The hidden curriculum has a big influence on pupils, its one thing to teach the child educationally but if the child is treated unjustly (no voice) by the school system then a much more negative message is given to those pupils about the nature of society. According to Functionalists, meritocracy exists in all of society. Parson (1961) believes in the wider society everyone is treated the same and that your position is determined by your effort and your will to achieve. So society is said to be meritocratic, as everybody can achieve if they want to. Durkheim (2002) Believes that there are fixed rules for all and by transmitting the norms and values across society, it is then fair and meritocratic.
The education system creates this effectively by teaching subjects such as history, which enables children to see the link between themselves and wider society. Durkheim argued that school serves a function that cannot be provided the family or peer groups and that individuals must learn to cooperate with those who are neither family nor friends, and he says the school is a place where these skills can be learned. Sticking with the functionalist view of the education system, Durkheim believed that school rules should be strictly enforced and that punishments be carried out to the full so it is made clear to the offenders that their actions were wrong. He believes that it is this way that pupils will learn what is wrong in society as a whole. Functionalist Talcott Parsons developed Durkheim’s ideas, and argued that
The study found that the counsellor judged pupils largely on their social class; this therefore put them at a disadvantage as middle-class students were placed on higher level courses. The self-fulfilling prophecy is another internal factor that can be linked to social class differences in achievement. A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that comes true simply by virtue of it being made. Some sociologists argue that labelling can effect pupil’s achievement by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. This can be seen in a study of a primary school by Rosenthal and Jacobson.
Outline some of the reasons pupils form subcultures A subculture refers to a group of pupils who share the same values and behaviour. Pupil subcultures can be either pro or anti-school. It is argued that middle class pupils are generally part of pro-school subcultures and working class pupils and pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds are part of anti-school subcultures. Firstly, sociologists such as Becker argue it is a result of negative labelling He found that the teachers emphasized characteristics such as conduct and language before they got to ability. Becker concluded that it was much easier for middle class students to meet this ideal since they are better dressed and spoken than their working class counterparts.
Role of education Darcy Fletcher Functionalists believe education performs two contradictory functions , on one hand they believe that educations prepares children for their specialised role acquired to their skills and potential. So they can perform at the best they can at their role after education. On the contrary they believe society needs to share the same goals and outlook in order to co-operate. Functionalism is based on the view that society is a system of interdependant parts which is held together by value consensus. Durkheim argued that society has to feel a sense of social solidarity , he believes that without this form of social cohesion , society would be impossible because each person would pursue their own ‘ selfish’ desires.
Abraham H. Maslow was one of the 20th century’s foremost American humanistic psychologists. Humanistic psychologists emphasize human potential and the importance of love, belonging, self-esteem and self-expression, peak experiences, and self-actualization (Morris & Maisto, 2010). Maslow organized these categories to help form a hierarchy of human motivational needs. They are based on a series of needs, including physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization needs. He placed these needs into the shape of a pyramid, in which the bottom layer consists of our lower motivational needs such as physiological needs, leading up to the top layer consisting of the higher motivational needs such as self-actualization.
For us, school is a miniature version of society as it provides us with skills that we need once we enter work or when starting a family also, the experience prepares us for interacting with members of society and the rules that society has. He believed that school rules should be strictly reinforced, punishments should reflect the seriousness of the damage done to the social group and it should be made clear to those who have done wrong why they are being punished. This way, pupils would come to learn that it is wrong to act against the social group, it would also teach them to exercise self-discipline but more importantly that misbehaviour would damage society as a whole. Durkheim argued that education teaches individuals specific skills necessary for their future occupations. This is particularly important in industrial society with its increasingly complex and specialised division of labour.
Your conclusion is that small class size indeed causes better grades. Wrong, because there is a fundamental problem with this conclusion; you did not account for 'intervening variables'! Could there be an intervening variable that is effecting this relationship between class size and student performance? Actually there can be many factors which are influencing this relationship. How about the influence of the teacher?
Education according to Althusser reproduces inequality by preparing pupils for work in the wider society. School contribute to training pupils so they learn the rules and procedures of the workplace, and it helps to prepare us to accept the bourgeoisie’s ideologies. The process in which we learn to accept inequality is made up of two elements: the repressive state apparatuses which maintain the rules of the bourgeoisie through fear and force. The police, courts and the army are good examples of services within society that help keep them in power and separate them from the proletariats. Another service is called the ideological state apparatuses which maintain the same role, only they are responsible for controlling individual’s ideologies which include religion, media and the education system.
I will refer to sources from Durkheim, Parsons, Davis & Moore, Althusser and Bowles & Gintis. 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.