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Summary A* A-Level sociology Education revision notes
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Education Revision1. Theories on education: Functionalist, Marxist, Feminist, New Right, and Pos
Modernist (1.1)
2. Class- external and internal factors (1.2)
3. Ethnicity- external and internal factors (1.3)
4. Gender- external and internal factors (1.4)
5. Relationships and Processes within Schools (1.5)
6. State policy on education (1900-2019) (1.6)
What to Expect in Paper 1 Section A
• 1x 4 marker – ‘outline and explain 2..’
• 1x 6 marker- ‘outline and explain 3….’ Rahim A
• 1 10 marker- ‘analyse 2 ways…’ With ITEM (2 PERYs) Year 12
• 1 30 marker- ‘evaluate…’ WITH ITEM (3-4 PERCYs) A-level
, Functionalist view: Functionalists believe that education serves 3 vital purposes: role allocation (Davis and Moore), socialising young children and
Key theories on education (1.1)
skills provision (e.g. Rishi Sunak with making maths mandatory until 18. Through the improvement in education, economic success is able to happen as
workers are more educated and well skilled. Thus, they're able to compete with other groups for the best jobs Marxist view: Marxists believe that the education system has 2 major roles: they reproduce inequality, and it legitimises or justifies inequalities through the myth of meritocrac
children are 'trained' into doing working class jobs which involved manual labour while middle class children get 'trained' into doing higher paying jobs such as doctors. Under th
Key sociologists involve: children tend to achieve better on the 11+ exam than working class children. This means that working class children will achieve much less than middle class as they (most likely
while middle class children attended more privileged, higher quality grammar schools which helped them enter much better universities and gain much better access to jobs and
• Durkheim: education is an agent of secondary socialisation and education should provide skills and knowledge required in the workplace
Key sociologists involve:
• Davis and Moore: they suggested the role allocation theory. They believed that education allocated people to the right jobs based on talent and
ability. As well as this, the examination process identifies students who are in top-end jobs and some jobs are more important than others (such • Bordieu: he believed in the idea of cultural capital which comprises of social assets someone owns such as education and style of dress. He sees the idea of meritocracy as
as doctors and nurses). These better rewards (such as a high salary) are justified by the most capable through meritocracy (when you work for means that the working class are effectively duped/deceived into thinking that they are a failure and immobility is justified. In addition, a process of cultural reproduction t
what you earn in the form of merits). than the WC culture thru the education system. This is seen as symbolic violence to the working class because the MC has all the capital while the WC has minimal. © Bord
opinions.
• Parsons: He agrees with Davis and Moore on meritocracy. Also, the education system closes the gap between adulthood and childhood through
• Bowles and Gintis: They produced the correspondence theory, the idea that norms and values that the pupils learn correspond to how their employer will reflect them in t
skills provision. C= Marxists would criticise the idea of shared values being transmitted instead of the ruling class as proven by the
the motivation through external rewards (most important view) such as the qualifications they received. They are motivated by the salary at the end rather than the 'joy' w
correspondence principle (Bowles and Gintis)
should produce a subservient workforce, they encourage the acceptance of social authority and the fragmentation of school subjects. © However, this theory is outdated a
Criticisms was more factory jobs. But it isn't as largely relevant to today's entrepreneurial society. Also, China could be seen as proof of the correspondence principle working as man
due to China being a large country involved in globalisation.
• They assume all people have the same opportunities, such as tuition and textbooks (that are updated). In addition, the views are ethnocentric .
• Althusser: He disagrees with functionalists and education transmits the capitalist values to the children and the main function is to benefit the bourgeoisie. Education is an
Also, They tend to ignore the negative effects of the difference in educational achievement.
argues that the WC pupils are not entirely moulded by the capitalist class, and they don't accept everything they are taught.
Criticisms: they emphasise class inequality in education and pay no attention to things like gender and intelligence levels. Also, Brown argued that work is more than teamwork
leaders don't have to follow capitalist wishes. However, the Marxist theory may be true today in the way that middle-class parents will use their economic and material capital to
Feminist views: feminists have a large agreement with functionalists and Marxists in that the idea that education transfers a set of norms and ahead of their WC peers and achieve much better in education as a result and gain access to much better careers. This means that the reproduction of class inequallity and its le
values. BUT, instead of value consensus or ruling class capitalism, they see it as transmitting patriarchal values. Government acts such as: 2010 myth of meritocracy.
Equality Act, 1970 Equal Pay Act and the 1976 Sex Discrimination Act meant that women were able to get the same chances as men in gaining
better careers. Under the tripartite system, girls outperformed boys, and some see this as a 'moral panic'. Socialisation which teaches boys and
girls norms and values, which is in turn contemporary patriarchy. Post Modernist view : they criticise both Marxists and Functionalists views on education. They believe that there isn't one single answer truth to the flaws of education. They argue
encouraging and promoting motivation, independence and creativity. In addition, education should be life long and it would help mould our identities. Education should be more div
Key viewpoints: generation. In a post-modern society, there should be greater choice as to what we can do and how many courses we can do. Such that we can 'pick and choose' our options.
1. Liberal feminists: Under the tripartite system, boys had a lower pass rate than girls on the 11+ exam. Liberal feminists would • Usher Bryant and Johnson: Key focus is on adult education. The adult education system needs to be more diverse in ways such as flexibility, diversity and hybridity. Education
point out these issues in education. Stanworth- there are higher expectations for boys than girls despite the better and FE colleges should be wider (pick and mix courses). Education should happen in different times such as evening classes for those with financial responsibility. In addition, e
achievement in girls, this is an abnormal outcome of what the system proposed. C= This is now out of date because more and other parts of life. © there is an exaggeration for the changes within education.
more girls are now entering into the higher education (36.6% of women completed 4 years of college/university compared to
• Criticism: Haralmbes and Holborn= they point out that there's a greater centralisation of some parts of education such as the national curriculum. The budget for adult educa
35.4% of men).
the adult classes to shut. They criticise post modernists for ignoring the ways in which education can be like businesses rather than the needs and wishes of the learners
2. Radical feminists: The education system is still mainly patriarchal, and it still oppresses women. Boys underachieving is a moral
panic which is a big problem as the gender pay gap still exists. Banyard- sexual harassment isn't as treated as seriously as
other forms of bullying. Thus, girls are feeling demoralised as they feel constantly under threat. Heaton and Lawson- the New right view: The New Right involve right-wing politicians who believe that state education is a drain on the country's resources and high spending on education is undesirable a
hidden curriculum taught patriarchal values in schools. Also, they noted that gender division and traditional family types are on education. They also believe that education should be a product that should be marketed and sold for a profit. This view helped influenced the 1988 Education Reform Act introd
common in education parentocracy into education through changing the funding formula to popular schools receiving more money than failing, the introduction of league tables which help parents choo
child to, they introduced academies and parents are now allowed to set up 'free schools' under the coalition government. This means parents have larger choices in their Childrens'
3. Black/Difference feminists: Not all girls have the same opportunities, white girls and ethnic minority girls live very differently functionalists on the idea of 'Keep Britain British' (this neglects cultural diversity). These 2 perspectives are somewhat similar, they both believe education is meritocratic and they b
in ways such as the differing levels in parental involvement and how much money they must afford extra tuition. Minority globalisation.
ethnic girls are often victims of stereotyping. In addition, feminism has played a big part of the improvement of education.
Chubb and Moe: The free market puts constant pressure on education providers to maintain high standards of education to improve their productivity. If they fail, consumers will c
Sharpe- London schoolgirls prioritised marriage in the 1970s whereas in the 1990s, they prioritised their career. This could be
elsewhere. Parents should get 'educational vouchers' to help support their child's education. Schools that have 'failed' must improve quality before they go out of business.
due to the large improvements in pay and the changing perspective of many to work.
Criticisms:
Evaluations and criticisms
1. Many academies have been accused of providing a low quality of education
• Education is becoming largely female dominated because of the large percentage of female teachers
2. Marxists argue that privatised education prioritised profit before well-being. This means that they reproduce class inequality as parents' economic capital allows them to pay
• BUT the education system is 'failing' if men are meant to achieve more academically than women because girls are continuing to
outperform boys in exams 3. Both academies and free schools discriminate against disadvantaged pupils
• This results in male failure and the success of women 4. Vocational education in the 1980s was accused of setting up people for low-paid jobs.
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