1.1.4 Education: The Role of Education Flashcards
Neoliberalism and the New Right perspective on education
What are the main criticisms of the New Right’s perspective on education?
(4)
- Gerwitz argues that competition between schools benefits the middle class who can use thei cultural and economic capital to get their children into the better schools.
- The real cause of low educational standards is not state control, but low funding and social inequalities.
- There is contradiction between parental choice and the state enforcing national curriculum
- Marxists argue that education doesn’t impose a shared culture, but transmits the ideals of a dominant and subordinate class.
Neoliberalism and the New Right perspective on education
What are the two roles for the state according to the new right?
- The state should impose a framework for schools to compete in. e.g ofsted inspections, exam league tables.
- The state should ensure that schools transmit a shared culture by imposing a national curriculum.
Neoliberalism and the New Right perspective on education
What conclusions did Chubb and Moe come to about state education?
- Pupils from low income families do 5% better in private education - education system isnot meritocratic
- State education fails because itdoesn’t need to meet pupils needsas a result of being controlled by the state
- Parents and communities have no power over failing education due to state control
- Private schools do better because they are answering to paying consumers - the parents.
- Chubb and Moe’s solution is to introduce a market system to education in which parents are given a voucher to spend on buying education from the school of their choice
Neoliberalism and the New Right perspective on education
What is the key difference between functionalist and the new right perspectives on education?
The New Right does not believe that the education system provided by the state is successful in achieving its goals and so should be run as an ‘educational market’ like businesses.
Neoliberalism and the New Right perspective on education
What are the key similarities between functionalist and new right perspectives on education?
(3)
- Both believe that some people are more talented then others.
- Both believe that the education system should be meritocratic
- Both believe that the education system should socialise students to have shared norms and values and provide national identity.
Neoliberalism and the New Right perspective on education
What is the neoliberalism perspective on education?
- Believes that the state shouldn’t provide education, but that schools should be like businesses where there is competition to increase standards.
- Education market.
The functionalist perspective on education
What are some evaluations of the functionalist view of education?
(3)
- Equal opportunity in education doesn’t exist - more likely to be influenced by class then by ability
- Davis and Moore are criticised by Tumin for putting forward a circular argument - roles are important because they are highly rewarded and they are highly rewarded because they are important.
- Wrong argues that functionalists wrongly assume that people are puppets of society and all accept their role and never reject school values.
The functionalist perspective on education
What is Davis and Moore’s role allocation?
- Argues that education performs the role of selecting and allocating pupils to their future career.
- Inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles are allocated to the most talented people.
- Education ‘sifts and sorts’ people into their abilities.
The functionalist perspective on education
How does Parsons argue that schools prepares students for the move from family to working?
- Schools enforce meritocracy where you have to work for status.
- Status is achieved, not ascribed as in the family.
- In both school and work, everyone is judged on the same, universalistic standards.
The functionalist perspective on education
How does education aid the division of labour?
By teaching specialist skills to perform a role within society.
The functionalist perspective on education
How does school act as ‘society in minature’ as Durkheim calls it?
- By forcing pupils to interact and work alongside others that may not be friends with.
- Forcing social skills and following impersonal rules
The functionalist perspective on education
How does durkheim argue that school provides a sense of social solidarity?
- By transmitting societies culture, norms, beliefs and values, a sense of social solidarity is created.
- Subjects like history instils a sense of shared heritage and commitment to a wider social group.
The marxist perspective on education
Althusser: the ideological state apparatus
(2)
The repressive state apparatus: the state uses force to repress the working class via the police, courts, and army.
The ideological state apparatus: controlling people’s ideas, values and beliefs. Includes religion, the mass media, and the education system.
The marxist view on education
Bowles and Gintis: correspondence principle
- Capitalism needs workers with obedient attitudes, and submissive personalities.
- There is a close correspondence between school and the workplace which helps prepare students for the world of work.
- Schools mirror the workplace in alienation, hierarchy of authority, extrinsic satisfaction, competition and division between pupils, fragmentation of knowledge into unconnected subjects.
