Functionalist on Education Flashcards
(19 cards)
What is functionalism?
View that society is like a biological organism with interconnected parts held together by ‘value consensus’.
The key roles are positive and of benefit to society as a whole.
What is value consensus?
A shared set or norms and values everyone agrees on and is expected to commit to and enforce
What does Durkheim say?
School was a ‘society in miniature’ and education provided children with the necessary secondary socialisation.
What are Parsons and Durkheims 4 functions of education?
- Selection for work
- Socialisation and social control
- Social cohesion
- Economic Role
What is selection for work?
Choosing the most able people for the most able jobs
What is the economic role?
the teachings of skills for work
What is socialisation and social control?
socialisation - teachings of norms and values
social control - teaching the importance of rules and authority
What is social cohesion?
the teaching to become effective citizens and create social cohesion (glue)
What are particularistic values?
rules and values that give a priority to personal relationships
What are universalistic values?
rules and values that applied equally to all members of society, regardless of who they are
What is human capital?
Refers to the knowledge and skills possessed by a workforce that increase the workforce’s value and usefulness to employers
What did Shultz say?
Developed the idea of ‘human capital’ - suggests high levels of spending on education is seen as an investement into the economy as a more highly skilled workforce is more likely to produce a more profitable economy.
What do Davis and Moor say?
Role Allocation:
- they see role allocation as a function of education.
- education shows us who the best people are for the best jobs by ‘sifting’ those high achievers to the top
done through;
- awards and certificates
- exams > designed to encourage competition and to drive for hard work
Sugarman
Talks about working class subculture.
fatalism - belief in fate, not personal control therefore less motivation to strive for success
Bernstein
Speech codes - restricted (used by WC - limited vocab) vs elaborated (used by MC, wider vocab) > impacted class achievement
What is Durkheims idea of ‘social solidarity’
Believes education socialises people to teach shared norms and values to maintain social solidarity
Whats Parsons ‘bridge theory’
Believes school is a bridge between family and wider society
- home teachers particularistic standards and schools teach universalistic standards
What are specialised skills?
Specific skills needed for future occupations so we can pay out role in society to maintain consensus
e.g. to become a nurse:
- maths > to read dosages
- english > to communicate to patients
- health and social care > employee required knowledge
What is a criticism that we all have shared values in a society?
That society is becoming more and more multicultural and some cultures have different views to others
