Sociological Perspectives

Sociological Perspectives

Funtionalism

Functionalists see society as a self-regulating system which functions like a human body ('the organic analogy') - all institutions have unique functions and contribute to the maintenance of the whole. 

Functionalists tend to analyse instituions by looking at the contribution that institutions make to maintain social order. 

Functionalism is sometimes regarded as a consensus perspective - they think that social institutions are 'neutral' - they generally work well for most people, and they perform positive functions, maintaining consensus or harmony in society which ultimately benefits everyone equally.

Education acts as a bridge between home and school, promoting value consensus through secondary socialisation and preparing students for work, allocating students to appropriate jobs through a meritocratic system of exams and qualifications. 

Marxism

Marxists argue that social class dividisions are key to understaning everything else in society. In contemporary Capitalist society there are two basic classes - the Capitalist class (The Bourgeoisie) who own the means of production and effectively live off their investments, and the Working Class (the Proletariat) - all those who have to work for a living. 

Exploitation lies at the heart of the capitalist system - the Bourgeoisie, who are the extreme minority, are wealthy because they exploit the proletariat. 

Marxists analyse soicety and social institutions thourgh a 'class lens' - they focus on how institutions maintain the power of ruling classs elites and keep the system working for them. 

Marxism is sometimes referred to as a conflict perspective becasue there is a fundemental conflict of interests between the two classes. Those with economic power control all other insistutions, and those institutions function to maintain the power and privilege of the capitalist class and to keep the proletariat in thier place. 

According to Marxists the education system reproduces class inequality while at the same time legitimating class inequality by teaching pupils there is…