Functionalism is a macro theory, which looks at society as a whole rather than focuses on each individual. It is a theory that concentrates on the harmony between social institutions in society that is based on a consensus view rather than a conflict view as a Marxism theory. As a comparison to society as a whole, Functionalists use an organic analogy as an example. Each organ of the human body has a different job to do and if one part became ill or diseased, the rest could be contaminated or will produce changes in other parts. Similarly the operation of any society is dependent on its social institutions as they provide vital functions which maintain harmony, stability and solidarity within a society.
It was developed by other sociologists in the 20th century and was a popular idea until the 1970s when it came under criticism from new ideas. Functionalism is most often associated with sociology and sociocultural anthropology. Functionalism focuses on the structure and workings of society. Functionalists see society as made up of inter-dependent sections which work together to fulfill the functions necessary for the survival of society as a whole. People are socialized into roles and behaviours which fulfill the needs of society.
QUESTION: What does C. Wright Mills mean when he describes sociology as “the intersection of biography and history”? What is the relationship between personal life and larger social structures? Are personal lives determined by social structures? This paper explores the very intelligent critical thought describing sociology through writing. These actions and words are expounded on C. Wright Mills thoughts.
For example, society works best when everyone ‘plays’ their part. This is a continuous cycle. An example of this is when the government provides education for the children. The parents of these children need to pay tax to the government to allow their government to be able to run schools. The family in turn will rely on the educated child to grow up and have a good job, so that when they have their own children they are able to pay taxes towards their children’s education and so on.
Reproducationally, they will make the next generation. Economically the ideal is that the man will go out to work and provide food and shelter whilst the women will look after the house, cook and clean whilst looking after the children. The last function Murdock believes that the family should fulfil is education of socialisation; the children will learn the culture norms and values of society. However, Parsons a functionalist also focused on American families but argues that the family has two key functions. Primary socialisation, the children
* Socialisation which included the responsibility of teaching children what was the acceptable way to behave in society. * And the economic function which meant that food, shelter and financial security had to be provided for family members through working and this would be by working for the bourgeoisies. Also the government provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. That is, the family is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families. In the process, the children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn support the state.
Outline some of the ways in which government educational policies may have affected social class differences in educational achievement- 12marks Industrialisation amplified the requirement for an educated workforce and so, from the 19th century the state had become more involved in education. The kind of education children received was predominantly dependant on their social class. Middle class pupils were given an academic curriculum to prepare them for careers in the professions or office work, whereas, working class pupils were given a schooling to equip them with basic numeracy and literacy skills needed for factory work and to introduce in them a submissive approach to their superiors. The education system has gone through many amendments. For example, it has gone from being a tripartite system where children were selected and allocated to one of 3 different types of secondary school, to becoming a comprehensive system (in attempt to make education more meritocratic) to the introduction of the education reform act just before Labours new policies and coalition policies.
Professor Muñoz English 101 10 October 2013 Socio-Economic Class and Education Everyone agrees that education is very important. Therefore, parents are constantly searching the right school for their children. For a long time, people are trying to draw a positive correlation between money and education. In Jean Anyon’s essay “From Social Class and The Hidden Curriculum of Work”, the author had clearly listed different type of schools and education the students are receiving base on the economic level. Wealthier people have their children attend “better” schools.
Each elements in this structural fuctionalism are interdependent and a change in one element would lead to the changes in the other elements. For example the underlying idea of structural functionalism is that the family provides for the children until they are old enough to provide for themselves. The educational institution provides the education and the skills they need to go out into society and the economy is responsible for producing the necessities needed by families to survive. The all work together and the reason they are able to function as one to help maintain society is that there is a state of balance . The underlying basic idea of the conflict theory is that society consists of different social groups who struggle to acquire status and valuables.
This may mean that the house prices surrounding area (catchment) of the successful schools will increase, as middle class parents move in to try to get their child into the school. This would mean that through middle class economic capital, middle class achievement will improve. Parentocracy also means that as the best schools become over-subscribed they are able to hand-pick the ‘best’ students. Due to a combination of teacher labelling and the A-C economy middle class students are selected over working class students. This is because they are seen as easier to teach and more likely to achieve, due to their middle class