functionalism

• what do functionalists think about education?

  Education is positive for society and individuals. It helps socialise children into the norms and values of society.
• Durkheim

  The education system has 2 main functions:

  -social solidarity

  -teaches specialist skills
• social solidarity

  People need to be part of a community/ single body. Social cohesion would not be possible without social life and co-operation - people would purse their own desires and would not help society. The education system helps create social solidarity as it passes society's values/ beliefs from one generation to another.
• specialist skills

  Schools teach us skills we need for the workplace. People need to have specialised skills to help society function - industrial economies have complex divisions of labour and many specialists are needed. Everyone needs to know what they can/should do. The education system teaches people the specialist skills they need to be able to play their part.
• AO3 - Durkheim

  -people do not share norms and values even though we are all taught the same at school. Functionalists say that we all share the same norms and values but there is evidence against this.

  -school does not always teach everyone the same norms and values.

  -school teaches some specialists skills (these are more so taught post-16).
• Parsons

  Education performs secondary socialisation, education is meritocratic, education teaches universalistic values instead of particularistic values, education promotes individualism instead of collectivism, there is a hidden curriculum and children can make their own status in education.
• secondary socialisation

  Any socialisation that happens outside of the family. School socialises children to the norms + values of society.
• meritocracy

  The harder you work, the more you get.
• universal + particularistic values

  -universal values = values within society.

  -particularistic values = values within the family.
• hidden curriculum

  School teaches the norms and values of society - they are implicit in the education system.

  Examples:

  -school uniform

  -disciplining policies

  -social, moral, spiritual + cultural education

  -assessments = help/ used for the students status

  -there is a competition between students which promotes individualism.
• ascribed + achieved status

  -ascribed status = born with this status (like son/ daughter).

  -achieved status = a status someone has made for themselves, schools allow for children to make their achieved status.
• AO3 - Parsons

  -Marxists would agree in the hidden curriculum but say that it has a different function. It does not teach the norms and values but teaches the values of capitalism.

  
  

  -post modernists = there are no universalistic values as society is fragmented.
• Davis + Moore

  Education is about sifting + sorting. Schools select and allocate pupils to their future jobs. School assesses the pupils abilities + aptitudes which helps them match the pupils to jobs best suited to them. They say that there is inequality in education but they say that it is needed.
• why is inequality needed in education?

  Inequality is needed to ensure that roles in society are filled by people that are best suited to them. Not all people have access to the same classes because of prior grades - this means that people are being educated in a way that fits their future career.

  
  

  Not everyone in society is equally talented so high rewards need to be offered for the jobs (high pay). Big rewards encourage people to compete for jobs.

  
  

  Education serves role allocation. Education promotes the idea of meritocracy and social mobility.
• AO3 - Davis + Moore

  -their theory is deterministic, it assumes that people will not pick the jobs they want to do and, instead, will do a job that they have been allocated for through school.

  -Marxists = meritocracy legitimises inequality.

  -Feminism = gender pay gap, feminine jobs are paid less.
• human capital

  Blau + Duncan - the modern economy depends on human capital to prosper.

  Human capital = knowledge, skills and other personal characteristics that people have which helps them be productive.

  Everyones talents are used to the best of their abilities - in meritocratic education, everyones skills are used to help them.
• AO3 - functionalism

  -meritocracy is not equal

  -home life also influences education

  -this idea is outdated, it is best suited to the 20th century

  -education is not equal for all (gender + race)