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Theory and education (Role of education in society) - Coggle Diagram
Theory and education
(Role of education in society)
Marxism
Willis
- Interactionist - Learning to labour study
The working class 'lads' resisted schools and the myth of meritocracy through rebellion (anti-school subcultures) - Different to Bowles and Gintis who assume the education system indoctrinates students into the myth of meritocracy - agency over actions
Willis saw similarities between counter-school subculture and shop-floor culture of manual workers
Manual work = superior
Academic work = effeminate/ inferior
Education ineffective in transmitting capitalist ideology - myth of meritocracy transmitted
Manual labour was the Lads' preference - empowered themselves by choosing the lesser option in the school's eyes
They wanted the immediate gratification (rewards) of manual labour
Therefore false class consciousness is not true - Lads not controlled or submissive workers - empowered instead
Contemporary application
- moral panic over failing boys
Methodological criticism
- Hawthorne Effect and loss of objectivity though using interviews and overt participant observations - saw boys as 'working-class heroes' rather than just fatalistic counter-school students
Malestream research - what about working-class girls?
Bowles & Gintis
- schools reward submissive compliant behaviouherer - correspondence principle, hidden curriculum, and the myth of meritocracy
Correspondence principle
= the idea that behaviours learnt in schools through the hidden curriculum in schools reflect those in the workplace
Hierarchy of authority
- teacher and student
vs
boss and worker
Extrinsic satisfaction
(solely motivated by external rewards) - students cannot choose what they learn, little self-expression, but are motivated by grades
vs
workers cannot choose the products they create (alienation), but are motivated by earning money
Competition and division
- meritocracy promotes idea that there is fair competition, students compete for best grades and places at uni
vs
workers with higher qualifications given better jobs, competition for promotions
Myth of meritocracy
= the false idea that you can succeed through solely hard work and that competition is fair between classes
Exams
- use of elaborated speech code (Bernstein) sets WC students up for failed - value judgement of language and culture
Admissions and marketisation
- MC parents can get into better schools due to cultural and material advantages (eg open enrolment - parentocracy)
Hidden curriculum
= values and behaviours we learn through attending school, outside of the official curriculum - makes children submissive and compliant
Workplace has changed
- correspondence principle no longer relevant - deindustrialised Western society - how does school prepare us for working from home, etc?
Althusser
- education system is an ideological state apparatus
Ideological state apparatus
= institutions used by the state that control people's thoughts by transmitting capitalist ideology
eg) education, religion, media - more efficient and discrete than repressive state apparatus - eg police, army
Reproduction of labour power is essential for Bourgeoisie to maintain power and capital in society
Reproduces class inequalities
from generation to generation
(think reasons for WC underachievement)
Fragmentation of knowledge
- not taught about the bigger picture of society (eg British Empire, politics and sociology not core subjects and only offered at higher levels
Teaching specialist skills
for an efficient, obedient, and interdependent labour force who accept lower wages (only have certain skills)
Legitimates class inequalities
Education creates a
false class consciousness
(WC believe they are in control of their class and deserve their exploitation) - justifies Bourgeoisie's power and means they are more likely to be submissive in workforce -
prevents Proletarian revolution
eg we are told
exams
test our 'ability' so failing is your own fault due to
meritocracy
, however in reality MC students are advantaged culturally and materially
Assumes people are passive puppets
who blindly accept the dominant ideology
Functionalism
Davis & Moore
- role allocation - how the education system selects and allocates students to future job roles they are best suited to
Fair inequality
- argue that inequality is necessary in society to ensure most important roles go to most talented people
Not everyone is equally talented, so it would be dangerous and inefficient to let unskilled people be surgeons or pilots, etc
So society attaches rewards to these jobs - eg higher wages - so people compete for them and the best candidates can be selected
How does education match people to a suitable job?
offering variety of subjects at A-Level
focus on examinations and grades - higher grades will get a place at university
How does education promote fair inequality?
Sifts through people according to ability - difficult exams mean the most talented people get highest qualifications and best jobs
Supposed meritocracy - allows people to move up class system - talent, rather than class, is measured (in theory)
Bowles and Gintis - myth of meritocracy
- 'fair inequality' is not fair at all - the majority of highest paid and most skilled jobs go to MC students (material and cultural capital)
High rewards for most skilled jobs may not be functional for society
- students are not encouraged to become essential workers - shortage of lorry drivers, nurses, NHS, etc
Circular argument
- most important jobs are only most important because they are highly rewarded and vice versa
Parsons
- education is a 'focal socialising agency' that acts as a bridge between family and wider society (social integration function)
Family
- shelters children
Gives children an
ascribed status
which you do not have to earn - eg) oldest child, brother, sister, etc
Judged by
particularistic standards
which do not reflect real life - eg you are allowed to fight with siblings but not with coworkers
Education
- reflects society
Teaches children they have to work for their
achieved status
in society using positive sanctions (eg stickers, qualitifications, marbles)
Judged by
universalistic values
- eg respect, cooperation, politeness, obedience
THIS IS MERITOCRACY
(positions gained through hard work and own ability)
Unequal opportunities
- class inequalities in education - middle-class students have higher cultural and material capital meaning they do not have to work as hard as their working-class counterparts for the same positions
Who's standards are these?
- answer: capitalists'.
Durkheim
- education system performs two key functions: creating social solidary and teaching specialist skills
Social solidarity
= social ties that bind people together
During the industrial revolution society moved from mechanical solidarity (strong collective consciousness- religion etc) to
organic solidarity which threatened traditional strong social bonds
(interdependence and complex division of labour, secularisation) -
education ensured social solidarity was not lost
by promoting a value consensus (everyone learns the same thing)
Secondary socialisation
into
value consensus
(shared culture/norms/values) - subjects like history, English - passes on heritage and give
common identity
eg British Empire, British values
Ultimately avoids
anomie
(a breakdown in norms and values)
Social cohesion
- being part of a group gives students a sense of belonging - eg assemblies, clubs, house systems
Marxism
- anti-school subcultures
- teaching of middle-class values alienates the working-class and does not create value consensus for everyone - Cultural and Material deprivation theorists explain why this happens
Socialisation = indoctrination
Ball - ethnocentric curriculum
- 'Little Englandism' - does not reflect the UK's ethnically diverse society - ultimately not function if it does not reflect contemporary society!!!
Teaching specialist skills
Complex division of labour
in modern industrial society - production of one item needs multiple
specialist skills
; having different types of education ensures the workforce meets the needs of the economy
Vocational education - Thatcher
Academic education
National Curriculum - basic knowledge
Needs of economy are not met by education system
lots of people with degrees and no job
Brexit skills shortage left gap in vocational jobs
Marxists
- teaching
fragmentation
of knowledge - specific roles serves capitalism
Feminists
- teaching of specialist skills creates hierarchies in employment - less girls in STEM
Contemporary application
Focus on examinations - A-Levels, GCSEs, SATS, etc
Additional funding for school for teaching Level 3 maths - responding to skills shortage - eg Newcastle PARTNERS scheme