The role of education in society Revision Session ONE

These slides will be on the VLE if you want to cut them out as cue cards or use them to make sure you have included all of the key points after the revision session.

Which perspective focuses on the positive functions of education?

Functionalist

Which two roles of education were put forward by Durkheim?

Social Solidarity Specialist Skills

What are the roles of education according to functionalist sociologist Parsons?

To bridge the gap between family & wider society which involves a move from particularistic standards and ascribed status to universalistic standards and achieved status.

Parson’s ideas about the role of education are achieved through what?

Meritocracy

Explain what meritocracy is and why it is seen as fair by functionalist sociologists.

Everyone is given an equal opportunity to achieve through their own effort and ability rather than social background (CAGE)

What did functionalist sociologists Davis & Moore propose about the function of education?

Role Allocation It sorts/sieves people to be allocated to their future work roles and the most talented gain the most important and rewarded positions. Therefore inequality is necessary as we are judged on our individual ability and skills and we can’t all be the same/equally talented!

Functionalist sociologists Blau and Duncan refer to ‘human capital’ created by a meritocratic education system. What is it?

Human capital refers to workers’ skills needed in society. A meritocratic education system therefore will make the most effective use of their talents and maximise productivity.

State at least 3 evaluation points of the functionalist perspective.

The Wolf review does not believe that it teaches specialist skills as proposed by Durkheim due to quality apprenticeships being rare & courses not leading to HE or good jobs. Lots of evidence that equal opportunity in education does not exist and achievement greatly influenced by class & other factors Marxists argue that education only transmits the ideology of a minority – the ruling class Functionalists wrongly assume that pupils are passive and never reject the school’s values (Dennis Wrong) but there is evidence of this in counter-school cultures. Neoliberals & New Right argue the ed system fails t0 prepare young people adequately for work

What does the New Right generally believe about the education system?

They generally agree with everything functionalists argue such as meritocracy, natural talent, serving the needs of the economy and instilling shared values. HOWEVER they do NOT believe that the current education system is achieving these goals & the state should have a lesser role.

The New Right criticises the education system for taking a ‘one size fits all’ approach. What does this mean?

Schools impose uniformity and disregard local needs. Consumers have no say and schools are not answerable to them. The New Right strongly believe in the marketisation of schools – creating an ‘education market’ (competition and choice & meeting the needs of consumers)

New Right thinkers Chubb & Moe compared the achievement of low income pupils in both private & state- run schools. They found that pupils from low income families achieved 5% better when in private schools. Why did they say this was?

Because unlike state schools, private schools are answerable to their consumers (parents & local community)

What was Chubb & Moe’s solution to state-run education failing the needs of disadvantaged groups?

Chubb & Moe proposed that the introduction of a market system in state education would put control in the hands of consumers. They proposed that each family would be given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice. This way schools would need to raise standards to attract ‘customers’

How could we evaluate the New Right’s view on the marketisation of education? Can you come up with 2 points?

Gewirtz & Ball both argue that competition between schools mainly benefits the m/c who are able to use their cultural & economic capital to gain access to more desirable schools. Some argue that state control is not the problem, but it is social inequality & inadequate funding Although they want to encourage parental choice & less state control, they still believe in imposing a National Curriculum

Marxist sociologists take a critical view of the role of education in society & mainly based on class division. Explain the class division

The capitalist class or bourgeoisie who are the minority. Own the means of production (land, factories, machines, offices, etc.) and make money by exploiting the labour of the working class. They also control the state and the education system is a key component of the state. Therefore the main purpose of education is to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism. The working class or proletariat who are forced to sell their labour power to the capitalists who own no means of production so have no other source of income.

Althusser is a key Marxist sociologist. What does Althusser believe serves the purpose of keeping the bourgeoisie in power?

The repressive state apparatuses which maintains rule by force (police, courts, army) The ideological state apparatuses which maintains rule by controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefs. The ISAs include religion, the media and the education system.

Althusser argues that the education system in an important ISA. What two functions does it perform?

To reproduce class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation, by failing each successive generation of w/c pupils in turn. To legitimise (justify) class inequality by producing ideologies (sets of ideas & beliefs) that disguise its true cause of persuading workers to accept that inequality is inevitable and therefore they deserve their subordinate position in society.

Capitalist thinkers Bowles & Gintis further developed the ideas of Althusser. What did they say is the main purpose of the education system?

To create an obedient workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable and serve the needs of a capitalist society. Schools therefore rewarded the personality traits that would make for a submissive, compliant worker such as obedience & punctuality. Independence & creativity tended to earn lower grades.

What other key idea did Bowles and Gintis propose that shows that the education system is closely paralleled with work in a capitalist society?

The correspondence principal which operate through the hidden curriculum – lessons that are not directly taught.

How does school in a capitalist society reflect the workplace in a capitalist society according to Bowles & Gintis?

Hierarchy of authority among teachers = hierarchy of authority in workplace Alienation through students’ lack of control over education = alienation through workers’ lack of control of production Extrinsic/external satisfaction such as grades = extrinsic satisfaction such as pay Fragmentation of knowledge into unconnected subjects = fragmentation of work through the division of labour into small, meaningless tasks competition and divisions among students = competition and divisions among workforce (status, pay)

Bowles and Gintis also say that the education system is a giant what?

A giant myth-making machine. The believe that meritocracy is a myth and does not in fact exist. The determining factor in income is class & family background, not ability or educational achievement. By disguising this fact, the myth of meritocracy serves to justify the privileges of higher classes, making it seem as though they gained them through succeeding in open and fair competition at school. Therefore this persuades the w/c to accept inequality as legitimate.

Marxist sociologist Paul Willis combines looking at the way schooling serves capitalism with an interactionist approach focusing on how pupils resist indoctrination (ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group), such as those referred to by Althusser & Bowles and Gintis. How did they do this?

The ‘lads’ in his study formed a counter-school culture and were scornful of conformist boys they referred to as ‘ear’oles’. They rejected the school’s meritocratic ideology as they thought it was a con that w/c pupils could achieve m/c jobs through hard work.

How did the lads’ behaviour in Willis’s study fit in with the idea that education prepares w/c kids for w/c jobs?

Firstly, the similarity between the boys’ counter- school culture and the shopfloor culture of male manual workers – seeing manual work as superior and intellectual work inferior and effeminate. Secondly, their acts of rebellion guarantee that they will end up in unskilled jobs, by ensuring their failure to gain worthwhile qualifications. Although they resist the ‘brainwashing’ they still end up in w/c jobs. So either way, the education system will ultimately reproduce inequality according to Marxists!

How can we evaluate the Marxist perspective on the role of education?

Marxists such as Bowles & Gintis are outdated in a post-Fordist economy. Education now produces diversity, not inequality. Bowles & Gintis assume pupils have no free will whereas Willis shows how students resist. Morrow and Torres criticise Marxists for taking a ‘class first’ approach and ignoring factors such as gender and ethnicity. Feminists argue that patriarchy needs to be considered too.