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Summary - Sociology A level -Education
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Education RevisionThe role of education - Theories
Functionalism:
- Creates Social Solidarity; bond that holds society together through shared n&v
- Teaches Specialist Skills; education teaches individuals the specialist knowledge & skills
they need to play their part in the social DoL - attendance & punctuality
Durkheim Analysis: David Cameron Riots speech 2011 - ‘we need an education system which
(1903) reinforces the message that if you do the wrong thing you’ll be disciplined’ - claims that
system has failed to do this
Eval: the education system does not teach specialist skills adequately - The Wolf Review of
Vocational Education (2011) claims that high quality apprenticeships are rare, and up to ⅓
of 16-19 year olds are on courses that do not lead to higher education or good jobs
- Meritocracy; a system where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed & where
individuals' rewards and status are achieved by their own efforts rather than ascribed
- Particularistic Standards; child is judged by family as an unique individual
- Universalistic Standards; judged by society’s standards which is applied to all members,
regardless of their kinship ties, within schools every pupil is judged against same standards
e.g. exams
Analysis:
Mark Zuckerberg
Parsons (1961) - His parents were a psychiatrist & dentist
- Went to Harvard
- 2021 Net Worth - $129 billion
Alan Sugar
- Born in Hackney
- Lived in council flat
- Left school with 1 GCSE
- 2021 Net Worth - $1.3 billion
Eval: the school is not meritocratic; equal opportunity does not exist - this is shown by
Bowles and Gintis who describe the education system as a myth of meritocracy. This is due
to many factors which can also affect achievement; class or ethnicity
, - Role Allocation; the most able gain the highest qualifications and most important/ highly
rewarded positions
1. Education as a device for selection and role allocation
2. Inequality is necessary
3. It ‘acts as a sieve’
Davis & Moore
4. Breeds competition
(1945)
To support: Blau and Duncan (1978) - modern economy is dependant on ‘human capital’ for
its prosperity: it makes use of most talented & maximises productivity
Analysis: Brampton Manor Academy - selective 6th form - requires at least a grade 7 (A) at
GCSE in all subjects they intend to study at A Level
Eval: employers complain about having to teach skills ‘on the job’ & educational success
doesn't always result in a high income
New Right:
1. The New Right favour the ‘Free Market’ & Marketisation
2. Schools should compete against each other for ‘clients’ (pupils)
3. Believe that inequality is inevitable (but justified) as some pupils are naturally more
able than others
4. Value meritocratic ideals, open competition & using education to meet the needs of
the economy
5. Education should socialise pupils into shared norms, values & identities (value
consensus)
AO1
Education needs to be privatised – the more students schools have, the more money they
get
Market in two ways:
1) Parents choose the school that appeals to their child
2) All schools compete in a market, raises quality of teaching and grades = success
The New Right argue that the state takes a ‘One Size Fits All Approach’ in its approach to
schools as it tries to impose the same regulations, same policies & same funding to all
schools which ignores local & individual needs – NR believe this does not work, we should
instead allow parents to choose from a market - parentocracy
, ● OFSTED & League tables were introduced in the 1988 Education Reform Act which
was introduced by Thatcher’s Conservative government
● Chubb & Moe (1990) Consumer Choice: argue that America’s State Schools have
failed in their goals as they don’t help disadvantaged groups & failed to provide
adequate skills for work , should therefore be placed in the ‘Free Market’;
AO2
Method: they compared the achievements of 60,000 pupils from low-income families in
1,015 state schools & private schools as well as a ‘Parent’s Survey’
Solution: parents should be given an ‘Education Voucher’ to spend at the school of their
choice (forcing schools to improve)
Gewirtz - different types of choosers:
1. Privileged/skilled choosers:
•They have the ability to understand ofsted reports and league tables
•Privileged choosers are usually middle class and benefit from inside knowledge of the
education system - strong motivation to choose a school
•Some parents are prepared to move house or pay for private education for their children
2. Semi-skilled choosers:
AO3 - Analysis •Parents are just as concerned to get the best possible education for their children but do
not have the same level of skill as their privileged counterparts
•Lack of insider knowledge that a privileged/skilled chooser might have
• They are also more likely to choose a local school rather than a successful, oversubscribed
school
•Semi-skilled choosers may also have problems interpreting league table results and accept a
schools reputation at face value
3. Disconnected choosers
•They tend to emphasise their children’s happiness rather than the school's academic
performance, this results in them considering schools which are closest to them
•Disconnected choosers tend to be w/c and are more likely to send their child to an
undersubscribed school
- Ball (1995) - Marketisation benefits the M/C & disadvantages the W/C
- They ignore wider social inequalities within education & place all blame on the schools themselves
AO3 - Eval - They want parents to have choice & freedom but at the same time want a strict curriculum in
place – Contradictory
- Marxists argue that schools do not transmit a shared culture, only the dominant culture
, Marxism
Althusser (1971): education is part of the ideological state apparatus;
Repressive state apparatus (RSA) - police, courts, army and judiciary
Ideological state apparatus (ISA) - maintains the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling
people’s ideas, values and beliefs; family, religion, education
Durkheim - hidden curriculum is a set of values and attitudes given to pupils but not as
part of the formal curriculum; punctuality, attendance, dress codes
Education reproduces class inequality:
- Children in poverty more likely to expect to leave school at 16
- Lack of material resources
- Poverty and higher likelihood of early child bearing
- Children in low income families more likely to be economically inactive with low self
esteem
- Parental involvement is lower among poorer families
Scholars & Legitimises class inequalities:
Concepts
(AO1 & AO2) - Shows those who work hard will do well
- If you fail that is down to your own fault
- Teaches that not everyone is supposed to get the best jobs
- Setting and streaming
Teaches the skills that future capitalist employers need:
Bowles & Gintis - ‘SCHOOLING IN CAPITALIST AMERICA’: (AO2)
- By studying 237 New York High School students, they concluded that school
rewarded obedience, not creativity or independence. Therefore, it stunts and distorts
students’ development, just preparing them for the future workplace.
Bowles & Gintis - correspondence principle (school mirrors the workplace - operates
through the hidden curriculum)
- Education system helps to prevent working class rebel by justifying class inequalities
and justifying poverty
- Bowles and Gintis argue that meritocracy does not exist - ‘myth of meritocracy’
AO3 - Analysis - Strong links between poverty, social class and poor educational attainment (Feinstein
et al 2008) - reproduces class inequalities
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