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Introduction

Yasemin Bailey Ms Salih ? Sociology Essay ? 07/02/2012 Assess the view that ?the main function of education is to maintain value consensus in society? In this essay I will be talking about what the main function of education is according to the functionalists and then i will be in conflict about how Marxists disagree with the main function of education and why they disagree with it. Marxists argue that the role of education is about maintaining class divisions in society whereas functionalists would see the function as maintaining consensus in society. ...read more.

Middle

Durkhime provides the basic framework of the functionalists view on the education system, agreing with its function of transmitting norms and values. Emile Durkhime believed that for society to operate effectively they have to develop a sense of belonging to something, becoming social beings with a loyalty and commitment to society as a whole. Marxsits would agree with this but would criticize the point about which jobs students are prepared for. Marxists like the fact that bowles and gintis say that working class students are prepared for working class jobs and upper class students are prepared for upper class jobs. ...read more.

Conclusion

Also the upper class students could purchase their job, this means that as they are so rich they are going to be able to buy their way into things and this gives the working class less opportunity to get somewhere high in society. Also another example could be that is you come from a working class background as you prepare yourself for working class jobs you?re going to be low paid which means you?ll have fewer skills, and that goes the same for the working class except for they have higher skills and therefore get higher paid jobs. This now means that Marxists has become the perpetuation of social inequality and class division. ...read more.

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