sociology test monday

• Functionalist perspective


  Looks at the role or function of an institution in society in keeping the social body 'functioning' properly
• Emile Durkheim


  • One of the main functions of education is to bind members of society together, creating social unity and solidarity
  • Education is seen as a functional prerequisite because it passes on the culture of a society, particularly, its core values
• Education as seen by functionalists


  • A secondary agent of socialisation
  • Passes on society's culture, norms, and values to each new generation through the Hidden Curriculum and Formal Curriculum
  • Results in value consensus and collective conscience, ensuring social solidarity
• Parsons


  Education system helps children bridge the gap between an environment based on particularistic values to one based on universalistic values
• Schultz


  Education provides individuals with the necessary skills, qualifications, and talents to fill the 'division of labour'
• Davis and Moore


  Education system becomes the best mechanism for selecting the right people for the right job in a meritocratic society
• Evaluation of the Functionalist view

  • Marxists argue that the education system legitimises social inequality through the hidden curriculum
  • Bowles and Gintis argue that capitalist societies are not meritocratic, as social class influences academic achievement more than ability
  • Feminists argue that the gendered curriculum and gender stereotyping encourage women to become dual workers
  • Wong argues that the Functionalists' view is too deterministic, as pupils are not passive and anti-school subcultures exist
• New Right Perspective


  Believes the state and the LEA interfere too much with people's lives, and that education is best produced in a free-market as competition drives up standards and lowers costs
• History of New Right education policies

  1. 1944: Conservative party introduced the Tripartite System and the 11+ exam

  2. 1965: Labour government encouraged a comprehensive system

  3. 1988: Conservative Party (New Rights) introduced the 1988 Education Reform Act to achieve the goal of raising educational standards through marketisation

  4. 2010 to 2015: Coalition government allowed the privatisation of education by allowing companies/parents/organisations to set up free schools
• Key elements of the 1988 Education Reform Act


  • A government-approved national baseline curriculum
  • National tests such as A-Levels and SATs
  • City Technology Schools
  • Funding formula
  • Release of league tables
  • Ofsted inspections
• New Right arguments against the functionalists


  • The state and the LEA interfere too much with people's lives
  • Education is best produced in a free-market and should be marketed as competition drives up standards and lowers costs
  • Consumers of education (parents/students) should be empowered with more choices and a greater say in their educational decision-making
• Parentocracy


  A concept in a free-market society where the education system is expected to conform to the wealth & wishes of parents rather than the educational achievement of the pupil, introducing socio-class inequality in education
• Educational Vouchers


  A system where each child receives a cash grant which their parents can use to select a private/public school to send their child to
• New Rights' view on UK education

  • Improved vocational education to make students more employable and reduce youth unemployment
  • 1988 ERA introduced marketisation and Parentocracy
  • The coalition govt (2010-2015) allowed the privatisation of education systems by allowing non-profit trusts/organisations to set up free schools
• Evaluation of the New Right View

  • Marxists argue that Parentocracy reproduces social-class inequality and that privatised education will prioritise profit over student future and well-being
  • Evidence has been found that many academies and free schools provide poor-quality education and discriminate against disadvantaged students
  • Vocational education has been accused of preparing students to passively accept undemanding jobs for exploitative wages and funneling people into traditional gender roles
• The NCTAF (National Commission of Teaching and America's Future) found that new underqualified teachers (25% of all teachers) are assigned to teach disadvantaged students, while qualified teachers are hired by wealthier schools
• In 1994, 1/3rd of teachers in high-poverty schools taught without a minor in their main field
• Shepherd (2012) found that free schools took in a lower proportion of FSM pupils (Free School Meals) than other local schools
• Marketisation of the education system

  The government gets schools to compete with each other, in order to move up the league tables, so that parents can select the 'best' school to send their child to using exam results, Ofsted reports, and league tables
• The outcome of the marketisation of the education system was that middle-class parents were more inclined to understand the reports and, as they had a higher income, they were able to move to better catchment areas of good schools
• Postcode lottery


  The unequal provision of services such as healthcare, education, and insurance prices depending on the geographic area, or postcode
• 3 Features of Marketisation

  • Independence - Allowing schools to run themselves how they see fit
  • Competition - Making schools compete with each other for students
  • Choice - Giving parents and students more choice in where they go to school
• 3 Elements of Quality Control

  • Ofsted inspections
  • League tables and exam results
  • National curriculum - baseline for what is taught
• Education Policies Promoting Marketisation

  • Conservative government: League tables, Local management schools and City Technology Colleges, Funding formula, Open enrolment, Ofsted ratings
  • Labour government: Business-sponsored academies, Specialist schools, Comprehensive schools
  • The coalition government: Free schools, New-style academies
• Evaluation of Marketisation Policies & New Rights' View

  • The Myth of Parentocracy - Parents do not have equal freedom to choose the schools which their child attends due to covert selection processes and postcode lotteries in catchment areas. Middle-class parents have more freedom in choice due to their cultural capital, higher education, and income.
  • Marketisation leads to dumbing down as schools need to retain and attract students by lowering teaching standards and educational material.
  • Marketisation leads to reduced quality control as schools prioritise profit over student well-being.
• Parentocracy


  When parents are seen as consumers in an educational free market because all parents are assumed to have free choice in choosing which school to send their child to
• Middle-class parents have more freedom in choice due to their cultural capital, higher education, and income
• The working class are comparatively disadvantaged because they are less financially able to shop around, less able to understand league tables and compare schools, and less able to access and evaluate Ofsted reports
• Parentocracy reproduces social-class inequality by empowering middle-class parents
• Marketisation


  Schools need to retain and attract students, so they would lower the teaching standard and educational material. Otherwise, people may leave if the course is too hard
• Marketisation


  Ofsted is not very independent because governments and politicians interfere with the process by changing goals and standards
• Privatisation


  The transfer of assets and resources from state control to the private sector
• Forms of privatisation in education


  • Private education (fee-paying schools not directly funded by the government)
  • Privatisation within education systems (schools changing their internal processes to be more like private businesses)
  • Academisation (importing business principles into education establishments)
  • Privatisation of education systems (outsourcing of services within education to private companies)
• In 2018 there were 738 multi-academy trusts (MATs) operating in the UK, and by November 2019, the number of MATs rose to 1170
• Growth of exam boards, such as Pearson, supply exam materials globally
• Class Consciousness


  An awareness of one's social and economic class relative to others
• False Class Consciousness


  People's inability to recognise inequality, oppression, and exploitation in a capitalist society. This is because there are prevalent views in society that legitimise social class and inequality
• Economic Determinism


  The belief that the economic organisation of society, or an individual's economic status, determines their cultural, social, political, and intellectual activities
• Marxists believe that capitalism allows the ruling class to exploit the working class or employees, and this creates social class conflict between the 2 classes
• Marxists argue that education is an important component of the capitalist superstructure, as it functions to reproduce and legitimise the class inequalities in capitalistic societies. It mainly serves the interests of the capitalist class rather than its students