functionalist view

• 3 functionalist roles of education;

  • secondary socialisation; schools are a ' society in miniature' (Durkheim) and provide a bridge from family to education (Parsons)
  • the economic role; developing human capital, a trained and qualified labour force ( Schultz )
  • The selective role; selecting and allocating people for roles in a meritocratic society ( Davis & Moore )
• Durkheim;

  • believed that education teaches the skills required for a modern, industrial, organic society
  • education meets a functional prerequisite by promoting social solidarity, and passing on the core norms & values of a harmonious society, thus ' cementing ' people together
  • argues that teaching a common history creates a sense of belonging to a unified society
  • school is a ' society in miniature ' that prepares children for membership in a wider society
• Parsons;

  • believed that education creates a bridge between particularistic values and ascribed status of the family, and the universalistic values and achieved status in a society based on meritocracy
  • believed that education facilitates role allocation in society by making society meritocratic
  • education ' sifts and sorts ' people into jobs best suited to their abilities, ensuring that the most high-paying and respected jobs in society are allocated to high ability individuals with high qualifications
• Particularistic values are subjective and based on the criteria of the family, and what they deem as important
• Universalistic values are upheld by schools, they are objective and hold all students to the same standards, so the judgements schools make on a student's ability are fair and unbiased
• Schultz

  • argued that as the division of labour increases and jobs become more specialised, longer periods in education are needed in order to obtain specialist skills and knowledge
  • he believed that this investment was an important factor in developing human capital, this means that a successful position in the world economy is maintained
• meritocracy is the believe that there is equality of educational opportunity for everyone and that the best people are rewarded
• Davis & Moore;

  • believe that some jobs are more functionally important than others, and exams and qualifications help allocate those complex jobs to qualified individuals who are capable of taking on those jobs
  • suggest that meritocracy works because of competition between pupils competing for the most high-paying and respected jobs
  • believe that a system of unequal rewards helps society to function, the promise of a higher reward provides the incentive to work harder
  • your stratified position in society is a reflection of how hard you have worked
• Evaluations;

  • school promotes individualism and independence through competition, this negates the idea that we are all homogeneous citizens
  • this view is too deterministic, as it assumes that all pupils in the education system are not autonomous
  • an individual's stratified position in society is not always achieved through hard-work, some people gain high positions due to privilege and nepotism