4.4 Theories of Education

• What are the main theories of education discussed in this study material?

  Functionalism, Marxism, and Feminism
• The main theories of education are Functionalism, Marxism, and Feminism, each offering a different perspective on the purpose and impact of education
• According to Feminism, what is the historical impact of education on women?

  Disadvantaged women
• What is the role of cultural capital in Marxist theory?

  Advantage middle-class students
• Functionalists believe education helps maintain social order by transmitting shared values and skills.


  True
• What are the key principles of the New Right theory of education?

  Individual choice and competition
• Interactionist theory focuses on how small-scale teacher-student interactions shape students' educational experiences
• What is the main focus of Interactionism in education?

  Teacher-student interactions
• Match the educational theory with its role:

  Functionalism ↔️ Trains workforce, promotes social cohesion

  Marxism ↔️ Reproduces class divisions, prepares labor

  Feminism ↔️ Addresses gender stereotypes, promotes equality
• Marxists argue that education advantages middle-class students through cultural capital
• What is the main purpose of education according to Functionalist theory?

  Socialize and integrate individuals
• What is the key concept of Interactionist theory regarding education?

  Self-fulfilling prophecy
• A weakness of Functionalism is that it is overly deterministic
• Match the educational theory with its focus:

  Functionalism ↔️ Integration into society

  Marxism ↔️ Social inequality
• Functionalism is criticized for being overly deterministic and ignoring individual agency.

  True
• The New Right promotes individual choice and competition in education.inequality
• Match the theory with its principle and role of education:

  Functionalism ↔️ Social cohesion, integrates individuals

  Marxism ↔️ Social inequality, reproduces class divisions

  Feminism ↔️ Gender equality, challenges stereotypes
• Functionalism views education as promoting social cohesion and shared values.

  True
• Order the key principles of functionalist education:

  1️⃣ Social cohesion

  2️⃣ Workforce training

  3️⃣ Social order
• What is the primary goal of education according to the New Right?

  Prepare students for workforce
• Marxism in education emphasizes that it maintains capitalist structures and reinforces class divisions
• What does the New Right believe education should prepare students for?

  The workforce
• Interactionist theory focuses on teacher-student interactions and their impact on educational experiences


  True
• What is a key strength of Interactionist theory?

  Micro-level perspective
• Interactionist theory is criticized for neglecting broader social structures


  True
• Marxism argues that education reinforces the existing capitalist system
• What is a strength of Functionalism in education?

  Workforce training
• Feminist theory may oversimplify the experiences of all women in education


  True
• Match the educational theory with its key strength:

  Functionalism ↔️ Workforce training

  Marxism ↔️ Social inequality

  Feminism ↔️ Challenges stereotypes

  Interactionism ↔️ Micro-level focus
• What is a major weakness of Marxism in education?

  Lacks empirical evidence
• Marxism might argue that a dress code reinforces socio-economic disparities


  True
• Interactionism suggests that dress code policies can lead teachers to form judgments about student behavior
• One aim of education theories is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective.

  True
• According to Functionalism, what is the role of education in society?

  Social cohesion and integration
• According to Marxism, how does education maintain social inequality?

  Reinforcing capitalist structures
• Marxist theory emphasizes concepts such as cultural capital and the hidden curriculum, which perpetuate social inequality
• How does Functionalism contrast with Marxism regarding the role of education?

  Promotes social cohesion
• Functionalists view education as a system that helps individuals develop the knowledge and competencies needed to contribute to the smooth functioning of society
• The New Right believes education should reduce state intervention and prepare students for the workforce.

  True
• What is the self-fulfilling prophecy in Interactionist theory?

  Teacher expectations influencing performance