Role of education in society

• Dukhiem:

  • Specialist skills
  • Social solidarity
  • society in a miniature
• Parsons

  • meritocratic
  • Focal socialising agency
  • particularistic (status is ascribed) = family
  • universalistic (status is achieved)= school
• Davis and Moores:

  • Selecting pupils to future work roles
  • school= best jobs suited
  • sifts and sorts
• criticisms of func:

  • over socialised view
• New right= POLICTIAL VIEW
• Marketisation of education = creates compensation between schools and empowering consumers bringing more diversity
• Func + New right:

  1. some are naturally gifted
  2. ed system = meritrocratic
  3. socialisation method
  4. state system is ineffective
• Chubb and more: CONSUMER CHOICE:

  usa ed system has failed due to, unequal opportunities, private schools have higher quality, inadequate skills
• Low income families do 5% better In private schools than state schools
• Chubb & Moe: family given a voucher to spend on buying education from school of choice
• schools would be 'private' = profitable
• Marxist perspective: Class conflict
• Althusser:

  Ideological state apparatus

  repressive state apparatus
• Althusser 2:

  education legitimises and reproduces class inequality.
• Bowles and Ginitis: Schooling in capitalist America

  • close parallels between school nd work
  • hierarchies ect
• Correspondence principle: 'hidden curriculum' for lessons taught but not directly
• capitalism requires a workforce = of alienated exploited workers willing to accept low pay orders and hard work
• school = obedient workers study (237 new York high school students)
• Bowels and ginits: MYTH OF MERITORCRACY

  giant myth making machine

  justifies privileges of MC

  make Wc accept inequality as legitimate
• Willis: learning to labour

  • way school serves capitalism
  • 12 WC boys
  • conformists (ear oles)
  • 'lads' school= boring
  • manual work is superior
• evaluation: postmodernists argue how education produces diversity and equality
• B&G VS WILLIS: brainwashing vs legitimising and reproducing
• feminists education reproduces pathetical ideologies also