01 sociological theories of education
Functionalism:
Emile Durkheim
Two main functions of education
1. Creates social solidarity; it creates a sense of trust between members of society which
helps to prevent lawlessness or anarchy. It is also a way we can transmit culture, passing on
norms and values. Teaching history for example can connect students to their shared
heritage - this promotes ‘social integration’ which creates a ‘collective conscience’ (what is
right and wrong and what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. By doing this it allows
children to turn into social beings. Functionalists generally believe that when we are born we
come into the world with a blank slate, and through the socialization process we learn how to
behave. In a way school is as if society in miniature, it has its own rules, and hierarchy which
acts as practice for the wider world
2. Specialist skills (or provision and teaching of specialist skills). Modern economies require
specialist skills. The division of labour. Cooperation between specialists helps create social
solidarity this allows individuals to feel a sense of connection
Talcott Parsons
- He sees education as a ‘social socializing agent’ so it’s a very important institution such as
the family
- The bridge between the family and society
- There are different rules for different children at home: parents rules, elder son vs. younger
daughter rules etc. whereas in education there are universal and impersonal rules in society
that equally apply to everyone.
Education: same rules for all, same exam questions + same pass mark.
- In school as in wider society status is gained through achievement. Such as through
promotion or dismissal this is similar to school as when exams are taken you either pass or
fail based on whether you work hard or not. If you work hard you will gain status
- Meritocracy —> power, rank, influence and rewards gained via individuals according to
their individual merit ; meaning if you as an individual work hard you will be rewarded, if you
do not work you will not be rewarded and it is up to you if you have skills intelligence or you
are willing to work hard and put in the hours you will be recognized. Meritocracy is equal
opportunity for all.
- Less focus on ‘ascribed status’ the statuses that you are born with but rather the achieved
status that you gain through individual work
Kingley and Davis and Wilbert Moore
- Education is a device for selection and role allocation (future work roles)
- Identified inequalities within society, argued it was necessary to ensure that the most
talented undertake important roles.
- Higher rewards are often provided for challenging roles in order to attract the most talented
- Not everyone is equally talented
Education is a ‘proving ground’ for those with ability/ talent
- The most talented will gain the best qualifications
,Peter Blau and Otis Duncan
- Modern economies are a product of human capital (workers skills)
- Meritocratic education helps allocate the best jobs to the best workers, maximizing
productivity
Criticisms of functionalism
- Equal opportunities in education may not exist, achievement greatly influenced by class
Melvin Tumin criticised Davis and Moore:
- How do we know a job is important? It’s highly paid
Functionalists argue that education instils the values of a whole society, whereas marxists
argue education only instils the values of the ruling class. i.e. most textbooks and exams are
written by middle class academics. Therefore this means that it is not really teaching the
values of the working classes or the rest of society
Dennis Wrong —> functionalists have an over socialized view of students suggesting that
they passively absorb information and never push back or rebel. This is wrong; students do
push back and have their own ideas
Neoliberals/ new right argue that the state education does not prepare students adequately
for work. State control discourages efficiency, competition and choice
Neoliberalism and the new right - an overview
Similar to functionalists
- Not everyone is equally talented
- Meritocracy: education geared towards preparing people for the world of work
- socialise people into shared values (such as competition), instill a sense of national identity
Key different
- They don’t think that education is achieving its goals
- They argue that ‘one size fits all’ approach which imposes uniformity and disregards local
needs. (National curriculum; teaching the same subjects and topics to all students)
- Consumers (parents and children) have no say
- The system is inefficient, they waste money, achieve poor results, demand little from
teachers, ultimately resulting in a poor economy.
Solution:
The marketization of education
- By turning education into a market it would force schools to compete for consumers
- Increasing the diversity of schools available would give more choice to consumers
- Increase efficiency
Chubb and Moe (support marketization):
, - Claim American state education has failed, therefore needs to be opened up to market
forces.
- Claim disadvantaged groups have been badly treated by state education and fail to create
equal opportunity - fails to provide meritocracy
- Claim state education is inefficient and does not train pupils for work
- Claim private schools are better excuses they are answerable to consumers. With this
parents are paying schools to send their children there and once the school fails to meet
their expectations they will stop sending their children therefore stop paying which leads to
the school losing money which they don’t want.
Consumer choice
- Compared achievements of 60,000 pupils from low income backgrounds in state and
private schools, the pupils in private schools did 5% better
- More market, more efficiency, power to consumers
- End guaranteed funding for schools by government, give parents a voucher to spend on
education
- Force schools to compete for the vouchers and therefore their main source of funding
New right argued that there are two roles that the state have to play
1. State publishes a framework for schools to operate within; ofsted produce inspection
reports and league tables
2. State imposes a national curriculum to ensure students share in the same culture/
heritage (creation social solidarity
Affirm nation identity: British history
They oppose multicultural education
Evaluation
- Competition between schools arguably only benefits the middle class. The middle class
possess the knowledge of how the education system (cultural capital) works thus are able to
gain access to better schools.
- Social inequality and poor school funding could be the blame for the low achievement rates
- Parental (consumer) choice vs. national curriculum. More choice and more freedom but on
the hand they are saying everyone needs to learn the same thing
- Marxists argue that this imposes the culture and identify of the middle class
Marxism (education is a tool by which the bourgeoisie use to maintain their power over the
proletariat)
Louis Althusser
Two tools by which the bourgeoisie maintain power
1. The repressive state apparatus - the monopoly of violence, the threat of its use, can use
physical coercion (force)
2. The ideological state apparatus - maintain rule by controlling people’s ideas, values and
beliefs (religion, mass media, education)
Education is an important part of the ideological state apparatus. It creates and reproduces
class inequality by; imposing the culture of the ruling class on to each generation of working
class students
Functionalism:
Emile Durkheim
Two main functions of education
1. Creates social solidarity; it creates a sense of trust between members of society which
helps to prevent lawlessness or anarchy. It is also a way we can transmit culture, passing on
norms and values. Teaching history for example can connect students to their shared
heritage - this promotes ‘social integration’ which creates a ‘collective conscience’ (what is
right and wrong and what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. By doing this it allows
children to turn into social beings. Functionalists generally believe that when we are born we
come into the world with a blank slate, and through the socialization process we learn how to
behave. In a way school is as if society in miniature, it has its own rules, and hierarchy which
acts as practice for the wider world
2. Specialist skills (or provision and teaching of specialist skills). Modern economies require
specialist skills. The division of labour. Cooperation between specialists helps create social
solidarity this allows individuals to feel a sense of connection
Talcott Parsons
- He sees education as a ‘social socializing agent’ so it’s a very important institution such as
the family
- The bridge between the family and society
- There are different rules for different children at home: parents rules, elder son vs. younger
daughter rules etc. whereas in education there are universal and impersonal rules in society
that equally apply to everyone.
Education: same rules for all, same exam questions + same pass mark.
- In school as in wider society status is gained through achievement. Such as through
promotion or dismissal this is similar to school as when exams are taken you either pass or
fail based on whether you work hard or not. If you work hard you will gain status
- Meritocracy —> power, rank, influence and rewards gained via individuals according to
their individual merit ; meaning if you as an individual work hard you will be rewarded, if you
do not work you will not be rewarded and it is up to you if you have skills intelligence or you
are willing to work hard and put in the hours you will be recognized. Meritocracy is equal
opportunity for all.
- Less focus on ‘ascribed status’ the statuses that you are born with but rather the achieved
status that you gain through individual work
Kingley and Davis and Wilbert Moore
- Education is a device for selection and role allocation (future work roles)
- Identified inequalities within society, argued it was necessary to ensure that the most
talented undertake important roles.
- Higher rewards are often provided for challenging roles in order to attract the most talented
- Not everyone is equally talented
Education is a ‘proving ground’ for those with ability/ talent
- The most talented will gain the best qualifications
,Peter Blau and Otis Duncan
- Modern economies are a product of human capital (workers skills)
- Meritocratic education helps allocate the best jobs to the best workers, maximizing
productivity
Criticisms of functionalism
- Equal opportunities in education may not exist, achievement greatly influenced by class
Melvin Tumin criticised Davis and Moore:
- How do we know a job is important? It’s highly paid
Functionalists argue that education instils the values of a whole society, whereas marxists
argue education only instils the values of the ruling class. i.e. most textbooks and exams are
written by middle class academics. Therefore this means that it is not really teaching the
values of the working classes or the rest of society
Dennis Wrong —> functionalists have an over socialized view of students suggesting that
they passively absorb information and never push back or rebel. This is wrong; students do
push back and have their own ideas
Neoliberals/ new right argue that the state education does not prepare students adequately
for work. State control discourages efficiency, competition and choice
Neoliberalism and the new right - an overview
Similar to functionalists
- Not everyone is equally talented
- Meritocracy: education geared towards preparing people for the world of work
- socialise people into shared values (such as competition), instill a sense of national identity
Key different
- They don’t think that education is achieving its goals
- They argue that ‘one size fits all’ approach which imposes uniformity and disregards local
needs. (National curriculum; teaching the same subjects and topics to all students)
- Consumers (parents and children) have no say
- The system is inefficient, they waste money, achieve poor results, demand little from
teachers, ultimately resulting in a poor economy.
Solution:
The marketization of education
- By turning education into a market it would force schools to compete for consumers
- Increasing the diversity of schools available would give more choice to consumers
- Increase efficiency
Chubb and Moe (support marketization):
, - Claim American state education has failed, therefore needs to be opened up to market
forces.
- Claim disadvantaged groups have been badly treated by state education and fail to create
equal opportunity - fails to provide meritocracy
- Claim state education is inefficient and does not train pupils for work
- Claim private schools are better excuses they are answerable to consumers. With this
parents are paying schools to send their children there and once the school fails to meet
their expectations they will stop sending their children therefore stop paying which leads to
the school losing money which they don’t want.
Consumer choice
- Compared achievements of 60,000 pupils from low income backgrounds in state and
private schools, the pupils in private schools did 5% better
- More market, more efficiency, power to consumers
- End guaranteed funding for schools by government, give parents a voucher to spend on
education
- Force schools to compete for the vouchers and therefore their main source of funding
New right argued that there are two roles that the state have to play
1. State publishes a framework for schools to operate within; ofsted produce inspection
reports and league tables
2. State imposes a national curriculum to ensure students share in the same culture/
heritage (creation social solidarity
Affirm nation identity: British history
They oppose multicultural education
Evaluation
- Competition between schools arguably only benefits the middle class. The middle class
possess the knowledge of how the education system (cultural capital) works thus are able to
gain access to better schools.
- Social inequality and poor school funding could be the blame for the low achievement rates
- Parental (consumer) choice vs. national curriculum. More choice and more freedom but on
the hand they are saying everyone needs to learn the same thing
- Marxists argue that this imposes the culture and identify of the middle class
Marxism (education is a tool by which the bourgeoisie use to maintain their power over the
proletariat)
Louis Althusser
Two tools by which the bourgeoisie maintain power
1. The repressive state apparatus - the monopoly of violence, the threat of its use, can use
physical coercion (force)
2. The ideological state apparatus - maintain rule by controlling people’s ideas, values and
beliefs (religion, mass media, education)
Education is an important part of the ideological state apparatus. It creates and reproduces
class inequality by; imposing the culture of the ruling class on to each generation of working
class students
