reproduce, generation by generation, class inequalities in wealth and power. It does this by transmitting ruling-class or capitalist values disguised as common values. For example, in Britain, pupils are encouraged to accept the benefits of private enterprise and individual competition without question. To Marxists, these parts of the capitalist system provide much greater benefit to the ruling class than to other members of society.
Pierre Bourdieu
Bourdieu argues that the working-classes are effectively duped into accepting that their failure and limited social mobility are justified. The education system tends to value the culture of middle and upper classes (for example, classical music and ‘serious’ literature rather than popular culture). The cultural attributes of the working-class are rejected because the system is defined by, and for, the middle-classes who succeed by default rather than by great ability. Their cultural assets are seen as worthy of investment and reward and hence have greater value as cultural capital.
Bowles and Gintis
Bowles and Gintis argue that education is controlled by capitalists and serves their interests. From a study of high school children in the USA, they argue that there is a close relationship between schooling and work, because schooling is used to prepare children to work in capitalist businesses. The correspondence theory states that education corresponds to employment. For example, schools teach acceptance of hierarchy since teachers give the orders and pupils obey, just as workers obey managers in the workplace.
Reynolds
Reynolds believes some education encourages critical thinking, for example, in subjects such as Sociology.
Henry Giroux
Giroux believes that working-class pupils do not passively accept everything they are taught, but actively shape their own education and sometimes resist the discipline imposed on them by the school.
Links to Willis’ ‘Learning to Labour’ (1977) study.
Glenn Rikowski
Rikowski argues that there has been a ‘business takeover’ of schools. In the UK, this has involved businesses sponsoring academies, the subcontracting of many school services (for example, educational psychology services) to private businesses and an ever-growing emphasis on competition between schools. In terms of the curriculum, there is more emphasis on NVQs and BTECs in schools.
Wolf
Wolf questions whether more and more government spending on education will automatically lead to economic growth. For example, Switzerland has relatively low education spending but high economic growth.
Chubb and Moe
Chubb and Moe believe that state education is unresponsive to the needs of pupils and parents and tends to have low standards. In contrast, private education has to please its customers in order to survive and therefore standards are high and there is constant pressure to improve further.
Haralambos and Holborn
Haralambos and Holborn point out that there is actually a greater centralisation in some aspects of education, particularly the national curriculum, rather than greater diversity and choice. The budget for adult education in the UK has been cut and, for example, the range of evening classes available for adult students has declined.
