5.2: What are the Roles and Functions of Education Notes:

Functionalist View

Positive Roles & Functions

• Socialisation: schools teach shared norms/values → Durkheim said education creates social solidarity.

• Social control: discipline, punctuality, respect for authority.

• Economic role: prepares students for work, skills for economy.

• Selective role: sorts students by ability → Parsons called this role allocation.

• Meritocracy & social mobility: success based on ability, not background → education offers upward mobility.

• Value consensus: agreement on shared values, stabilises society.

• Equal opportunities: everyone has chance to succeed.

• Standardized testing: ensures fairness, measures ability.

• Setting by ability: groups students by skill level.

• Vocationalism: training for specific jobs, practical skills.

Strengths

• Explains how education maintains order and stability.

• Highlights importance of shared values and meritocracy.

• Shows link between education and economy.

Limitations

• Overly positive, ignores inequality and conflict.

• Assumes meritocracy exists, but Marxists argue it’s a myth.

• Ignores negative experiences (bullying, discrimination).

• Doesn’t explain diversity in outcomes.

Marxist View

Roles & Functions

• Reproduction of class inequalities: education benefits ruling class.

• Socialisation & control: schools teach obedience → Althusser called education an Ideological State Apparatus.

• Hidden curriculum: prepares students to accept hierarchy → Bowles & Gintis (1976): “correspondence principle” (school mirrors workplace).

• Middle‑class culture: schools favour middle‑class values → Bourdieu: cultural capital gives advantage.

• Myth of meritocracy: success appears fair but really reflects class privilege.

• Material factors: access to technology, resources, tutoring → reinforces inequality.

• Setting by ability: often reflects class background, not true ability.

Strengths

• Exposes inequality and bias in education.

• Explains why working‑class students underachieve.

• Highlights hidden curriculum and capitalist control.

Limitations

• Too negative, ignores positive aspects (social mobility, support).

• Some working‑class students succeed despite barriers.

• Underestimates student resistance (e.g. anti‑school subcultures).

Feminist View

Roles & Functions

• Patriarchal culture: schools reflect male dominance.

• Male power & gender hierarchy: boys often dominate classroom space.

• Role models: lack of female leaders in curriculum reinforces inequality.

• Access to education: historically restricted for girls; still unequal in some societies.

• Gendered curriculum/subject choice: boys pushed to STEM, girls to arts → Kelly (1987): science seen as “male subject.”

• Teacher expectations: boys and girls treated differently, reinforcing stereotypes.

• Peer groups & social control: pressure to conform to gender norms.

• Oakley (1974): gendered socialization begins early, reinforced in schools.

• Sharpe (1994): girls’ priorities shifted from marriage to careers, showing change but still barriers.

Strengths

• Highlights gender inequality in education.

• Explains subject choice differences and stereotypes.

• Shows how patriarchy is reproduced through schooling.

Limitations

• Ignores progress (girls now outperform boys in many subjects).

• Over‑focus on gender, less on class/ethnicity.

• Doesn’t always explain boys’ underachievement.

NOTES DONE BY FARIDA SABET

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