Education

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Perspectives on Education
Functionalist View on Education:
Functions of School:
Pass on norms and values
Socialization that teaches all children a shared set of values and gives sense of
belonging to society
Children are taught importance of individual achievement and are taught that they
will be judged by universal standards
Produce people with skills needed by society
Arguments against Functionalist View:
No set ideology passed on
No strong connection between schools and work – children won’t need most of what
is taught and sometimes companies complain that the skills of school-leavers aren’t
up to par
People are selected for jobs not by their ability but more of their social class,
ethnicity and gender
Marxist View on Education:
Functions of School:
Socializing that teaches all children a shared set of values which is based on the
ideology of the ruling class
Working-class children are taught values that will make them good workers in the
eyes of the capitalist system
Hidden curriculum teaches children to follow authority as preparation for the future
Private schools for wealthy children ensure that they secure positions in top colleges
and maintain their position as upper-class society members
Schools now take less-privileged children on scholarships to recruit the brightest
working-class members to the ruling class.
Feminist View on Education:
Functions of School:
Socialize boys and girls into their gender roles by teaching different subjects and
discouraging girls from taking “harder” subjects
Teachers expect more from boys and encourage them to aim for a career
Typically have more males in leadership positions as role models, giving the
impression that men are better suited for these positions
Relationship between Education and Social Mobility
Functionalists believe that the education system permits social mobility. As there is an
equality of opportunity, people are able to reach the level they deserve based on their
natural ability and the effort they make to succeed (meritocracy).
Sociologists using other perspectives challenge the idea that a meritocracy exists and the
possibility of social mobility as evidence shows sex, class and ethnicity play a bigger part
than children’s achievements.

Marxists believe that the working-class start with a handicap in the race to attain prized
occupations against other students. Upward mobility is possible only when there are
positions available to be filled so when there is an increase in professional jobs, working-
class people can move up the social hierarchy but when they dry out, the opportunity is
lost. Marxists believe that capitalist system recruits the most able of the working class to
make the system stronger and therefore, reject the idea that the education system is
meritocratic and any mobility that is allowed is a safety valve that takes away potential
leaders from the working class.
Types of Schools
Categorizing by age:
Pre-school:
Designed to help very young children get used to learning in a school-type
environment
Focuses on the children developing cognitive, physical, social and emotional skills
Primary schools:
Children from age 5 onwards
Children receive first years of academic education
Emphasizes on reading, writing, mathematics and some other subjects
Secondary schools:
Children from age 11 16 or more
Children study a range of subjects
Ends with a series of examinations that determine whether the child can continue
studying
Post-compulsory education/ Tertiary education:
People aged 18 or over but may also attract students who are much older and are
returning to study
Offer both first or undergraduate degrees and higher or postgraduate degrees
Categorizing by who runs the school:
State schools:
Run directly or indirectly by national or local government
 Funded by taxes
Have to teach certain subjects and need qualified teachers
Private schools:
Run privately
Funded by fees paid
Can specialize in what they like and usually have highly qualified teachers
Faith Schools:
Run by religious organizations
Often have a distinctive ethos (code of conduct) followed by pupils and teachers
Selective education:
System where schools select pupils based on ability
Tripartite system:
Based on assumption that children could be divided into groups with different abilities
and needed different types of education
Grammar schools:
Often enrolled mainly middle-class students selected by a test at the age of 11 or
after
Often attracted the best teachers
Taught Latin, Greek, Math, Science and other demanding subjects for GCE O
(ordinary) level exams
Technical schools:
Specialized in technical educations
Helped prepare students for manual occupations
Secondary Modern schools:
For most children
Children had little success as they had been labelled failures, reducing their motivation
to work well and behave
Life chances were already limited
Offered a basic education
Few opportunities to take exams
Comprehensive schools:
Cater to all students of a certain age in a local area
Based on ideology that every child should get to study and be given a chance to succeed
Specialist Schools:
Specialize in one or more subjects like medicine or music
 Academies:
Allowed businesses and other sponsors to start schools, usually to replace schools
with low GCSE results
Sponsors decide how school is run
Not under the control of the local authority as they are funded by government and can
set their own curriculum, salary levels and ethos
Free schools:
Current government allows parents, teachers, charities and other groups to set up
schools and be directly funded by the government
Factors that Affect Educational Achievement
Gender – In most schools, boys and girls now follow the same curriculum, but in the past
some subjects were set aside for girls such as domestic science and textiles while
woodwork and metalwork were thought to be for boys only. Even when given a choice, girls
may choose subjects like arts than science or technology due to early socialization into
gender roles.
Girls may find some classrooms male-dominated; textbooks may show pictures of boys
rather than girls; and the subject may be taught by a man. These factors can give girls the
message that the subject is not for them and vice versa for subjects like dance for boys.

Why do girls do better than boys at GCSE level?

 The attitude and motivation of girls has increased
 Schools make an effort to ensure girls get the same opportunities as boys
 Schools may use techniques such as positive discrimination
 Girls work more consistently over long periods
 Girls mature earlier than boys so by the age of 16, they’re more likely to understand the
importance of studying hard
Why do boys underachieve compared to girls?
 Boys tend to be overconfident
 Laddish behaviour – influenced by anti-learning subcultures
 Fewer traditional male jobs so boys may feel like there isn’t a point in studying
 Boys are more likely to spend their leisure time playing which is less helpful for academic
success
 Boys tend to have different skills and interests and would do better at school if work was
active and practical rather than based on reading and writing.
Ethnicity – Some ethnic groups do less well than others:
 Ethnicity cannot be separated from class and gender so higher-class students tend to do
better.
 Prejudice and discrimination against certain ethnicities in the wider society may cause
the child to rebel against the school as it represents the authority of the racist society in
their daily lives.
 Discrimination within school – streaming and setting in lower groups based on
stereotypes
 Teacher may label them “troublemakers”
 Lessons may be ethnocentric
 Cultural differences
 Genetic differences
Social class – working class pupils were more likely to underachieve due to:
 Labelling, setting and streaming leading to underachievement
 Inherited intelligence
 Cultural and material deprivation
 Low self-esteem
 Language differences
 Cultural capital
 Class position
 Lack of resources
Material, Cultural and Linguistic Influences on Education
Material Cultural Influences Linguistic Influences
Influences
Less space to Fatalistic attitude; Need
study; Inadequate for immediate rather than Basil Bernstein suggested
food; Lack of deferred gratification; that middle-class children
Social resources; Haven’t Parents not valuing were more proficient in
Class gone to pre- education; Loyalty to elaborated code than
school; Part time social group; Absence of working-class children
jobs; School in successful role models giving them an advantage
poor area
Louise Archer found Minor ethnic groups do not
people with Chinese always talk in the same
language at home as
Ethnicity Low position in
new country
backgrounds did well in
school as working hard at school and may therefore
school was an essential find trouble understanding.
part of Chinese identity Shown by William Labov
regarding AAVE.
 Gender A poor family is Girls may be influenced in
more likely to seeing their future in
spend on a boys’ terms or marriage
education than a
girls’
Influence of School, Teachers, Peer Groups and Pupil Subcultures
School and Teachers Peer Groups and Pupil Subcultures
Working-class students may If labelled as failures, some pupils rebel
be seen as poorly motivated; against the school and develop anti-school
lacking support from home; sub-cultures which provide a means for
and disruptive which makes pupils to improve their own self-esteem.
teachers view them as lacking The sub-cultures are usually: hating school;
Social in ability even if they are able truanting; avoiding work; cheating; being
Class as according to Howard insolent towards teachers; despising pupils
Becker, teachers judge people who work hard; being involved in
based on non-academic delinquency. Working-class children are
factors like speech, dress, more likely to belong to anti-school sub-
and personality making up a cultures.
stereotype of the ideal pupil.
Pupils from minority ethnic
groups may be put in lower If labelled as failures, some pupils conform
sets or streams because of to a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.
language differences and Majority of these students belong to
Ethnicity usually good or bad behaviour minority ethnic groups because they fail to
of a few members of a certain meet the expected/ ideal pupil stereotype.
ethnic group may reflect on They may also be bullied or discriminated
the teacher’s view of the against by peers for under or overachieving.
entire group.
Gender Boys are more likely to be Girls’ peer groups are more likely than boys’
seen as problems in school to be in tune with the school and with
and more rules focus on boys learning. Valerie Hey found that cliques
than girls. Girls may find some tended to form among girls from the same
classrooms male-dominated; class background. Carolyn Jackson found
textbooks may show pictures more girls behaving in ways typically
of boys rather than girls; and associated with boys – fighting, swearing,
the subject may be taught by being aggressive, etc. She suggested that
a man. These factors can give being seen not working was a way of
girls the message that the protecting themselves from failure due to
subject is not for them
 pressure on them to do well – “I would have
scored better if I had tried”.
Labelling, Setting, Streaming, Self-fulfilling Prophecy
Labelling – Teachers constantly judge and classify pupils as being bright, lazy,
troublemakers, hardworking etc. This process of stereotyping a pupil from non-academic
information can produce a ‘halo-effect’. The halo effect is when a pupil is stereotyped from
first impressions as being good/bad or thick/bright. These impressions can shape future
pupil teacher relations.

Sociologists like Howard Becker found teachers initially evaluate pupils on a whole raft of
non-academic factors which label a student in a particular way. The problem is, once you’ve
been labelled as either good or bad it’s hard to ‘peel off’ that label.
Rosenthal and Jacobson found that stereotyping affects attainment. They found that when
a randomly chosen group of school children were told by their teacher that they were bright
and would make good progress they did when compared to a group of children of similar
ability. This showed labelling inaction. Rosenthal and Jacobson found if a student was given
a positive label, they acted that label out and vice versa. When a student acts out a label,
they’ve been given it’s known as the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Setting – pupils of similar ability are put in specific sets in specific subjects. So, for example,
it would be possible to be in a top set for History and a lower set for mathematics.
Streaming/ Banding – involves grouping students of similar ability for every subject studied.
Most schools split their pupils into several different hierarchical groups usually A, B, C, D,
with A being the top stream. This meant an A streamed student would be in the A top
stream for every subject.