Topic 5 - The functionalist perspective on education

D - society needs sense of solidarity - individual members must feel part of single community. Argues w/o social solidarity, social life + cooperation impossible b/c each individual would pursue own selfish desires.

Ed sys helps create social solidarity - transmits society's culture from one gen to next. Eg D argues teaching of country's history instils sense of shared heritage + commitment to wider social group.

School - 'society in miniature' - prepares for life in wider society. Eg in school + work have to cooperate w/ people who neither family/friends - teachers + pupils at school, colleagues + customers at work. Have to interact w/ others according to set of impersonal rules apply to everyone.

Modern industrial economies - complex DOL - production of single item involves cooperation of many diff specialists. 

Cooperation promotes solidarity but to be successful, each person must have necessary specialist knowledge + skills to perform their role. 

D argues ed teahes specialist knowledge + skills needed to play part in social DOV.

Sees school as 'focal socialising agency' in modern society - acts as bridge b/ween family + wider society. Needed b/c operate on diff principles, so children need to learn new way of living if to cope w/ wider world.

W/in family, child judged by particularistic standards + status ascribed. Both school + wider society, judged by universalistic + impersonal standards, status achieved.

P sees school as preparing us to move from family -> wider society b/c both based on meritocratic principles. In meritocracy, everyone given equal opp + individuals achieve rewards through own effort + ability.

D + M (1945) - see ed as device for selection + role allocation. Focus on selection + social inequality. Argue inequality necessary to ensure most important roles filled by most talented. Most efficient way to run society. Encourage everyoe to compete to work for this - society selcts most talented.

Ed key part in process - proving ground for ability. Where individuals show what they can do. 'Sifts + sorts' according to ability. Most able gain highest qualifications. Most able gain highest qualifications, gives entry to most important positions.

Human capital - Blau + Duncan (1978) - argue modern economy depends for prosperity on using 'human capital' - workers' skils. Argue meritocratic ed sys does this best as enables each to be allocated to job best suited to abilities. Makes most effective use of talents, maximises productivity.

Ed sys doesn't teach specialised skills adequately (D claims it does). Wolf review of vocational ed (2011) - high-quality apprenticeships rare + up to 1/3 16-19 y/os on courses that don't -> higher ed or good jobs.

Lots of evidence thay equal opp in ed doesn't exits - eg gender, class background, ethnicity etc.

Interactionist, Wrong (1961) - functionalists have 'over-socialised view' of people as mere puppets in society. F's wrongly imply pupils passively accept all they're taught + never reject school's values.

Marxists argue ed capitalist society.

Tumin (1953) criticises D + M for putting forward circular argument - eg how do we know a job is important? Because it's highly rewarded. How do we know it's highly rewarded? Because it's important.