Education

• Socialisation - Functionalism


  Parsons - education is an important source of secondary socialisation, bridges gap between particularistic standards of family and the universalistic standards of wider society. Learning about shared values of wider society brings about value consensus.

  Evaluation - fails to consider that values transmitted may only benefit a ruling minority and not society as a whole.
• Skills Provision - Functionalism


  Durkheim - education teaches specialist skills, further education provides diverse, in-depth knowledge, creates a wide division of labour. Also resembles a society in miniature - teaches interaction and cooperation as well as a shared culture. History lessons instil a sense of shared heritage and commitment.

  Evaluation - critics argue that the school exam system emphasises individual competition, not cooperation.
• Role Allocation - Functionalism


  Davis and Moore - education effectively selects the right pupils into the right work roles through being a meritocratic proving ground - effort and ability are rewarded with status (opportunity for all). Institutions sift and sort pupils based on their performance. GCSEs, A-Levels, SATS etc rank pupils. Scholarships offer opportunity to the most suitable people.

  Evaluation - Tumin claims this argument is circular: How do we know a job is important? It's highly rewarded. Why is it highly rewarded? It's important.
• Socialisation - Marxism


  Althusser - education reproduces an obedient workforce through transmitting a ruling class ideology- Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). Hidden curriculum socialises pupils into conformity whilst maintaining the rule of the bourgeosie by controlling their values and beliefs. This encourages WC pupils to accept inequality.

  Evaluation - Willis argues that schools don't simply 'brainwash' pupils into passively accepting their fate, some reject.
• Skills Provision - Marxism


  Bowles and Gintis - education ensures workers will unquestioningly adapt to system by enforcing it from a young age - correspondence principle. Schools reward traits that make for a submissive, compliant worker. Education is based on social background not ability, promotes meritocracy to justify privilege of higher classes.

  Evaluation - This view ignores that WC students can go on to achieve highly, those who rebel still end up in WC jobs
• Skills provision example - Study of 237 New York students - link between high grades and discipline / obedience.
• Role Allocation - Marxism


  Bourdieu - education reproduces class inequality - students succeed if they have cultural, social etc capital meaning MC students are at an advantage. MC pupils have a better attainment, giving them a greater chance of securing good jobs. 40% of disadvantaged pupils achieve 5 GCSE grades, 68% of others.

  Evaluation - This view ignores that WC can and do go on to achieve highly.
• Feminism

  Heaton and Lawson - Absence of role models (men occupy more senior management roles), teacher expectations (boys asked to lift / carry things), women portrayed as dependent on men in textbooks, greater recognition of boys' sports and gender-specific subject choices (patriarchal curriculum)

  Eval - Girls outperform boys, Education Reform Act - 1988: both genders must do GCSE science.
• Colley - Subject choices are affected by perception of gender roles (extent of socialisation into stereotypes), subject preferences (tasks required e.g. girls like discussion) and the learning environment (girls more likely to choose STEM subjects in single sex schools)

  Evaluation - more balance in textbooks in postmodern society - argument is out-of-date, class is a more prevalent factor.
• Interactionists


  Are after critical of structural approaches as they are deterministic - they ignore the ability of pupils to resist the education system. They believe the process of labelling (sets, streams as well as general treatment) affects pupils experiences of education (result in a self- fulfilling prophecy).
• Postmodernists


  See education as aiming to meet the demands of a diverse contemporary society - broadening of subject choices and types of courses. Usher, Bryant and Johnston - adult education provides choice, diversity and flexibility - can shape identity
• The New Right


  Agree with functionalist views about favouring meritocracy, socialising pupils into shared values, instilling a sense of national identity etc. However don't believe current system is achieving this - solve by marketising education (competition brings more efficiency).

  Evaluation - Gerwitz and Ball - competition benefits MC (use capital to access better schools)
• Willis' study - leaning to labour - 12 WC boys, rejected norms and values of school, developed an anti-school subculture as knew future manual work was inevitable.

  Evaluation - small-scale study so unrepresentative, McRobbie - absence of females.
• Forster Education Act - 1870


  Introduction of education for all 5-10 year olds, 4 Rs.
• Butler Education Act 1940


  Free education 5-15, tripartite system & 11+ exam - grammar schools (passed 11+, mainly MC, academic), secondary moderns (failed 11+, mainly wc, 'practical' education) and technical schools (very few existed)
• The Comprehensive System - 1965


  11+ abolished, grammar and secondary schools replaced with comprehensive schools, aim to make more meritocratic, Local Education Authorities created, not all went comprehensive so grammar secondary modern divide still exists in many areas.
• Functionalists on policies - the mixing of children from different social classes would increase social solidarity.

  Evaluation - Ford - little mixing due to streaming students based on ability.
• Functionalists on policies - argue that comprehensives are more meritocratic.

  Evaluation - marxists say the comprehensive system doesn't challenge streaming and labelling - denies WC opportunities, reaffirms 'myth of meritocracy'.
• 1988 Education Reform Act


  Introduction of a market into the education system (Thatcher), more consumer choice and competition between schools, aim to reduce direct state control over education, 'parentocracy' is a key policy of marketisation
• Marketisation


  • Includes publication of league tables and Ofsted reports, business sponsorship, open enrolment, creation of specialist schools, formula funding and competition
• Marketisation - Ball and Whitty argues that it reinforces existing inequalities
• Marketisation


  Gillborn - gives schools more scope to select pupils, allows negative stereotypes to influence decisions. Leads to ethnic segregation - Moore and Davenport - fail to get into better schools due to segregation. e.g. primary school reports used to screen for language difficulties.
• Ethnocentric curriculum


  Reflects culture of dominant group, Miriam David - National Curriculum is specifically British, ignores non-European lang, lit and music.

  Troyna and Williams - meagre provision for teaching Asian Languages history.

  Ball - promotes an attitude of 'little Englandism' - ignores ethnic diversity and history.
• Assessment


  Gilborn - rigged to validate dominant culture's superiority. Change in baseline tests- Blacks who were highest in 2000 ranked lower across all areas by the new FSP which were based on teacher judgements.
• Opportunities


  Tikly et al - blacks more likely to be entered for Lower tier GCSEs, 'Gifted and Talented' programme meets needs of more able pupils, whites are 5x more likely to be gifted than Black Africans (Gillborn)
• New IQism


  Potential seen as a fixed quality than can easily be measured - old style IQ tests used to stream pupils on entry, Gillborn - not a genuine measure of potential.
• Cream-skimming


  'good' schools can be more selective, recruit high achieving, mainly MC pupils - gives advantage
• Silt-shifting


  Good schools can avoid taking less able pupils who are likely to get poor results and damage school's league table position
• Formula funding


  Funding per pupil - popular schools receive more, can afford better facilities and teachers- can be more selective, attracts more able / ambitious, MC.

  Unpopular schools fail to attract, funding is reduced more.
• Privileged-skilled choosers


  MC, prosperous, well-educated
• Disconnected-Local choosers


  WC, less aware, restricted
• Semi-skilled choosers


  WC, ambitious, rely. on others, frustrated
• Myth of parentocracy - MC parents are better able to take advantage of the choices available - disguises reproduction of class inequality by seeming fair and equal.
• Class and Marketisation

  'good' schools choose MC.

  Bourdeiu - MC parents gain educational capital for children.

  Ball-increased parental choice means MC parents can work system to their advantage.

  HE fees - WC are less likely to attend, put off by debt.
• Ethnicity and Marketisation 


  Byrne - migrants may face barriers to accessing choice.

  Gillborn - assessment game is rigged to validate dominant culture (Coard- ethnocentric curriculum), institutional racism - minorities are more likely to be placed in lower sets / streams.
• Gender and Marketisation


  Coursework and modular GCSES - favoured female style of work, benefitted girls. National Curriculum - both study same subjects - girls began to outperform boys. Men take up more senior roles though more female teachers.
• New Right and Marketisation


  Benefits: raises standards through competition, allows parents and pupils to make informed choices, ensures underperforming schools are improved (or shut).
• Chubb and Moe - Marketisation


  Argue state education in USA has failed - not created equality of opportunity, failed to provide pupils with necessary skills, pupils from low income families do around 5% better at a private school.

  Evaluation - parents are in reality choosing between 'standard models' for education as have the same curriculum and exams.
• Globalisation


  Global comparisons international ranking schemes - PISA and TIMSS assessments, Alexander - moral 'PISA' panics over British performance, imported other policies: Academy Systems - borrowed from US, Finland and Sweden. National Literacy and Numeracy strategy - Eastern countries such as China.
• Increased marketisation and privatisation


  Many sector officials in the public sector leave to set up / work for private sector education businesses, then provide services to schools and local authorities. Education is increasingly shaped by TNCS - Apple and Google write curiculums and materials. Cola-isation - schools targetted by private companies as they conger legitimacy on anything associated with them- product endorsement (e.g. Costa).