Sociology education

• Types of schools in the UK

  • Comprehensive schools
  • Grammar schools
  • Independent schools
• Most schools in England are now academies after the government announced that all schools should convert
• Academies can decide on their own curriculum, levels of pay for staff, length of school day, holidays, and admissions criteria
• Critics say that private schools reinforce the class divide
• Homeschooling is often linked to special educational needs not being met in mainstream education
• Alternative provision schools cater to children with medical, behavioral, or learning conditions not supported properly in mainstream education
• There is a period of de-schooling in homeschooling where children focus on what they enjoy rather than a formal curriculum
• The idea behind a multi-academy trust is that schools can benefit from economies of scale
• Disadvantage of homeschooling: Financial cost and commitment from parents, requiring one parent to give up work and purchase resources
• Advantage of homeschooling: Children who are homeschooled often get exceptional grades and take exams earlier
• Academies were originally introduced to help failing schools
• Academies are state-funded but independent of local authorities
• Multi-academy trust (MAT)


  A group of schools governed by one trust and a single board of directors
• Alternative provision schools are tailor-made small-scale schooling for children who are not in school for various reasons
• After the lockdowns, there was an increase in people choosing to homeschool
• All staff in a multi-academy trust are employed by the trust, not the school
• Advantage of homeschooling: Learning is personalized and tailored to the child's interests
• Advantage of homeschooling: No teaching to the test allows for deeper learning and understanding
• Schools play a role in secondary socialization, reinforcing norms and values for the next generation
• Lack of socialization is a concern for homeschooling as it may impact conflict resolution skills and resilience in students
• Education teaches specialist skills and prepares students for the world of work and beyond
• Francis Durkheim discussed social cohesion and the promotion of a sense of unity and community in schools
• Key terms related to the function of education

  • Role allocation
  • Social cohesion
  • Achieve status
  • Meritocracy
  • Hidden curriculum
  • Ascribed status
• Family socializes children

  Make allowances for them but only reinforce the values important to the family rather than universal values
• Equal opportunities in school may not be guaranteed for all regardless of social class, ethnicity, or gender
• Functionalism ignores the negative side of school, such as bullying
• Status

  Earned through how clever you are and how hard you work
• Schools perform positive functions for most people, with low exclusion and truancy rates
• Meritocracy

  • Rewarding people based on ability and effort
• Informal curriculum (hidden curriculum)


  Prepares students for adult life and the world of work by indirectly teaching them the qualities needed to be good workers
• Educational specialization


  Starts halfway through year 9 when picking GCSE options
• Hierarchies in school


  Continue into the workplace, reinforcing timekeeping, attendance, obedience, and conformity
• Schools act as a bridge between home and wider society


  Universal values whereby all pupils would be judged on the same criteria and treated equally in education
• Feminists believe the hidden curriculum reinforces and transmits patriarchal values
• Education is more work-focused and meritocratic than in the past
• Meritocracy fits in with role allocation theory


  Most respected and financially rewarding jobs go to those most willing and able to put in effort to qualify
• Schools are important for meritocracy


  Reward those who work the hardest and provide everyone the opportunity to succeed and achieve status
• Girls now outperform boys in education
• Curriculum is based on the knowledge that middle and upper-class pupils learn at home
• Marxists believe that by promoting meritocracy, working-class pupils are disadvantaged by factors outside of school