Functionalism + Education

• Functionalist Functions of Education 


  Socialisation and Value Consensus

  Meritocracy and Role Allocation

  Maintains the Work Force

  Prepares Children for Adult Life
• Prepares Children for Adult Life

  Durkheim: Schools act as a ‘society in miniature’- a small scale version of society as a whole that prepares young people for life in the wider adult society.
• Socialisation and Value Consensus

  Durkheim - Education should emphasise the moral responsibilities that members of society have towards each other and the wider society. Children should be taught to have pride in the achievements of their nation and a sense of shared identity.

  Parsons: Education is one of the most important agencies of secondary socialisation (transmission of culture outside of the family) and it had a duty to pass on the norms and values of the nation state to the next generation of citizens.
• Maintains Workforce 


  Schultz - The education system helps to develop high levels of human capital, which is necessary to provide a properly trained and flexible labour force to undertake a wide range of different jobs.
• Meritocracy and Role Allocation

  Parsons - argues that school provides a bridge from the relationship based values in the family (particularistic values) to the universalistic values of wider society (values that apply equally to all members of society).

  Davis and Moore - The education system is a means of selecting and sifting people for different levels of the job market, and ensuring the most talented and qualified individuals are allocated to the most important jobs