Topic 1: The Role Of Education Flashcards
What is the functionalists perspective upon education?
- concerned with links between education and other social institutions (the workplace).
- important agency of socialisation, helps maintain social stability, through development of value consensus
- prepares them, for adulthood and provides them with means to improve life’s and its chances through upward mobility
Durkheims theory on education.
-Education meets functional prerequisite, passes on norms and values of society, through hidden curriculum
-Through teaching it unites people together building SOCIAL SOLIDARITY, by giving them shared values/cultures
- provides people with specialist skills, providing a trained and qualified workforce. Ensures those that are the most qualified land in jobs that require the most responsibility. (Developed human capital)
A03 Durkheim
- Marxists argue that there is no value consensus, the values and cultures being passed on belong to the ruling class, which means this view ignores the inequalities in society.
-Feminists may argue that school passes on patriarchal values that puts women at a disadvantage
-The view that education provides a trained workforce, isn’t true there is a weak link between educational qualifications and pay and job status is weak. The things students learn in schools has not barely got anything to do with what they actually do in the job. The demand for qualifications is jut there to raise the job status, it doesn’t provide information or skills needed for that job.
Parsons theory on education. 1
- schools is an important place of secondary socialisation that takes over families as children grow
- it provides bridge between particularistic values and ascribes status of the family and universalistic values and achieved status of contemporary society which are based on values of meritocracy
- child status in family is ascribed and is based on particularistic values, they are treated as special individuals and judged different from others. But, wider society is meritocratic and people have to earn their status according to their individual achievements.
- achieved status however, universalistic values or rules apply to everyone regardless of who that person is.
Parsons theory on education. 2
Education system focuses on the transmission of two key values to their pupils: the importance of achievement and the value of equality of opportunity.
-So students are encouraged to value educational achievement and strive for it through hard work and through maximising their potential.
-Pupils are encouraged to believe that they compete on equal terms in the classroom
A03 parson
- doubt on how far contemporary society is really based upon universalistic values and achieved status, as for example those belonging to ruling classes may inherit wealth and there are many jobs where ascribed status characteristics such as gender, class and ethnicity has a huge influence.
- many sociologists oppose the idea that the education system is meritocratic, feminists argue that gender can play a crucial roe in educational achievement and subject choice. They claim that the education system doesn’t provide equal opportunity for girls and boys
Davis and Moore theory on education.
- education system selects and places people into different levels of the job market, ensuring most talented indicates go onto working in high status jobs.
- this is done through examining and grading, those that fail only have themselves to blame.
- in a meritocratic society, wealth, status and power is reliant on educational qualifications and what qualifications that individual gains.
- inequalities in society are legitimised, made to seem fair
- believes there is equality for educational achievement
A03 Davis and Moore
- education system doesn’t act as a natural ‘sieve’ that just graded and selects students according to there ability. Instead, social class, ethnicity and gender influences success or failure. No such thing as equality of opportunity. Not all students start at the same point, not everyone has the same success in education even if they have the same opportunity
- Bowles and gintis later discuss about the education system legitimising social inequality. They argue that they disguise that there is no equality and disguise that social class, ethnicity and gender influence success/failure
What is the new right theory?
- believe that the education system shouldn’t be concerned with promoting equality or equality of opportunity as functionalists mention, but instead they should focus on training the workforce ensuring that students have there talents developed and are recruited into important jobs, whilst other students should be prepared for low-level employment.
- neoliberals: state schools fails pupils so schools should be opened up to the market. Education should run on meritocratic principled of open competition to prepare pupils for work and better serve the economy
- education system should socialise young people into collective values and responsible citizenship, building social solidarity and cohesion
- they promote marketisation, as its benefits both the tax payer and the consumers of education as it creates higher quality education which then produces a more skilled and trained workforce
- they basically see education as operating like a supermarket, they are forced to supply cheaper and better quality products as they compete for customer (parents)
What is Chubb and moe’s case study?
1990
- state education in USA needs improvement as it doesn’t create equal opportunity for all and fails to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils
- sp they conducted a study comparing achievement levels of pupils belonging to low income families. They used parentenal surveys, case studies and statistics
- results: state education isn’t meritocratic those that were from low-income households were less able to succeed. 5% of pupils from low income families consistently did 5% better in private schools than state schools
Ways to fix: suggested opening education up tot he markets proposing. A voucher system similar to the Chilean system where parents and carers would be given vouchers to spend on buying the best education for their children. Since vouchers would be the schools main income they would have to;
- compete to attract customers, (parents)
- need to accomodate to the needs and wishes of parents
state schools don’t cater to the needs of individual pupils whereas marketising education gives pupils, parents whatever a voice.
A03 the new right
:) point out the lack of responsiveness to the needs of working class pupils and their families
:) neoliberal policies give power to parents , giving them more choice encouraged them to be actively involved in their children’s education
:( ignore class, gender and racial inequalities
:( they also emphasise that the individual is responsible for their actions, just like functionalists. They shift the blame from the state to the individual
Marxist view on education
- education is the means of social control that encouraged students to e conformists and accepting their social position and to not upset current pattern of inequalities in power wealth etc.
- reproduces inequalities passing it on. Giving the impression that those that fail only have themselves to blame.
- people are made to accept there social position even though they were at an disadvantage due to there class that caused them to not succeed
Althusser theory on education
- main role: in capitalist society, main role is to reproduce obedient efficient labour force. This involved two aspects, reproduction of necessary skills and reproduction of ruling class ideology and the socialisation of workers into the acceptance of this ideology. (False consciousness)
- argue that to prevent rebelling they must win the hearts of thee working class persuading them to accept the ruling class ideology. Process of persuasion is carried out by a number of ideological apparatuses. (Such as family, law, media etc)
- the main ideological state apparatus is the education system that, passes on ruling class ideology and develops people as adults for different social classes, developing the right attitudes and behaviour.
A03 Althusser
:( lack of research
:( his ideas are theoretical (not practical) and they haven’t been proven. Some sociologists have criticised him for lack of empirical (observed) evidence.
:( too deterministic, for example the fate of the working class is not determined they have the power to change it, many working class students succeed in education
Bowles and Gintis theory on education
- like Althusser main role is reproduction of labour power (hardworking labour force) this work force is reproduced in two ways; 1. Through the hidden curriculum in schools and its correspondence between social relationships at school and at work. Particularly the way schooling operates in the ‘ long shadow of work’. 2. Through the role of the education system in legitimising or justifying the inequalities and the class structure.
- work casts a shadow over education, with the hidden curriculum including elements of the workplace
- education system helps people come to terms with their social position reducing discontent and it helps to maintain and explain the system of social inequality and the class structure in capitalist society.
AO3 Bowles and Gintis
:) recognise how inequalities are reproduced and passed on from generation to generation
:( Paul Willis disagrees with them. He had an interactionist approach to argue that the working class can resist indoctrination (misinformation)
:( outdated theory, society is now a lot more child- centred than it used to be. Education now reflects the diversity of society and there are more provisions (support) for pupils of colour, immigrants disabled pupils etc.
:( ignored influences of the formal curriculum
What is the work of Paul Willis?
- school doesn’t provide an obedient, willing workforce as within schools you can see students in school not obeying rules and being disruptive
- he wanted to know why working class students go onto working working class jobs and why they willingly do this
- studied a group of twelve working class boys referred to the ‘lads’. Lads developed an anti school subculture pr counter school subculture going against the norms and values of the school.
- those that conformed to the norms were called ‘ear oles’
- the ‘lads’ properties were not school, but instead going out, partying etc. they wanted to free themselves from school, as it was seen as pointless boring and unnecessary it just stopped them for making money and ‘grafting’ in the real male manual jobs.
- Willis found similarity between counter school subculture and the working class workforce (things like sexism, lack of respect for authority and the emphasis of having a ‘laff’ to avoid the oppressive nature of work.
Overall this suggests that schools don’t always produce/ prepare an obedient workforce required by capitalism. Young males are not forced or persuaded to leave school looking for manual male jobs, instead they actively reject the counter school subculture and willingly enter male semi skilled and unskilled work the minute they leave school.
AO3 Paul Willis
:( assumes all children are passive recipients of information but many reject the middle class ideology
Bourdieu theory on education
- each social class has its own cultural framework, which is called the habitus. This can include things like bad or good taste, favourite newspapers tv shows etc.
- but the ruling class has power to impose its own habitus on others, which is done in the education system. Within the education system the main habitus is that belonging to the ruling class. This means that the ruling class has a built advantage when the working class is at a disadvantage.
- working class habitus isn’t considered the same way the ruling class is
- so educational achievement is reliant on how individuals possess culture capital, but the working class struggle to possess it or don’t all due to it not being theres. So it’s hard for the working class to succeed whereas the middle, upper classes already have an advantage even before they have even started education, so isn’t also easy for them to maintain there social position
- he argued that the education system legitimises and reproduces class inequalities.
Bourdieu AO3
:( deterministic, they think that people don’t have the ability to choose what they want to do and what happens to them. They also don’t explain how and why many working class children are unsuccessful in eduction
What is social cohesion?
Bonds or ‘glue’ that brings people together and integrate them into a united society
What is social mobility?
Refers to movement of group or individuals up or down the social hierarchy
What are functional prerequisites
The basic needs that must be met if society is to survive
What is social solidarity?
The integration of people into society through shared values and common culture, shared misunderstandings and social ties that bring them together and build social cohesion
