Functions of Education Flashcards
(15 cards)
(Fu) Durkheim
- social solidarity = teaches shared beliefs/values to the next generation
- specialist skills = schools teach abilities needed to work in complex, modern, industrial economies
(M) ao3 of Durkheim
only transmits the culture of the ruling class
(Fu) Parsons
schools acts as a bridge between the family and wider society, because they operate on different meritocratic principles
- family = ascribed status
- school = judged by universalistic standards
(Fu) Davis and Moore
Role allocation - Inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are fulfilled by the most talented people
Education acts as a proving ground for ability and encourages competition - the most able gain the highest qualifications which then gives them entry to the most rewarded positions
(Fu) favoured policy
National Curriculum, vocational education, work-related learning
TNR view
education should promote competition and market forces while upholding shared national values
(TNR) Chubb and Moe
Private schools deliver higher quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers
Solution for state schools? introducing a market system that would put control in the hands of the consumers - each family would be given a voucher to spend on ‘buying’ education from a school of their choice → force schools to become responsive (would be main source of income)
(TNR) what two roles should the state have?
- Imposes a framework on schools within which they have to compete - eg OFSTED inspections
- Ensures school transmits a shared culture - eg single National Curriculum
ao3 of TNR
Real cause of low educational standards is social inequality and inadequate funding
Contradiction between support for parental choice + imposing a compulsory national curriculum
Marxists: does not impose a shared culture but one of the dominant minority
(M) Althusser
Education - part of the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA)
- reproduces class inequality by failing consecutive generations of WC students
- legitimates class inequality by persuading workers that inequality is inevitable and deserved
ao3 of Althusser
Morrow and Torres - Marxists take a ‘class first’ approach that sees class as they key inequality and ignores all other kinds eg ethnicity
(M) Bowles and Gintis
- correspondence principle - school mirrors workplace
- hidden curriculum - students receive lessons that aren’t directly taught
- myth of meritocracy - the school presents education as a level playing field - but in reality the main factor determining success is class background
(PM) ao3 of Bowles and Gintis
today’s post-Fordist economy requires schools to produce workers with the diverse skills for ‘flexible specialisation’
(Neo-M) Willis
learning to labour
WC lads resist school but still end up in WC jobs - even though they were aware of inequality (MC > WC), they ironically ended up in WC jobs because their anti-school subculture destined them to unskilled work that capitalism needs them to perform
ao3 of Willis
study is too small-scale to generalise from
