functionalist

• Durkheim:

  • education is essential for social cohesion
  • links people to their culture
  • secondary socialisation
• Talcott Parsons:

  • education acts as a bridge.
  • particularistic values from the family
  • universalistic values from society
  • these values may clash
  • e.g. effort = success = status
• Davis and Moore 1967:

  • meritocracy = role allocation
  • inequalities are essential
  • some jobs require more training and skills - these have more responsibility and better rewards
  • education 'sifts and sorts'
  • those with better qualifications enter the highest paid, most prestigious occupations.
• Assimilation theory- Patterson 1965:

  • all cultures shared norms and values
  • therefore minority ethnic groups should become absorbed into British mainstream culture in order for society to function.
  • this is the policy of 'multiculturalism' in Britain:
  • groups of different ethnic backgrounds are encouraged to understand each other in the hope that BWE groups will identify as British, as well as keeping their own distinctive cultures.
• criticisms of assimilation theory:

  • disregard for discrimination and institutional racism.
  • critical of migrant groups living in close proximity, often for support or economic reasons.
  • assumes superiority of dominant group's cultural values.
  • some group find it easier to assimilate than others.
• Assumptions of functionalism:

  • inequality in education is necessary
  • children are socialised by schools
  • education is essential to create a workplace
  • only the best achieve
  • those who fail are least able