Functionalism Flashcards
What are the 4 S’s? (The four essential functions)
- Social solidarity
- Specialist skills
- Secondary socialisation
- Sifting and sorting - Role Allocation
Functionalists tend to focus on the positive contribution education makes to society - True or False
True!!
What is social solidarity? (Durkheim)
- individual members of society feel as if they belong to a community
How does school act as a mini society?
- Children learn to interact with each other
- follow a fixed set of rules
How does school give children a sense of social solidarity?
- learning about shared culture such as in history gives pupils a sense of social solidarity
- education unites individuals
- without it people would pursue selfish goals and wouldn’t cooperate
A03 of social solidarity
- Functionalism can be seen as ‘rose-tinted’
- School system can be seen as ethnocentric - gives priority to white culture - more likely to divide then unite
What are Specialist Skills? (Durkheim)
- individuals must be taught specialist skills so they can take their place within a specific work force
- Modern, industrial societies require individuals to have the specialist skills and knowledge to perform their roles
A03 of Specialist Skills
Marxists - education is providing the WC skills only fit to work in lower paid jobs - exploiting
What is Secondary Socialisation? (Parsons)
- education passes on the key norms and values of society
- Meritocracy
What is Meritocracy?
- the idea that we can achieve status based on our own ability and effort
In what ways could education be seen as fair to everyone?
- It’s free
- All students get opportunity to take exams and gain qualifications
- National curriculum
A03 of Secondary Socialisation
- Bowles and Gintis - meritocracy is a myth
- Children from MC and RC gain high qualifications and well rewarded jobs no matter their abilities or efforts
- those denied success blame themselves rather than the system
What is Sifting and Sorting? (Davis and Moore)
- education puts people on the career paths they are suited to, based on abilities and effort
- most able students gain high grades which lead to important jobs such as doctors and pilots
Could sifting and sorting lead to inequalities in society?
Yes, but it is natural and even desirable in capitalist societies - incentive to work hard
A03 of Sifting and Sorting
Policies may undermine the ability of students to access the top jobs using their ability and efforts
- Uni fees of over £9000 may deter the most talented WC students from going
