topic 2- education theories Flashcards
What does the consensus approach emphasise
-the positive role of education and analyse the benefits it offers for individuals in society
Consensus approach- what do they regard as education’s two main purposes?
1) secondary socialization
2) providing the skills required for paid work
What 3 groups of sociologists does the consensus approach include
- functionalism
- the New right
- postmodernism
What do the conflict approaches emphasise
- that the education system reproduces inequalities within society
- they take a more critical negative view of the education system
what 3 groups of sociologists does the conflict approach include
- feminists
- marxists
- neo-marxism
according to Durkheim, how can society survive
-if there is a strong degree of social solidarity
what does Durkheim argue that helps to establish social solidarity
-education by transmitting norms, beliefs and values to all pupils
how does education bring everyone together (2)
- by fixing children the essential similarities that collective life demands
- this helps to integrate people more closely into society by attaching them to the larger social unit
how does Durkheim believe that the education bring people more closely- how do schools achieve this by
-schools follow a standardised curriculum and therefore all pupils regardless gender, class and ethnicity are exposed to the same information/ knowledge and cultural teachings
as schools help to promote a value consensus, according to Durkheim, what society does this create
- a homo-geneous society
how does education regulate/ control its members (2)
- it prepares individuals for interaction with other members of society in terms of general rules and standards
- in respecting school rules, pupils learn to respect the rules of society in general and this contributes to the creation of social order
what does the education system do to pupils in terms of work
-it provides an adequate supply of trained people with the skills required to perform specialist roles within the economy
how does Parsons see education as (2)
- as a vital secondary source of socialisation that acts as a bridge between the family and society as a whole
- it prepares young people for adult roles and encourages them to become highly motivated and achievement orientated
according to Parsons how are people judged in society
-they are judged by universalistic standards, status is achieved not ascribed
according to Parsons, how does school prepare individuals and with what principles
-it prepares individuals as success is achieved by meritocratic principles which reflect how society as a whole operates
what does meritocratic principles mean
-in order to achieve success you must work hard for it
what system do Davis and Moore link education to
-the stratification system
how do Davis and Moore view education
- as a providing ground for ability
- a selective agency allocating people to roles according to ability
what inequality do Davis and Moore link education to
social inequality
why do Davis and Moore believe that inequality is important
-to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled with the most talented people, this encourages pupils to work hard in education
weaknesses of the functionalism approach
-how schools may teach different things
- if you go to a school for upper class people they may teach you about how capitalism is important
- if you go to an average school they may teach you that creativity is important
weaknesses of the functionalism approach -gender
-different gender schools may teach different things
weaknesses of the functionalism approach - potential
-bands may prevent some pupils from reaching potential especially if they are in a lower set
weaknesses of the functionalism approach- class system and opportunities
-richer people may be given more opportunities even if they are not talented
weaknesses of the functionalism approach - experience
- not all people have the same school experience, some people may be bullied
- some people may not be able to flourish as they cannot afford tuition
what do neo-liberals believe (2)
- that the state must not dictate to individuals and should not try to regulate a free market economy (people should pay for education)
- so governments should encourage competition, privatise state-run businesses and de-regulate markets
what do neo-liberals believe that education will be successful by
-if schools run like businesses, empowering parents and pupils as consumers and using competition between schools to drive up standards
what is the central principle of the New Right on education
-the belief that the state cannot meet people’s needs and that people are best left to meet their own needs through the free market
what 2 things do the new right believe that the state must do for education
- state imposes a framework on schools which they have to publish e.g. published ofted reports and league tables of the school’s results
- the state ensures that a shared culture is transmitted. By imposing a standardised national curriculum
according to the new right what does a national curriculum that everyone has to follow ensure
-it ensures that schools socialise pupils into a single cultural heritage
according to the new right how does schools publishing results and reports ensure
-it ensures that the state provides parents with information with which to make an informed choice between schools
what do critics say about the new right and neo-liberal idea on education- funding
-that the real cause of low educational standards is due to low state funding
what do critics say about the new right and neo-liberal idea on education- Ball and Gerwitz idea on competition
-they say that competition between schools is more likely to benefit the middle class who can use their cultural and economic capital to ensure that their children gain access to the most est schools
what do critics say about the new right and neo-liberal idea on education - marxists idea
-they argue that education does not impose a shared culture but the culture of the dominant class and devalues the culture of the working class and ethnic minorities
what 2 things do marxists see education based on
- class division
- capitalist exploitation
how do marxists believe that the status-quo is maintained
-because the rich control the state and this enables them to maintain their dominant position
according to Althusser, what 2 apparatuses serve to keep the rich in power
- the repressive state apparatus (RSAs): use public services such as police and courts to repress the working class
- the ideological state apparatus (ISAs): they control people’s ideas, values and beliefs which includes religion, media and the education system
according to Althusser, what 2 functions does education perform
- education reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of working class pupils
- education legitimates class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause. It persuades workers to accept that inequality is inevitable
the new right favours an education system run on ….
meritocratic principles of open competition
what is the general principle developed by Bowles and Gintis
-that schools mirror the workplace
what is the idea of Fordism
as capitalism requires large numbers of low-skilled workers to put up with alienating, repetitive work on mass production assembly lines
what Bowles and Gintis link the idea of Fordism to education
they see the mass education system as preparing pupils to accept low-skilled work
why do postmodernists argue that the Marxist view is outdated
-they claim that society has entered a new phase and is totally different from the society that Marxists and functionalists has written about
what do postmodernists argue that is no longer important
-class divisions are no longer important and society is more fragmented and diverse
what do post-modernists claim that the economy has shifted away from
the assembly-line mass production and is now based on ‘flexible specialisation’ where production is customised for small specialist markets
what does the post-fordist system require
-a skilled, adaptable workforce able to use advanced technology and transfer their skills from one specialized task to another
what does post-Fordism require (2)
- a different kind of education system
- instead of preparing pupils to be low-skilled and low-paid students are encouraged to be independent and creative
as a result of post-Fordism what has happened to education
-it has become more diverse and responsive to the needs of different individuals and groups
according to post-Fordism what principle no longer exists
the correspondence principle no longer operates and they believe that education reproduces diversity, not inequality
why do Marxists critique the post-modernism idea (2)
- because it still results in low paid workers being exploited even more than even before
- and claims the education system still prepares the majority of pupils to defer to authority
what exposes the ‘myth of meritocracy’
-working class pupils are made to accept jobs that are poorly paid and alienating
what do Bowles and Gintis see education as a process of
-indoctrinating the myth of meritocracy
what does Paul Willis’ study show
that working class pupils can resist such attempts to indoctrinate them
-therefore, Wills’s work helps to explain why pupils reject school values and rules
why is Paul Willis’s work less deterministic than Bowles and Gintis
as he rejects their view that schools ‘brainwash’ pupils into passively accepting their fate
what does the social democratic perspective represent
- a collection of views
- its views are reflected in the work of educationalists, teachers, economists and these who are generally left-wing in thinking
from the social democratic perspective what can education be used as
- a vehicle to help individuals achieve their potential, provide equality of opportunity, produce an equalitarian society,
what does the liberal perspective believe education should be focused on
-encouraging individuals to develop their full intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical potential and only indirectly on improving society
the liberal perspective- what emphasis should be placed on
learning through experience so that individuals can be encouraged to think themselves
how is the new right view on education similar to functionalists (4)
- they favour an education system run on meritocratic principles of open competition
- they believe that some people are naturally more talented than others
- they believe that education should serve the needs of an economy by preparing people for work
- they maintain that education should socialise pupils into shared collective values such as competition and instill a sense of national identity and citizenship
when the new right came into power in 1979, what was their key difference between functionalism
- they did not believe that the education system was achieving these goals
- the reason for this failure was because education was run by the state
why are the new right critical of state education
-they see it as inneficient because it fails to produce pupils with the skills needed for the economy
what was the new rights new policy called ‘new vocationalism’
-a number of courses were introduced in schools which were designed to prepare pupils for particular jobs and careers
why did the new right favour private schools
- they believe that private schools delivered higher quality education because unlike state schools, they are answerable to paying customers
- state schools cannot meet people’s needs and that people are best left to meet their own needs through the free market
new right view- what did the 1988 education reform act introduced (2)
a) marketisation
b) parentocracy
new right view- what does marketisation mean
-where schools become more business like
new right view- what does parentocracy mean
-where parents become more powerful and were viewed as consumers of education
what` was the new right solution to help education become better
-To create an education market where they believed that competition between schools and the laws of supply and demand will empower the consumers of education (parents and pupils)
according to the new right, what would marketisation of education force
-schools to become more responsive to a parent’s wishes and like private businesses; schools would have to compete to attract ‘customers’ by improving their ‘product’
