Roles of education
- Created by: Alecia
- Created on: 29-08-17 22:46
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- The role of education in society
- Functionalist perspective
- Durkeim:Solidarity & Skills
- two main functions of education
- social solidarity
- society needs a sense of solidarity
- without it, social life and cooperation would be impossible
- education system helps to create social solidarity
- school acts as a society in miniature preparing for life in society
- Specialist skills
- each person must have the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their role
- Durkheim argues that education teaches individuals the skills that they need
- social solidarity
- two main functions of education
- Davis & Moore: Role allocation
- school performs a function of selecting and allocating pupils to their future roles
- 1945
- see education as device for selection and role allocation
- argue that inequality is necessary to ensure the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people
- education plays a key part in this process- proving ground for ability
- Blav & Duncan 1978
- argue modern economy depends for it uses 'human capital'
- sorts them into the best- make it effective use of their talents and maximise productivity
- argue modern economy depends for it uses 'human capital'
- EVALUATION
- there is ample evidence that equal opportunity in education does not exist
- e.g. achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability
- Tumin(1953) criticises Davis &Moore for putting forward a circular argument
- how do we know that a job is important?
- Marxists argue education only transmits ideology of the ruling class
- Wrong(1961) fuctionalists have an'over socialised view'
- they imply that pupils passively accept all taught
- Education system doesn't teach specialised skills well like Durkheim states.
- Wolf review of vocational education(2011) claims that high-quality apprenticeships are rare and up to 1/3 of 16-19y olds are on courses that do not lead to good jobs
- neoliberals & new right argue that the state education system fails to prepare young people for work
- there is ample evidence that equal opportunity in education does not exist
- Durkeim:Solidarity & Skills
- Neoliberalism and New Right perspective
- new right
- key difference between new right and fuctionalists
- they don't believe that the education system is achieving goals as it is run by the state
- Chubb & Moe 1990
- argue state-run education in the USA failed because of
- not created equal opportunity & failed the needs of disadvantaged groups
- inefficient as it fails to produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy
- Private schools deliver higher quality education as they are answerable to consumers
- based on their comparison of the achievements of 60,000 pupils from low-income families in 1,015 state and private high schools
- called for the introduction of a market system which would put the parents in control
- argue this would allow parents to shape school to meet their own needs & would improve quality & efficiency
- called for the introduction of a market system which would put the parents in control
- argue state-run education in the USA failed because of
- 2 roles for the state
- 1) state imposes framework on schools where they have to compete
- e.g publishing Ofsted inspection reports and league tables of the school exam results
- 2) state ensures that schools transmit a shared culture
- e.g imposing a single National curriculum
- 1) state imposes framework on schools where they have to compete
- EVALUATION
- Gewirtz (1995) & Ball (1994)
- both argue that competition between schools benefits the middle class but not the working class
- real cause of low educational standards is not state control but social inequality & inadquate funding of state schools
- Marxists argue that education does not impose a shared national culture.
- the culture of a dominant minority ruling class & devalues the culture of the working class & ethnic minorities
- Gewirtz (1995) & Ball (1994)
- key difference between new right and fuctionalists
- neoliberalism
- argues that the state should not provide education
- argues the value of educations lies in how well it enables the country to complete in the global market place
- school should be run like a business
- argues that the state should not provide education
- new right
- Marxist perspective
- Althusser: ideological state apparatus
- repressive state apparatuses (RSAs)
- maintain the rule of the bourgeoisie by force or threat of it
- Ideological state apparatuses (ISAs)
- which maintain the rule og the bourgeoisie by controlling peoples ideas, values and beliefs
- performs 2 fuctions
- reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation
- legitimates(justifies) class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause
- repressive state apparatuses (RSAs)
- Bowles & Gintis:schooling in capitalist America
- 1976
- capitalism requires workforce with attitudes, behaviour and personality type suited to alienation and exploitation as workers
- role of education
- study of 237 NY high school students
- conclude that schools reward personality traits that make them more submissive, compliant workers
- students that showed indedpendence or creativety tended to gain low grades
- Correspondence principe & hidden curriculum
- close parallels between work and school
- hierarchy
- authority in school e.g. teachers --> pupils
- authority of managers --> workers
- alienation
- through students lack of control over education
- through workers' lack of control over productin
- extrinsic satisfaction
- pay
- grades
- hierarchy
- Cohen (1984)
- youth training schemes erve acapitalism by teaching young workers attitudes and skills not job skills
- close parallels between work and school
- Myth of meritocracy
- Bowles & Gintis
- education is a 'giant myth-making machine'
- main factor determining whether o not someone has a high income is their family & class background
- Bowles & Gintis
- Willis (1977)
- Lads' counter-culture
- group of 12 working class boys during their transition from school to work
- took **** out of conformist boys called 'ear'oles' and girls
- acts of defiance against school were ways of resisting school
- rejected meritocracy and didn't believe they could get middle
- took **** out of conformist boys called 'ear'oles' and girls
- group of 12 working class boys during their transition from school to work
- Lads' counter-culture
- EVALUATION
- Post modernists criticise Bowles & Gintis' correspondence principle- education reproduces diversity not inequality
- Bowles & Gintis' view is deterministic and assumes the pupils have no free will; just passively accept indoctrination
- fails to explain counter-school groups
- Modernists Morrow & Torres(1998) criticise Marxists for taking class 1st approach
- Macdonald(1980) arugs Bowles & Gintis ignores the fact that schools reproduce patriarchy aswell
- Althusser: ideological state apparatus
- Functionalist perspective
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