Outline and assess the view that the main purpose of education is to encourage individual achievement whilst maintaining social solidarity.

The above statement reflects the functionalist view of the purpose of education. The following essay will outline the functionalist perspective of the role of education and identify any criticisms made of it.

Education is an agent of secondary socialisation. Writing at the turn of the last century the French sociologist Emile Durkheim saw the major function of education as the transmission of society’s norms and values. He maintained: “Society can survive only if there exists among its members a sufficient degree of homogeneity; education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child from the beginning the essential similarities which collective life demands” (Durkheim, 1961) –In other words education provides the norms and collective vales for children that are needed in society.

Durkheim argues that in complex industrial societies, the school serves a function that cannot be provided either by the family or the peer group. Individuals must learn to cooperate with those who are neither their kin nor their friends. The school provides a context where these skills can be learned. As such, it is society in miniature, a model of the society system-Schools are microcosms. In school, the child must interact with other members of the school community in terms of a fixed set of rules. This experience prepares him or her for interacting with members of society as a whole in terms of society’s rules. Durkheim believed that school rules should be strictly enforced. Punishments should reflect the seriousness of the damage done to the social group by the offence, and it should be made clear to them why they are being punished. In this way pupils would have come to learn what is wrong and what id right. They would learn to exercise self-discipline, not just because they wanted to avoid punishment, but also because they would come to see that misbehaviour damages society as a whole and particularly social sciences like sociology would help the child to understand the rational basis on which society was organised. Durkheim started “it is by respecting the social rules that the child learns to respect rules in general, that he develops the habit of self-control and restraint simply because he should control and restrain himself. It is first initiation into the austerity of duty. Serious life has now begun.” (Durkheim, 1961)

Durkheim’s view is also supported by the modern sociologist Hargreaves he claims that contemporary schools place far too much stress on developing the individual, and not enough on duties and responsibilities that the individual should have towards group life in the school. Furthermore, Hargreaves argues that many schools fail to produce a sense of dignity for the working class pupils. If the pupils do not achieve individual success in competitive exams, they will tend to rebel and fail to develop a sense of belonging within the school.

Without these essential similarities, cooperation, social solidarity, and therefore social life itself would ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Without these essential similarities, cooperation, social solidarity, and therefore social life itself would be impossible. A vital task for all societies is the creation of social solidarity. This involves a commitment to society, a sense of belonging, and a feeling that the social unit is more important than the individual.

Education and in particular the teaching of history, provides the link between the individual and society. If the history of their society is brought alive to children, they will come to see that they are part of something larger than themselves; they will develop a sense of commitment to the social group.

Durkheim’s views can be applied to the US education practices. The US education system contributes to social solidarity as school provides a shared language and a common history for an immigrant population. Students learn about famous historical figures in American history such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, also about the Civil war and independence. They begin each school day with and oath of allegiance to the stars and stripes-the national flag is a symbol of American Society. The US provides an example of a nation with a population drawn from practically every major country in the world.

Further more in support of Durkheim is the current national curriculum in Britain. There is an emphasis on British history and pupils learn about the war etc. Currently there are suggestions that ‘Britishness’ should be emphasised to integrate the diverse cultures into out society-British norms and values should be put across to ethnic minorities in order to integrate them into society. Also PSE is taught in British schools. The aim of these lessons is to make you conform and to make you feel part of your community – Citizenship.

From a functionalist perspective there is a link between education and wider society. Through examination and the pupils own individual achievement, pupils will in theory come out of school and go into the right jobs- Education sorts pupils into their role into the economy.

Durkheim believes the education system provides workers with the skills required by the economy. From a functionalist perspective this function is especially important in industrial society with its increasingly complex and specialized divisions of labour. The relatively unspecialised division of labour in pre-industrial society meant that occupational skills could usually be passed on from parents to children without the need for formal education. In industrial society, social solidarity is based largely on the interdependence of specialized skills. The necessity for combination of skills produced cooperation and social solidarity. Thus schools transmit both general values and specific skills.

The New Vocationalism is the term given to a range of education and training policies, which emerged in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The New Vocationalism includes various training schemes and qualifications – all aimed at providing non-academic school leavers with vocational qualifications or training. The courses included, such as the Youth Training Scheme (YTS), Certificate in Pre Vocational Education (CPVE) and later on the introduction on NVQ’s and GNVQ’s, all provide school leavers with the skills requires for work ready for the economy. This produces cooperation and social solidarity amongst society.

Education also promotes individual achievement. By encouraging students to strive for high levels of academic attainment and by rewarding those who do, schools foster the value of achievement itself – schools are based on a meritocratic system. Also by placing individuals in the same situations in the classroom and so allowing hem to compete on equal terms in examinations, school foster the value of equality of opportunity. As well as this there are increasing numbers from different classes and backgrounds entering University with equal outcomes.

The sociologists Davis and Moore see education as a means of role allocation like Parsons. However they link the education system more directly with the system of social stratification. They see stratification as a mechanism for ensuring that the most talented and able members of society are allocated to these positions, which are functionally more important for society. High rewards, which act as incentives, are attached to these positions; this means, in theory, that all will compete for them and the most talented will win through. The education system is an important part of this process. Thus, the educational system sifts, sorts and grades individuals in terms of their talents and abilities. It rewards the most talented with high qualification, which in turn provide entry to those occupations which are functionally most important to society.

In contrast to the above Functionalists have emphasised the importance of education as a means of transmitting society’s values, yet they have paid little attention to the following possibilities. There may not be a single set of values to transmit. Society many consist of various groups with different or even conflicting interests, each group having its own set of values. If the educational system does transmit values, they may be those of a ruling class or elite.

Also Functionalists tend to assume that the educational system is a meritocracy. There is considerable evidence which indicates that this isn’t the case. In particular, working class and certain ethnic minorities underachieve in school. The extent to which the educational system is able to develop and assess pupils ‘real’ abilities is questionable.

It can be argued that the educational system conforms people into their social positions rather than provide opportunities for advancement. Middle class pupils tend to get the middle class jobs, In general they get higher qualifications than their working class counterparts – these can be seen as a conformation that they will enter middle class occupations. Their success in school may be a result of their advantages in their class positions rather then ability, as they can afford better educational aides etc.

As well as this, Functionalists claim that the demand in modern industrial societies for an increasingly skilled workforce is largely met by the educational system. However it is difficult to see any direct link between many school subjects and the world of work.

The role of education can be better explained from a Marxist point of view. Early Marxists made a number of observations about the education system that offered a more satisfying explanation of the school inequalities that seem to form party of the structure of the system.

Marxists believe that capitalists control the proletariats. The French Sociologist Althusser (1965) claimed that education is largely run in order to socialise children into an acceptance of their subordinate class position- Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). The major American writers in the Marxist tradition, Bowles and Gintis (1976), argued the educational systems exist to reproduce the workforce needed by the Capitalist classes. School produces pupils who are subservient, who accept authority, who are motivated by external rewards – wages and who lack knowledge of the external work process – accepts the preparation of the workplace. These are all the things that a capitalist workforce requires.

Based on what is discussed during this essay I am more in favour of the functionalist view of education, e.g. there is a link between education and wider society and that pupils will in theory come out of school and go into the right jobs etc., even though Marxists may have some valid points e.g. Schools produce pupils who are motivated by external rewards such as wages etc. I believe the functionalist perspective does offer the opportunity to move outside of the class structure and expectations, allowing for a Comprehensive pupil to achieve position of wealth and power e.g. within business or politics. I think Society has to believe there is opportunity for all in order for it to function properly.