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.
Talcott Parsons believes that school is a focal socialising agency, acting as a bridge between family and wider society, this is enforced because families and society act on different levels. Within a family a child is giving different jobs based on their age and gender but within schools everything is the same for everyone. Schools and society are very similar that expectations and rules are applied to all and each pupil is judged in the same way. He believes a persons status is achieved not ascribed like within society. Depending on your personal achievement will determine how well you do.
Assess the view that the education system exists mainly to select and prepare young people for their future work roles One perspective that supports this is the functionalist view that secondary socialisation prepares children for work later on in life. They believe secondary socialisation does this as in a school environment you learn the norms and values of authority figures, for example, the teachers. Functionalists therefore believe that this can then later be applied in the work place as the norms and values are carried on however the authority figure role changes from teacher to boss. Generally, the text implies that primary socialisation isn’t enough in preparation for a large-scale society. Education, a secondary agency of socialisation
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. Marxists on the other hand believe that meritocracy is a myth and that it hides the truth of the inequality in society. Sociologists argue that the processes in school such as the hidden curriculum helps to keep society unequal. 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.
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.
Now people’s ideologies are influenced by the education system, which is now the main agency of control within society. People are now entitled to more choices and their acceptance comes from their experience of education. Althusser states people used to accept their position in society because they believed it to be ‘gods will’. This theory suggests that if individuals are going to accept inequality their ideologies need to be controlled and the only way to accomplish this is to become a teacher and to control the society through power. Education according to Althusser reproduces inequality by preparing pupils for work in the wider society.
* Social Control- Teaching acceptance of rules and values. * The political role- Teaching people to be effective citizens. 2) How would functionalists explain the purpose of education? Functionalist such as Parson believes that the purpose of education is to perform a beneficial role in the society. One way to perform a beneficial role in the society is to learn the skills and knowledge from school that is necessary to work in a modern, technical, industrial society e.g.
This idea to schools, could be argued with that the hidden curriculum transmit norms and values, such as punctuality and respect which include authority and other cultural values, whilst free thoughts gives you punishment. But at the same time, the official curriculum portrays capitalism as sensible and natural and other social systems as irrational and dangerous. Bowles and Gintis (1976) claim that schools reward conformity over intelligence and achievement. In their
Simple numbers don’t lie and it’s not hard to prove inequality in Americas education system. If your born a shade of color other than pink in this country your chance for a first rate education automatically lessens, even more so if your born poor. I believe its imperative for teachers to leave all their stereotypes at the door of the classroom and try to understand how different social-cultural influences have shaped their students. We don’t all get the same opportunities at home but school should be the great equalizer, where a student’s success isn’t based on factors they can’t control but by the factors they can. Funding for schools in this country is grossly disproportionate to educational needs.
One of the most striking features of Education in the United Kingdom is the difference in the level of achievement between pupils from different social classes. It would seem that social class background has a powerful influence on a child's chances of success in the education system. Middle class children on average do perform better than working class children and the gap only widens as the children get older. In this essay I will look at the different theories put forward by sociologists as to what extent educational achievement is determined by a person's social class. Emile Durkheim (1858 - 1917) was a French sociologist and is known as one of the Founding Fathers of the discipline.