Role of the education system
Functionalism = institutions, norms, roles in society
Functionalists say ‘Education has three main functions that helps society’
- Helps with secondary socialization - passes on core values
- Sorts people for appropriate jobs (allocation function)
- Teaches skills needed in work and economy
Durkheim - education passes norms and values in order to integrate individuals into society.
Education helps to create social order based on cohesion and value consensus , and
strengthen social solidarity.
Parsons - school is the bridge between family and adult roles of society. School passes
universal values of achievement. Education selects children into appropriate roles because it is
meritocratic (best rise to the top). Agrees with durkheim - education helps to make people agree
about norms and values.
David and Moore (1945) - every society sorts its members into different positions. Thinks there
are rules for how education does it - ‘principles of stratification’. Believes there has to be a
system of unequal rewards (more money or status) to moderate people to train for the top
position.
The functionalist perspective says that education is meritocratic.
Meritocracy is when socal rewards are allocated by talent and effort, rather than because of a
position someone was born into.
Talent +motivation + equal opportunity = qualifications and a high position in society
Marxism says education legitimizes inequality through ideology
- Education prepares children for the world of work by giving them skills and values
employers need.
- Education passes on ruling class ideology that supports capitalism
- Education legitimizes inequality
Bowles and Gintis (1976) - correspondence between pupil experiences of school and adult
work. Pupils are prepared for the world of work by the school system:
- pupils are taught to accept the hierarchy at school (work has a hierarchy too)
- pupils are motivated by grades to do boring work. (workers are rewarded with pay to do boring
work)
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