Education: Functionalism

Question 1

What are the “4S” s for Functionalism?

Answer 1

Social Solidarity
Secondary Socialisation
Specialist Skills
Sifting and Sorting (Role Allocation)

Question 2

What is Social Solidarity according to Durkheim?

Answer 2

• Individuals in a society feel a part of a community larger than themselves
• School is “society in miniature”
• E.g. : School sports teams which promote co-operation /shared culture

Question 3

What are Specialist Skills according to Durkheim?

Answer 3

• Individuals must be taught specific skills in order to work in a complex division of labour (sharing of workload)
• e.g. a doctor needs to know medicine
• Schultz: Human Capital -> education should put people in the jobs they’re best at

Question 4

What is Secondary Socialisation according to Parsons?

Answer 4

• Education passes on the key norms and values of society via Meritocracy (ability + effort)
• e.g. school is free, curriculum is fair
• Those that work harder get better grades/qualifications

Question 5

What is Sifting and Sorting according to Davies and Moore?

Answer 5

• Education puts people on the career paths they are best suited to based on ability and effort.
• The most important jobs have higher status and pay more (doctors, pilots)
• Incentive to work hard

Question 6

What is The Bridge according to Parsons?

Answer 6

• Education links particularistic domestic standards to universalistic societal standards.
• This eliminates ascribed status and encourages achieved status.
• E.g. : You are not as important in a school setting as you are at home
• Bridges gap between home + society

Question 7

What are Socialisation, norms, values and culture?

Answer 7

Socialisation = transmission of norms and values
Norms = social expectations/unwritten rules
Values = principles/aims/beliefs
Culture = a way of life

Question 8

What is the “Consensus Theory” ?

Answer 8

The theory that generally, people in society agree and get along with eachother

Question 9

What is the “Conflict Theory” ?

Answer 9

The theory that people in society disagree and that ideas are incompatible.

Question 10

What is a “Structural Theory” ?

Answer 10

A theory that focuses on how a social structure impacts an individual.

E.g. how a new employee has to adapt to a new work environment

Question 11

What is an “Agency/Action Theory” ?

Answer 11

A theory that focuses on how and individual affects a social structure

E.g. how a new employee changes a new work environment

Question 12

What is a “Social Structure” ?

Answer 12

An environment that remains in place even after all the individuals have left

E.g. : Government/parliament

Question 13

What are the criticisms of “Social Solidarity” ?

Answer 13

Schools can make ethnic minorities not feel included due to ethnocentric curriculums (e.g. Christian values only)

Question 14

What are the criticisms of “Specialist Skills” ?

Answer 14

The 2011 Wolf Review saw that a ⅓ of 16-19 year olds were doing courses that didn’t lead to higher education or good jobs.

Question 15

What are the criticisms of “Secondary Socialisation” ?

Answer 15

Bowles and Gintis: Meritocracy is a myth and suggest that wealthy children are given better jobs irrespective of their ability
- E.g. private schools aren’t affordable for everyone

Question 16

What are the criticisms of “Sifting and Sorting” ?

Answer 16

• Ball: stereotypes of classes, genders and ethnicities influenced decisions therefore people are unfairly “sifted”
• Leads to too many NEETs

Question 17

What does the “NEET” acronym mean?

Answer 17

Not in
Employment
Education or
Training

Question 18

What is the Organic Analogy? (Parsons)

Answer 18

= society works like the human body therefore if one part of society stops working, the rest will fail