the role of education in society - functionalism

Question 1

what do functionalists believe?

Answer 1

society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a shared culture or value consensus - an agreement among society’s members about what values are important.

each part of society, such as the family, economy or education system, performs functions that help to maintain society as a whole

Question 2

durkheim:

social solidarity

Answer 2

society needs a sense of solidarity, its individual members must feel part of a community

without social solidarity, social life and cooperation would be impossible because each individual would want to pursue their own selfish desires

the education system creates social solidarity by transmitting culture from one generation to the next. durkheim argues that the teaching of a country’s history instils in children a sense of heritage and a commitment to the wider social group

Question 3

durkheim:

society as a miniature

Answer 3

school prepares children for life in wider society

in both school and work, we have to cooperate with people who are neither family, nor friends - teachers and pupils at school

in school and work, we have to interact with others according to a set of impersonal rules that apply to everyone

Question 4

durkheim:

specialist skills

Answer 4

modern industrial economies have a complex division of labour, where the production of a single item usually involves the cooperation of many different specialists

promotes social solidarity, but for it to be successful, each person must have the necessary specialist knowledge and skills to perform their role

education teaches individuals the specialist knowledge and skills they need to play their part in the social division of labour

Question 5

parsons:

meritocracy

Answer 5

everyone is given an equal opportunity, and individuals achieve rewards through their own effort and ability

we pass or fail through our own individual efforts

school prepares us to move from the family to wider society because school and and society are both based on meritocratic principles

education meritocratic - encouraged to work to best of ability

education socialises - values of individual achievement and achieved status

universalistic standards

Question 6

davis and moore:

role allocation

Answer 6

see education as a device for selection and role allocation , but they focus on the relationship between education & social inequality

inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people.

this will encourage everyone to compete.

education plays a key part in this process, since it acts as a proving ground for ability.

Question 7

evaluation of functionalism

Answer 7

education system does not teach specialised skills adequately, as durkheim claims - the wrong review of vocational education (2011) claims that high quality apprenticeships are rare and up to a third of 16-19 year olds are on courses that do not lead to higher education or good jobs.

tumin - criticises davis and moore for putting forward a circular argument

functionalists see education as a process that instils the shared values of society as a whole, but marxists argue that education in capitalist society only transmits the ideology of a minority - the ruling class.

wrong - functionalists have an ‘over-socialised view’ of people as mere puppets of society and wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the school’s values.

neoliberals and the new right argue that the state education system fails to prepare young people adequately for work.