The Role of Education

Marxist Perspective

A conflict view that sees society as being based on class divisions and exploitation: • In capitalist society there are 2 classes - ruling (capitalists/bourgeoisie) and subject class (WC/proletariat). • Capitalist class own the means of production (land, factories etc.) and make their profits by exploiting the labour of the working class. • This creates conflict that could threaten the stability of capitalism or result in a revolution to overthrow it. • Social institutions reproduce class inequalities and play an ideological role by persuading exploited workers that inequality is justified and acceptable.

Correspondence Principle (Bowels and Gintis)

Alienation: pupils lack of control over education → Alienation: workers lack of control over production. Hierarchy of authority: head teachers - teachers - pupils → Hierarchy of authority: boss - supervisor - workers. Extrinsic satisfaction (rewards) rather than from interest in subjects studied → Extrinsic rewards: pay, not satisfaction from the job its self. Fragmentation of knowledge into unconnected subjects → Fragmentation of work into small, meaningless tasks. Competition and division among pupils → Competition and divisions among workers - differences in status and pay.

Has the state any role in Education?

Although NR want to reduce the states role in education, they still se a limited role for it: • State should create the framework for competition between schools (e.g. league tables and national curriculum which all schools must teach). • State still has to ensure schools transmit society's shared culture through a curriculum that emphasises a shared national identity (e.g. teaching British history).

Evaluation of the NR

Although school standards (as measured by exam results) seem to have risen, there are other possible reasons for this improvement from the introduction of a market. Critics argue low standards in some schools are the result of inadequate funding rather than state control of education. Marxists - education imposes the culture of a ruling class, not a shared culture or 'national identity' as the NR argue.

Postmodernist Criticism of Marxism

Argue Marxism is out of date. The correspondence principle no longer operates or is at the very least too simplistic. • Postmodernists argue class differences are no longer important in a post-Fordist economic system that is now much more diverse and fragmented. • They claim where Marxists see inequality, there is really diversity and choice.

Feminist Criticism of Marxism

Argue schools reproduce not only capitalism, but patriarchy too. McRobbie - females are largely absent from Willis' study. However, Willis' study has been the model for research into other educational inequalities, including gender, ethnicity and sexuality.

Marxist Disagreements among themselves

As to how reproduction and legitimation take place. Bowels + Gintis take a deterministic view and assume pupils passively accept indoctrination. Willis rejects this simple 'brainwashing' view and shows how pupils may resist school and yet still ed up in WC jobs.

School competition benefits Middle Class (Gewirtz)

Competition between schools benefits the middle class, who can get their children into more desirable schools because of their increased knowledge of the education, and income to spend on education.

The Hidden Curriculum (Bowels and Gintis)

Correspondence principle operates through the hidden curriculum - all the lessons that are learnt in school without being directly taught. Through the everyday workings of the school, pupils accept hierarchy, competition, alienation etc. It becomes the normal way to think.

Socialisation and Meritocracy (Parsons)

School is the 'focal socialising agency' of modern society. • Secondary socialisation - during primary socialisation within the family each child is treated as someone 'special'. Education acts as a bridge between the family and wider society, socialising individuals to understand shared values of a meritocratic society. • Meritocratic society based upon: Individual achievement - everyone achieves status through their own efforts and abilities. Equal opportunity - for everyone to achieve their full potential. • School is a miniature version of wider society - both meritocratic. In school individuals fail depending on their own ability end effort, preparing them for life in modern society which is competitive and individualistic.

Human Capital Theory

Similar idea to Davis and Moore, modern industrial society is technologically advanced, so the skills of its workforce are its main economic asset or 'capital'. A meritocratic education system is the best way to develop a sufficiently skilled workforce and thus create greater economic efficiency and higher living standards.

Functionalist Perspective

Society has basic needs, including the need for social order and in order to survive society needs social solidarity through everyone sharing the same norms and values, otherwise society would disintegrate. Education performs positive functions for society and individuals by socialising new members of society and helping to create and sustain social solidarity.

Lower Standards

State-run schools are not accountable to those who use them (pupils, parents, employers) and so they are inefficient. Schools that get poorer results do not change because they are not answerable to their consumers. The result is lower standards and a less qualified workforce.

Bowels and Gintis

• Capitalism needs workers with the kind of obedient attitudes and submissive personality type willing to accept hard work, low pay and authority. • See the role of education in capitalist society as reproducing an obedient, exploitable workforce that will accept social inequality as inevitable and fair. To achieve this, successive generations of workers need these ideas firmly planted in their minds. • Argue that there is a close correspondence between relationships in school and those found in the workplace.

Criticisms of Functionalism

• Marxists claim the values transmitted by education are not society's shared values, but rather those of the ruling class. • Education is not meritocratic because schools discriminate against some groups e.g. working class/black pupils and don't give them equal opportunity to achieve. • Hargreaves (1982) - schools place more value on competition and developing individuals than on developing a sense of social solidarity. • Sometimes difficult to see links between subjects studied at school and whats required for jobs, education doesn't necessarily equip people for future work roles. • A persons background are more important in determining their income later in life than is their achievement in school.

Learning to Labour (Willis)

• Studied the counter-school culture of 'the lads' - a group of 12 WC boys as they made transition from school to work. • Rejects B&G version of the correspondence principle. Rather than the lads passively accepting ruling-class ideology, he found the WC pupils may resist attempts to indoctrinate them in school. They are able to partially see through the meritocratic ideology that claims WC pupils can get on through hard work. • The counter school culture - lads formed a distinct counter-culture that was opposed to the school, rejecting the school rules (smoking, disturbing classes etc.). Such acts resisted the schools authority. • The irony is that by resisting schools ideology, the counter school culture guarantees they will fail and end up in manual work capitalism needs someone to perform. Their resistance in school reproduces class inequality.

Giving the Consumer Choice (Chubb and Moe)

• Their data shows pupils from low-income families do about 5% better in private schools, suggesting education is not meritocratic. • State education has failed to create equal opportunity because it does not have to respond to pupils needs. • Parents and communities cannot do anything about failing schools while the schools are controlled by the state. • Private schools deliver higher quality education because they are answerable to paying consumers - the parents. • The solution - C&M answer is to introduce a market system in state education, giving control to consumers (parents and local communities). This should be done via a voucher system where each family is given a voucher to spend on buying education from a school of their choice.

Ideological State Apparatus (Althusser)

Despite inequalities in the system, capitalists are able to hole onto power because they control the state. Althusser (1971) - state consists of 2 elements which help to keep them in power: • Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) - to protect capitalist interests, the state uses force to repress the WC via the police, courts and army. • Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) - controls peoples ideas, values and beliefs. Includes religion, mass media and education system. The education system performs 2 key functions as an ISA: → Reproduction - education reproduces class inequality, by failing each generation of WC pupils and thereby ensuring they end up in the same kinds of jobs as their parents. → Legitimation - education justifies class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise its true case, tries to convince people inequality is inevitable and failure is the fault of the individual, not capitalist society.

Solidarity and Skills (Durkheim)

Education performs 2 basic functions: 1. Promotes social solidarity - by transmitting society's shared culture (norms and values), education binds people together and teaches children to follow universalistic rules which are essential for cooperation in society. 2. Prepares young people for work - equips individuals with the specialist skills needed to participate in work in a modern economy. Long periods of training are needed for specific occupations.

Myth of Meritocracy (Bowels and Gintis)

Education system helps to prevent people from recognising their exploited position and rebelling against the system by legitimating class inequalities, through producing ideologies that explain why inequality is fair, natural and inevitable. Education system creates many myths including myth of meritocracy. Functionalists argue education and the world of work are meritocratic because in their view everyone has equal opportunity to achieve. Those who achieve the highest rewards deserve to them because they are most able and hardworking. B&G argue this is a myth - success is based on class background, not ability or educational achievement. By promoting the claim rewards are based on ability, the myth of meritocracy helps persuade workers to accept inequality and legitimate their position.

Role Allocation (Davis and Moore)

Main function of education is role allocation - selection and allocation of individuals to their future work roles: • Some people more talented than others. • Some work roles are more complex than others and require greater skill. • For society to function efficiently the most talented need to be allocated the most important jobs. • Higher rewards are offered for these jobs to motivate everyone to strive for them. • Meritocratic education system allows everyone to compete equally. It sifts and sorts individuals so the most talented get the best qualifications and are allocated the most important jobs. • As a result society is more productive.

New Right Perspective

More of a political than sociological perspective, however, the New Right is of interest to sociologists because: • It is a more recent conservative view than functionalism. • It has influenced educational policy in Britain and elsewhere. New right ideas are similar to functionalism as they believe some people are naturally more talented than others, education should be run on meritocratic principle of open competition and education should socialise pupils into shared values and provide a sense of national identity.

One Size Fits All

NR arguments are based on the belief the state cannot meet peoples needs. In a state-run education system, education inevitably ends up as 'one size fits all' that does not meet individual and community needs, or needs of employers for skilled and motivated workers.

Neoliberalism Perspective

Neoliberalism believes the state should not provide education. A free-market economy encourages competition and drives up standards. Schools should be more like businesses and operate in an education market.

The Solution: Marketisation

New Right - the issue is how to make schools more responsive to their consumers. In their view the solution is marketisation, the introduction into areas run by the state of market forces of consumer choice and competition between suppliers. Creating an education market forces schools to respond to the needs of pupils, parents and employers e.g. competition with other schools means teachers have to be more efficient. A schools survival depends on its ability to raise the achievement levels of its pupils.

Business and Education (Willis)

Recent educational policies in the UK make their analysis of the role of education even more relevant today: • Marketisation policies, the privatisation of educational policies, business sponsorship of state schools etc. result in more direct capitalist control over education and training. • Not only does the education system function to provide a willing workforce for capitalism, but increasingly it does so while making profit for capitalists.

Role Allocation (Bowels and Gintis)

Reject the functionalist claim that education allocates the most talented people meritocratically to the most important and best rewarded roles. Their research found it was obedient students that got the best grades, not those who were non-conformist or creative thinkers. The education system rewards those who conform to the qualities required of the future workforce.