Role of Education in Society Flashcards
(23 cards)
Social Solidarity
The notion that members of scoiety are bound together into a cohesive whole, whereby their loyalty to the group overrides their own self interest
Meritocracy
A system where you are judged on your achieved status as opposed to your ascribed status. The most talented will always rise to the top
Reproduction of…
The idea that something is passed down from generation to generation to ensure that the status quo remains unchallenged and their values appear natural e.g. social inequality or patriarchy
Metanarrative
A large ideologically based theory that describes or explains the world we live in
Functionalism
Consensus-based theory in that it shows how state institutions such as schools function to bind people together by promoting a shared set of norms and values, as well as allocating people into roles in the division of labour
-Durkheim, Parsons, Davis and Moore
Marxism
-Class conflict
-True function of education is to prevent the inevitable uprising of the proletariate by promoting ruling class ideology
-Althusser
Radical Feminism
-Conflict-based theory
-True function of education is to promote patriarchal ideology and the reproduction thereof
-Spender
Postmodernism
No uniform job that education performs for society and that policy makers must abandon one size fits all
-Usher and Edwards
Emile Durkheim, function of education
-Promotion of social solidarity. Stresses essential similarities, norms and values which creates a collective consciousness to bind people together. E.g. American students reciting pledge of allegiance
-Imparting specialist skills, second role of education was to impart skills unto children where their parents could not due to the nature of an industrial society
Evaluation of Durkheim, positive
-Sports Day, creates social solidarity by having students compete in and support their respective houses
-History serves to create social solidarity through a sense of cultural heritage
Evaluation of Durkheim, negative
-Competitive nature of education system undermines notion of social solidarity
-Multicultural, diverse classrooms would likely foster competing views on historical events, e.g. on colonialism, may further divide students.
Talcott Parsons, functions of education
-Two main values promoted by American schools are achievement and equality of opportunity. Learning experience gained through family life is measured on a particularistic scale, while those gained through education are built upon universalistic standards (nationally prescribed benchmarks) such as GCSEs.
-Role allocation, the standard of living for a student in future life is dependent on their own efforts, differential rewards for differential achievement is fair and just
Parsons Evaluation, positive
-Echoes Merton’s strain theory, meritocracy
-Univeristy admissions award places based on individual efforts judged against a universalistic standard, implying our education system does follow meritocracy
Parsons Evaluation, negative
-Radical feminists argue that education system is patriarchal, in that the glass ceiling prevents appropriately qualified females from getting top jobs
-Existence of private schools and paid extra tuition gives some and edge over materially deprived peers, ascribed status trumps achieved status.
Louis Althusser, function of education system
-Transmission of ruling class ideology.
-Schools were the main ideological state apparatus in capitalist society.
-Justified inequality by stressing the meritocracy, Althusser called it the myth of meritocracy.
-Inequalities are taught to be inevitable and natural, allowing the future supply of passive workers, the reproduction of labour power
Althusser Evaluation positive
-Myth of meritocracy echoed by black radical Coard, claimed that schools designed to benefit one social group and convince the disadvantaged that they caused their own loss
-Old white men from elite private schools dominate politics, undermines meritocracy
Althusser evaluation, negative
-New Right socioloists suggest that there is high social mobility, and barriers no longer hold back children from poorer backgrounds. e.g. Sir Alan Sugar
-Some feminists may argue this view is myopic, as gender is another axis by which students are made to believe inequality is natural, and is perhaps more explicit and stifling than class
Dale Spender, function of the education system
-Cultural reproduction of patriarchy
-Identical to the argument of Althusser, but replaces capitalism wiht patriarchy
-E.g. formal curriculum gives the impression that men have been responsible for all developments in history.
-All students are taught that the needs of girls are secondary to that of boys
Spender, evaluation positive
-Research by Skelton found that although progress had been made, teaching and learning is still focused on educating boys at the expense of girls.
-Gendering of vocational education means that courses such as engineering and computing dominated by boys are considered more presitigious than courses dominated by girls such as Health and Social Care
Spender evaluation, negative
-Girls into science and technology programmes challenge the idea that schools deliberately try to exclude females from these courses
-Hart would argue the real cause of gender inequality in schools is the needs of bourgeoisie and this is proven by the improvements of female attainment levels since the formation of the dual income family
Usher and Edwards, function of education
-Promotes the idea that there are many truths and that education should teach many things
-Rejection of the metanarrative, attempts to impose a national curriculum and comprehensive schools are flawed.
-Encourages diversity of choice and ‘truths’, e.g. introduction of more faith schools
Usher and Edwards Evaluation positive
-Invention of Free Schools allows a community to set up its own school to meet the needs of a particular niche, e.g. Hindu-faith schools in Harrow
Usher and Edwards, evaluation negativei
-Most children have little choice and still attend their local school even if it is failing, some argue ‘choice’ is only available to the middle classes
-Although schools may have different syllabi, timetables etc. government initiatives like E-Bac mean that pupils in different schools have largely similar experiences
