theories on the role of education Flashcards
What does Durkheim say the role of education is?
- to promote social solidarity and transmit societies culture,norms and values.not to mention it is a society in miniature preparing students for life in wider world.
- Passes on specialist skills needed by employers due to complex division of labour
How can Durkheim be criticised?
Marxists would say the education system does not transmit society’s shared values but instead the ruling class ideology
What does Parsons say the role of education is?
- Bridges the gap between family and wider society,teaches children to get used to being judged on universal and meritocratic values to prepare them for wider society
- secondary socialisation,education is the main socialising agency after the family it passes on shared norms and values to younger generations
How can parsons be criticised?
Education system is not meritocratic,evidence shows that class gender and ethnicity can affect achievement,it assumes students passively accept the values taught by schools
Davies and Moore?
Role allocation,most important roles in society should be fulled with the most talented people,these jobs are highly rewarded which creates competition for the top jobs and therefore the role of education is to sift and sort individuals to their future roles
How can Davies and Moore be criticised?
The new right would claim that state education fails to prepare students for the world of work because there is too much state inteferenxe
How does New Right criticise education?
- Failure to fulfil its purpose(prepare students for world of work) and carry out secondary socialisation
- state takes a one size fits all approach ignoring the needs of local parents
- its is inefficient it wastes resources,maintains low standards, and creates an unprepared labour force not ready for the world of work
What does Chubb and moe say?
opening up the education system to market forces will create competition and give choice to consumers.
- Voucher system-each parent has a voucher which would pay for child education,being the schools only source of income
- encourages schools to attract more students in doing so they would need to raise standards and have excellent results
What two functions do the New Right say the state should have?
- provide a framework within schools compete against each other e.g ofsted reports and exam results(league tables)
- ensure schools transmit the same share values by creating a national curriculum,which will integrate pupils to the same set of values
How can the New Right Be criticised
competition and parental choice only benefit the m/c as they can use their economic and cultural capital to get their children to the best schools
State control does not lead to low education standards it is social inequality
Marxists would argue that education passes on the r/c ideology not shared values
According to marxism what is the role of education
its a part of the superstructure and as such exits for the sole purpose to serve the needs of capitalism and protect the ruling class ideology , and maintain false class consciousness
What does Althusser say
education fulfils two functions that protect the r/c power
- reproducing class inequality-by failing each successive generation of the w/c so they cant better themselves,so the poor stay poor vice versa. e.g foundation level exams and setting
- legitimising class inequality-by producing ideologies that disguise the truth,so the w/c think the system they live in is fair and just e.g they failed because of low attendance,lack or revision.
How can you criticise Althusser
over emphasises the influence of class and ignores other factors that lead to social inequality such as gender,ethnicity and sexuality,also assumes students passively accept the r/c ideology when in fact students can see through the ideology
what does Bowles and Gintis say?
the role of education is to produce obedient unquestioning workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable
what 2 functions do Bowles and Gintis say education has?
1.reproduction of class inequality the correspondence principle-there are close links between school and work,school mirrors the workplace.E.g both are hierarchies,both students and workers are alienated from their work due to lack of control,therefore education prepares students for ford ism-boring repetitive work,education also reward obedience and punctuality legitimisation of class inequality-producing ideas which justify class inequality,education is a myth making machine e.g myth of meritocracy there is no such thing those who succeed do so because of their /c background not bc of hard work
