Functionalists View of Education free essay sample

Functionalists look at how society works in a scientific way to see how it works. They have similar ideas about education too. There are three main functions. The first is socialisation. Education is a source of secondary socialisation. It helps to teach young people values, norms equality and achievement. Schools are the main part of a child’s day and therefore influence them greatly. The second is learning skills. When in education, you learn a number of skills such as numeracy and literacy. This has now been made compulsory to ensure young people are getting the best qualification of their ability. This will result in them getting the grades they need and having jobs best suited to them. The final one is the allocation of roles. There is said to be a fair system which allocates the right people for the right job. This is all based on their skills and qualification. We will write a custom essay sample on Functionalists View of Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, everyone has a fair opportunity. Durkheim is a sociologist who compared schools to a miniature society. He believed that social solidarity, social order and meritocracy are learned through education to make people function right through society. Social solidarity happens when the children are made to work in a team or because they wear uniforms. If helps us feel like we belong in the community. However, it also makes people feel less of an individual and more of a group and responsibility is then taken away from them as they feel there are a number of people responsible for wrong doing. The second is social order. There is a hierarchy in schools which shows us some people are more important. Durkheim suggested that schools area small society. The final point is meritocracy. Schools provide us with a chance to learn the skills we need to earn a desirable job. They pass on the ideas of division of labour and such things. This is when role allocation takes place. It sorts out people to the jobs they are best suited. Another functionalist is Parsons. He saw schools as the main way to set norms and values through society. He sees that school and the things we learn will apply to society. It also helps us to become ready for our future in a wider society. He explains how meritocracy takes place. Children who work hard get the best jobs and are rewarded for this. The other children are then encouraged to work harder. Therefore, schools are competitive. However, Parsons was criticised because he didn’t conduct any practical research. Therefore, his theories cannot be tested. Also, he doesn’t take into account the negative things in society such as racism. The final sociologists with a functionalist view that I will cover are Davis and Moore. They believe that the education system is unequal but because society is full of inequalities. They believe that because inequalities exist, it is for the good of society. However, this is not the case. An example of this is that white and black people are treated unequal and this is not good for society. By people seeing a person of different colour skin to them, they may act racist and this is now illegal. Further criticisms are that functionalists fail to explain how or why society changes. Functionalists base there theories on a society that doesn’t change. However, this is not the case. Also, people in society don’t necessarily share the same values in life. Social groups from the same society have different values. Functionalists argue that education passes on the norms of society to create value consensus, however it may be difficult to create value consensus because various social groups will have a different value. Marxist believe that middle-class children are most likely to achieve higher grades and therefore achieve jobs which are seen as ‘middle-class’ jobs. Middle class people have the money and lives which are likely to carry them on through higher education and achieve the skills needed for better paying jobs. This view contradicts the functionalists view but it is great view with evidence through everyday life. Therefore, this is a criticism.