Theories of Education

Question 1

Durkheim (Functionalist)

Answer 1

1. Social solidarity- Institutions like the education system should socialise people into a value consensus which builds social solidarity.
2. Specialist skills- Skills that can’t be taught by parents but are needed in modern industrial society where there is a complex division of labour.

Question 2

Parsons (Functionalist)

Answer 2

1. Education is a bridge between the family and wider society, helping children learn how to cope with the real world.
2. Meritocracy- Individuals achieve rewards through their own effort.

Question 3

Davis and Moore (Functionalist)

Answer 3

1. Role allocation- Education sifts and sorts people into different jobs depending on an individuals ability and skills, helping to match them to a job they are most suited to.

Question 4

Shultz (Functionalist)

Answer 4

1. Human capital- A meritocratic education system is good for the economy, and a successful modern economy is dependent on its ability to use its workers skills effectively.

Question 5

Althusser (Marxist)

Answer 5

1. Education as part of the ISA- Legitimates and justifies class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause, to persuade the w/c they deserve their subordinate position in society and prevent them from rebelling against their exploitation. This creates a false class consciousness.

Question 6

Bowles and Gintis (Marxist)

Answer 6

1. Studies 237 NYC high school students and found a direct correlation between personalities valued by employers and high scores/grades whereas students who showed independence and creativity tended to gain lower grades.
2. Correspondence principle and hidden curriculum- Relationships and structures in education mirror those of the workplace which helps prepare students for their future exploitation by their capitalist employers. This correspondence operates through the hidden curriculum: alongside academic subjects, students also learn values that are important in the workplace eg- the acceptance of hierarchy, motivation by rewards/wages.
3. Myth of meritocracy- Believe meritocracy is a myth that needs exposing.

Question 7

Bourdieu (Marxist)

Answer 7

1. Cultural capital- The knowledge, attitudes and values that m/c parents pass onto their children. Middle classes have the capital to buy the books, take the trips, visit the theatre etc. W/c fail as they don’t posses cultural capital.

Question 8

Willis (Neo-marxist)

Answer 8

1. ‘Lads counterculture’- He studied a group of w/c boys and followed them in their last 18 months of school and first few months at work, and saw they had formed their own counter culture that was opposed to the values of the school. However, by resisting the schools capitalist ideology, the lads counterculture ensures they will fulfil the unskilled labour roles that capitalism needs.

Question 9

Chubb and Moe (New Right)

Answer 9

1. State education is ineffective in producing a highly skilled workforce- the state education system has failed to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups such as ethnic minorities from w/c, consequently failing to create equality of opportunity. The state education system fails to produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy. Private schools deliver higher quality education because they are answerable to paying the consumers (their parents). Pupils from low income families do better in private schools than state schools,