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Education (Sociology) - Coggle Diagram

- - - - The education system helps to create social solidarity by
        transmitting society's culture- from one generation to the next. It allows individuals to feel part of the wider body (community.) Durkheim believes that without this sense of belonging people will pursue their own wishes ands become selfish.
      - School also acts as a “society in miniature”, preparing us for life in wider society. Similarly, both in
        school and at work we have to interact with others according to a set of impersonal rules that apply to everyone.
    - - modern industrial economies have a complex
        division of labour, where the production of a single item requires
        the cooperation of many individual specialists. This cooperation
        promotes social solidarity but for it to be successful, each
        person must have the necessary specialist skills and knowledge
        to perform their role . Durkheim argues that education teaches individuals the specialist skills they need to play their part in the
        social division of labour.
  - - - Parsons (1961) draws on many of Durkheim's ideas. Parsons sees the school as the “focal socialising agency” in modern society, acting as a bridge between the family and wider society. This bridge is needed because family and society operate on
        different principles, so children need to learn a new way of living if they are to cope with the wider world.
      - Within the family, the child is judged by particularistic
        standards; that is, rules that apply only to that particular child. Similarly, in the family, the Childs status is ascribed ;that is,
        fixed by birth. For example, an elder son and a younger daughter may be given different rights or duties because of differences of age or sex.
        
        By contrast both school and society judge us all by the same
        universalistic and impersonal standards.For example, in society,
        the same laws apply to everyone.In school each pupil is judged
        against the same standards (for example, they all sit the same exam and the pass mark is the same for everyone).
        
        Likewise, in both school and wider society, a persons status is
        largely achieved,not ascribed, for example at school we pass or
        fail based on our own individual efforts.Parsons sees school as
        preparing us to move from the family to wider society because school and society are both based on meritocratic principles In
        a meritocracy, everyone is given an equal opportunity and individuals receive rewards through their own hard work, effort
        and ability.
  - - - They argue that inequality is necessary to ensure that the most important roles in society are filled by the most talented people. For example it would be dangerous and inefficient to have people performing roles such as a surgeon. Not everyone is equally talented so society has to offer rewards for these jobs. This will encourage everyone to compete for them and society can then select the most talented individuals to fill these positions.
      - Education plays a key part in this process, since it acts as a
        proving ground for ability.Put simply, education is where
        individuals show what they can do.It “sifts and sorts” us
        according to our ability. The most able gain the highest
        qualifications ,which then gives them entry to the most important and highly rewarded positions.
    - - Similarly, Peter Blau and Otis Duncan (1978 )argue that a modern economy depends for its prosperity on using its “human capital”- its workers skills .They argue that a meritocratic education system does this best, since it enables each person to be allocated to the job best suited to their abilities. This will make most effective use of their talents and maximise their productivity.
- - - - They describe the education system as “a giant myth-making machine” A key myth that education promotes is the “myth of meritocracy". They argue unlike functionalists such as Parsons, that meritocracy does not exist. Evidence shows that the main factor determining whether or not someone has a high income is their family and class background, not their ability or educational achievement.
      - The education system also justifies poverty, through what they describe as the “poor-are-dumb” theory of failure. It does so by blaming poverty on the individual rather than capitalism. It therefore plays an important part in reconciling workers to their exploited position, making people less likely to rebel against the system.
      - Because capitalist society is based on inequality, there is always a danger that the poor will feel this inequality is undeserved and unfair, and that they will rebel against the system responsible for it. The education system prevents this from happening by legitimating class inequality. It does this by producing ideologies that explain and justify why inequality is fair, natural and inevitable.
      - By disguising this fact, the myth of meritocracy serves to justify the privileges of the higher classes, making it seem that they gained them through open and fair competition at school. This helps persuade the working-class to accept inequality as legitimate, and makes it less likely that they will seek to overthrow capitalism.
    - - Bowles and Gintis argue that there are close parallels between schooling and work in capitalist society. They refer to these parallels between school and workplace as examples of the “correspondence principle”. The relationships and structures found in education mirror or correspond to those of work.
      - They argue the “correspondence principle” operates through the hidden curriculum- that is, all the “lessons” that are learnt through school without being directly taught. E.g. accepting hierarchy. Post-modernists reject the correspondence principle.
  - - - As a Marxist, Willis is interested in the way schooling serves
        capitalism. However he combines this with an Interactionist
        approach that focuses on the meanings pupils give to their
        situation and how these enable them to resist indoctrination.
      - Using qualitative methods including participant observation and
        unstructured interviews, Willis studied the counter- school
        culture of “the lads”- a group of 12 working-class boys-as they make the transition from school to work. The lads form a
        distinct counter-culture opposed to the school. They are
        scornful of the conformist boys who they call the “ear”oles” (because they listen to what the teachers tell them). The lads
        have their own brand of intimidatory humour, “taking the piss” out of the ear’oles and girls.