CN Sociology Education Theories & Functions
Functionalism
-Emile Durkheim (1903) = there are two main functions if education:
Social solidarity
Teaching specialist skills
-Parsons (1961) = the school is a society in miniature which helps to teach and prepare people for the demands
and expectations of wider society.
The home = particularistic values, ascribed status
Education = gradually introduce people to a new way of living (new attitudes, new expectations)
Wider society = universalistic values, achieved status (meritocratic)
-Davis & Moore (1945) = education acts as a sieve which ‘sorts’ people into roles / positions in society. They are
allocated roles.
-Some people make it further than others. Ex. they are able to gain higher status positions in society while
others remain in low status positions. Inequality is therefore inevitable.
-You get what you put in. This is because meritocracy makes it fair.
Critics argue that education is not meritocratic.
Wrong (1961) = functionalists have an over-socialised view of people as mere ‘puppets’ of society.
They wrongly assume that all pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the school's
values.
The education system doesn't teach pupils specialised skills. Instead:
-The Wolf Review of Vocational Education (2011) claims that high quality apprenticeships are rare
and up to a third of 16-19 year olds are on courses that do not lead to higher education or good jobs.
-There is evidence to suggest that achievement is influenced by class and ethnicity.
-Tumin (1953) criticises by saying that Functionalists present a ‘circular’ argument.
Marxism
-The main role of education is to produce an efficient, submissive, obedient workforce to help maintain the
unequal capitalist society (structure. Ex. Education benefits the ruling class.
-Education is an ideological tool that controls the working class. Education will only be fair once the working-
class have instigated a revolution and communism replaced capitalism.
Althusser (1970)
-Takes a theoretical approach to education. His work is not based on research, he argues that the working-
class are controlled by the ruling class through two types of ‘apparatus’.
-Repressive state apparatus = physical control through institutions such as the justice system and the military.
-Ideological state apparatus = control over the way the working-class think. These apparatus pass on dominant
ideology (no physical force is used). This is done through institutions such as the family, religion and education.
The ruling class pass on their ideas and beliefs.
-The more successful the ideological state apparatus are at passing on ruling class dominant ideology, the
less the repressive state apparatus will have to do.
-Education is a form of ideological state apparatus.
-The education reproduces class inequality by failing generations of working-class pupils.
-Education legitimises class inequality by producing ideologies that prevent the working-class children from
questioning their subordinate position.
Bowles & Gintis (1970) - ‘Schooling in Capitalist America’
-Researched schools in the USA and concluded that the role of education is the reproduction of the workforce.
-Education is a ‘myth making machine’ designed to justify inequality by promoting the idea that failure is due to
lack of hard work rather than injustices within the capitalist society:
Education is based on merit
, Education is the path to success in work
Those at the top deserve to be as they have worked the hardest
Likewise, those at the bottom are to blame themselves
-The correspondence principle: school + authority + hierarchy + obedience = the workplace
-The hidden curriculum = this consists of things that pupils learn informally from their experience of going to
school on a day to day basis. The hidden curriculum teaches the working-class the values needed within
employment etc.
Subservience = through rewarding ‘acceptable’ behaviour and punishing ‘unacceptable’ behaviour.
Motivation = through external rewards, ex. Certificates / wages.
Acceptance of hierarchy = teaching ‘roles’, authority, and power relationships.
Legitimisation of inequality = the myth of meritocracy.
Brown et al = argues that in reality many more jobs require teamwork, then obedience. Therefore, not
all we learn in education corresponds to work. We are ‘post-fordist’.
Neo Marxists such as Willis believe that it is wrong to assume that the hidden curriculum is always
accepted. Therefore, not everyone is obedient and uncritical at work.
Neo Marxists such as Giroux believe that it is wrong to assume everything in education is there to
support the economic base structure. Some subjects in school actually highlight the problem with
capitalism - sociology.
Unlike Marxists who see education benefiting the ruling class, functionalists see it as benefiting the
whole of society.
The New Right Perspective
-Functionalist thinking has influenced New Right political thinking which is strictly conservative and a firm
believer in the idea that the state (government) should not be over-relied on.
-In terms of education this means that they favour the ‘free market’ and the marketisation of education.
-Free Market = suggests that schools should compete against each other for clients (pupils). For every pupil a
school enrolls they receive funding. By doing this, the standard of education should go up in schools, otherwise
they will fail to attract pupils and receive no funding.
Similarities of Functionalism & New Right
-Both believe that inequality is inevitable (but justified) as some pupils are naturally more able than others.
-They both value meritocratic ideals, open competition and using education to meet the needs of the economy
(role allocation and the division of labour).
-Education should socialise pupils into shared norms, values and identities. (Value consensus, collective
conscience).
Differences between Functionalists and the New Right
-Unlike functionalists, the New Right do not believe that the current education system is meeting these goals.
This is because it is run by the state, ie. not privatised.
-The New Right argues that the state takes a ‘one size fits all’ approach to schools. The state tries to impose
the same regulations, policies and funding to all schools. This ignores local and individual needs. Ex. those of
pupils, parents and staff within schools.
-The answer? To marketise education - run a school like a business and compete with other schools to attract
custom / clients. This means schools will have to listen to the needs of pupils, parents and staff. Schools are
‘unresponsive’.
Is this a new idea?
-No, this is not a new idea.
-In order to help parents make informed decisions about their children’s education OFSTED and league tables
were introduced by Thatcher’s coservative government in the 1988 Education Reform Act.
-This gave parents a choice of schools (rather than catchment area schools), this is called a ‘parentocracy’.
Chubb & Moe (1990)
-Argue that America’s state schools have failed in their goals and should therefore be placed in the free
market.
, -State education has failed disadvantaged groups (w/c and minorities) and failed to create equality of
opportunity.
-Pupils are not being equipped with the skills needed to work. Ex. The economy is thus failing.
-Private schools are more efficient and productive because they have to answer to their ‘clients’ - the paying
customer.
-They compared the achievements of 60,000 pupils from low-income families in 1,015 state schools and private
schools as well as a ‘parent’s survey’.
What should be introduced?
-Schools should no longer receive guaranteed funding, instead they should have to ‘earn’ funding through good
performance.
-Parents should be given an ‘education voucher’ to spend at the school of their choice (forcing the schools to
improve).
Two key roles
-In the New Right view, there should still be two important roles left for the state.
1. It should impose a strict, standardised framework for schools to compete within. Ex. OFSTED
inspections, league tables, formula funding.
2. It should make sure that all schools transmit a shared, united culture. Ex. through a standardised
national curriculum and the practice of christian principles.
Gewirtz (1995) = marketisation benefits the middle class and disadvantages the working class.
The New Right ignores wider social inequalities within education and places all blame on the schools
themselves.
The New Right wants parents to have choice and freedom but at the same time want a strict
curriculum in place - contradictory.
Marxists argue that schools do not transmit a shared culture, only the culture of the ruling class - the
dominant culture.
Postmodernism
-Schools are more ‘consumerist’ and provide more individual choice.
-The introduction of marketisation and open enrollment means parents have a choice over where to send
their child. Marketisation means parents are now expected to attend open evenings and view prospectuses,
essentially ‘browsing’ for the school of their choice.
-Parents are free to home education if their ‘consumer needs’ are not met by their current school.
Education has Become More Individualised
-Teachers are expected to use a variety of teaching approaches in their delivery of lessons, to take account of
the variety of ‘learning styles’ of students, and where possible ‘facilitate’ lessons so that they are learner
centred.
-Tutors also spend time working out ‘learner pathways’ with students, so that their education path is tailored to
suit their future career aims.
Education is More Diverse
-Since New Labour the UK has seen an increasing diversity of school types - there has been an increase in
‘specialist schools’ which specialise in one subject, more faith schools, and more recently a dramatic increase
in the number of academies and free schools.
-There are also many more education providers today - the dramatic increase in apprenticeship places in the
last decade means that there are now thousands of employers offering training to 16-24 year olds.
Increasing Fragmentation
-Despite the national curriculum, the experience of education has become more fragmented - privately
educated school children generally enjoy a very cosy education, with clearly structured lessons and school years
meaning they can realise their full potential by the time they leave school.
-At the other end of the social class spectrum, children mostly from lower working-class backgrounds feel
alienated by a middle-class school system and may experience disruption of their learning from badly behaved
students.
-The recent increase in home-schooling (especially since covid) is a good example of education becoming more
fragmented.
Functionalism
-Emile Durkheim (1903) = there are two main functions if education:
Social solidarity
Teaching specialist skills
-Parsons (1961) = the school is a society in miniature which helps to teach and prepare people for the demands
and expectations of wider society.
The home = particularistic values, ascribed status
Education = gradually introduce people to a new way of living (new attitudes, new expectations)
Wider society = universalistic values, achieved status (meritocratic)
-Davis & Moore (1945) = education acts as a sieve which ‘sorts’ people into roles / positions in society. They are
allocated roles.
-Some people make it further than others. Ex. they are able to gain higher status positions in society while
others remain in low status positions. Inequality is therefore inevitable.
-You get what you put in. This is because meritocracy makes it fair.
Critics argue that education is not meritocratic.
Wrong (1961) = functionalists have an over-socialised view of people as mere ‘puppets’ of society.
They wrongly assume that all pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the school's
values.
The education system doesn't teach pupils specialised skills. Instead:
-The Wolf Review of Vocational Education (2011) claims that high quality apprenticeships are rare
and up to a third of 16-19 year olds are on courses that do not lead to higher education or good jobs.
-There is evidence to suggest that achievement is influenced by class and ethnicity.
-Tumin (1953) criticises by saying that Functionalists present a ‘circular’ argument.
Marxism
-The main role of education is to produce an efficient, submissive, obedient workforce to help maintain the
unequal capitalist society (structure. Ex. Education benefits the ruling class.
-Education is an ideological tool that controls the working class. Education will only be fair once the working-
class have instigated a revolution and communism replaced capitalism.
Althusser (1970)
-Takes a theoretical approach to education. His work is not based on research, he argues that the working-
class are controlled by the ruling class through two types of ‘apparatus’.
-Repressive state apparatus = physical control through institutions such as the justice system and the military.
-Ideological state apparatus = control over the way the working-class think. These apparatus pass on dominant
ideology (no physical force is used). This is done through institutions such as the family, religion and education.
The ruling class pass on their ideas and beliefs.
-The more successful the ideological state apparatus are at passing on ruling class dominant ideology, the
less the repressive state apparatus will have to do.
-Education is a form of ideological state apparatus.
-The education reproduces class inequality by failing generations of working-class pupils.
-Education legitimises class inequality by producing ideologies that prevent the working-class children from
questioning their subordinate position.
Bowles & Gintis (1970) - ‘Schooling in Capitalist America’
-Researched schools in the USA and concluded that the role of education is the reproduction of the workforce.
-Education is a ‘myth making machine’ designed to justify inequality by promoting the idea that failure is due to
lack of hard work rather than injustices within the capitalist society:
Education is based on merit
, Education is the path to success in work
Those at the top deserve to be as they have worked the hardest
Likewise, those at the bottom are to blame themselves
-The correspondence principle: school + authority + hierarchy + obedience = the workplace
-The hidden curriculum = this consists of things that pupils learn informally from their experience of going to
school on a day to day basis. The hidden curriculum teaches the working-class the values needed within
employment etc.
Subservience = through rewarding ‘acceptable’ behaviour and punishing ‘unacceptable’ behaviour.
Motivation = through external rewards, ex. Certificates / wages.
Acceptance of hierarchy = teaching ‘roles’, authority, and power relationships.
Legitimisation of inequality = the myth of meritocracy.
Brown et al = argues that in reality many more jobs require teamwork, then obedience. Therefore, not
all we learn in education corresponds to work. We are ‘post-fordist’.
Neo Marxists such as Willis believe that it is wrong to assume that the hidden curriculum is always
accepted. Therefore, not everyone is obedient and uncritical at work.
Neo Marxists such as Giroux believe that it is wrong to assume everything in education is there to
support the economic base structure. Some subjects in school actually highlight the problem with
capitalism - sociology.
Unlike Marxists who see education benefiting the ruling class, functionalists see it as benefiting the
whole of society.
The New Right Perspective
-Functionalist thinking has influenced New Right political thinking which is strictly conservative and a firm
believer in the idea that the state (government) should not be over-relied on.
-In terms of education this means that they favour the ‘free market’ and the marketisation of education.
-Free Market = suggests that schools should compete against each other for clients (pupils). For every pupil a
school enrolls they receive funding. By doing this, the standard of education should go up in schools, otherwise
they will fail to attract pupils and receive no funding.
Similarities of Functionalism & New Right
-Both believe that inequality is inevitable (but justified) as some pupils are naturally more able than others.
-They both value meritocratic ideals, open competition and using education to meet the needs of the economy
(role allocation and the division of labour).
-Education should socialise pupils into shared norms, values and identities. (Value consensus, collective
conscience).
Differences between Functionalists and the New Right
-Unlike functionalists, the New Right do not believe that the current education system is meeting these goals.
This is because it is run by the state, ie. not privatised.
-The New Right argues that the state takes a ‘one size fits all’ approach to schools. The state tries to impose
the same regulations, policies and funding to all schools. This ignores local and individual needs. Ex. those of
pupils, parents and staff within schools.
-The answer? To marketise education - run a school like a business and compete with other schools to attract
custom / clients. This means schools will have to listen to the needs of pupils, parents and staff. Schools are
‘unresponsive’.
Is this a new idea?
-No, this is not a new idea.
-In order to help parents make informed decisions about their children’s education OFSTED and league tables
were introduced by Thatcher’s coservative government in the 1988 Education Reform Act.
-This gave parents a choice of schools (rather than catchment area schools), this is called a ‘parentocracy’.
Chubb & Moe (1990)
-Argue that America’s state schools have failed in their goals and should therefore be placed in the free
market.
, -State education has failed disadvantaged groups (w/c and minorities) and failed to create equality of
opportunity.
-Pupils are not being equipped with the skills needed to work. Ex. The economy is thus failing.
-Private schools are more efficient and productive because they have to answer to their ‘clients’ - the paying
customer.
-They compared the achievements of 60,000 pupils from low-income families in 1,015 state schools and private
schools as well as a ‘parent’s survey’.
What should be introduced?
-Schools should no longer receive guaranteed funding, instead they should have to ‘earn’ funding through good
performance.
-Parents should be given an ‘education voucher’ to spend at the school of their choice (forcing the schools to
improve).
Two key roles
-In the New Right view, there should still be two important roles left for the state.
1. It should impose a strict, standardised framework for schools to compete within. Ex. OFSTED
inspections, league tables, formula funding.
2. It should make sure that all schools transmit a shared, united culture. Ex. through a standardised
national curriculum and the practice of christian principles.
Gewirtz (1995) = marketisation benefits the middle class and disadvantages the working class.
The New Right ignores wider social inequalities within education and places all blame on the schools
themselves.
The New Right wants parents to have choice and freedom but at the same time want a strict
curriculum in place - contradictory.
Marxists argue that schools do not transmit a shared culture, only the culture of the ruling class - the
dominant culture.
Postmodernism
-Schools are more ‘consumerist’ and provide more individual choice.
-The introduction of marketisation and open enrollment means parents have a choice over where to send
their child. Marketisation means parents are now expected to attend open evenings and view prospectuses,
essentially ‘browsing’ for the school of their choice.
-Parents are free to home education if their ‘consumer needs’ are not met by their current school.
Education has Become More Individualised
-Teachers are expected to use a variety of teaching approaches in their delivery of lessons, to take account of
the variety of ‘learning styles’ of students, and where possible ‘facilitate’ lessons so that they are learner
centred.
-Tutors also spend time working out ‘learner pathways’ with students, so that their education path is tailored to
suit their future career aims.
Education is More Diverse
-Since New Labour the UK has seen an increasing diversity of school types - there has been an increase in
‘specialist schools’ which specialise in one subject, more faith schools, and more recently a dramatic increase
in the number of academies and free schools.
-There are also many more education providers today - the dramatic increase in apprenticeship places in the
last decade means that there are now thousands of employers offering training to 16-24 year olds.
Increasing Fragmentation
-Despite the national curriculum, the experience of education has become more fragmented - privately
educated school children generally enjoy a very cosy education, with clearly structured lessons and school years
meaning they can realise their full potential by the time they leave school.
-At the other end of the social class spectrum, children mostly from lower working-class backgrounds feel
alienated by a middle-class school system and may experience disruption of their learning from badly behaved
students.
-The recent increase in home-schooling (especially since covid) is a good example of education becoming more
fragmented.
