Durkheim

• Durkheim's key ideas on education


  • The main function of education is to transmit society's norms and values
  • Subjects like history instil shared norms and values, and encourage individual children to see themselves as part of society
  • Through the use of sanctions (or punishment) at school and by respecting the school rules, children learn to respect rules in general
  • In a complex industrial society, education equips children with the skills they will need for their future work roles
• Criticisms of Durkheim


  • Marxists argue that the education system transmits ideas that benefit the ruling class rather than society as a whole
  • Some feminists argue that schools transmit patriarchal culture
  • Some students accept neither the school's rules nor society's norms and values
  • The education system does not necessarily teach skills that prepare students for their future workplace roles