The Role Of Education In Society

Question 1

What is an overview of the functionalist view ?

Answer 1

Functionalism is based on the view that society is a system of interdependent pars held together by a shared culture. Each part of the society such as the family , economy or education system performs functions to help maintain society as a whole

Question 2

What does Durkheim have to do with functionalism ?

Answer 2

Durkheim is the founder of functionalism

Question 3

What are the 2 main functions of education that Durkheim identified ?

Answer 3

• creating social solidarity
  -teaching of specialist skills

Question 4

What does Durkheim mean by social solidarity and what would happen without it ?

Answer 4

Durkheim argues that society needs a sense of solidarity , that Is individidual members must feel themselves to be part of a single body or community . He argues that without social solidarity , social life and cooperation would be impossible because each individual would pursue their own selfish desires

Question 5

How does Durkheim argue that society helps to create social solidarity ?

Answer 5

The education system helps to create social solidarity by transmitting society’s culture - its shared beliefs and values - from one generation to the next . For example Durkheim argues that the teaching of counties history instils children a sense of shared heritage and a commitment to a wider social group.

Question 6

How does Durkheim argue that schools act as society in miniature ?

Answer 6

Durkheim argues that schools act as society in miniature , preparing individuals for life in wider society , for example both in school we have to work and cooperate with people who are neither friends or family

Question 7

What does Durkheim argue school does for specialist skills ?

Answer 7

Durkheim argues that the education system teaches individuals specialist knowledge and skills that are needed to play their part in the social division of labour

Question 8

What does parson mean by him seeing schools as a focal socialising agency ?

Answer 8

Parson sees the school as the focal socialising agency in modern society , acting as a bridge between the family and wider society . This bridge is needed because family and society operate on different principles , so children need to learn a new way of living if they are to cope with the wider world

Question 9

What standards are children judged by in the family ?

Answer 9

Within the family , the child is judged by particularistic standards , that is rules that apply only to that particular standard

Question 10

In the family how is the child’s status chosen ?

Answer 10

In the family , the child’s status is ascribed , that is fixed from birth .

Question 11

How do school and wider society judge us ?

Answer 11

School and wider society judge us all by the sample universal and impersonal standards . For example in society the same law apply to everyone , similarly in schools all pupils sit the same exam and the pass mark is the same for everyone

Question 12

How in wider society and school is a persons status chosen ?

Answer 12

In both school and wider society , a persons status is largely achieved and not ascribed to. For example at work we gain a promotion if we are good at our job through our own individual effort.

Question 13

How does parson see the school as preparing to move from family to wider society ?

Answer 13

Parson sees schools as preparing us to move from the family to wider society because school and society are both based on meritocratic principles , in a meritocracy , everyone is given an equal opportunity , and individual achieve rewards through their own effort and ability.

Question 14

What do Davis and Moore see education as a device for ?

Answer 14

Davis and Moore see education as a device for selection and role allocation

Question 15

What do Davis and Moore focus on in selection and role allocation ?

Answer 15

Davis and Moore argue that inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people . For example it would be dangerous to have less able people performing roles such as a surgeon . Not everyone is equally talented so society has to offer higher rewards for these jobs . This encourages everyone to compete for them and then society can select the most talented individuals to fill these positions

Question 16

How is education a key part in selection and role allocation stated by Davis and Moore ?

Answer 16

Education plays a key part in selection and role allocation because education is where individuals show what they can do . It sifts and sorts us according to our ability . The most able gain the highest qualifications , which then gives them entry to the most important and highly rewarded positions

Question 17

Evaluation of the functionalist perspective ?
Critic of Durkheim
Tumin
Marxists
Wrong
Neoliberals and new right

Answer 17

-The education system does not teach specialised skills as Durkheim claims
-There is lots of evidence that equal opportunity in education does not exist for example achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability
-Tumin criticises Davis and Moore by putting forward a circular debate how do we know what jobs are important because they are highly rewarded but why are they highly rewarded because they are important
-Functionalists see education as a process that instils the shared values of society as a whole but Marxists argue that education in a capitalist society only transmits the ideology of the minority - the ruling class
- Wrong argues that functionalists have an over socialised view of people as simply puppets , functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject schools values
-new right and Neoliberals argue that the state eduction system fails to prepare young people adequately for the world of work

Question 18

What is the main critical view of new right ?

Answer 18

A central principle of the new right is the belief that the state cannot meet the peoples needs and that people are best left to meet their own needs , for this reason the new right favour the marketisation of education

Question 19

What are 3 similarities between the new right and functionalism ?

Answer 19

-both believe some people are naturally more talented than others
-both favour an education system run on meritocratic principles of open competition , and one that serves the needs of the economy by preparing young people for work
-Both believe that education should socialise pupils into shared values , such as completion and instil a sense of national identity

Question 20

How does the state education system taking a one size fits all approach lead to a less qualified workforce according to new right ?

Answer 20

The new right argue that the state education system taking a one size fits all approach , imposing uniformity and disregarding local needs .the local consumers who use schools , pupils , parents , employers have no say , the state is unresponsive and inefficient for their needs . Schools that waste money and get poor results are not answerable to their consumers . This results in lower standards of achievement for pupils and a less qualified workforce .

Question 21

What is the new rights solution to the state education system producing underachieving pupils ?

Answer 21

The new rights solution to these problems are the marketisation of education - creating an education market. They believe that competition between schools and empowering consumers will bring greater diversity , choice and efficiency to schools and increase schools ability to meet the needs of pupils , parents and employers

Question 22

What are 3 reasons that Chubb and Moe -new right argue that state run education in the United States has failed ?

Answer 22

-it has not created equal oportunity and has failed the needs of disadvantaged groups
-it is insufficient because it fails to produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy
-private schools deliver higher quality education because unlike state schools , they are answerable to paying consumers - the parents

Question 23

What do Chubb and Moe call for the introduction of due to state run eduction in United States failing ?

Answer 23

Chubb and Moe call for the introduction of a market system in education that would put control in the hands of the consumers . This would allow consumers to shape schools to meet their own needs and would improve the quality and efficiency of

Question 24

How would Chubb and Moe argue that a market system would be introduced into state schools ?

Answer 24

To introduce a market into state education , Chubb and Moe propose a system in which each each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice . This would force schools to become more responsive to parents wishes , since the vouchers would be the schools main source of income . Like private businesses , schools would have to compete to attract customers by improving their product . In Chubb and moe’s view , educational standards would be greatly improved by introducing the same market forces into the state sector

Question 25

However , what are 2 roles that the new right still argue remain important for the state ?

Answer 25

-Firstly , the state imposes a framework on schools within which they have to compete . For example publishing Oftsted inspections reports and league tables of schools exam results , the state gives this information so parents can make more informed choices between schools
-secondly , the state ensures that schools transmit a shared culture . By imposing a single national curriculum , it seeks to guarantee that schools socialise pupils into a single cultural heritage

Question 26

How do the new right argue that the education system should affirm the national identity ?

Answer 26

The new right believe that the education system should affirm the national identity . For example , the curriculum should emphasise britains positive role in the worlds history and teach British literature , and there should be Christian acts of worship in school each day because Christianity is britains main religion . The aim is to integrate pupils into a single set of traditions and cultural values . For this reason , the new right also oppose multicultural education that reflects the cultures of the different minority groups in Britain.

Question 27

4 Evaluations of the new right perspective ?
Gewirtz and Ball
Marxist

Answer 27

-Gewirtz and Ball both argue that competition between schools benefit the middle class who can use their cultural and economic capital to get access to more desirable schools
-Critics argue that the real cause of low educational standards is not state control but social inequality and inadequate funding of state schools
-there is a contradiction between the new rights support for parents choice on the one hand and the state imposing a compulsory national curriculum on all its schools on the other
-Marxists argue that education does not impose a shared national culture , as new right claim but imposes the culture of the dominant minority ruling class and devalues the culture of the working class and ethnic minorities

Question 28

What do Marxists see society and education is based on ?

Answer 28

Where functionalists see society and education as based on class division and capitalist exploitation

Question 29

What are the 2 classes that Marx described in capitalism making up the 2 class system ?

Answer 29

-the capitalist class or bourgeoisie - are the minority class - they are the employers who own the means of production eg land , factories , offices etc . They make their profits by exploiting the labour of the majority - the proletariat or working class
-The working class are forced to sell their labour power to the capitalists since they own no means of production of their own and so have no other source of income . As a result , work under capitalism is poorly paid , unsatisfying and something over which workers have no real control
This creates the potential for class conflict. For example ,if workers realise they are being exploited they may demand higher wages , better working conditions or even the abolition of capitalism itself . Marx believed that ultimately the proletariat would unite to overthrow the capitalist system and create a classless , equal society

Question 30

What is one of the main reasons that Marists argue that maintains capitalism ?

Answer 30

However , despite the potential for revolution of capitalism , it is able to continue because the bourgeoise also control the state . And a key component of the state is the education system , and Marxists see education as functioning to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism

Question 31

What are the 2 apparatuses or elements which Althusser states that serve to keep the Bourgeoisie in power ?

Answer 31

-Representative state apparatuses - which maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie by force or the threat of it. Includes the police , courts and army. when necessary , they use physical force to repress the working class.
-Ideological state apparatus - which maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling people’s ideas , values and beliefs . Includes religion , media , education system

Question 32

What are the 2 functions that Althusser argues makes the education system an ideological state apparatus ?

Answer 32

-Education reproduces class inequality by transmitting inequality from generation to generation , by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn.
-Education justifies class inequality by producing ideologies (sets of ideas and beliefs) that disguise its true cause .The function of ideology is to persuade workers to accept that inequality is inevitable and that they deserve their subordinate position in society.

Question 33

What do Bowles and Gintis argue is the role of the education system in a capitalist society ?

Answer 33

Bowles and Gintis develop the ideas stated by Althusser further . Bowles and Gintis argue that capitalism requires a workforce with the kind of attitudes , behaviours and personality type suited to their role as alienated and exploited workers who are willing to accept hard work , low pay and orders from above .
In the view of Bowles and gintis the role of the education system in a capitalist’s society is to reproduce an obedient workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable

Question 34

What did Bowles and Gintis find from their study about schools producing an obedient workforce ?

Answer 34

From Bowles and Gintis’s own study of 237 New York high school students they conclude that schools reward precisely the kind of personality traits that make a submissive , compliant worker .For instance Bowles and Gintis found that students who showed independence and creativity tended to get lower grades , while those who showed characteristics linked to obedience and discipline tended to gain higher grades.
Bowles and Gintis conclude from this evidence that schooling helps to produce the obedient workers that capitalism needs

Question 35

What do Bowles and Gintis mean by the correspondence principle ?

Answer 35

The correspondence principle refers to the close parallels between schooling and work in a capitalist society . Both school and workplaces are hierarchies , with head teachers or bosses at the top making decisions and giving orders and workers or pupils at the bottom obeying. The relationships and structures found in education mirror or correspond to those of work.

Question 36

How do Bowles and Gintis argue the correspondence principle operates through ?

Answer 36

Bowles and Gintis argue that the correspondence principle operates through a hidden curriculum , that is all lessons that are learnt in school without being directly taught.
For example , simply through the everyday workings of schools , pupils become accustomed to accepting hierarchy and competition , in this way school prepares working class pupils for their role as exploited workers , reproducing the workforce that capitalism needs and perpetuating class inequality through generations.

Question 37

How does Cohen argue youth training schemes serve capitalism ?

Answer 37

Cohen argues that youth training schemes serve capitalism by teaching young workers not genuine job skills , but rather the attitudes and values needed in a subordinate labor force . It lowers the younger generations aspirations so that they will accept low paid work

Question 38

How do Bowles and Gintis argue the education system prevents the poor from rebelling against inequality in a capitalist society ?

Answer 38

in Bowles and Gintis view , the education system helps to prevent the poor from rebelling , by legitimizing class inequalities. It does so by producing ideologies that serve to explain and justify why inequality is fair natural and inevitable.

Question 39

Why do Bowles and Gintis describe the education system as a giant myth making machine ?

Answer 39

Bowles and Gintis describe the education system as a giant myth making machine. A key myth is that education promotes is the myth of meritocracy .
Bowles and Gintis argue that meritocracy does not in fact exist because evidence shows that the main factor determining whether or not someone has a high income is their family and class background , not their ability or educational achievement.
the myth of meritocracy serves to justify the privilege’s of the higher classes ,making it seem that they gained their educational success through open and fair competition in school. This helps to persuade the working class to accept inequality as legitimate and makes it less likely they will seek to overthrow capitalism.

Question 40

How do Bowles and gintis argue the education system justifies poverty ?

Answer 40

the education system also justifies poverty , through what Bowles and gintis describe as the poor are dumb theory failure . It does so by blaming poverty on the individual rather than blaming capitalism . It therefore plays an important part in reconciling workers to their exploited position , making it less likely for them to rebel against the system.

Question 41

How does Willis’s study show that working class boys end up as unskilled workers that a capitalist society needs ?

Answer 41

Using qualitative research methods including participant observation and unstructured interviews . Willis studied the culture of the lads- a group of 12 working class boys as they make a transition from school to work. The lads find school boring and meaningless , they flout the schools rules and values. for example by smoking , drinking , disrupting classes. For the lads , such acts of defiance are ways of resisting the school. They reject as con the schools meritocratic ideology that working class pupils can achieve middle class jobs through hard work.
Willis notes the similarity of the lads anti school subculture and the shop floor culture of male manual workers . both cultures see manual work as superior and intellectual work as inferior and effeminate . The lads identify strongly with manual work
For Willis , the irony is that by helping the lads resist the schools ideology , the lads culture ensures that they are destined for the unskilled work that capitalist needs someone to perform

Question 42

How do Marxists criticize Bowles and Gintis (Marxists) on how reproduction and legitimization takes place ?

Answer 42

Marxists disagree with one another about how reproduction and legitimation takes place . Bowles and Gintis take a deterministic view , they assume that pupils have no free will and passively accept . This approach fails to explain why many pupils reject the schools values.

Question 43

How does Willis argue that schools don’t passively accept their fate ?

Answer 43

Willis rejects the view that schools simple brainwashes pupils into passively accepting their fate because he shows how pupils may resist the school but still get into working class jobs.

Question 44

How do critical modernists Morrow and Torres criticize Marxists ?

Answer 44

Critical modernists Morrow and Torres criticize Marxists for taking a class first approach that sees class as the key inequality and ignores all other kinds. Instead they are argue society is more diverse . they see non class inequalities such as ethnicity , gender , sexuality as equally important

Question 45

How do Feminists criticize Bowles and Gintis view of education system reproducing capitalism ?

Answer 45

Feminists criticize Bowles and Gintis because it ignores the fact that schools reproduce not only capitalism but patriarchy too