deals with the structure of society based on the idea we have a value consensus
see society as an organism as everything is interdependent and interconnected playing individual roles to maintain society
Functionalists argue education has three functions:
Socialsolidarity (Socialisation)
specialistskills
roleallocation
Functionalists believe education is good and plays a role in creating order in society and having shared and beliefs helps society work together
marxists believe that eduction only serves the interests of upperclass minority rather than the whole of society
durkheim (1903) argued the two main functions of eduction are
socialsolidarity- there are shared beliefs and values in society and education helps transmit societys culture
teaching specialist skills- education teaches individuals specialistknowledge and skills to perform their role and contribute to society through the economy
parsons (1961) argue a persons status is achieved not ascribed. based on your own individual effort you will progress. this is called meritocracy
davis and moore (1945) argue that the third important function of education is role allocation. schools provide the function of assessing and selecting students, matching their skills and abilities to the correct societal role
ao3- Wrong (1961) argues that functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never rejectschoolvalues
ao3- marxists argue that the education system transmits a rulingclassideology. Equal opportunity in education doesnt exist and achievement is based around class rather than ability. Therefore it reproducesclassbasedinequality
A03- PISA (2012) produced research which suggests even if society needs eduction to provide skills to the workforce it does not always succeed in doing this. Uk is 26th out of 65 countries in maths ability among 15 year olds, 23rd for reading and 20th for science
compulsory education-
education was not available to everyone until 1880
education act 1870- implemented to establish schoolboards where schools were inadequate
by 1902 school boards were replaced with 300 LEA's
fisher act 1918- made the state responsible for secondary education
by 1997 education was compulsory until age 18
widening state education in britain:
education was necessary for economic success and creating a skilled workforce which allowed britain to compete with other countries
education plays a role in voting- the better the education the better choices for election
state education teaches the beliefs and values shared by society
education was seen as an escape from poverty, creating a fairer society and meritocracy
Marxism is
a structural conflict theory
deals with the structure of society based on the idea we have class divisions based on capitalist exploitation, subjugation of the wc by the ruling class
marxists believe the education reproduces class based inequalities by failing each generation of working class pupil, legitimising class inequalities by teaching students to accept that inequality is inevitable
marx-
capitalist societies are under the dominance of the bourgeoise, who have control over the means of production and the superstructure
the proletariat work for the means of production and are socialised to be oppressed in the superstructure eg education
Althusser (1971) The state maintains its power through RSAs and ISAs:
Repressivestateapparatuses maintain ruling class dominance through threat or use of force eg the police
Ideologicalstateapparatuses maintain ruling class dominance through controlling peoples ideas, values and beliefs eg religion, media, education
Bowles and Gintis (1976) concluded in their research of 237 New York High School students that the school rewards precisely the kind of personality traits that make a submissive, compliant worker. Those who showed independence gained low grades compared to those who showed obedience and discipline who received high grades. They concluded that education produces obedient workers that capitalism needs
Who defined the correspondence principle?
Bowles and Gintis
what is the correspondence principle?
schoolmirrors the workplace
The correspondence principles as derived from Bowles and Gintis is the idea that school mirrors the workplace (hierarchies) and competition. This means that lessons learned within school are also preparing students for the wider society and therefore they passively accept exploitation. This leads to generational class inequality
cohen (1984) argues that youthtraining schemes serve capitalism by teaching young workers not genuine jobskills, but rather the attitudes and values needed in a subordinate labourforce. it lowers their aspirations so they will accept lowpaid work. this supports the correspondenceprinciple- a marxist idea outlined by bowles and gintis
Bowles and Gintis argue that the education system serves as ‘agiant-mythmakingmachine.’ A key myth is that education promotes the idea that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve- meritocracy. The main factor which determines whether or not someone has a high income is in fact class
marxist approaches are useful in exposing the myth of meritocracy (bowles and gintis). they show the role education as an ISA (Althusser), serving the interests of capitalism by reproducing and legitimising class based inequality (Marx)
Postmodernists criticise bowles and gintis correspondenceprinciple because in a post-Fordist economy, schools produce a very different labour force than the one outlined by Marxists.Postmodernists argue education now reproduces diversity, not inequality
Marxists disagree with one another about how reproduction and legitimation of class based inequalities take place. Bowles and gintis take a deterministic view that pupils have no free will and will passively accept exploitation. This fails to explain why many pupils reject school values
Willis rejects Bowles and Gintis view that school brainwashes pupils into passively accepting their fate in the correspondence principle. by combining marxist and interactionist approaches, he shows how pupils reject school values and still end up in working class jobs
however, critics argue that willis account of the lads romanticises them, portraying them as working class heros. however, his small scale study of 12 boys in one school is unrepresentative of other pupils experience
criticalmodernists such as Morrow and Torres criticise marxists for taking a class first approach that sees class as the key inequality, ignoring other kinds
postmodernists like morrow and torres argue that society is diverse. they see non class inequality eg ethnicity, gender and sexuality as equally important- inequality is intersectional
feminists such as MacDonald (1980) argue that Bowles and gintis ignore that schools not only reproduce capitalism, but patriarchy too
The newright is a conservativepolitical view that incorporates neoliberal and economic ideas. They believe the state cannot meet peoples needs and people are best left to meet their own needs through the free market. They favour the marketisation of education
the new right believe the role of education is to:
promote social solidarity and teach specialist skills
marketisation and competition to give parents a choice in their childs education
LEA's are inefficient in providing this service
chubb and moe (1990) argue that state run education in the US has failed because:
it has not created equal opportunity and has failed the needs of disadvantaged groups
inefficient because it fails to produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy
private schools provide higher quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers- the parents
The new right argues there are two roles of the state:
The state imposes a framework on schools- ofsted reports, league tables
the state ensures the schools transmit a nationalcurriculum which socialises children into a singleculturalheritage
The New Right believe that education should affirm a national identity - British values
The curriculum should emphasis Britain’s positive role in world History and Literature
The aim should be to integrate pupils into a single set of traditions and cultural values
The New Right oppose a multi-cultural approach to education that reflects Britain’s diversity
the new right and functionalists believe that some are more talented than others and favour an education system based on meritocratic principles of open competition, ensuring it serves the needs of the economy
both new right and functionalists believe
Education should be run on meritocracy and competition
Education should socialise pupils into shared values, competition and instil a sense of national identity
Other criticisms of the new right include that the real cause of low educational standards is not state control but socialinequality and inadequate funding of state schools
There is a contradiction between the New Right’s support for parental choice and the state imposing a national curriculum
Marxists argue that education imposes a culture of a dominant minority ruling class and devalues the culture of the working class and ethnic minorities- contradicting the new right view