Topic 1

Question 1

What is social cohesion ?

Answer 1

Refers to the bonds or “glue” that bring people together and interstate them into a united society

Question 2

What is social mobility?

Answer 2

Movements of groups or individuals up or down the social hierarchy

Question 3

What are functional prerequisites ?

Answer 3

The basic needs that must be met if society is to survive

Question 4

What is the hidden curriculum ?

Answer 4

Not the formal content of subject lessons and examinations (overt curriculum) as the way teaching and learning are organised

Question 5

What is social solidarity?

Answer 5

The integration of people into society through shared values, a common culture ,shared understanding and social ties that bring them together and build social cohesion

Question 6

What are particularisation values ?

Answer 6

Rules and values that give a priority to personal relationships

Question 7

Universalistic values

Answer 7

Rules and values that apply equally to all members of society , regardless of who they are

Question 8

What is a meritocracy ?

Answer 8

A society where jobs and pay are allocated on the basis purely of peoples individual talents ,abilities, qualifications and skills

Question 9

Developed by Schultz (1971)

What is human capital ?

Answer 9

The knowledge and skills possessed by a work force that increase that workforce’s value and usefulness to employers

Justify spending on education
Important for successful economy

Question 10

Functionalist perspective on education (OVERVIEW)

Answer 10

Durkheim (1858-1917) and Talcott and Parsons - 4 functions on education

1. Passing on societies culture and building social solidarity - education meets a key functional prerequisite by passing on core values and culture of society . This is through the hidden curriculum and over ( PSHCE) and provides social solidarity
2. Providing a bridge between the particularistic values and ascribed status - schools are “society in miniature” prepares young people for life in wider society . Schools provide a bridge between paricalistic values and ascribed status of the family and the universalistic values of society based on the values of meritocracy . Eg a teacher will have to mark an essay to the same criteria (universalistic values) not on whether they like the student or not (particularistic values)
3. Developing human capital- a trained and qualified labour force
   Schultz (1971) developed the theory of human capital . Education is important to provide a trained , qualified and flexible labour force to undertake the wide range of jobs which arise from the division of labour
4. Selecting and allocating people for roles in meritocratic society and legitimising social inequality.
   Davis and Moore ( 1967 [1945]) education is a means of sifting through people for different levels on the job market . In meritocratic society access to jobs , positions of power wealth and status depend on educational achievement but in the race for success there is a equality of educational opportunity . Those who succeed deserve their success and those who fail only have themselves to blame

Question 11

What is the equality of educational opportunity ?

Answer 11

David and Moore (functionalist ) 
The idea that every child , regardless of his or her social class background , ability to pay school fees, ethnicities background, gender or disability , should have an equal chance of developing their talents and abilities and of doing well as his or her ability will allow

Question 12

New Right View on education (OVERVIEW)

Answer 12

Chubb and Moe ( 1990,1992)
Schools should be tailored to and shaped by the wishes and needs of local communities and students
Marketisation of education

Education seen as a supermarket which is forced to supply cheaper and better quality products as they compete for customers

Question 13

What is marketisation ?

Answer 13

The process whereby services , like education or health, that were previously controlled by the state, have government or local council control reduced or removed all together and become subject to free market forces of supply and demand , based on competition and consumer choice

Question 14

What is false consciousness ?

Answer 14

A failure by members of a social class to recognise their real interests

Question 15

What are the ideological state apparatus ?

Answer 15

Agencies which serve to spread the ideology and untidy the power of the dominant social class

One of the ways ruling class prevent W.C from rebelling using a number of ideological apparatus such as family , media , law religion and education

Question 16

What is habitual

Answer 16

The cultural framework and set of ideas possessed by a social class; into which people are socialised and which influences their cultural tastes and choices

Cultural capital
Social capital
Economic capital

Question 17

What is the cultural capital?

Answer 17

The knowledge , language , manners and forms of behaviour ,attitudes and values,taste and lifestyle which give middle class and upper class students who possess them an in-built advantage in a middle class controlled education system

Question 18

What is hegemony ?

Answer 18

The dominance in society of the ruling classes set of ideas over others and acceptance of the consent to them by the rest of society

Education plays an important role in producing the hegemony and hegemonic control of the ruling class

Question 19

Marxist View on education (OVERVIEW)

Answer 19

Education is primarily a means of social control , encouraging young people to be conformists , to accept their social position and not to do anything to upset the current patterns of inequality in power , wealth and income

Question 20

View that education is an ideological state apparatus

Answer 20

Althusser (1971) MARXIST
Main role of education as the reproduction of an efficient and obedient labour force
1. Reproduction of necessary technical skills
2. Reproduction of ruling class ideology

To prevent rebelling of WC - process of persuasion carried out by a number of ideological state apparatus

1. Passes on ruling class ideology
2. Selects people for social classes as adults eg workers are persuaded to submit to exploitation and managers to rule

Question 21

Bourdieu and the reproduction of class inequalities

Answer 21

Bourdieu (1977) MARXIST 
Education systems legitimises class inequalities and reproducing the class structure 
1. Each social class has a habitus 
2. Middle and upper class have a cultural capital advantage as education if based on values of upper and middle class (success is based on this )

Question 22

Schooling , repression and hegemonic control: Illich and Freire

Answer 22

Illich (1995) schools are repressive institutions which promote conformity. Schools do this by rewarding those who accept school regimes by getting qualification and access to the higher education. Those who don’t are excluded. He thinks schools school be abolished .
Freire (1996)
Repressive institutions - must obey teachers and defer to their superior knowledge

Question 23

What is a subculture ?

Answer 23

A smaller culture held by a group or class of people within the main culture of society . In some ways different from main culture but with many aspects in common

Question 24

What is an anti school or counter school subculture ?

Answer 24

A group organised around a set of values, attitudes and behaviour in opposition to the main aims of a school

Question 25

What is globalisation?

Answer 25

The growing inter connectedness of societies across the world , with the spread of the same culture,consumer goods and economic interest across the globe

Question 26

What is schooling and the “long shadows of work”

Answer 26

Bowles and Gintis (2011 [1976]) MARXIST
ARGUE WITH FUNCTIONALIST AND MERITOCRACY
Education is the reproduction of labour power, hard working and submissive workforce

Hidden curriculum of schooling and correspondence very close similarity between social relationships at school and work. In particular the way the schooling operates in the long shadow of Work

Question 27

The work of Willis

Answer 27

Paul Willis- MARXIST
Studied 12 WC “lads” in a school at a WC housing estate in Wolverhampton (1970) - developed an anti school subculture . School was an inconvenience , they wanted to drink, impress girls and show they could “graft” in manual labour . Wanted to be in the “real world “ of male manual work. Young WC males not forced into it but reject school and actively wanted to enter manual work .

Question 28

Burdwell et al. (2011)

Schools neglect pupils with vocational aspirations

Answer 28

Schools focus on brighter children destined for higher education. Schools fail to prepare students for the world of work , little career advice. Many vocational courses students were told to aspire to ended up being worthless , low quality and schools undervalued part time Work, after school clubs and volunteering in building up skills and experience