Topic 5 - The Role Of Education In Society

Question 1

What are the 2 functions of education that Durkheim identifies ?

Answer 1

2 functions of education that Durkheim identifies ;
-Creating social solidarity
-Teaching specialist skills

Question 2

Why does Durkheim argue that society needs a sense of solidarity (what does he mean by this ) and what does he argue would happen without social solidarity ?

Answer 2

-Durkheim argues that society needs a sense of solidarity , that is , its individual members must feel themselves to be part of a single body or community
-Durkheim argues that without social solidarity , social life and cooperation would be impossible because each individual would pursue their own selfish desires

Question 3

How does Durkheim argue that the education system helps to create social solidarity ?

Answer 3

-the education system helps to create social solidarity by transmitting society’s culture - its shared beliefs and values from one generation to the next
-for example , Durkheim argues that the teaching of a country’s history instils children a sense of shared heritage and a commitment to the wider social group

Question 4

Social solidarity - how does Durkheim see school as acting as a society in miniature and an example ?

Answer 4

-schools act as a society in miniature , preparing individuals for life in wider society
-for example , in both school and work we have to cooperate with people who are neither family nor friends - teachers and pupils at school , colleagues and customers at work

Question 5

What does Durkheim argue education teaches and why is this important ?

Answer 5

-each person must have the necessary specialist knowledge and skills to perform their role in the complex division of labour
-Durkheim argues that education teaches individuals the specialist knowledge and skills that they need to play their part in the social division of labour

Question 6

What does Parsons see the school as and what does he mean by this ?

Answer 6

-Parsons see the school as the focal socialising agency in modern society , acting as a bridge between the family and wider society
-This bridge is Because family and society operate on different principles , so children need to learn a new way of living if they are to cope with the wider world

Question 8

Meritocracy - How does Parsons use the standards a child is judged by and their status as different in the family compared to within wider society / school ?

Answer 8

-within the family , the child is judged by particularistic standards (rules that apply to only that child )
-Similarly , in the family , the child’s status is ascribed fixed by birth
-By contrast , both school and wider society judge us all by the same universalistic and impersonal standards
-For example , in society all the same laws apply to everyone , similarly in school each pupil is judged Agaisnt the same standards eg have to get the same exam mark to pass
-likewise in school and wider society , a persons status is largely achieved . For example at work we gain a promotion or get a sack depending on how hard we work , while at school we pass or fail through our own efforts

Question 9

Why does parsons see school as preparing us to move from the family to wider society ?

Answer 9

-parsons sees schools as preparing us to move from the family to wider society because school and society are both based on meritocratic principles
-In a meritocracy , everyone is given an equal opportunity and individuals achieve rewards through their own efforts and ability

Question 10

What do Davis and Moore see the function of education as ?

Answer 10

-Davis and Moore see education as a device for selection and role allocation
-they focus on the relationship between education and social inequality

Question 11

Role allocation - why do Davis and Moore see inequality as necessary ?

Answer 11

-Davis and Moore argue that inequality is necessary in role allocation to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people
-For example , it would be inefficient and dangerous to have less able people performing roles such as surgeons because not everyone is equally talented so society has to offer higher rewards for these jobs
-this encourages everyone to compete for them and then society can select the most talented individuals to fill these positions

Question 12

Role allocation - How do Davis and Moore see education as playing a key part in role allocation ?

Answer 12

-education plays a key part in the role allocation process
-This is because education is where individuals can show what they can do
-It sifts and sorts individuals according to their ability
-the most able gain the highest qualifications , which then gives them entry to the most important and highly rewarded positions

Question 13

Evaluation of functionalism - How does the statistics shown by the Wolf review of vocational education (2011) show that the education system doesn’t teach specialist skills adequately like Durkheim claims ?

Answer 13

-the wolf review of vocational education (2011) claims that high quality apprenticeships are rare and a third of 16-19 year olds are on courses that do not lead to higher education or good jobs

Question 14

Evaluation of functionalism - how does Tumin criticise Davis and Moores idea of role allocation ?

Answer 14

-Tumin criticises Davis and Moore for putting forward a circular argument .
How do we know that a job is important ?
Answer - because it is highly rewarded
Why are she jobs highly rewarded ?
Answer - because they are important

Question 15

Evaluation of functionalism - how does Wrong (interactionist ) criticise the functionalists view ?

Answer 15

-Wrong argues that functionalists have an over socialised view of people as mere puppets of society .
-functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject the schools values

Question 16

Evaluation of functionalism - by neoliberals and the new right ?

Answer 16

-neoliberals and the new right argue that the state education system fails to prepare young people adequately for work

Question 17

Evaluation of functionalism - general ?

Answer 17

-there is ample evidence that equal opportunity in education doesn’t exist
-for example , achievement is greatly influenced by class background rather than ability

Question 19

Evaluation of functionalism - by Marxists ?

Answer 19

-functionalists see education as a process that instils the shared values of society as whole
-but Marxists argue that education in a capitalist society only transmits the ideology of the minority- the ruling class

Question 20

What is a central belief of the new right and what does this lead them to favour ?

Answer 20

-a central belief of the new right is that the state cannot meet peoples needs and that people are best left to meet their own needs through the free market
-for this reason , the new right favour the marketisation of education

Question 21

What are the 3 similarities between the new right and functionalists view ?

Answer 21

-both believe that some people are naturally more talented than others
-both favour an education system run on meritocratic principles and one that serves the needs of the economy by preparing young people for work
-both believe that education should socialise pupils into shared values , and instils a sense of national identity

Question 22

What is a key difference between the new right and functionalism ?

Answer 22

-unlike functionalism , the new right don’t believe that the current education system is achieving these goals
-the reason for its failure , in their view , is that it is run by the state

Question 23

What do new right see as a solution to the problem of the state educational failing ?

Answer 23

-the new rights solution to these problems is the marketisation of education - creating an education market
-they believe that competition between schools and empowering consumers will bring greater diversity , choice and efficiency to schools and increase schools ability to meet the needs of pupils , parents and employers

Question 24

What are the 3 reasons that new right theorists Chubb and Moe give for the state run education failing in the United States ?

Answer 24

Chubb and Moe argue that the state run education in the United States failed because ;
-it has not created equal opportunity and has failed the needs of disadvantaged groups
-its in insufficient because it fails to produce pupils with the skills needed by the economy
-private schools deliver high quality education because unlike state schools , they are answerable to paying consumers -the parents

Question 25

What do Chubb and Moes study show about how low income children do better when in private schools compared to state run schools ?

Answer 25

-Chubb and Moe find that pupils from low income families consistently do about 5% better in private compared to state schools

Question 26

Based on Chubb and moes findings that low income children do better in private schools what do they call for the introduction of and why ?

Answer 26

-based on these findings , Chubb and Moe call for the introduction of a market system in state education that would put control in the hands of the consumers - parents and local communities -they argue that this would allow consumers to shape schools to meet their own needs and improve the schools quality and efficiency

Question 27

How do Chubb and Moe propose we introduce a market system into state education and how does this improve education ?

Answer 27

-to introduce a market into state education , Chubb and Moe propose a system in which each family would be given a voucher to spend on busing education from a school of their choice -this would force schools to become more responsive to parents wishes , since the vouchers would be the schools main source of income -like businesses, schools would have to compete to attract customers by improving their product

Question 28

However , although the new right stress the importance of bring market forces to the education system , what do they believe remain the 2 important roles of the state ?

Answer 28

1.the state imposes framework on schools within which they have to compete. For example ,by publishing OFSTED inspection torts and league tables of exam results , the state gives parents information with which to make more informed choices between schools 2.the state ensures that schools transmit a shared culture , by imposing a single national curriculum , it seeks to guarantee that schools socialise pupils into a single cultural heritage

Question 29

How do the new right believe that education should affirm the national identity and what does this mean they oppose ?

Answer 29

-the new right believe that education should affirm the national identity -for example , the curriculum should emphasise britains positive role in world history and teach British literature and there should be a Christian act of worship in schools everyday because Christianity is Britain’s main religion -for this reason new right theorists oppose multicultural education that reflects the cultures of the different minority groups in Britain

Question 30

Evaluation of new right - how do Gewirtz and ball criticise Chubb and Moes consumer choice ?

Answer 30

-Gewirtz and Ball both argue that competition between schools benefits the middle class who can use their cultural and economic capital to gain access to the more desirable schools

Question 31

Evaluation of new right - what do critics argue the real cause of low educational standards is if it isn’t the state control ?

Answer 31

-critics argue that the real cause of low educational standards is not state control but social inequality and inadequate funding of state schools

Question 32

Evaluation of new right - by Marxists ?

Answer 32

-Marists argue that education doesn’t impose a share national culture as the new right claim , but imposes the culture of a dominant minority ruling class and devalues the culture of the working class and ethnic minorities

Question 33

What are the 2 classes that Marx describes that live in a capitalist system and ?

Answer 33

-the capitalist class / the bourgeoisie are the minority class , they are the employers who earn the means of production. They make their profits by exploiting the labour of the majority - the proletariat or working class -the working class , who are forced to sell their labour power to the capitalists since they own no means of production on their own and so have no other source of income , so workers become alienated as have no real control

Question 34

What do Marxists believe the division between the capitalist class and the working class class causes and an example of this and what did Marx believe would happen ?

Answer 34

-the division between the 2 classes creates the potential for class conflict -For example , if workers realise they are being exploited , they may demand higher wages , better working conditions , -Marx believed that ultimately the proletariat would unite to overthrow the capitalist system and create a classless , equal society

Question 35

What do Marxists see the function as education as ?

Answer 35

-Marxists see education as functioning to prevent revolution and maintain capitalism

Question 36

What are the 2 elements (apparatuses) that Althusser argues the states consists of to keep the bourgeoise in power ?

Answer 36

-the repressive state apparatus - which maintain the rule of the bourgeoise by the force or the threat of it. They include the police courts , they use physical force when necessary -the ideological state apparatus - which maintain the rule of the bourgeoise by controlling peoples ideas , values and beliefs. They include , religion , media and the education system

Question 37

What are the 2 functions of the education system that Althuser believes makes the education system an important ideological state apparatus ?

Answer 37

-Education reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation , by failing each successive generation of working class pupils in turn -Education legitimates (justifies) class inequality by producing ideologies (sets of ideas and beliefs) that disguise its true causes eg to persuade pupils that inequality is inevitable so will be less likely to challenge or overthrow capitalism.

Question 38

What do Bowles and Gintis believe is the role of the education system in a capitalist society ?

Answer 38

-Bowles and Gintis believe the role of the education system in a capitalist society is to reproduce an obedient worker force that will accept inequality as inevitable

Question 39

What was Bowles and Gintis study on and what did it show ?

Answer 39

-From Bowles and Gintis own study of 237 New York high school students they conclude that schools reward precisely the kind of personality traits that make a submissive , complaint worker -for example , they found that students who showed independence and creativity tended to gain low grades -while those who showed characteristic linked to obedience and discipline such as punctuality tended to gain high grades -this evidence shows that schooling helps to provide capitalism with the obedient workers capitalism needs

Question 40

What do Bowles and Gintis mean by the correspondence principle and an example of this ?

Answer 40

-correspondence principle - the relationships and structures found in education mirror those of the workplace -both schools and workplaces are hierarchies with head teachers or bosses at the top making decisions and giving orders and workers or pupils at the bottom obeying

Question 41

What do Bowles and Gintis believe the correspondence principle operates through and what does this mean ?

Answer 41

-Bowles and Gintis argue that the correspondence principle operates through the hidden curriculum -hidden curriculum - lessons that are taught at school without being directly taught -for example , simply through the everyday workings of school , pupils become accustomed to accepting hierarchy and competition , working for extrinsic rewards and so on -In this way , schooling prepares working class pupils for their role as exploited workers of the future , reproducing the workers that capitalism needs

Question 42

What do Bowles and Gintis see the education system as ?

Answer 42

-Bowles and Gintis see the education system as a giant myth making machine -a key myth that education promotes is the myth of meritocracy

Question 43

The myth of meritocracy ( Bowles and Gintis) - why do they belive that meritocracy doesn’t exist and how does this serve the ruling class ?

Answer 43

-Bowles and Gintis argue that meritocracy doesn’t exist . -evidence shows that the main factor determining whether or not someone has a high income is their family and class background , not their ability or educational achievement -this myth of meritocracy serves to justify the privileges of the higher classes , making it seem as though they gained their degrees in a fair and open competition at school -This helps to persuade the working class to accept inequality as legitimate and makes it less likely they will overthrow capitalism

Question 44

How do Bowles and Gintis argue that the education system justifies poverty and how does this maintain capitalism ?

Answer 44

-Bowles and Gintis argue that the eduction system justifies poverty through what Bowles and Gintis describe as the poor are dumb theory of failure -It does so by blaming poverty on the individual , rather than blaming capitalism (they are poor because didn’t work hard enough at school ) -it therefore makes workers less likely to rebel against the system as make them think their poverty is there own fault

Question 45

What was Willis’s study on working class boys ?

Answer 45

-using qualitative research methods including participant observation and unstructured interviews , Willis studied the counter school subculture of the “lads” - a group of 12 working class boys - a they make a transition from school to work -the lads find school boring and meaningless and flout the schools rules and values for example by smoking , drinking , distrusting classes . For the lads , these acts of defiance are ways of resisting the school -they reject as a “con” the schools meritocratic ideology that working class pupils can achieve middle class jobs through hard work -Willis notes the similarity between the lads anti school culture and the shoplfloor culture of male manual workers -both cultures see manual work as superior and intellectual work as inferior and effeminate

Question 46

Evaluation of Marxism - how do postmodernists criticise Bowles and Gintis correspondence principle ?

Answer 46

-postmodernists criticise Bowles and Gintis’ correspondence principle on the grounds that todays post fordist economy requires schools to produce a very different labour force from the one described by Marxists -postmodernists argue that education now reproduces diversity , not inequality

Question 47

Evaluation of Marxism - how do Marxists disagree with one another such as Bowles and Gintis and Willis ?

Answer 47

-Marxists disagree with one another about how reproduction and legitimation takes place -Bowles and Gintis take a deterministic view of. That is that they assume that pupils have no free will and passively accept their fate. -Wherreas Willis rejects the view that school simply brainwashes pupils into accepting their fate . By combining Marxist and interactionist approach’s , he shows how pupils may resist the school and yet this still leads them into working class jobs

Question 48

Evaluation of Marxism - how do critics criticise Willis’s study ?

Answer 48

-critics argue that Willis’ account of the lads romanticises them , portraying them as working class heroes despite their anti social behaviour and sexist attitudes -his small scale study of only 12 boys in one school is also unlikely to be unrepresentative of other pupils experiences so would be risky to generalise his findings

Question 49

Evaluation of Marxism - how do critical modernists such as Morrow and Torres criticise Marxists , what do they believe instead ?

Answer 49

-critical modernists such as Morrow and Torres criticise Marxists for taking a class first approach that sees class as the key inequality and ignores all other kinds -instead , like postmodernists , Morrow and Torres argue that society is now more diverse . They see non class inequalities such as ethnicity , gender and sexuality as equally important

Question 50

Evaluation of Marxism - by feminists eg MacDonald and McRobbie ?

Answer 50

-Feminists such as MacDonald argue Bowles and Gintis ignore the fact that schools reproduce not only capitalism but patriarchy too -McRobbie points out females are largely absent from wills’ study