Functionalism and Education

Question 1

What is social solidarity?

Answer 1

• believed by Durkheim
  -the idea that all members of society feel together as a part of something bigger

Question 2

What does Durkheim argue?

Answer 2

• that education socialises people to teach them shared norms and values to maintain social solidarity

Question 3

How do school help maintain social solidarity?

Answer 3

• thorugh assemblies, homework, unifrom and attendance

Question 4

Explain why how assemblies promote social solidarity?

Answer 4

• shared space in which community is promoted thorugh its topic choice
• different age groups come together

Question 5

What is an evaluation of social solidarity - Durkheim?

Answer 5

• Marxists would argue that schools are ideologically driven , indoctrinatiing students into passive accpetance of rules
  Assemblies prove a false class consciousness

Question 6

What does Parsons argue?

Answer 6

• The Bridge Theory and Meritocracy

Question 7

Explain the Bridge Theory - Parsons

Answer 7

• belives that school is the brige between the family and wider society
  -Home teaches particularistic standards; but school teaches universalistic standards to prepare individuals to enter the world of work
  Particular = individual
  Universal = collective values

Question 8

What is Meritocracy?

Answer 8

• A system where social advancement is based on individual talent, effort and achievement rather than social class, wealth of other external factors.

Question 9

What is an A03 for Meritocracy?

Answer 9

• not all students have an equal chance of succeeding at school, consider; parental involvemnt , disbility , soical class, gender, catchment areas

Question 10

What would Marxist’s argue against Meritocracy?

Answer 10

• Meritocracy is a myth

Question 11

State another term which Parson’s argues.

Answer 11

-specialised skills

Question 12

What is an AO1 for specialised skills?

Answer 12

• Schools teaches us skills which are required for a specific future occuption so that we can play are scpeific roles in society to maintian consensus

Question 13

What is an AO3?

Answer 13

• skilled are required beyond GCSE’s to ‘do’ these jobs. E.g training courses, degrees

Question 14

Who discusses role allocation?

Answer 14

• Davis and Moore

Question 15

Explain what role allocation is.

Answer 15

• Education shows us who are the best people for the best jobs and roles in society by seiving and sorting those of higher achievers to the top

Question 16

How do schools carry out role allocation?

Answer 16

• schools allocate students via awards and certificates
  the exam system is designed to encourage competion , individual achievement and hard work

Question 17

What is an Evaltion of role allocation - Davis and Moore?

Answer 17

Marxits and Feminsits argue that we are not alll given the same opportunity to suceed
- men dominate powerful jobs/ roles in society
-social backrounds

Question 18

What are the strnegths of the Functionalist Approach?

Answer 18

• the New right support ideas of functionalits and belive that meritocracy makes people responsible for their own achievement
• it helps make people work hard, reducing the burden on the state and unemployment benfit

Question 19

What are criicism of the Functionalists Approach?

Answer 19

• rose tinted arguments ignore the inequalites which happne in education whoch can be negative for some groups with rascim, sexism and middle class bias.
• We don’t all have shared norms as we are a mulitcultural society - some cultures don’t have the sme values as others
• Education does not always teach us speicalised skills which we need to work