Education

• economic role of education - functionalist

  education teaches people the necessary skills for work

  e.g: literacy, numeracy and vocational courses
• economic role of education - marxist

  education reinforces the class system

  e.g: children from lower-class families learn skills for lower-status jobs
• selective role of education - functionalist

  education is a meritocratic system and all children have equal opportunities

  education leads to social mobility
• selective role of education - marxist

  children do not have equal opportunities

  working class children underperform
• social control - functionalist

  schools act as an agent of social control
• social control - marxist

  social control is schools reflects social control in real life
• examples of formal social control:


  discipline of staff

  punishments

  school rules
• examples of informal social control:


  general school life (e.g: peer pressure)

  learning how to live and work with others
• political role of education - functionalist

  people learn about society through education
• political role of education - marxist

  only some political opinions are accepted in education

  e.g: radical ideas are rejected
• what are the features of the hidden curriculum?

  hierarchy

  competition

  social control

  gender role allocation

  lack of satisfaction
• hidden curriculum - hierarchy

  the hierarchy within schools reflects the hierarchy within society

  e.g: in the workplace: manager has authority over a trainee
• hidden curriculum - competition

  schools encourage competition between students which reflects competition in society

  e.g: competition in the workplace
• hidden curriculum - social control

  students learn to accept society's social control while they are in the education system
• hidden curriculum - gender role allocation

  girls are expected to perform worse than boys in stem subjects

  link between gender and subject choices
• hidden curriculum - lack of satisfaction

  the school day consists of boring and meaningless activities, preparing students for repetitive tasks at work
• hidden curriculum


  things learnt in school that are not formally taught
• official curriculum


  the formal learning that takes place in schools such as subjects and courses studied
• what are the features of the durkheim's perspective on education? (functionalist)

  social solidarity

  schools as 'miniature societies'

  skills for work

  rules and punishment
• social solidarity - durkheim

  schools help individuals see themselves as part of a collective society rather than focusing solely on their own interests
• schools as 'miniature societies' - durkheim

  schools teach co-operative skills and respect for rules to prepare students for wider society
• skills for work - durkheim

  education teaches people specialised skills essential for industrial economies
• rules and punishment - durkheim

  punishment reflects the seriousness of the harm caused to society, leading people to become more self-disciplined
• criticisms of durkheim (functionalist)

  education may transmit a unified culture, but this may not apply to multicultural societies

  marxists believe that culture being transmitted benefits the ruling classes

  feminists believe that education transmits a patriarchal culture
• what are the features of parsons' perspective on education? (functionalist)

  universalistic values

  value consensus

  meritocracy

  role allocation
• universalistic values - parsons

  school prepares students for wider society by treating everyone according to universalistic values (e.g: school rules, laws)

  education transitions students from ascribed status to achieved status
• universalistic standards


  when people are judged by the standards of the wider society
• particularistic standards


  in the family, where children are judged against the standards or values set by that family
• achieved status


  social positions that are earned on the basis of personal talents or merit
• ascribed status


  social positions that are ascribes at birth and unchanging over time
• value consensus - parsons

  schools promote two key societal values:

  achievement

  equality of opportunity
• meritocracy - parsons

  education is a meritocratic system where achievement is based on ability and effort

  status is earned through merit
• role allocation - parsons

  education sorts people into appropriate jobs based on their abilities

  e.g: most skilled individuals reach top positions in society
• criticisms of parsons (functionalist)

  marxists believe that societal values are shared by the bourgeoise, not schools

  feminists highlight how gender roles influence career paths
• what are the features of the marxist theory of education?

  key thinkers: bowles and gintis

  the correspondence principle

  the myth of meritocracy
• correspondence principle


  the way in which what is learned in school through the hidden curriculum mirrors what is required in the workplace
• the correspondence principle - marxist

  operates through the hidden curriculum by teaching:

  obedience to rules

  acceptance to hierarchy

  motivation to external rewards
• the myth of meritocracy - marxist

  unlike functionalists, marxists believe that success is influenced by social class rather than effort

  this legitimises social inequality as it prevents questioning of structural inequalities and sustains capitalist systems
• criticisms of marxism

  overly deterministic as not all students accept school values

  in the modern workforce, businesses value innovation, creativity and teamwork rather than passive and unthinking workers
• what was the 1944 butler education act?

  a law that aimed to give students an equal chance to develop their abilities in a system of free, state-run schools

  changed the secondary sector by introducing a meritocratic system

  resulted in the tripartite system