Functionalist Perspective On Education

Functionalists are structuralists and have a consensus view

• They believe that all social institutions help shape individuals in a good and benefical way
• They see education as a functionalist institution that brings value consensus and social solidarity

Durkheim believes that individuals/members must feel part of a society

If not, no social solidarity - social life + cooperation would be impossible and people would stick to own selfish views and desires

Durkheim argues that education helps social solidarity

• EXAMPLE
  • the national curriculum, same material across the country - everyone taught same thing
  • government introduced the british values programme to schools - values wish to pass on to everyone

Schools act as a minature society

Evaluation

• Oppressive socialisation
  • marxists and feminists would argue that education transmits ruling calss/patriachal values, of respect for authority and sexism

• Too derterministic
  • sociolosts argue that functionalists are too deterministic 
  • wrongly believe that all kids will passively accept everything theyre taught and will never reject the values (not the case)

• Lack of social solidarity
  • more values are based on competition and individualism 

Modern Industrial countries have a complex division of labour

Specialist skills and knowledge are needed to carry out various tasks

Education teaches specialist skills and knowledge to pupils as they need to play their part in the social division of labour when entering the wider society

EXAMPLE

Education system provides students with academic qualifications

• they introducing vocational qualifications (techinal,work related) to adapt to needs of economy
• post modern aspects too - individuals active learning teaching techniques 

CRITICISM

Non specialist skills - skills taught are often unrelated to work, e.g. triganometry 

Unfair - marxists say that the bourgeoisie choose the curriculum to undermine the working class

Schools select and allocate students to their future work roles

They assess their attitudes and abilities to asign them to what they're best suited for

Functionalists say that inequality is necessary to make sure that the most talented people of that field are doing the jobs

It encourages competition so that the society then can pick the most talented from the competition

Relates to the human capital theory - human skills are the main economic assess so should be effectively devloped

examples

Important roles like doctors are done by the best, have to gone to medical school before can ever operate

False Role Allocation

• marxists and feminists would argue that roles are not allocated fairly as people still inherit status (bourgeoisie proleteriat gendered work roles)

Inefficient Allocation

• Many qualified people are out of work - maybe due to a lack of jobs or individuals are do not have social connections (cultural capital)

Education provides a system that allows individual achievement

Individuals have an equal chance to acheive status through their own efforts

It socialises the value of competition

EXAMPLE

Schools provide exams that have no entry restrictions on ascribed status, meaning that there is equal opportunities to gain status through own individual efforts + achievements

CRITICISMS

• Myth of meritocracy
  • Different social classes, ethnicities and genders have a variety of life chances based on home, cultural and school factors
• Marxists would argue
  • that competition and individualism divides prolerteriats and is part of a ruling class ideology to stop revolution