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Education  –  Theoretical  Perspectives  
Functionalism  –  Education  allocates  pupils  to  the  appropriate  jobs  based  on  ability  
Durkheim  (1903)  –  social  solidarity  =  sense  of  belonging  –  humans  need  to  feel  a  sense  of  belonging  
to  a  group  and  without  this  society  would  be  chaotic/anomie
...
 schools  act  as  a  society  in  miniature  –  prep  for  life  in  wider  
society
...
 Education  
teaches  specialised  knowledge  required  for  their  part  in  the  complex  division  of  labour
...
 Bridge  between  family  and  
wider  society
...
 
Society  judges  you  against  these  standards  because  people  don’t  know  you  e
...
 exams
...
 Schools  teach  values  of  society  and  prepare  for  work
...
   
Davis  and  Moore  (1945)  –  Role  allocation  –  Schools  sift  and  grade  pupils  according  to  ability  –  not  
everyone  is  equally  talented
...
g
...
   
Criticisms:  Values  transmitted  are  generally  those  of  the  powerful  groups
...
 Social  class  and  ethnicity  prevents  the  education  sifting  and  grading  according  to  ability
...
g
...
   
Appropriate  concepts:  legitimation    
New  Right  (conservative  political  perspective  believes  in  keeping  tradition)  –  State  cannot  meet  
people’s  needs  and  people  are  best  left  to  meet  their  own  needs  through  free  market
...
 Critical  of  state  ran  education  system  because  politicians  and  
educational  bureaucrats  use  power  of  state  to  impose  view  of  what  kind  of  schools  we  should  
have
...
   
Gewritz    and  Ball  –  School  competition  benefits  middle  class  –  gain  access  to  more  desirable  
schools    
Solutions  offered  to  combat  wasting  money  and  poor  results:    
-­‐

Marketisation  of  education  –  empowering  consumers  –  greater  diversity,  choice  and  
efficiency  to  schools    

Believe  there  are  two  remaining  important  state  roles:    
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Framework  on  schools  within  which  have  to  compete  e
...
 Ofsted  inspections  
State  ensures  schools  transmit  a  shared  culture
...
   

Similarities  with  Functionalism:  

2  
 
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Believes  that  some  are  naturally  more  talented  than  others
...
g
...
   

Criticisms:  Low  educational  standards  =  inadequate  funding  
Feminism  –  Education  enforces  patriarchal  nature  of  modern  society  
Branches  of  Feminism:  -­‐    
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Liberal  feminism  –  Legislation  and  education  can  help  to  change  gender  inequalities  in  
society
...
g
...
 Many  believe  that  this  gradual  process  has  had  
a  great  success  rate  already  –  equal  access  for  males  and  females
...
 Education  helps  to  
preserve  these  expectations  on  both  genders  e
...
 gendered  subject  choices  
Radical  feminists  –  Focus  on  violent  nature  of  patriarchy
...
 
Black  feminists  –  Black  females  suffer  different  problems  to  white  females
...
   
Post  Feminists  –  There  is  no  single  meaning  to  being  a  ‘woman’
...
 No  overall  theory  can  explain  
gender  differences
...
 Advocates  a  triple  system  theory  where  patriarchy,  ethnicity  and  social  class  need  to  be  
considered  to  give  a  full  understanding  of  the  issues  surrounding  gender  inequality
...
 
Criticisms:  Create  a  ‘battle  of  the  sexes’  which  isn’t  there
...
 Too    deterministic
...
g
...
 This  has  huge  implications  for  education
...
 Continual  testing,  target  setting  and  
recording  results  is  seen  as  an  attempt  to  keep  order
...
 Issues  such  as  social  class  are  still  
important
...
 
Interactionism  –  Focus  on  classroom  interaction
...
 More  detailed  empirical  evidence  (research)
...
 Suggests  that  students  performance  is  not  just  based  on  IQ  and  background
...
   

3  
 
Criticisms:  Very  descriptive  and  do  not  always  explain  their  descriptions
...
 
Marxism  –  Education  prepares  pupils  for  capitalist  exploitation  in  the  future  workforce
...
 Legitimates  inequality  and  disguises  exploitation
...
 Reproduces  new  generations  of  workers,  schooled  to  accept  their  place  in  capitalist  
society
...
 In  modern  society,  education  system  has  
largely  replaced  the  church  as  the  main  agency  for  ideological  control  (ISA)
...
 Legitimate  successful  pupils  future  exploiting
...
 Weakness:  Lacks  empirical  support
...
 Representative)  close  
correspondence  between  the  ways  in  which  people  and  children  are  treated  in  the  workplace  and  
the  school
...
 It  achieves  this  through  hidden  
curriculum
...
 !  suited  to  workforce
...
 Fragmentation  of  subjects  and  school  days  reflect  
workforce
...
 Weaknesses:  truancy  rates  and  behaviour  issues  show  children  aren’t  docile  and  
unquestioning
...
 Wrote  ‘learning  to  
labour’  1979
...
 12  working  class  lads  –  felt  academic  work  was  
emasculating
...
 Clearly  just  try  to  cope  with  tedium  instead  of  actively  challenging  it
...
 Weaknesses:  
unrepresentative  sample,  size  which  focuses  only  on  male  experiences
...
   
Aim  !  To  overcome  inequality  within  education  and  class  divide  of  tripartite  system  to  
make  a  more  meritocratic  institution
...
 
Industrialisation  increased  need  for  educated  workforce
...
 



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