Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess the contribution of functionalist sociology to an understanding of the role of education in society.
F) Using material from Item A and elsewhere assess the contribution of functionalist sociology to an understanding of the role of education in society. Functionalists have constructed two questions to help them research education. The first question is. "What are the functions of education for society as a whole?" and the second question is. "What are the functional relationships between the education system and other parts of the social system". Firstly, Functionalism is a theory. A theory based on "value consensus". Functionalism is based on the view that society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a shared culture or value consensus (an agreement amongst society's members about what values are important). 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. Emile Durkhiem writing at the turn of the last century found that the major function of schools was the transmission of society's norms and
The Struggle for Emancipation of Women Describe and compare the progress made to secure rights for women (Economically, educationally, legally, politically, etc.) between 1870 and 1900)
The Struggle for Emancipation of Women Describe and compare the progress made to secure rights for women (Economically, educationally, legally, politically, etc.) between 1870 and 1900) Before 1870 Women's education depended on their class. If you were born into an Upper or Middle class family a Governess would have tutored you privately, while Working class women might of gone to a Sunday school to learn the basics of reading and writing. Women didn't need an education before 1870 as they wouldn't need to work unless if you were Working class, and also because a women's opinion never mattered, they had to sit there and look pretty. There were many changes after 1870, such as Elementary, Public and Universities were being founded. All children, both boys and girls, were made to go to elementary school till the age of 9. Also the Universities and Colleges such as the Cheltenham Ladies College were a break through in women's education. These new laws Guaranteed education of Middle and Working Class women. Women started to think for themselves after this but sexism was still there, it was an improvement but wasn't a huge improvement. The Elementary schools may of given opportunities to the lower classes but these were largely overcrowded and they had to leave at the age of 9, which doesn't help them much as at this age they were still too young for jobs. There was progress
Cold As Dice
Cold As Dice Int. School cafeteria - Day There's still ten minutes before class starts. A short brown haired teen with a buzz cut named JAMIE is tapping into one of his habits. He and an acquaintance named ROB, a kind of funny looking fellow were gambling. The game was craps; roll seven or eleven before the other guy. Jamie loses his last five-dollar bill, and contemplates how to make his cash back. He suddenly notices the bracelet on his arm and the chain on his neck. Jamie knows his girl would kill him if he lost or she found out in general. But he figured he would win. He called a double or nothing on the jewelry, as he picked up the dice. He shook and rolled snake eyes (Which meant he lost automatically). Rob puts on his new accessories as he packed up and left for class laughing. The bell rang, but Jamie sat silent in the cafeteria, thinking about what to do. He was silent until the P.A came on to remind students of the unicef fundraiser. After the announcement he smiled, grabbed his bag and left. Int. School hallway- Day Rob stops at his locker, which he shares with his girlfriend MARY. He tossed the bracelet in because it didn't look good with his ensemble. He was rushing for class as he closed the locker and ran down the hall. Mary suddenly walked around the corner, as she was on her off block. Rob nonchalantly hugged and continued to rush. She
What are the main distinctions between Old and New Labour?
What are the main distinctions between Old and New Labour? Old and New Labour are two quite distinct and different sections of Labour. Old Labour effectively sticks to the original core beliefs of Labour and is somewhat socialist, whereas New Labour has moved more to the centre (a shift to the right effectively), and is less socialist than Old Labour. The core beliefs of old labour are the concepts of class, collectivism, equality, organised labour, and the role of the state. Old Labour is a fervent believer in the theory that most political conflicts stem initially from class conflicts. Essentially, there is a clash between the working class and the capitalist class in the eyes of Old Labour. Old Labour tried to redress the perceived imbalance of power between the capitalist class and the working class in favour of the latter. This was attempted through the protection of workers' rights, giving trade unions considerable power, and the nationalising of major industries. New Labour on the other hand has come to accept that the class system has broken down and that this old fashioned concept of segregation between the classes is no longer true in our modern society. People identify less with a specific class; they are more interested in their own personal issues. New Labour has come to recognize this. Also, the attitude towards collectivism has shifted a lot. Old
What is education for? Critically evaluate the diverse functions of education with reference to recent changes in education policy.
What is education for? Critically evaluate the diverse functions of education with reference to recent changes in education policy. In determining what education is for the different ideological perspectives of the main political parties has to be taken into account. This area of social welfare has become highly politicised in recent years, resulting in many reports and recommendations of which some have become social policy. It is these policies this essay will investigate and compare them to the diverse functions of education to see wether or not they are compatible. The main functions I want to consider are, education as a means of socialisation and social control. The use of education as way of reducing social inequality or as a means of reproducing social inequalities, and lastly the possibilities of education being a benefit to the individual or to society economically. This will draw the essay to conclude that although free education was secured for most children and benefits were made to the economy, I will argue it was at the expense of the less wealthy people within British life. I will also argue that it has benefited people who were already in positions of privilege pre education act 1944 namely the more affluent within society. This Act will be the starting point for this essay as it laid the foundations for subsequent acts and remains to this day the basic
A life in the day of Paul Harris
I wake up 6:30 a.m. with my light going on and a very loud voice shouting, "Get up Paul! Immediately or I will stop you from playing stupid games on your Playstation." (I find this one of my mother's most annoying habits.) I eventually haul myself out of my bed and stagger to the bathroom, where I transform my self from Ape to human. Laura my adorable (if somewhat a pain), sister, is already dressed and downstairs feeding our cat Bobby. Dad is blocking the stairs putting his shoes on as he advances to work for another day in the bank. Mum is busy juggling the washing machine, the toaster, packed lunch and signing my planner. Just as I think it is safe to come down stairs, to have a tasty breakfast of Coco Pops, my mum would start practicing Opera, for her lesson on Friday lunch time. I don't particularly like Opera, I prefer Punk rock, my favourite band is Blink 182 and my favourite song is, "All the small things." The trip to school is fun and exciting with lots of little alloy ways to get lost in. The ride on the train is an exciting but short journey from Hightown station towards Freshfeld station via Formby station. I walk to school from there with my best friend Jamie Hall, who has his hair up spiked and also likes Punk rock. We both share a big interest in computers and we are both going to build a computer individually. School is a mixture of excitement and work
Labour Education Crisis.
Laura Heath-Jones English coursework Newspaper article-Second Draft Labour Education Crisis The man who promised us, 'Education, education, education,' as the main priority of his government has failed again. Blair along with forever changing line up of education secretaries has again been branded a hazard to our children. The new crisis in hand for our Labour government evolves our youngsters within Primary education. The recent report has revealed that the number of children who can read and write properly has fallen in the last three years, as almost 250,000 seven year olds are not hitting required standards, for the second year running. In English only 75% have reached the required standards, leaving government hopes of 85% English pass rate for 11 year olds by 2002 in tatters. The report has shown three tenths of Primary school children are behind in reading from as young as seven. Four tenths our poor at writing, leading to one quarter of eleven year olds being classed as semi-literate! Chief school inspector Mr David bell has described the situation as disastrous and has said, 'I don't think we could possibly be happy with what primary schools are achieving.' These chilling figures reported by Ofsted are causing concern amongst parents throughout the country. Although Mr Bell is claiming the route of this problem is due to the teachers and Heads of the schools.
Multi-agency working
Sociology Report Multi-agency working Contents . Cover page (pg1) 2. Introduction (pg2) 3. Section 1 ~ Agency outline (pg2) 4. Section 2 ~ Agenc y relationships (pg3) 5. Section 3 - Agency policies (pg3) 6. Section 4 - Every Child Matters (pg5) 7. Further Reading (pg7) Introduction This report will look into the role of two government agencies and how they work in relation to each other. The Agencies that I will focus on are; * Stockport Connexions * Stockport Youth Offending Team Section 1 - Agency outline Connexions is the young persons service which provides advice, information, guidance, support and personal development for all 13-19 year olds in Stockport. They state their mission statement as "Working with young people to enable a smoother transition from adolescence into adulthood through raising aspirations, listening and supporting, identifying gaps in services, advocating, and connecting up to services relevant to them. Involving young people in shaping and developing services including Connexions" The service seems to be working well in the Stockport area, helping people with education and their EMA payments seem to occupy much of the Connexions staff time and resources, but provide a walk-in service to those who are unsure how to tackle the miles of red tape laid down in obtaining help from the local authority. Stockport Youth Offending Team is
EVALUATE FUNCTIONALIST EXPLANATIONS OF THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN MODERN SOCIETY
EVALUATE FUNCTIONALIST EXPLANATIONS OF THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN MODERN SOCIETY Functionalism is a way of looking at society and argues that we all share very similar values and we basically agree about what is right. They argue that society is in harmony and that all parts of society contribute to the way it functions. These parts are the family, education, the legal system, religion etc. This is known as the 'consensus theory'. Marxists argue that society is not in harmony and that the ordinary people are exploited by the wealthy. They see every part of society contributing to this exploitation. In this essay I will be comparing the functionalists and Marxists views of the role of education in modern society. Functionalists claim that education contributes to society. They believe that schools pass on the culture of society from one generation to the next, schools continue the process of socialisation that begins in the family; therefore, they act as agencies of socialisations and because children are socialised into a shared set of values, education can help them feel they belong to a particular society and that they have shared interests with other members of that society. A second contribution schools make to the smooth running of the society is through 'sifting and sorting' people into different occupational roles. Those who do well in the education system are
The Aims of Education
The Aims of Education Education is one of the key words of our time. To learn means to acquire new knowledge that implies knowing something that was not known before. A person without education is an unfortunate victim of adverse circumstances, deprived of one of the greatest opportunities nowadays. Convinced of the importance of education, modern states invest in institutions of learning and teaching materials. There is a sense in which all life is learning. Life itself is a process of education, and its lessons may be well or badly learned. The various processes of teaching and learning can be inferred from the nature of education. Education is concerned with character development. The aims of education should be determined by the needs of the individual. Education can be either formal or non-formal. The family constitutes the main source of knowledge as it has the greatest influence on the children in their early stages of acquiring knowledge and mother tongue. Parents have to provide almost everything for their children. One may learn a lot from natural setting, which is called the non-environment via communicating with other people verbally. Other sources for education can be television, radio, the internet and other media. So, it is the parents' responsibility to control what their children watch and listen to. Our educational system should aim at producing good/ideal