Topic 6- Education Flashcards
What is the functionalist perspective to education?
Functionalism is based around a value on consensus, and use the organic analogy to help explain relationships.
Believe the education system has 2 functions:
1) creating social solidarity
2) teaching specialist skills
3) role allocation
Explain social solidarity in terms of education
1) Durkheim argues society needs social solidarity and education creates this. School acts on ‘society on miniature’, preparing us for life in wider society.
Explain teaching specialist skills
School teaches individuals specialist knowledge that they need to play their part in the division of labour.
Explain what parsons says
He says school is a ‘focal socialising agency’.
Particularistic standards- family judges their children and applies to them individually
Universalistic standards- impersonal, same laws apply to everyone, schools judge children against the same standards
Meritocracy- he sees school as meritocratic
What does davis and moore say?
Education helps society through role allocation. They help ‘sift and sort’ pupils into roles that best fit their aptitude and ability.
How are functionalists criticised?
Wolf report- found high quality apprenticeships are rare and upto 1/3 of 16-19 year olds are on courses that do not lead to higher education
Marxists- would argue we dont share a consensus but one imposed by the dominant class
Interactionists- sometimes students reject school values
Explain Neoliberalism and new right perspectives
They argue that the state shouldn’t provide services like education or welfare. Believe it should be a free-market to drive up competition snd standards.
What do chubb and moe say?
They believe that state run education in America has failed because it has not created equal opportunities and failed disadvantaged groups.
What do the new right believe about states 2 key roles?
1) impose a framework on schools which you have to complete, ofsted.
2) schools should transmit a shared culture
What are criticisms of the new right and neoliberalism?
Gerwitz and ball- both argue competition between schools benefit the m/c as they have more economic and cultural capital
What is the marxist perspective?
See education as based on class division and capitalist exploitation.
What are the 2 apparatuses?
Althusser:
1) the repressive state apparatus- the maintain of rule by force or threat
2) the ideological state apparatus- maintain rule by controlling peoples ideas , values and beliefs.
What are the 2 functions of education believed by marxists?
To reproduce class inequality, by transmitting it from one generation to the next
To legitimise class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause
Explain what bowles and gintis found
Capitalism requires an obedient workforce that will accept that inequality is inevitable.
Study on 237 new york highschools, found schools reward students who were submissive and compliant. Creativity and independence was penalised.
This was through:
1) correspondence principle- close parallels between school and the workforce, head teachers and bosses
2) hidden curriculum- lessons that are taught outside of taught lessons.
Explain what marxists believe about the myth of meritocracy
Bowles and gintis argued the education system prevents people feel like the system is unfair.
They believe there is no meritocracy and that those who are from a better class background get better jobs.
The disguising of it makes people believe the bourgeoisie got it fairly and legitimises proletariats feelings
