Complete Education Notes - Detailed

?

a.the role and function of education 

Functionalist Perspective of Education 

DURKHEIM – social solidarity (1925)  

  • Main role of education – transmission of norms and values of society in order to maintain a value consensus in society.  

  • Unites individuals – sense of belonging and commitment to that society (social solidarity).  

  • By teaching history, individuals learn about their society – sense of commitment.  

  • Saw schools as society in miniature – individuals learn to interact with others and follow a fixed set of rules – preparation for later life.  

  • Education teaches you skills your parents can’t – skills that are necessary for specific jobs.  

  • EV – forcing obedience, no individualism, ignores impact on gender, class, ethnicity  

PARSONS – socialisation/meritocracy.  

  • meritocracy – the belief that people are judged according to their ability and effort, not according to who they are.  

  • education has three main functions; bridge between the family and wider society, socialises children into society’s basic values, selects people for their future roles.  

  • In the family, children are socialised with particularistic standards, in society universalistic standards are applied. education is based on merit + achieved status not ascribed status. 

  • the exam system encourages meritocratic values because it judges people fairly and motivates them to be successful.  

  • EV – doesn’t mention gender, class or ethnicity  

DAVIS AND MOORE – role allocation  

  • Education is a means of role allocation  

  • ‘sifts and sorts’ people according to their abilities  

  • most important jobs are more highly rewarded – motivating talented people to work hard – education helps ensure most competent people fulfil the important roles  

  • see education as meritocratic, like PARSONS  

  • EV – late developers missed – affected for life   

Strengths of Functionalism 

  • structural – beyond the level of the classroom or individual schools.  

  • links schools to wider society.  

  • schools = transmitters of knowledge, norms/values and selecting mechanism  

Weaknesses of Functionalism 

  • largely ignores gender, class and ethnicity as inequality reasons – some groups benefit more than others  

  • ignores the impact of teacher labelling on achievement  

  • not a meritocracy – ability and effort aren’t the only factors that determine achievement  

  • WILLIS – not all pupils conform to society’s norms and values  

  • New right – disagree fails to prepare young people for work – vocational 

  • Old boys network – who you know is more important than what you know  

Marxist Perspective of Education 

ALTHUSSER – the role of ideology   

  • Education system as part of the ideological state apparatus  

  • Education reproduces class-based inequalities by creating the belief that capitalism is somehow ‘normal’ and ‘natural’  

  • School system designed to fail working class pupils  

  • Enables reproduction of class system – w/c stay w/c  

BOURDIEU – cultural capital 

  • Main function – reproduce and legitimize ruling class  

  • Socialise w/c into ‘culture of failure’ – so that they take up routine and dull work  

  • Education system favours the m/c culture rather than popular culture.  

BOWLES AND GINTIS – hidden curriculum  

  • close relationship between schooling and work  

  • The hidden curriculum: prepares a hardworking, obedient workforce that won’t challenge authority  

  • conforming pupils – higher grades than those who challenge authority  

  • schools teach acceptance of hierarchy – teachers give orders  

  • pupils motivated by exam success – workers motivated by wages  

  • meritocracy as a myth – class determines how well a person does  

Strengths of Marxism 

  • unveils interests of dominant and powerful groups in schooling   

  • reveals undeclared agendas of schooling but so does functionalism   

  • documents resistance by students to

Comments

No comments have yet been made