The Role and Functions of the Education System

This section explains the role and functions of the education system for A-Level Sociology. These notes explore: Differential Educational Achievement of Social Groups, The Relationships and Processes within Schools and The Significance of Educational Policies.

The education system performs various functions within society, which sociologists explain through different perspectives. The most notable functions include:

Functionalist Perspective: Education serves as a means of socialisation, transmitting shared norms and values (Durkheim), promoting social cohesion. Parsons argues that education acts as a bridge between the family and wider society, teaching universalistic values like meritocracy, where achievement is based on ability and effort. It also plays a role in role allocation, selecting and preparing individuals for future roles in the economy.

Marxist Perspective: Marxists argue that education reproduces class inequality. Althusser sees it as an ideological state apparatus, where the ruling class uses education to maintain its dominance by promoting the values of capitalism. Bowles and Gintis argue that the education system mirrors the workplace through the 'correspondence principle' – pupils are taught to be obedient, punctual, and to accept authority, preparing them to be exploited in capitalist economies.

New Right Perspective: The New Right views education as needing to be marketised, arguing for greater competition between schools to improve standards. They believe in the importance of education for preparing a skilled workforce that can meet the needs of the economy.

Feminist Perspective: Feminists see education as reinforcing gender inequalities. Despite changes towards gender equality, they argue that the hidden curriculum perpetuates patriarchal norms, and subjects remain gendered, influencing future career paths.

Differential Educational Achievement of Social Groups

Educational achievement varies significantly by social class, gender, and ethnicity:

Social Class:

Material Deprivation: Working-class students often lack the financial resources to support their education (e.g., books, internet access), leading to lower achievement.

Cultural Deprivation: Middle-class students benefit from greater 'cultural capital' (Bourdieu), such as knowledge, attitudes, and skills valued by the education system.

Labelling: Teachers may label working-class pupils negatively (Becker), leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy of underachievement.

Educational Policies: Policies like free school meals and pupil premium attempt to address this inequality, though success varies.

Gender:

Girls' Achievement: In recent decades, girls have outperformed boys in many subjects. This is attributed to factors like increased female role models and changes in the labour market encouraging women to pursue careers.

Boys' Underachievement: Boys are often seen to underachieve due to factors such as a ‘laddish’ anti-school subculture, where working hard is viewed as ‘uncool’.

Feminisation of Education: Some argue that schools have become feminised, with teaching methods that favour girls' learning styles, disadvantaging boys.

Ethnicity:

Ethnic Minorities: Educational outcomes vary significantly between ethnic groups. For instance, Chinese and Indian students often perform well, whereas Black Caribbean and Pakistani students are more likely to underachieve.

Cultural Factors: Language barriers, parental attitudes towards education, and teacher expectations all affect achievement.

Institutional Racism: Some argue that schools practice institutional racism, with ethnocentric curricula and teacher bias affecting the educational experiences and outcomes of ethnic minority students. However this doesn’t explain the underachievement of white working class boys.

Relationships and Processes within Schools

Teacher/Pupil Relationships: Teachers may label students based on class, gender, or ethnicity, which can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. Positive labels (e.g., "bright" or "motivated") often lead to higher achievement, whereas negative labels (e.g., "lazy" or "troublemaker") can result in underachievement.

Pupil Identities and Subcultures:

Pro-School Subcultures: Some students conform to the school's rules and ethos, seeing education as a path to success and social mobility.

Anti-School Subcultures: Others, often from working-class backgrounds, may reject the school's values and form subcultures that view authority and schoolwork negatively. This resistance can lead to a cycle of underachievement (Willis).

The Hidden Curriculum: Refers to the implicit lessons taught in schools that are not part of the formal curriculum, such as obedience, punctuality, and respect for authority. According to Marxists, this serves to maintain class inequality by preparing working-class students for subordinate roles.

Organisation of Teaching and Learning: Streaming and setting based on ability can reinforce class inequalities, as working-class students are more likely to be placed in lower sets, leading to lower expectations and less challenging work.

The Significance of Educational Policies

Educational policies in the UK have evolved to reflect changing political ideologies and social concerns:

Selection: Policies around selection, such as the 11-plus exam and grammar schools, have been controversial. Critics argue they favour middle-class students and entrench class divisions.

Marketisation: The introduction of marketisation (e.g., through league tables, school choice, and academies) aimed to raise standards by introducing competition between schools. However, this has been criticised for increasing inequality, as middle-class families are better able to navigate the system, with house prices higher in areas with better schools.

Privatisation: There has been a rise in the privatisation of education, with private companies becoming involved in the running of schools. This shift reflects neoliberal values of efficiency and competition but raises concerns about education becoming commodified.

Policies for Equality of Opportunity: Several policies have aimed to reduce inequality, such as compensatory education programmes (e.g., Sure Start) and policies like free school meals. However, their effectiveness has been mixed.

Globalisation and Educational Policy: Globalisation has had a significant impact on education, with governments increasingly adopting educational reforms inspired by international comparisons (e.g., PISA rankings). This has led to a focus on skills for a global economy, but also concerns about the narrowing of curricula to emphasise measurable outcomes like test scores.

Summary

Education plays a crucial role in society, influenced by perspectives from Functionalism, Marxism, the New Right, and Feminism.

Differential educational achievement is shaped by social class, gender, and ethnicity, with complex factors contributing to these patterns.

Relationships and processes within schools, such as teacher expectations, subcultures, and the hidden curriculum, influence student outcomes.

Educational policies, including those on selection, marketisation, and equality, shape access and experiences in education, with globalisation increasingly influencing policy direction.

These concepts offer a framework for analysing the role, function, and impact of education in contemporary society.