Historically, education served both political and economic needs which would dictate the role of education. Many scholars and educators have debated on the function of education. I will discuss two main perspectives, namely functionalism as well as the liberal Marxist, using the references of namely Parsons and Bourdieu respectively. I will represent their views on the role of education in society and how education works to play this role. I will also look at the criticisms of these two perspectives. My first analytical perspective is the functionalist perspective which focuses on the way that education serves the needs of the society. Education socializes people into society’s mainstream, by helping form a more cohesive social structure. Talcott Parsons, a sociologist put emphasis on socialisation: the learning of skills and attitudes in school. Education helps maintain society by socialising young people into values of achievement, competition and equality of opportunity. Providing skills is also an …show more content…
The upper classes have more money which enables them to afford better education such as private schooling, they also afford private tutors which puts them at a greater advantage then the working class. Bourdieu critics the functionalists view by saying that not all the pupils have an equal opportunity. He believes that the more upper class values a person has the better they are treated and viewed within education. This creates a divide in education as those who are seen as to be upper class are treated better than the working classes and therefore the working class receives poorer standard of education. This creates unfairness as cultural capital works in favour of the upper classes and against the working classes. “As a subsystem of the state site, education legitimates the rights of property in reproducing the political structure of capitalist production.”(Gintis& Bowles,
In addition, the Progressives were absolutely correct to improve society by education because by having an education, it will prepare an individual to earn a living, but also to prepare the student to play a useful role in a democratic society. With e...
Imagine a world without education where human history is totally forgotten by the young generation, and individuals are forced to live in their basic everyday life without having the power to change it. Such in balance or disorders are the growing problems that occur around the world, which were pointed out in many educational essays like “The Educated Student” By Barber, “The student and the University” by Bloom, and “Class in America – 2003” by Mantsios. These essays are among the many of their kind that address the status education in the modern world as being forgotten and lost behind all the technology and commercialization of education. This was the point of attention of scholars like Barber, Bloom, and Mantsios who came up with a common
In the beginning, there were basic schoolhouses to fulfill the needs of a newly industrialized society. The subjects taught had the sole aim of the student being able to secure a job with the ultimate goal of creating a large enough workforce to fill the new societal needs, creating a stigmatization that any subject that does not help to secure a job is useless. Now that that goal has been met, the bases of classical higher education have been fighting their way into primary education while trying to destroy the previously mentioned stigmatization against non-career-oriented subject matter. Only after hundreds of years, humans as a whole are figuring out that the only subject of education should life and all of its manifestations with no other distractions. Because of this, the main ideas of education should be few, but very important. The ideas taught should be applicable to many scenarios and students should be thoroughly taught their application in life. A...
Education holds power over determining one’s class. Knowledge and refinement can set one individual apart from another who lacks the qualities of successful individuals. Finances and opportunities distinguish class meaning the lower class has difficulty in obtaining the same conditions of the upper class. Education ultimately dictates success and power in society. Education is taken for granted and should be recognized for the significance it possesses.
Education is a topic that can be explored in many ways. Education is looked at in depth by both Richard Rodriguez in his essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, and by Paulo Freire in his essay, “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education.” After reading both essays, one can make some assumptions about different methods of education and exactly by which method Rodriguez was taught. The types of relationships Rodriguez had with his teachers, family and in life were affected by specific styles of education.
Why do children graduate high school without fully understanding concepts that relate to the core subjects of Math, English, Science, and History? Because education is unequal in America. Sociologist Doctor James W. Loewen and award winning writer Jonathan Kozol agree that classism is to blame. Loewen also believes that history textbooks take some of the blame for the student’s ignorance of inequality within education, while Kozol believes it is ignorance from well educated people that are two blame. Although Loewen and Kozol are correct in citing classism as a problem in the education system, little is acknowledged about a solution.
Spayde notes that education takes place in the classroom and university setting, as well as the hands-on experience that takes place in the world at large. One of the main points in his essay is that in society, education is a great value that separates classes from economics. The general understanding in society is that there is no divide in American life that hurts more than the one between those we consider well educated and those who are poorly or inadequately schooled (Spayde, 60). This understanding is defined by popular society stating that education is a big influence on how one lives their life and to what degree this is done. Society determines the difference between the educated and the uneducated in many ways.
According to page 14 of our textbook, “The functionalist perspective, as its name suggests, examines the functions or consequences of the structure of society. Functionalists use a macro perspective, focusing on how society creates and maintains social order. Social problems are not analyzed in terms of how “bad” they are for society. Rather, a functionalist asks, how does the social problem emerge from society?”
A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Understanding of the Role of Education in Society Functionalist theories assume the different parts of a society each have their own role to play (their own "function"), and work together smoothly in order to form a harmonious whole (macro). The metaphor often used to describe functionalism is that it views society as a body, with the different socialisation agents —government, media, religion, the family, etc., and, of course, education—being like the different organs in a body, each contributing in a different way to keeping the entire body healthy. Functionalism assumes that the various institutions of a society always operate so as to support that society as it is. If they didn’t, the society would perish; therefore, functionalism believes, it’s safe to assume that they do in any society one may encounter, for otherwise the society would no longer be here for us to study. Functionalism is based on value consensus which provides stability and functional prerequisites.
White, J. (1982). The aims of education restated (pp. 121-2). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
The education system and the peer group within the school system are important socialisation agents in an individual’s life. Children from an early age absorb the values, attitudes and beliefs of the society in which they participate (Ashman & Elkins, 2009).
Education system is seen as an important part of the superstructure in society. This statement was written in a Marxism perspective by individuals who see education not just an important part of the superstructure but as well an important aspect in a child life. Even though Karl Marx himself did not widely write about education, many of his followers did. This paper will look at how class and alienation which is a theory that Karl Marx wrote, plays a part in education and a general look at the perspective and how it relates to education. Secondly this essay will look at how other perspective not only relates to Marxism but as well as education. Lastly, this paper will look at how Marxism perspective can play an important role in the future of education.
Bourdieu (1974) argues that the education system is biased towards those from middle and upper-class backgrounds. The culture of the ‘dominant classes’; the upper-classes, is imposed on young people in education, pupils from the upper-classes have an advantage as they have been socialised into the dominant culture and acquired skills and knowledge relevant to learning before entering the education system. These young people possess ‘cultural capital’; cultural capital includes mannerisms, a knowledge of creative and artistic parts of culture, the closer a young person presents themselves and their work to the style of the dominant classes the more likely they are to succeed as teachers are influenced by cultural capital. Also the grammar used by teachers disadvantages working class pupils as they cannot understand it. Bernstein (1961) argues teachers use elaborated speech codes; which is detailed and explanatory, working-class pupils are limited to using restricted codes; clear-cut and easy to understand speech, whereas middle an...
Education is generally seen as a formal process of instruction, based on a theory of teaching, to impart formal knowledge to one or more students (Cogburn, n.d.). Henceforth, individuals seek to acquire some form of schooling from pre-school through secondary school while others may go on to tertiary to better him or her in some way. A definition of education according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is that education is “a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills.” Where education in the common parlance has become a process of adding layers of one’s store of knowledge, the true aim of education is to call forth that which is essential to the individual (White, 2006). Furthermore, and according to Coombs and Ahmed 1974, education is a continuing process, spanning the years from earliest infancy through adulthood and necessarily involving a great variety of methods and sources. Education also involves inculcating in students distinct bits of knowledge; therefore education is an additive process (White, 2006). It adds to an individual as well as it adds to a country through the individuals who are and would have been or are being educated. According to a study conducted by Olaniyan and Okemakinde 2008, education creates improved citizens and helps to upgrade the general standard of living in a society. Furthermore, education plays a key role in the ability of a developing country to absorb modern technology and to develop the capacity for self-sustaining growth and development (Todaro and Smith, 2012).
Socialization is the process of passing down norms, customs, and ideologies that are important to the society by the previous generations to the younger generations. The school system is a social agency that was created to enhance the processes of socialization through education. The importance of school as an agent of socialization can be best explained by the amount of time students spend in school and in activities happen around school. The manifest functions of school are to educate students the social norms, and the knowledge and skills that help them become economically productive in order to benefit the society. But students not only learn from the academic curriculum but they also benefit from socialize with their teachers and peers.