Role of ed

• Functionalism


  A consensus view that sees society as being essentially harmonious
• Functionalism


  • Society has basic needs, including the need for social order
  • To survive, society needs social solidarity through everyone sharing the same norms and values
  • Otherwise, society would disintegrate
• Social institutions (e.g. education)

  Perform positive functions both for society as a whole and for individuals, by socialising new members of society and by helping to create and sustain social solidarity
• Functionalism is a conservative view of society
• Main contributors to the functionalist perspective on the role of education

  Durkheim, Parsons, and Davis and Moore
• Durkheim's view on the functions of education

  • Promotes social solidarity by transmitting society's shared culture (norms and values)
  • Prepares young people for work by equipping them with specialist skills needed to participate in a modern economy
• Parsons' view on the functions of education

  • Acts as the 'focal socialising agency' of modern society
  • Socialises individuals into the shared values of a meritocratic society
• During primary socialisation within the family, each child is treated differently - as someone who is 'special'
• Wider society cannot function in this way - everyone has to be treated in the same way (e.g. all are equal before the law)
• Education teaches universalistic standards and acts as a bridge between family and wider society
• Meritocracy


  A society based upon two key values: individual achievement and equal opportunity for every individual to achieve their full potential
• Meritocratic society


  • Everyone achieves their status through their own efforts and abilities, not where they come from
  • It is what you can do that gives you your position in society
• School as a miniature version of society

  Both are meritocratic - individuals succeed or fail depending on their own ability and effort
• Role allocation (Davis and Moore)

  1. Some people are more talented than others

  2. Some work roles are more complex and require greater skill

  3. The most talented individuals need to be allocated to the most important jobs

  4. Higher rewards are offered for these jobs to motivate everyone to strive for them

  5. A meritocratic education system 'sifts and sorts' individuals so the most talented get the best qualifications and are allocated to the most important jobs
• Human capital theory


  • Modern industrial society is technologically advanced, so the skills of its workforce are its main economic asset or 'capital'
  • A meritocratic education system is the best way to develop a sufficiently skilled workforce and thus create greater economic efficiency and higher living standards
• Marxist view


  The values transmitted by education are not society's shared values, but rather those of the ruling class
• Interactionist view


  The functionalist view of socialisation is too deterministic - not all pupils passively accept the school's values, some reject and rebel against them
• Education is not meritocratic, because schools discriminate against some groups (e.g. working-class and black pupils) and don't give them an equal opportunity to achieve
• It is sometimes difficult to see a direct link between the subjects studied at school and what is required of workers in their jobs. Education doesn't necessarily equip people for future work roles
• A person's ascribed characteristics - their class background, gender and ethnicity - are more important in determining their income later in life than is their achievement in school
• Neoliberalism


  Believes the state should not provide education
• Free-market economy


  Encourages competition and drives up standards
• Schools


  Should be more like businesses and operate in an education market
• New Right


  More of a political than a sociological perspective
• New Right


  Is of interest to sociologists because it is a more recent conservative view than functionalism and has influenced educational policy in Britain and elsewhere
• New Right ideas


  Are similar to those of functionalism
• Similarities between New Right and functionalism

  • They believe that some people are naturally more talented than others
  • They agree that education should be run on meritocratic principles of open competition
  • They believe that education should socialise pupils into shared values and provide a sense of national identity
• The New Right believe that older industrial societies such as Britain are in decline, partly as a result of increased global economic competition
• One size fits all New Right arguments


  Based on the belief that the state cannot meet people's needs
• In a state run education system, education inevitably ends up as 'one size fits all' that does not meet individual and community needs, or the needs of employers for skilled and motivated workers
• Lower standards


  State-run schools are not accountable to those who use them - pupils, parents and employers - and so they are inefficient
• Schools that get poor results do not change because they are not answerable to their consumers</b>
• The result is lower standards and a less qualified workforce
• Marketisation


  The introduction into areas run by the state (such as education or the NHS) of market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers (such as schools or hospitals)
• The New Right argue that creating an 'education market' forces schools to respond to the needs of pupils, parents and employers
• Competition with other schools means that teachers have to be more efficient
• A school's survival depends on its ability to raise the achievement levels of its pupils
• Chubb and Moe's (1990) data


  Pupils from low-income families do about 5% better in private schools, suggesting that state education is not meritocratic
• State education has failed to create equal opportunity because it does not have to respond to pupils' needs
• Ideological state apparatus (ISA)


  Controls people's ideas, values and beliefs. Includes religion, the mass media and the education system.