PSE4801
Assignment 2
(Exceptional Answers)
Due June 2025
,PSE4801
Assignment 2: Exceptional Answers
Due June 2025
Orientation Questions on Sociological Theories of Education
Chapter 1: Sociological Perspectives on Schooling
1.1 How Does Functionalism View Schooling?
Functionalism, a macro-level sociological perspective, posits that society is a complex
system whose interdependent parts work in concert to promote solidarity and stability.
Schools are conceptualized as fundamental institutions that fulfill critical functions to
maintain societal equilibrium and ensure the perpetuation of the social system. This
perspective, deeply rooted in the work of classical sociologists, views education as a
cornerstone of social order and progress.
Key Functionalist Perspectives Foundational functionalist thinkers, such as Émile
Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, elucidated the following principal functions of
educational institutions:
• Socialization of Individuals: Schools are primary agents for transmitting shared
norms, values, and cultural traditions, thereby fostering social cohesion and
cultivating a collective consciousness (Durkheim, 1956, Education and
Sociology). This process ensures that individuals internalize the societal ethos,
promoting conformity and stability. For instance, the curriculum, including civics
education, explicitly inculcates civic duties and a sense of national identity,
deemed essential for social integration and the perpetuation of democratic ideals.
• Allocation of Roles (Meritocracy): Through a seemingly meritocratic system,
schools identify and sort individuals into appropriate occupational roles based on
demonstrated abilities, skills, and achieved academic performance (Parsons,
1959, "The School as a Social System"). This stratification process is viewed as
essential for the efficient functioning of a complex industrial society, as it ensures
, that the most capable individuals occupy the most critical positions. Standardized
assessments, such as national examinations (e.g., SATs, KCSE), exemplify these
mechanisms, ostensibly ensuring fair and objective evaluation and facilitating
upward social mobility within a stratified social structure.
• Promotion of Social Integration: By bringing together individuals from diverse
social, economic, and cultural backgrounds, schools are theorized to mitigate
social fragmentation and cultivate a sense of shared identity and belonging. This
function is critical for maintaining societal unity in increasingly pluralistic
societies, fostering mutual understanding and reducing social friction.
Critical Analysis
While functionalism proficiently highlights the mechanisms through which education
contributes to social stability and consensus, it is significantly critiqued for its inherent
conservatism and its tendency to overlook, or even legitimize, systemic inequalities. A
salient critique is its failure to adequately address how educational practices often
entrench pre-existing social stratification rather than genuinely promoting meritocracy.
For example, standardized testing, while ostensibly objective, frequently advantages
students from middle-class backgrounds who have privileged access to resources such
as private tutoring, enriched home learning environments, and culturally aligned
curricula, thereby reproducing social class structures (Anyon, 1981, "Social Class and
School Knowledge"). Furthermore, functionalism's foundational assumption of a
universal value consensus neglects the inherent cultural diversity, power differentials,
and the contested nature of values within complex societies, thus diminishing its
explanatory capacity regarding the mechanisms through which power structures
influence educational outcomes and perpetuate disparities (Ballantine, Hammack, &
Stuber, 2017, The Sociology of Education: A Systematic Analysis).
Conclusion
Functionalism conceptualizes schooling as an indispensable institution instrumental in
the socialization of individuals, the efficient allocation of occupational roles, and the
promotion of social integration. However, its uncritical stance on the reproduction of
social inequalities and its tendency to assume societal consensus significantly diminish
, its explanatory power concerning persistent social disparities within educational
systems.
1.2 How Does Conflict (Marxist) Theory View Schooling?
Conflict theory, particularly as elaborated within the Marxist tradition, interprets society
not as a harmonious system but as a dynamic arena characterized by endemic class
struggles, systemic power imbalances, and pervasive inequalities. From this
perspective, education is not a neutral institution but rather a powerful instrument
wielded by the dominant ruling class to maintain and perpetuate its hegemony and the
existing capitalist mode of production.
Marxist Perspective on Schooling Influential scholars such as Louis Althusser and
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis advanced a critical Marxist analysis of education,
positing that schools:
• Reproduce Class Inequalities: Schools are theorized to actively reinforce
capitalist class structures by preparing working-class students for subordinate,
alienated labor roles within the capitalist economy, while simultaneously
cultivating the skills, dispositions, and credentials required for elite leadership
positions among the dominant class (Bowles & Gintis, 1976, Schooling in
Capitalist America). This process ensures a perpetual supply of labor for different
strata of the economic hierarchy, thereby perpetuating social stratification across
generations. Vocational tracks, for instance, are often disproportionately
populated by students from marginalized socioeconomic backgrounds, thereby
reinforcing their future low-status positions within the labor market.
• Serve as Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs): Louis Althusser (1971, Lenin
and Philosophy and Other Essays) argued that schools function as crucial
Ideological State Apparatuses, disseminating the ruling-class ideology and
legitimizing existing inequalities through a hidden curriculum that emphasizes
obedience, competition, and conformity to authority. This ideological
indoctrination fosters a "false consciousness" among the working class,
preventing them from recognizing their collective exploitation and challenging the
capitalist system.
Assignment 2
(Exceptional Answers)
Due June 2025
,PSE4801
Assignment 2: Exceptional Answers
Due June 2025
Orientation Questions on Sociological Theories of Education
Chapter 1: Sociological Perspectives on Schooling
1.1 How Does Functionalism View Schooling?
Functionalism, a macro-level sociological perspective, posits that society is a complex
system whose interdependent parts work in concert to promote solidarity and stability.
Schools are conceptualized as fundamental institutions that fulfill critical functions to
maintain societal equilibrium and ensure the perpetuation of the social system. This
perspective, deeply rooted in the work of classical sociologists, views education as a
cornerstone of social order and progress.
Key Functionalist Perspectives Foundational functionalist thinkers, such as Émile
Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, elucidated the following principal functions of
educational institutions:
• Socialization of Individuals: Schools are primary agents for transmitting shared
norms, values, and cultural traditions, thereby fostering social cohesion and
cultivating a collective consciousness (Durkheim, 1956, Education and
Sociology). This process ensures that individuals internalize the societal ethos,
promoting conformity and stability. For instance, the curriculum, including civics
education, explicitly inculcates civic duties and a sense of national identity,
deemed essential for social integration and the perpetuation of democratic ideals.
• Allocation of Roles (Meritocracy): Through a seemingly meritocratic system,
schools identify and sort individuals into appropriate occupational roles based on
demonstrated abilities, skills, and achieved academic performance (Parsons,
1959, "The School as a Social System"). This stratification process is viewed as
essential for the efficient functioning of a complex industrial society, as it ensures
, that the most capable individuals occupy the most critical positions. Standardized
assessments, such as national examinations (e.g., SATs, KCSE), exemplify these
mechanisms, ostensibly ensuring fair and objective evaluation and facilitating
upward social mobility within a stratified social structure.
• Promotion of Social Integration: By bringing together individuals from diverse
social, economic, and cultural backgrounds, schools are theorized to mitigate
social fragmentation and cultivate a sense of shared identity and belonging. This
function is critical for maintaining societal unity in increasingly pluralistic
societies, fostering mutual understanding and reducing social friction.
Critical Analysis
While functionalism proficiently highlights the mechanisms through which education
contributes to social stability and consensus, it is significantly critiqued for its inherent
conservatism and its tendency to overlook, or even legitimize, systemic inequalities. A
salient critique is its failure to adequately address how educational practices often
entrench pre-existing social stratification rather than genuinely promoting meritocracy.
For example, standardized testing, while ostensibly objective, frequently advantages
students from middle-class backgrounds who have privileged access to resources such
as private tutoring, enriched home learning environments, and culturally aligned
curricula, thereby reproducing social class structures (Anyon, 1981, "Social Class and
School Knowledge"). Furthermore, functionalism's foundational assumption of a
universal value consensus neglects the inherent cultural diversity, power differentials,
and the contested nature of values within complex societies, thus diminishing its
explanatory capacity regarding the mechanisms through which power structures
influence educational outcomes and perpetuate disparities (Ballantine, Hammack, &
Stuber, 2017, The Sociology of Education: A Systematic Analysis).
Conclusion
Functionalism conceptualizes schooling as an indispensable institution instrumental in
the socialization of individuals, the efficient allocation of occupational roles, and the
promotion of social integration. However, its uncritical stance on the reproduction of
social inequalities and its tendency to assume societal consensus significantly diminish
, its explanatory power concerning persistent social disparities within educational
systems.
1.2 How Does Conflict (Marxist) Theory View Schooling?
Conflict theory, particularly as elaborated within the Marxist tradition, interprets society
not as a harmonious system but as a dynamic arena characterized by endemic class
struggles, systemic power imbalances, and pervasive inequalities. From this
perspective, education is not a neutral institution but rather a powerful instrument
wielded by the dominant ruling class to maintain and perpetuate its hegemony and the
existing capitalist mode of production.
Marxist Perspective on Schooling Influential scholars such as Louis Althusser and
Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis advanced a critical Marxist analysis of education,
positing that schools:
• Reproduce Class Inequalities: Schools are theorized to actively reinforce
capitalist class structures by preparing working-class students for subordinate,
alienated labor roles within the capitalist economy, while simultaneously
cultivating the skills, dispositions, and credentials required for elite leadership
positions among the dominant class (Bowles & Gintis, 1976, Schooling in
Capitalist America). This process ensures a perpetual supply of labor for different
strata of the economic hierarchy, thereby perpetuating social stratification across
generations. Vocational tracks, for instance, are often disproportionately
populated by students from marginalized socioeconomic backgrounds, thereby
reinforcing their future low-status positions within the labor market.
• Serve as Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs): Louis Althusser (1971, Lenin
and Philosophy and Other Essays) argued that schools function as crucial
Ideological State Apparatuses, disseminating the ruling-class ideology and
legitimizing existing inequalities through a hidden curriculum that emphasizes
obedience, competition, and conformity to authority. This ideological
indoctrination fosters a "false consciousness" among the working class,
preventing them from recognizing their collective exploitation and challenging the
capitalist system.
