Sociological perspectives on education

Key ideas about education

• Created an 'education market' whereby schools were run like businesses
• The state provides a framework to ensure schools are all teaching the same things
• Schools should teach subjects that prepare pupils for work

Supporting evidence

• Policies seem to have raised standards
• Asian countries that have competetive education systems tend to be top of international league tables.

Criticisms/ limitations

• Competition benefits the middle class and leaves lower-classes, ethnic minorities and those living in rural areas less effective choice
• The National Curriculum is often criticised for being too ethnocentric and restrictive. Furthermore there is a contradiction between wanting schools t be free to compete and imposing national restrictions

Keys ideas about education

• Purpose of school should be to raise standards give equal oppurtunity and promote diversity and equality
• School exists to keep an eye on children in danger of future deviance
• Government needs to invest more in education to catch up with effects of globalisation

Supporting evidence

• It is difficult to see what other institutions could teach children about diversity and equality
• Attempts to achieve equal oppurtunity can be seen in new labour policies

Criticisms/limitations

• Postmodernists critiise the government for attempting to engineer pupils to fit society and crush creativity. New Labour polcies are very expensive
• Whatever changes are made to education it cannot reduce class inequality - only the revolution can!!

Key ideas about education

• Stand against universality of education 
• Schools crush creatvity through 'factory production'
• POstmodernists would support ideas such as liberal education, homeschooling, life-long learning and adult education
• Modernist education oppresses many students, especially ethnic minorities

Supporting evidence

• With marketization, children now learn as to pass exams, not simply for the purpose of learning, limiting what is taught, and by killing creativity, making school stressful. Furthermore, the national curriculum is ethnocentric

Criticisms/ limitations

• Competition rives up standards and we need schools to promtoe diveristy from a young age. Marxists <3 would argue that education system leads to greater inequality