FUNCTIONALISTS AND NEW RIGHT ON EDUCATION
Durkheim: Social Solidarity and Specialist Skills
o Society needs a sense of solidarity and its
individual members must feel part of a single
‘body’ or community
o The education system helps transmit society’s
culture, shared beliefs and values from one
generation to the next
o For example, Durkheim argues that the
teaching of a country's history instils in
children a sense of a shared heritage and a
commitment to the wider social group
o The formal and informal curriculum also
create social solidarity by teaching the norms
of society such as being on time and the point
above is the formal curriculum
o School acts as a ‘society in miniature’
o Modern industrial economies have a complex
division of labour, where the production of
even a single item usually involves the
cooperation of many different specialists.
, Durkheim argues that the education system
teaches individuals the specialist knowledge
and skills that they need to play their part in
the social division of labour.
o EVALUATION
Wolf review of vocational education
indicates that the education system does
not teach specialised skills adequately
High-quality apprenticeships are rare and
up to 1/3 16-19 year olds are on courses
that don’t lead to higher education and
good jobs
Parsons: Meritocracy
o School is ‘focal socialising agency’ in modern
society, acting as a bridge between the family
and modern society
o Parsons sees school as preparing us to move
from the family to wider society because
school and society are both based on
meritocratic principles
Durkheim: Social Solidarity and Specialist Skills
o Society needs a sense of solidarity and its
individual members must feel part of a single
‘body’ or community
o The education system helps transmit society’s
culture, shared beliefs and values from one
generation to the next
o For example, Durkheim argues that the
teaching of a country's history instils in
children a sense of a shared heritage and a
commitment to the wider social group
o The formal and informal curriculum also
create social solidarity by teaching the norms
of society such as being on time and the point
above is the formal curriculum
o School acts as a ‘society in miniature’
o Modern industrial economies have a complex
division of labour, where the production of
even a single item usually involves the
cooperation of many different specialists.
, Durkheim argues that the education system
teaches individuals the specialist knowledge
and skills that they need to play their part in
the social division of labour.
o EVALUATION
Wolf review of vocational education
indicates that the education system does
not teach specialised skills adequately
High-quality apprenticeships are rare and
up to 1/3 16-19 year olds are on courses
that don’t lead to higher education and
good jobs
Parsons: Meritocracy
o School is ‘focal socialising agency’ in modern
society, acting as a bridge between the family
and modern society
o Parsons sees school as preparing us to move
from the family to wider society because
school and society are both based on
meritocratic principles
