Transcript Education - sociologygleneagles

Education
For most of us education takes place in schools.
1.
They are the first organisations most of us
attend on our own.
2.
Education is the continuation of the
socialisation started in the family
3.
There is a close connection between the
economy and skills acquired in education
4.
The kind of work people do is influenced by
the kind of education they get.
5.
The issue of who does well and who doesn't
in education is a key concern of sociologists.
Functionalism
Functionalists ask 2
questions about education
1What are the functions
for society?
2. What is the
relationship between
education and other
parts of the ‘body’ of
society
Functionalists
Durkheim
Education promotes social solidarity
The school is a mini society where children
learn how to become adult members of
society and fit in
Rules, hierarchies, exams, assemblies etc
all help
Education teaches skills needed for jobs
Functionalists
Parsons
School is a bridge between the family and
wider society
Move from particularistic standards of the
family to universalistic values of society
I.E. In the family you are special to your
parents and you are treated as an
individual.
Functionalists
In society you are judged against standards
because people don’t know you. E.g
exams
Education is a meritocracy – a system
based on merit
Schools also teach the values of society
Schools assess students’ abilities and
match them up to relevant jobs
Meritocracy
Those with talent and intelligence – no
matter what socio-economic background
they are from will achieve more
educationally than those without such
attributes
 Predicted on idea that Australia’s state
education system is free so all exposed to
same influences – but in fact there is a
huge divide in the education of the rich and
poor

Functionalism
Davis and Moore 1967 - sifting and grading
Schools sift and grade pupils according to
ability
 The most talented get high qualifications
which lead to important jobs
 Important jobs get high rewards
Functionalists
Criticisms
Durkheim assumes the values transmitted in
school are those of society as a whole
rather than those of powerful groups
Parsons fails to look at diversity of values
in society.
Functionalists
Criticisms cont
Many question the idea of education being a
meritiocracy
Social class prevents the education system
sifting and grading according to ability
i.e. MC (middle class) kids do better at school
than those from WC (working class)
Conflict theories
A sociological perspective that focuses
on tensions, divisions and competing
interests present in human societies
 Believe that the scarcity and value of
resources in society produces conflict as
groups struggle to gain access to and
control of those resources
 Influenced by Marx

Marxism
Bourdieu 1977 - Cultural Capital
the process whereby a dominant culture
penetrates educational institutions
MC kids have an advantage because they
have been socialised into the dominant
culture
MC pupils have the codes to unlock the
mysteries of education
MC parents have the ‘knowledge ‘ of how to
play the system in their favour.
Marxism
Bourdieu 1977 - Cultural Reproduction
Reproduction takes place via the
socialisation of the young
In effect MC kids grow up to have MC
jobs..have kids who grow up to be MC etc
etc…..
Marxism
Criticisms
1. The role
of education has been over
simplified
2. Students do see the system as unfair
3. All students do not conform to the
rules and regulations of school life.
4. People do have different abilities and some
skills are in short supply, therefore it is
functionally necessary that some will earn
more than others
Interactionism
Am I
bright
?
Am I
thick
?
Interactionism
Labelling Theory
1. Is a major part of the Interactionist approach
2. Teachers label pupils in a particular way –
bright or thick
3. Parents and other students can play a part in
labelling too.
4. Banding/Streaming in schools can help to
reinforce the bright/thick labelling process
Interactionism
Rosenthal & Jacobson 1968
Selected a random sample of pupils in a US
school and told the teachers that these
were the ‘top performers’
They found that these students marks were
the highest in the class after 1 year
They concluded that the teachers had
promoted a self-fulfilling prophecy
Interactionism
Ball 1981
Pupils were placed in 3 bands when they arrived at
the school
Kids from MC backgrounds had a greater chance of
getting into the top band
Teachers taught the bands differently
Top band pupils were ‘warmed up’ for exam
success
Bottom band pupils were ‘cooled down’ – teachers
didn’t expect much
Interactionism
Criticisms
1. Tend to ignore where class differences
originate
2. Generally focus on small scale studies
e.g. individual schools
3. Tend to ignore factors outside the
school