THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Functionalism
Durkheim – social solidarity and skills
Social solidarity-
- Individuals must feel part of a community.
- Without this, cooperation would be impossible due to selfishness.
- Education transmits norms and values from one generation to another.
- E.g., teaching countries history instils sense of shared heritage (Ethnocentric history, white
male upper class)
- Sports days, assemblies, uniform, shared experiences, motto, and values
Microcosm of society-
- Prepares us for life in wider society.
- Cooperating with people neither family nor friend
- Interaction according to set of impersonal rules applying to everyone.
- Both school and work
Division of labour into specialist skills
- Education teaches specialist knowledge required to play part in social division of labour.
- Read, write, maths, ICT (basic skills)
Parsons – socialisation and meritocracy
Focal socialising agency-
- Bridge between family and wider society
- Needed as each operate on different principles.
Particularistic standards – universalistic standards-
- Particularistic – rules applying to individual child.
- Ascribed status – fixed by birth e.g., elder son and younger daughter given different rights to
differences in age/sex.
- Universalistic standards – e.g., same laws apply to everyone
- School and society – status is achieved not ascribed.
Meritocracy-
- Everyone given equal opportunity, and individuals achieve rewards through own effort and
ability.
Secondary socialisation-
- Development and reinforcement of norms and values taught by the family.
Davis and Moore- role allocation
- By assessing abilities and aptitudes, schools can match children to job they’re most suited
for
- Inequality is necessary to ensure that most important roles are filled by the most talented
people.
- Education acts as a proving ground for ability – ‘sifts and sorts’
- Identifies interests and abilities.
Blau and Duncan – human capital
- Modern economy depends on human capital (worker’s skills)
- Meritocratic education does this best due to role allocation.
,Marxism
Althusser – ideological state apparatus
- RSA – maintain the rule of the bourgeoise by force or the threat of it (police, courts, army)
- ISA- maintains rule of bourgeoise by controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefs (media,
religion, education system)
- Reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation
- Produces ideologies that disguise its true cause. Persuades workers that inequality is
inevitable, and they deserve their subordinate position in society (Legitimates capitalism)
Bowles and Gintis – correspondence principle
- Schools reward the traits that make a submissive, compliant worker e.g., students with
independence and creativity = low grades, but characteristics like obedience and discipline =
high grades
- Relationships/structures found in education correspond to those of work. Operates through
the hidden curriculum – lessons learnt without being taught.
- E.g., pupils becoming accustomed to accepting hierarchies and competition.
Education in a capitalist society reflects Work in a capitalist society
Hierarchy among authority of teachers reflects Hierarchy of authority at work (manager,
(head, teacher, assistant) supervisor, worker)
Alienation through students’ lack of control reflects Alienation of workers through lack of
over education control over production
Extrinsic satisfaction from grades reflects Extrinsic satisfaction from pays rather
than job itself
Myth of meritocracy-
- Education system prevents rebellion by producing ideologies to justify inequality
- Evidence shows main factor determining income is family and class background – not ability
or educational achievement.
- Myth of meritocracy justifies privileges of higher class i.e., we all have the same 24 hours
- Reinforces false class conscious.
Bourdieu -cultural capital, habitus
Cultural capital-
- Values, knowledge, and skills of the ruling class
- Education system is based on cultural capital, curriculum and exams geared towards the
interests of the ruling class.
- Education system devalues working class culture, not covered on curriculums, therefore
proletariat (Who do not have access to ruing class pursuits and experiences) are naturally
disadvantaged in the system and will never be able to compete.
Habitus-
- Cultural environment that each of the different classes inhabits.
- Develop different ideas about the world, about what is acceptable and unacceptable and
what is possible/impossible.
- w/c habitus include ideas that HE is impossible for a w/c child due to costs and that
underachieving is acceptable.
- R/C maintains that HE is entirely possible and child underachieving is unacceptable.
, Willis – ‘learning to labour’ a conflict theory of education.
- Anti-school counterculture – counterculture opposed to the school, scornful of conformist
boys, own brand of intimidating humour.
- Acts of defiance – smoking and drinking, disrupting classes, defiance = ways of resisting the
school
- Rejection of meritocratic ideology as a con – reject that w/c pupils can achieve m/c jobs
through hard work.
- Superiority of manual work – lads identify with male manual work; explains why they see
themselves as superior to girls and the ‘effeminate ear’oles’
- Slotting into shop-floor culture – have been accustomed to boredom, do not expect
satisfaction from work. Rebellion guarantees them to end up in low skilled jobs, ensures
failure to gain qualification.
Feminism
Stanworth- teachers behaviour towards students
- Men and women teachers took more interest in male pupils.
- 3x boys more attached to
- Only one girl mentioned for management job.
- Male teachers only envisioned marriage for 2/3 girls
- Girl who has top marks in class in both A levels, wanted to be in diplomatic service.
- Female teacher: likely to become persona assistant to somebody important.
Spender – teachers’ behaviour towards students
- Noticed that when boys were defiant – justified as ‘boys will be boys’
- When girls were defiant, girls suffered harsher for some acts of defiance.
- Teaching that boys should dominate, and girls should be passive+submissive.
Curriculum –
- Achievements of men have more coverage than those of women.
o Women are omitted from the curriculum – Ann Boleyn only in light of Henry 8 th.
o No female artists, even in expressive subjects
o GCSE English lit – 7/18 women -> subliminal message that girls are inferior.
- Sport-
o Football differences, tag rugby vs real = difference in opportunity
o Teaches that women are docile, fragile, non-controlling. While men are competitive,
strong, violent, and tough.
Interactionist/labelling theory
Becker – labelling
- Teachers develop an image of each of their students in a short period of time. This is based
on student’s initial appearance and is built within the first 5 minutes. Includes an idea about
a student ability and behaviour, which may be completely false. Becomes a label for the
student.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy (you know what this is)
- Some students may have a ‘self-refuting prophecy’ – individuals may reject the label, such as
a student from a w/c background working harder to go against the odds. Or privileged
student going off the rails as they are tired of expectations.
- Depending on the depth of the assumption, schools may be labelled as objectively good/bad
therefore impacting future students as there is a predisposed assumption before they arrive.
CLASS AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Functionalism
Durkheim – social solidarity and skills
Social solidarity-
- Individuals must feel part of a community.
- Without this, cooperation would be impossible due to selfishness.
- Education transmits norms and values from one generation to another.
- E.g., teaching countries history instils sense of shared heritage (Ethnocentric history, white
male upper class)
- Sports days, assemblies, uniform, shared experiences, motto, and values
Microcosm of society-
- Prepares us for life in wider society.
- Cooperating with people neither family nor friend
- Interaction according to set of impersonal rules applying to everyone.
- Both school and work
Division of labour into specialist skills
- Education teaches specialist knowledge required to play part in social division of labour.
- Read, write, maths, ICT (basic skills)
Parsons – socialisation and meritocracy
Focal socialising agency-
- Bridge between family and wider society
- Needed as each operate on different principles.
Particularistic standards – universalistic standards-
- Particularistic – rules applying to individual child.
- Ascribed status – fixed by birth e.g., elder son and younger daughter given different rights to
differences in age/sex.
- Universalistic standards – e.g., same laws apply to everyone
- School and society – status is achieved not ascribed.
Meritocracy-
- Everyone given equal opportunity, and individuals achieve rewards through own effort and
ability.
Secondary socialisation-
- Development and reinforcement of norms and values taught by the family.
Davis and Moore- role allocation
- By assessing abilities and aptitudes, schools can match children to job they’re most suited
for
- Inequality is necessary to ensure that most important roles are filled by the most talented
people.
- Education acts as a proving ground for ability – ‘sifts and sorts’
- Identifies interests and abilities.
Blau and Duncan – human capital
- Modern economy depends on human capital (worker’s skills)
- Meritocratic education does this best due to role allocation.
,Marxism
Althusser – ideological state apparatus
- RSA – maintain the rule of the bourgeoise by force or the threat of it (police, courts, army)
- ISA- maintains rule of bourgeoise by controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefs (media,
religion, education system)
- Reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation
- Produces ideologies that disguise its true cause. Persuades workers that inequality is
inevitable, and they deserve their subordinate position in society (Legitimates capitalism)
Bowles and Gintis – correspondence principle
- Schools reward the traits that make a submissive, compliant worker e.g., students with
independence and creativity = low grades, but characteristics like obedience and discipline =
high grades
- Relationships/structures found in education correspond to those of work. Operates through
the hidden curriculum – lessons learnt without being taught.
- E.g., pupils becoming accustomed to accepting hierarchies and competition.
Education in a capitalist society reflects Work in a capitalist society
Hierarchy among authority of teachers reflects Hierarchy of authority at work (manager,
(head, teacher, assistant) supervisor, worker)
Alienation through students’ lack of control reflects Alienation of workers through lack of
over education control over production
Extrinsic satisfaction from grades reflects Extrinsic satisfaction from pays rather
than job itself
Myth of meritocracy-
- Education system prevents rebellion by producing ideologies to justify inequality
- Evidence shows main factor determining income is family and class background – not ability
or educational achievement.
- Myth of meritocracy justifies privileges of higher class i.e., we all have the same 24 hours
- Reinforces false class conscious.
Bourdieu -cultural capital, habitus
Cultural capital-
- Values, knowledge, and skills of the ruling class
- Education system is based on cultural capital, curriculum and exams geared towards the
interests of the ruling class.
- Education system devalues working class culture, not covered on curriculums, therefore
proletariat (Who do not have access to ruing class pursuits and experiences) are naturally
disadvantaged in the system and will never be able to compete.
Habitus-
- Cultural environment that each of the different classes inhabits.
- Develop different ideas about the world, about what is acceptable and unacceptable and
what is possible/impossible.
- w/c habitus include ideas that HE is impossible for a w/c child due to costs and that
underachieving is acceptable.
- R/C maintains that HE is entirely possible and child underachieving is unacceptable.
, Willis – ‘learning to labour’ a conflict theory of education.
- Anti-school counterculture – counterculture opposed to the school, scornful of conformist
boys, own brand of intimidating humour.
- Acts of defiance – smoking and drinking, disrupting classes, defiance = ways of resisting the
school
- Rejection of meritocratic ideology as a con – reject that w/c pupils can achieve m/c jobs
through hard work.
- Superiority of manual work – lads identify with male manual work; explains why they see
themselves as superior to girls and the ‘effeminate ear’oles’
- Slotting into shop-floor culture – have been accustomed to boredom, do not expect
satisfaction from work. Rebellion guarantees them to end up in low skilled jobs, ensures
failure to gain qualification.
Feminism
Stanworth- teachers behaviour towards students
- Men and women teachers took more interest in male pupils.
- 3x boys more attached to
- Only one girl mentioned for management job.
- Male teachers only envisioned marriage for 2/3 girls
- Girl who has top marks in class in both A levels, wanted to be in diplomatic service.
- Female teacher: likely to become persona assistant to somebody important.
Spender – teachers’ behaviour towards students
- Noticed that when boys were defiant – justified as ‘boys will be boys’
- When girls were defiant, girls suffered harsher for some acts of defiance.
- Teaching that boys should dominate, and girls should be passive+submissive.
Curriculum –
- Achievements of men have more coverage than those of women.
o Women are omitted from the curriculum – Ann Boleyn only in light of Henry 8 th.
o No female artists, even in expressive subjects
o GCSE English lit – 7/18 women -> subliminal message that girls are inferior.
- Sport-
o Football differences, tag rugby vs real = difference in opportunity
o Teaches that women are docile, fragile, non-controlling. While men are competitive,
strong, violent, and tough.
Interactionist/labelling theory
Becker – labelling
- Teachers develop an image of each of their students in a short period of time. This is based
on student’s initial appearance and is built within the first 5 minutes. Includes an idea about
a student ability and behaviour, which may be completely false. Becomes a label for the
student.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy (you know what this is)
- Some students may have a ‘self-refuting prophecy’ – individuals may reject the label, such as
a student from a w/c background working harder to go against the odds. Or privileged
student going off the rails as they are tired of expectations.
- Depending on the depth of the assumption, schools may be labelled as objectively good/bad
therefore impacting future students as there is a predisposed assumption before they arrive.
CLASS AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
