Furthermore, item A also says, "sociologists see the education system as performing a vital role in modern societies." One functionalist called Durkheim holds this view; he believes in social solidarity and specialist skills. Durkheim argues that society needs a sense of solidarity so that it's individual members feel themselves to be part of a single community. He argues that without social solidarity, social life and cooperation would be impossible because each individual would pursue their own selfish desires. The education system helps to create social solidarity by transmitting society's culture from one generation to the next.
Some think it as promoting value consensus and some see otherwise. Functionalists believe that education transmits society's norms and values and therefore promotes value consensus, with the educational and economic system working hand in hand to develop the skills required for the world of work. Emile Durkheim provides the basic framework of the functionalists view on the education system, agreeing with its function of transmitting norms and values. He believed that for society to operate effectively they have to develop a sense of belonging to something, becoming 'social beings' with a loyalty and commitment to society as a whole. The education system creates this effectively by teaching subjects such as history, which enables children to see the link between themselves and wider society.
Education is also one of the main influences on role allocation within society; allocating people to the most appropriate jobs for their talent, using examinations and their results from these. Durkheim views the education system as an institution that can create social solidarity. This is done by teaching students about the common norms and values of the British culture through the national and hidden curriculum, this enables people to establish a common view on society as a whole, therefore, in theory, creating a more harmonic society. In addition to this, schools create a miniature society, teaching students to cooperate, follow rules and respect their seniors. Parson views the education system as being meritocratic, enabling everyone to have equal opportunities, and success being down to individual desire to succeed and ability.
Outline some of the functions that the education system may perform. (12 marks) Education system performs various functions and sociologists hold different and conflicting views. This however depends on their sociological perspective and the way they see the society. According to functionalists, education performs three important functions- creating social solidarity, teaching specialist skills and transmission of values. Durkheim argues that education system helps to create social solidarity by transmitting society’s culture- its shared belief and culture from one generation to next.
Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism are common theories. Using the family and education system as examples, evaluate their effectiveness in explaining the social system. In this assignment, I am going to explain the theories of Functionalism, Marxism and Feminism. I will give examples that expand the definitions and show that such ideologies still have an impact on the society we live in. Functionalism is a macro theory, which looks at society as a whole rather than focuses on each individual.
According to the New Rightâs beliefs, the role of education is to instil drive, initiative and enterprise. The New Right believe this will come from competition between schools and colleges, motivating teachers to improve standards and providing parents and students with a choice of schools and colleges. The New Right see them as being similar to functionalists and they believe in the freedom of the individual with less central control. They believe in free market principles within education with a desire to reduce public spending, they also believe that education as an important part in the process of socialisation. They believe that education can help socialise children through religious assemblies, the National Curriculum and citizenship lessons.
So the main function of education is to maintain a value consensus in society. Consequently Parsons (1961) sees schools as a bridge between family and wider society. This bridge is needed as they both operate on different principles. Within the family, the child is judged by particularistic standards and status is ascribed. Whereas in education and wider society, status is achieved and we are all judged by the same universalistic standards e.g.
Because of this, the family is very important as a socialising agency, as it teaches children what is right and what is wrong within our society, as well as norms and values, through using things such as sanctions to guide and control this learning process. The family links to the second socialising agency I will be looking at -- education, in the way that education is seen as taking over from the family as the main socialising agency by the functionalists (Talcott Parsons). Education is a form of secondary socialisation, important in how pupils are taught the culture of their society through mostly humanities subjects such as history and religious studies. Pupils also are also socialised how to act in certain situations, preparing them for the workplace. So, what do the
To him, education is a ‘focal socialising agency’ acting as a bridge between the family and the society. e.g. the workplace. Generally, both sides operate on different principles and the child is needed to adapt to the universalistic standards and norms that will enable them to cope in the wider society. Parsons concluded that school is based on meritocratic principles whereby everyone is given equal opportunity, and individuals achieve rewards through their own efforts and abilities.
Functionalists also believe that society is based on consensus (agreement) and socialised (brought up) to agree on how to behave (norms) and what is right and wrong (values). They look at society on a macro scale (large) and they want to generalize their ideas to the whole of society. For example they look at what education does for society as a whole rather than certain people in society. Functionalists believe that all parts of society has a function (job or role to do) to ensure that society runs smoothly and everything is harmonious. For example education’s function is to ensure that people are educated to be good at the job they will do after leaving school.