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Summary AQA A-level Sociology Paper 1 Education Textbook Notes
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In-depth Notes on the Education Chapter. Detailed Summaries at the end of each sub-topic. Complete notes for Paper 1 AQA A-level Sociology.
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Part 2 - Education1 – Education & Society
2.1.1 > Functionalist Perspectives
2.1.2 > Marxist Perspectives
2.1.3 > Social Reproduction
2.1.4 > Social Democratic Perspectives
2.1.5 > Neoliberal/ New Right Perspectives.
2.1.1 - Functionalist Perspectives:
Functionalists see society as a system made up of interrelated parts. The parts work together to maintain
society as a whole. The job of the sociologist is to examine the function of each part – that is, how it
contributes to the maintenance of the social system.
Functionalists argue that certain things are essential for the maintenance of society. These include a
shared culture, in particular shared norms – accepted ways of behaving – & shared values – beliefs about
what is right & desirable. Given the importance they attach to these factors, functionalists focus on how
the parts of society contribute to the production of shared norms & values.
2 related questions have guided functionalist research into education:
> What are the functions of education for society as a whole?
> What are the functional relationships between education & other parts of the social system?
The functionalist view of education tends to focus on the positive contributions education makes to the
maintenance of the social system. There are 3 main functionalist theories of education:
1 – Emile Durkheim – education & social solidarity:
The French Sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) saw the major function of education as the
transmission, the passing on, of society’s norms & values. He maintained:
Society can survive only if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity (sameness).
Education perpetuates & reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child from the beginning the
essential similarities which collective life demands. Durkheim, 1961.
Without these ‘essential similarities’, cooperation, social unity, & therefore social life itself would be
impossible. A vital task for all societies is the welding of a mass of individuals into a united whole – the
creation of social solidarity. This involves a commitment to society, a sense of belonging, & a feeling
that the social unit is more important than the individual. Durkheim (1961) argued: ‘To become attached
to society, the child must feel in it something that is real, alive & powerful, which dominates the person &
to which he also owes the best part of himself’.
Education, & in particular, the teaching of history, provides this link between the individual & society. If
the history of their society is brought alive to children, they will come to see that they are part of
something larger than themselves: they will develop a sense of commitment to the social group.
=>Education & Social Rules:
1
,Durkheim saw the school as society in miniature, a model of the social system. In school, the child must
interact with other members of the school community in terms of a fixed set of rules. This experience
prepares them for interacting with members of society as a whole in terms of society’s rules.
Durkheim stated:
It is by respecting the school rules that the child learns to respect rules in general, that he develops the
habit of self-control & restraint simply because he should control & restrain himself. It is a first initiation
into the austerity of duty. Serious life has now begun. Durkheim, 1961.
=>Education & the Division of Labour:
Durkheim argued that education teaches the skills needed for future occupations. Industrial society has a
specialised division of labour - people have specialised jobs which require specific skills & knowledge.
For example, the skills & knowledge required by plumbers, electricians, teachers & doctors are very
different. In pre-industrial society, there were fewer specialised occupations. Occupational skills were
often passed from parents to children. According to Durkheim, the specialised division of labour in
industrial societies relies increasingly on the educational system to provide the skills & knowledge
required by the workforce.
Evaluation of Durkheim:
Durkheim provided the basis for functionalist views of education. However, there are several criticisms of
his work:
1 – Durkheim assumes societies have a shared culture that can be passed on by the education system.
Some sociologists now see countries such as Britain as multicultural – as having a variety of cultures. As
a result, there is not a single culture for schools to pass on. However, it can be argued that in multicultural
society some shared norms & values are essential for society to hold together – for example, a common
language & a shared belief in tolerance & freedom of speech.
2 – Marxists argue that the education system serves the interests of the ruling class rather than of society
as a whole.
3 – Some researchers argue that schools emphasise individual competition through exam system, rather
than encouraging working together, cooperation & social solidarity (Hargreaves, 1982).
4 – Despite these criticisms, Durkheim laid the foundation for functionalist theories of education.
2 – Talcott Parsons – Education & universalistic values:
The American Sociologist Talcott Parsons (1951) outlined what has become the main functionalist view
of education. Parsons argued that, after primary socialisation within the family, the school takes over as
the main socialising agency. It acts as a bridge between the family & society as a whole, preparing
children for their adult role – secondary socialisation.
Within the family, the child is judged & treated largely in terms of particularistic standards. Parents treat
the child as their particular child rather than judging them in terms of standards that can be applied to
every individual. For example, my daughter has her own particular sense of humour. However, in wider
society, the individual is treated & judged in terms of universalistic standards, which are applied to all
members, regardless of their kinship ties.
2
,Within the family, a child’s status is ascribed, it is fixed at birth. However, in advanced industrial
society, status in adult life is largely achieved - e.g., individuals achieve their occupational status. Thus,
the child must move from the particularistic standards & ascribed status of the family to the universalistic
standards & achieved status of adult society.
The school prepares young people for this transition. It establishes universalistic standards in terms of
which all students achieve their status. Their conduct is assessed against the yardstick of the school rules;
their achievement is measured by performance in examinations. The same standards are applied to all
students regardless of ascribed characteristics such as gender, ethnicity or origin. Schools operate on
meritocratic principles: status is achieved on the basis of merit – ability & motivation.
Like Durkheim, Parsons argued that the school represents society in miniature. Modern industrial society
is increasingly based on achievement rather than ascription, on universalistic rather than particularistic
standards, on meritocratic principles that apply to all its members. By reflecting the operation of society
as a whole, the school prepares young people for their adult roles.
=>Education & Value Consensus:
As part of the process of secondary socialisation, schools socialise young people into the basic values of
society. Parsons, like many functionalists, maintained that value consensus - an agreement about the
main values – is essential for society to operate effectively. According to Parsons, schools in American
society instil 2 major values:
1 – The value of achievement.
2 – The value of equality of opportunity.
By encouraging students to strive for high levels of academic attainment, & by rewarding those who
succeed, schools develop the value of achievement. By placing individuals in the same situation in the
classroom & so allowing them to compete on equal terms in examinations, schools develop the value of
equality of opportunity.
These values have important functions in society as a whole. Advanced industrial society requires a
highly motivated, achievement-orientated workforce. This necessitates differential reward for differential
achievement, a principle that has been established in schools. Both the winners (high achievers) & the
losers (low achievers) will see the system as just & fair, since their status or position is achieved in a
situation where all have an equal chance. Again, the principles of the school mirror those that operate in
wider society.
=>Education & Selection:
Parsons saw the educational system as an important mechanism for the selection of individuals for their
future role in society. In his words, it ‘functions to allocate these human resources within the role-
structure of adult society’. Thus schools, by testing & evaluating students, match their talents, skills &
capacities to the jobs for which they are best suited. The school is therefore seen as a major mechanism
for role allocation.
Evaluation of Parsons:
Like Durkheim, Parsons fails to give adequate consideration to the possibility that the values transmitted
by the educational system may be those which benefit a ruling minority rather than society as a whole.
His view that schools operate on meritocratic principles is open to question. Support for Parsons comes
3
, from the view that the increasing cultural diversity & difference in today’s societies requires the
transmission of at least some shared norms & values. In this respect, schools have an important role to
play (Green, 1997).
3 – Kingsley Davis & Wilber E. Moore – Education & role allocation:
Like Parsons, Davis & Moore (1967) saw education as a means of role allocation, but they linked the
educational system more directly with the system of social stratification - in Western society, the class
system.
Davis & Moore see social stratification as a mechanism for ensuring that the most talented & able
members of society are allocated to those positions that are functionally more important for society. High
rewards, which act as incentives, are attached to those positions. This means, in theory, that everybody
will compete for them & the most talented will win through.
The education system is an important part of this process. In Davis’ words, it is the ‘proving ground for
ability & hence the selective agency for placing people in different statuses according to their capacities’.
Thus, the education system sifts, sorts & grades individuals in terms of their talents & abilities. It rewards
the most talented with high qualifications, which in turn provide entry to those occupations that are
functionally most important to society.
Evaluation of Davis & Moore:
There are a number of criticisms of Davis & Moore’s theory:
1 – The relationship between academic credentials & occupational reward is not particularly close. For
example, income is only weakly linked to educational attainment.
2 – There is a considerable doubt about the claim that the educational system grades people in terms of
ability. In particular, it has been argued that intelligence has negligible effect upon educational
attainment.
3 – There is widespread evidence to suggest that social stratification largely prevents the educational
system from efficiently grading individuals in terms of ability.
Summary:
1 – Emile Durkheim argues that education:
- Transmits society’s norms & values & creates ‘essential similarities’.
- Produces social solidarity.
- Prepares young people to act in terms of society’s rules.
- Teaches the skills & knowledge needed for occupational roles.
2 – Talcott Parsons states that schools socialise young people for adult roles by:
- Judging them in terms of universalistic rather than particularistic standards.
- Transmitting society’s values & creating value consensus.
- Developing an achievement-oriented workforce.
- Allocating young people to positions in adult society for which they are best suited.
3 – Davis & Moore argue that education works with the stratification system to grade & select young
people so that the most able are allocated to the most important jobs in society.
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