FUNCTIONALIST

• What are the two functions of school according to Durkheim?

  year- 1903

  social solidarity

  specialist skills - provided to support division of labour
• what did Parsons (1961) say about education

  it is the bridge between family and the wider society and reinforces appropriate norms and values
• what does Parsons believe education instils ideas of?

  meritocracy
• Education widens a student's understanding to "universalistic standards" of wider society rather than "particularistic standards" of the family
• what is meritocracy?

  system where people gain success because of their hard work and effort
• Davis and Moore Role allocation

  • school selects pupils for future work roles that will be functional in society. They get given the most appropriate jobs for their abilities
  • reinforces meritocracy
  • school sifts and sorts according to skills and abilities