2.1 The Role of Education

• Social solidarity


  A sense of unity that individuals feel in society, this is important for social order and cohesion
• Anomie


  A state of normlessness
• Repressive state apparatus


  Institutions that use force to maintain the status quo (e.g. police, military)
• Ideological state apparatus


  Institutions that transmit the ruling class's ideology (e.g. education, media)
• Post Fordist


  Economic system that emphasises flexibility, customisation and innovation
• Infrastructure/superstructure


  Infrastructure refers to the economic base, superstructure refers to the political and ideological institutions that support the base
• Meritocracy

  A system in which individuals are rewarded based on their talent and effort
• Organic analogy


  The view of society as a living organism with interdependent parts
• Structural


  Relating to the underlying structures and institutions of society
• Consensus


  General agreement or concord
• Hidden curriculum


  The unintended lessons that students learn in school, such as obedience and conformity
• Correspondence principle


  The idea that the education system corresponds to and reinforces the class structure of society
• Explain and evaluate the key functions performed by education according to Durkheim and Parsons

  1. Durkheim: Teaching specialist skills and creating social solidarity

  2. Parsons: Preparation for meritocratic society - particularistic and universalistic skills
• Explain and evaluate the view that the current education system is failing and that the education system needs to be run on marketisation principles (The New Right)

  1. The New Right believes the state-run education system fails to meet the needs of individuals and the economy

  2. The solution is to introduce marketisation and competition between schools
• Explain and evaluate the Marxist view that the education system reproduces and legitimises class inequalities

  1. Marxists argue the education system transmits the ruling class's ideology and corresponds to the class structure

  2. The hidden curriculum and correspondence principle reinforce class inequalities
• Contrast Functionalist and Marxist views on meritocracy and role allocation

  1. Functionalists see education as meritocratic and allocating individuals to appropriate roles

  2. Marxists see meritocracy as a myth and education as reproducing class inequalities
• Explain the impact of the post Fordist economy on the role of education

  The post Fordist economy emphasises flexibility, customisation and innovation, which impacts the role of education
• According to Functionalists, the education system performs key functions that benefit individuals and wider society
• Durkheim's view of the functions of education

  • Creating social solidarity - Instilling a sense of shared heritage and belonging
  • Teaching specialist skills needed for the labour market
• Parsons' view of the role of education


  Preparing individuals for a meritocratic society by teaching particularistic and universalistic skills
• Davis and Moore's view on role allocation


  Society must ensure the most important positions are performed by the most skilled and talented individuals, who are offered high rewards
• Education 'sifts and sorts' individuals to allocate them to appropriate roles based on their talents and skills
• A modern economy depends on using its 'human capital' - the skills of the workers - which a meritocratic education system enables
• Criticisms of the Functionalist view


  • The education system does not adequately teach specialist skills
  • Meritocracy is a myth, education creates and legitimises class inequalities
  • Functionalists present an oversocialised view of individuals
• Neoliberalism


  An economic doctrine that advocates for minimal state intervention and a free market economy
• The New Right


  A conservative political view that incorporates neoliberal economic ideas
• The New Right believes the state-run education system fails to meet the needs of individuals and the economy
• The New Right's solution is to introduce marketisation and competition between schools
• Similarities between Functionalism and the New Right

  • Belief that some people are naturally more talented than others
  • Favour a meritocratic education system that serves the needs of the economy
  • Believe education should socialise individuals into shared values and instil a sense of national identity
• The New Right believes that state control of education leads to uniformity and disregards local needs, resulting in lower standards and a less qualified workforce
• The New Right argues that marketisation will ensure education meets the needs of individuals, parents, and employers
• Two roles for the state according to the New Right


  • Transmit a shared culture and socialise pupils into a single cultural heritage
  • Provide a framework in which schools compete, e.g. through league tables and Ofsted inspections
• Traditional Marxists would challenge the New Right view that education socialises individuals into a single shared culture, arguing that it imposes ruling class ideology
• Market system


  Places the control in the hands of consumers, parents and local communities
• Role of the state


  • Provide a framework for schools within which they have to compete e.g. Ofsted inspections, league tables
  • Provide parents with the information needed to make an informed choice
• Two roles for the state

  • Transmit a shared culture, schools should socialise pupils into a single cultural heritage according to the New Right
  • Provide a framework in which schools compete e.g. through the publication of league tables and Ofsted inspection reports
• Traditional Marxists would challenge the New Right view

  Education imposes ruling class ideology
• The New Right present two contradictory points


  Arguing on the one hand that parents should have more control and on the other that the state should impose a compulsory national curriculum
• It could be argued

  The real cause of social inequality is inadequate funding as opposed to state control
• Marxism


  A structural conflict theory that views society and the education system as based on class division