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Perspectives on Education - Coggle Diagram
Perspectives on Education
Functionalist Perspective
Durkheim
social solidarity
built through hidden curriculum as it teaches core values of society
teach specialist skills
acquire skills needed for future so individuals can play their part in the complex division of labour
education acts as a mini society
school teaches how people can cooperate with other people who are neither family or friends
education should emphasise the moral responsibilities that members of society have towards each other + wider society
education is the influence exercised by adult generations on those that aren't yet ready for social life, intended to develop in children a number of physical, intellectual and moral states demanded by society as whole
:( postmodernists criticise Durkheim for his assumption that society needs shared values as in many countries it's debatable whether or not there's a single culture
:( Marxists argue that schools teach proletariat children to be passive + submit to authority, making them easier to exploit later in life as opposed to Durkheim's view that school is a neutral institution which transmits values + skills in a way that enables the economy to function
Parsons
education is a bridge between family and society
students move from ascribed status + particularistic values of the home to the meritocratic values, achieved status and universalistic values of wider society
school + society operate on a meritocratic basis
secondary socialisation
:( in reality class inequalities result in unequal opportunities so the class divide widens
Davis + Moore
schools select + allocate pupils for future work
sifts + sorts us into ability groups
meritocracy justifies inequalities as everyone has equal opportunity to achieve
most talented get the best, most important jobs
EVALUATION
:( equal opportunity in education doesn't always exist
:( functionalists wrongly imply that pupils passively accept all they are taught and never reject school values
:( Melvin Tumin criticises Davis + Moore for putting forwards a circular argument that doesn't actually create answers
:( ignore negative aspects of the system
:( ignores various ways in which social divisions might effect educational achievement
:( assumes all individuals have same opportunity to receive high quality education + ignores existence of private education
The New Right Perspective
favour marketisation of education + reduced state intervention
education should socialise pupils into shared values
current education isn't achieving goals
state education systems impose uniformity + disregard local needs
local consumers who use schools (parents) don't get a say
education systems are unresponsive + inefficient
think solution is to marketize education
Chubb + Moe
propose a system where each family would be given a voucher to buy education from their chosen school
students, parents + citizens should have legitimate say in how education is run
Role of the State
impose framework on schools which they have to compete in
ensure schools transmit a shared culture
EVALUATION
:( critics argue the real cause of low standards in education is social inequality + poor funding
:( support for parental choice contradicts states national curriculum
:( Marxists argue education doesn't impose a shared culture but imposes the dominant minority class's culture
:( Gewirtz + Ball both argue that competition between schools benefits the middle class who can gain access to more desirable schools
best way to facilitate economic development + progress is b establishing a sense of competitive spirit between individuals + institutions
Marxist Perspective
Althusser
education reproduces class inequality by transmitting it from generation to generation
education legitimises class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true cause
persuades workers inequality is inevitable + that they deserve their subordinate position
makes working class less likely to challenge of threaten capitalism
Repressive State Apparatuses
maintains rule of bourgeoisie by force or threat of it
Ideological State Apparatuses
maintains rule of bourgeoisie by controlling peoples ideas, values + beliefs
:( Giroux criticised ISA as theory is too deterministic, arguing working class pupils aren't entirely moulded by capitalist system + don't accept everything they're taught
Bowels + Gintis
education reproduces an obedient workforce that will accept inequality as inevitable
schools reward personality traits that make for submissive + obedient workers
education stints + distorts students development
close parallels between schooling + work in capitalist society = correspondence principle which operates through hidden curriculum
myth of meritocracy justifies privileges of higher classes making it seem as if they gained them through open + fair competition
school justifies poverty as education blames the individual rather than capitalism
education controlled by capitalists + serves their interests
Willis
working class pupils resist attempts to indoctrinate them
interactionist approach
Lads Counter Culture
12 working class boys transitioning from school to work
scornful of conformist boys as they find school meaningless + boring so flout its rules + values
reject schools meritocratic ideology
similarities with Shopfloor Culture of male manual workers
actually end up slotting into inferior jobs in terms of skill, pay + conditions because they're good at diverting to cope with unskilled work + end up lacking qualifications due to their rebellion
end up being just how capitalism needs them
:) Willis's work has stimulated research into how education reproduces + legitimises inequalities
:( critics say Willis's small scale lads study isn't representative so finding can't be generalised
EVALUATION
:) marxist approaches help expose myth of meritocracy
:( post modernists argue education reproduces diversity
:( marxists disagree with one another about how reproduction + legitimisation take place
:( critical modernists criticise marxists for taking a class first approach + ignoring other factors of inequality
:( feminists argue marxists ignore the fact that schools not only reproduce capitalism but patriarchy too + females are absent from studies
:( most evidence used to support Marxism is outdated
:( schools clearly don't inject a sense of passive obedience into today's students as the workforce now often requires active + creative individuals to be part of a team
reproduces inequalities +social relations of production in capitalist society
legitimises inequalities through myth of meritocracy
transmits ruling class + capitalist values disguised as common values
Bourdieu
working classes effectively duped into accepting their failure + limited social mobility are justified
middle + upper class culture valued more than that of working class
cultural attributes of working class rejected as system defined by + for middle classes who succeed by default rather than greater ability
culture of middle class reproduced + given higher status
Social Democratic Perspective
want to see greater equality resulting from education system
in addition to promoting economic growth, education is essential to promoting equality of opportunity in a meritocratic society
changes need to be made in society + education system as a society with too much inequality can never provide equal opportunity as richest will always use their wealth to gain advantage
to counter wealth advantage believe taxing wealthy more + spending difference on state education would be beneficial to hopefully give those from working class backgrounds a good chance to succeed
expand HE to make more places available for working class pupils
EVALUATION
:( critics have argued social democratic policies haven't been particularly successful in helping working class do better in education
:( attainment gap remains large despite policies aiming to reduce it
:( Wolf questions whether more + more gov. spending on education will automatically lead to economic growth
:( Neoliberals have strongly criticised saying greater equality in education can lead to standards being undermined as education becomes levelled down + most able students aren't given chance to reach full potential
education isn't automatically meritocratic + gov. needs to intervene to ensure people from all social classes have same chance to fulfil their potential
Postmodernist Perspective
education under postmodernism might be individualised, more diverse + offer more choice of subjects + learning pathways to learners
might also consider it to be more playful, more hyperreal + express a certain incredulity towards metanarratives
Postmodern education
display a certain amount of doubt towards metanarratives
realistic attitude towards what knowledge is taught as part of a curriculum
may even abandon concept of curriculum altogether
Education system responding to postmodernisation
education may become more sonsumerist
become more global in outlook
teach children strategies to cope with new global risks + uncertainties
relatively modernistic, centralised curriculum
move to more online learning
to determine if mainstream education is becoming more postmodern then we would expect to see evidence of all or most of the following:
more diversity of school types + more freedom of choice for parents (i.e. homeschooling)
less centralised control of schools + more autonomy for individual schools
move away from prescriptive national curriculum
more personalised + individual learning programmes for students in schools
schools making use of more online learning platforms
greater diversity of education experience
EVALUATION
:( vast majority of academies choose to follow national curriculum + still focus mainly on getting students the best grades in their GCSEs + STEM subjects still have more status than critical thinking subjects so diversity isn't as prominent as perhaps implied or expected
:( lack of innovation in free schools
:( some evidence that the setting up of free schools has led to polarisation as in one area children were thriving in an ethically diverse primary until a local free school was set up as most of the children who left to go to free school were white middle class which led to segregation rather than more diversity (middle class white flight)
:( homeschooling may just mean children being taken out of school + receiving no education - regressive rather than progressive
:( still control over schools as there are conditions which determine how money is spent so individual control isn't that high
:( isn't actually a move way from a centralised curriculum as the vast majority of schools spend most of the time teaching the standard national curriculum, focussing on getting their students through their KS4 exams
:( personalised learning is supported by schools but the reality is that very few schools take action to do and often learning plan aren't unique, just copied and pasted + infrequently reviewed
:( online learning has been found to be drastically less effective that in person education
rise of apprenticeships
teaching global issues
teaching strategies to cope with new risks in society
Feminist Perspective
agree education system transmits patriarchal norms + values
Heaton + Lawson
hidden curriculum taught patriarchal values
gender stereotypes
subjects aimed towards a specific gender
gender divisions in PE
gender division of labour in schools (predominantly female teachers + male managers
Liberal Feminists
point out remaining issues of patriarchy in education
acknowledge significant strides towards equality in education
nowadays subjects are optional + open to all students regardless of gender although there are still gender preferences
biggest change is that girls now outperform boys
if system is patriarchal + designed to favour boys, it's failing to do so
Radical Feminists
education system still fundamentally patriarchal + continues to marginalise + oppress women
reinforces patriarchal ideology through formal + hidden curriculum
marginalisation + oppression of women normalised so by time girls leave school they see it as normal + natural
looked into sexual harassment in education + how it's not treated as seriously as other forms of bullying
Difference Feminists
highlight how not all girls have same experiences in education
minority ethnic girls are often victims of specific stereotyping + assumptions
Sue Sharpe
London schoolgirls in 1970s had completely different priorities + aspirations to similar girls in 1996
in 1970s girls priorities were marriage + family but this had switched dramatically in the 1990s
great deal of improvement for girls in education with feminism being a main reason for this
education is an agent of secondary socialisation that teaches girls + boys what are seen as universal norms, values + gender scripts which prevents social change + challenging of the patriarchy
EVALUATION
:( critics say contemporary education is an increasingly female dominated sector + is increasingly resulting in female success + male underperformance
:( Education is now sending more girls into higher education
:( still clear that there's a glass ceiling + gender pay gap
:( although education system is creating lots of highly qualified girls, they're still losing out to their male peers when it comes to top jobs + higher incomes
:( highly qualified women often accept the inequalities + marginalisation as normal or inevitable through socialisation + men are also socialised to consider this normal