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sociology A1- EDUCATION > ★ theories as a whole > Flashcards

★ theories as a whole Flashcards

1
Q

FUNCTIONALISM

what does durkhiem say are the two functions of education?

A
  1. creating a social solidarity - a commitment to society
    FOR EXAMPLE:
    - pledge of allegiance
    - citizenship/british values
    - teaching of british history/literature/uniforms/assemblies
  2. teaching specialised skills for work
    - complex industrial societies need specialised skills for the economy
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2
Q

FUNCTIONALISM

parsons - meritocracy

A
  • system where rewards go to the most able and talented and who have put in the hardest work
  • schools work on meritocratic principles
  • everybody has an equal opportunity, and individuals achieve rewards through their own effort and ability
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3
Q

FUNCTIONALISM

parsons - focal socialising agency

A
  • education is a bridge between family and society
  • in the family the child has an ascribed status (assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life)
  • in wider society we have an achieved status (position in a social group that one earns based on merits or choices)
  • all individuals have to change from particularistic standards of the family to universalistic standards of society
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4
Q

FUNCTIONALISM

davis and moore - role allocation

A
  • the most able and talented must be filtered into the most successful and important jobs in society
  • those with lower grades end up in lower skilled jobs
  • the education system shifts, sorts and grades us all
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5
Q

FUNCTIONALISM

blau and duncan - education provides human capital

A
  • human capital = the skills, knowledge and experiences possessed by an individual
  • blau and duncan say the modern economy requires human capital for prosperity
  • a meritocratic education system allocates people to their most suitable roles
  • this makes the most effective use of their talents and maximises productivity
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6
Q

FUNCTIONALISM

three criticisms of the functionalist view on education

A
  • MULVIN TUMIN says functionalists put forward a circular argument of why a job is highly important and rewarded
  • MARXISTS argue that education only transmits the ideology of the ruling class instead of creating shared values
  • DENNIS WRONG says functionalists assume pupils are ‘over socialised’ and are puppets of society. functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept authority and never reject school.
  • NEOLIBERALS/NEW RIGHT argue that the state education system does not adequately prepare young people for work
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7
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

what is neoliberalism?

A

set of economic ideas that support:
- a free market (not government involved-competition)
- consumer consumption
- privatisation
- low government interference
- reduced public spending

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8
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

what is the new right?

A
  • a conservative political group of sociologists that incorporates neoliberal economic ideas
  • big influence on educational policy in the UK
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9
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

what are three similarities between the new right and functionalism?

A
  • education should run on meritocracy
  • education should prepare people for work
  • education should teach shared values and instil a national identity
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10
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

chubb and moe - consumer choice/consumption

A
  • chubb and moe compared the achievements of 60,000 pupils from low income families in state schools and private schools
  • students from low income families do better in private schools than state schools
  • private schools do better because they are answerable to the fee paying customers aka parents
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11
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

what is the marketisation of education

A
  • reduction of government control of education
  • introduce competition in an educational marketplace like a workplace
  • give parents more choice - parentocracy
  • this will give schools incentive to improve and raise school standards
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12
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

what is parentocracy?

A

give parents more power as parents are given more information which will raise standards

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13
Q

NEOLIBERALISM/NEW RIGHT

three criticisms of the new right perspective

A
  • marxists say education does not impose a shared culture but the culture of the dominant class
  • social inequality is not about state education but about inadequate funding
  • ‘healthy’ competition will always benefit the middle class who can use their money and cultural advantages to get into the best schools
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14
Q

MARXISM

what is the hidden curriculum?

A
  • learnt through the experience of going to school
  • feminists say it produces patriarchy
  • functionalists argue its vital and not hidden
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15
Q

MARXISM

BOWLES + GINTIS - correspondence principle

A
  • correspondence principle between school and work which operates through the hidden curriculum
  • E.G. hierarchy, punctuality, boring tasks, rewards
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16
Q

MARXISM

BOWLES + GINTIS - creativity

A
  • interviewed nyc students
  • schools tend to ignore creativity and independence
  • schools reward qualities that create obedient workers
17
Q

MARXISM

BOWLES + GINTIS - myth of meritocracy

A
  • no one has a fair chance
  • meritocracy justifies higher class privilege
  • people blame themselves for their low paid work so proletariat dont fight back
18
Q

MARXISM

LOUIS ALTHUSSER - state apparatus

A
  • education is an ideological state apparatus
  • education fails WC generations
  • legitimizes class inequality by producing ideology - false set of ideas to make children believe they deserve their low position in society and are less likely to challenge capitalism
  • better to control ideas, beliefs and values
19
Q

MARXISM

PAUL WILLIS - learning to labour

A
  • argues WC pupils can resist attempts to control them

-‘lads’ studied in their last year of school and first year of work

  • boys had a counter culture (rude, sexist and homophobic, hated well behaved boys)
  • found school meaningless and boring
  • focused on truanting and bad behaviour
20
Q

MARXISM

working class male subculture

A
  • anti school subculture similar to male culture in manual work
  • sees intellectual work as inferior/effeminate
  • preparing themselves for their future roles
  • coping with the boredom in school and the boredom of unskilled labour
21
Q

MARXISM

criticisms of marxism

A
  • focus too much on class and not on gender, ethnicity etc
  • BOWLES + GINTIS have a determistic view - pupils have no free will
  • WILLIS shows pupils do not passively accept authority - pupils reject school which fails them
  • WILLIS study included 12 people so not representative

sociology A1- EDUCATION (15 decks)

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