Sociology of Education Overview

Functions of Education

• Durkheim argues education creates social solidarity by promoting shared values and a sense of belonging. It equips individuals with workforce skills, fostering a productive society.
• Parsons posits education bridges the family's particularistic values (individualized) with society's universalistic values (applied equally).
• Davis and Moore suggest education allocates individuals to roles based on merit, placing the most talented in crucial societal positions.
• Marxists critique the meritocratic view, asserting private schools favor the wealthy, exacerbating inequality.

New Right Perspectives

• New Right advocates for schools operating like businesses, competing for students and offering desirable services.
• The New Right influenced UK Conservative governments (1979-1997), leading to league tables enabling parental school comparisons.
• Marxist critics argue league tables disproportionately benefit middle- and upper-class families, perpetuating inequality.

Marxist Perspectives

• Althusser views education as an "ideological state apparatus," reproducing class inequalities by transmitting capitalist values, creating false consciousness.
• Bowles and Gintis' correspondence principle highlights school-work similarities, emphasizing conformity, obedience, and hierarchy, preparing students for capitalism.
• The hidden curriculum emphasizes the informal, unspoken lessons learned in school (e.g., punctuality, conformity, obedience).

Roles and Processes in School

• Bernstein explains working-class students use a "restricted code," while middle-class students use an "elaborated code," impacting curriculum understanding and engagement.
• Lacey's study of grammar schools reveals how bright students in lower streams form anti-school subcultures due to perceived failure.
• Willis's research highlights working-class boys forming subcultures valuing "laddishness" and rejecting academic success.
• Fuller's study of Black girls, forming an anti-school subculture yet achieving high grades, challenges the negative label effect.
• Labelling Theory posits assigned labels can become self-fulfilling prophecies, influencing behavior and achievement.
• Gilborn and Youdell's work shows Black students face disproportionate discipline and lower teacher expectations.
• Discussions on boys and masculinity highlight negative labeling as disruptive and less academically capable.
• Rist's study demonstrates teachers judging student ability based on social class, not academic merit.

Class and Internal Factors

• Labelling and self-fulfilling prophecies arise from teacher judgments based on perceived student abilities, affecting students' fulfillment of those expectations.
• Setting and streaming segregate students by perceived ability, reinforcing existing social inequalities.
• Pupil subcultures represent groups sharing behaviors and values distinct from mainstream school culture.
• Pupil class identity emerges through educational experiences, shaping a sense of social class.

Class and External Factors

• Cultural deprivation limits working-class students' access to cultural capital (e.g., language, attitudes, knowledge) valued in education.
• Parental education influences parental involvement in a child's education, given their own educational experiences.
• Working-class subcultures often prioritize immediate gratification, potentially affecting educational motivation.
• Material deprivation restricts working-class families' resources, leading to negative impacts on housing, nutrition, health care, and educational support.
• Bourdieu identified three capitals: economic, social, and cultural. Middle-class students usually possess more cultural capital, translating to better grades and job prospects.
• Sullivan's research suggests cultural capital influences achievement but isn't the sole factor in working-class underachievement.

Gender and Internal Factors

• Girls consistently outperform boys in education.
• Equal opportunities policies promote gender equality in education, impacting girls' success.
• Female role models in the workforce encourage girls' ambition and career prospects.
• Increasing coursework in GCSEs better suits girls' learning styles, contributing to their success.
• Teachers' positive attitudes toward girls often lead to positive self-fulfilling prophecies.

Gender and External Factors

• Shifting societal attitudes, influenced by feminist campaigning, empower girls to aspire beyond traditional gender roles.
• Changing family structures, with more women as breadwinners, impact girls' ambitions and career paths.
• Increasing numbers of women in full-time employment and leadership roles affect societal views on gender roles.
• Sue Sharpe's research highlights evolving girls' ambitions; from family and marriage in the 1970s to careers and later family in the 1990s.
• League table pressure can lead schools to prioritize recruiting girls due to better grades.

Gender and Educational Achievement

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Factors Affecting Male Achievement

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Subject Choice and Gender Roles

• A persistent gender gap in subject choices exists, with girls favoring languages and humanities, and boys leaning toward science and technology.
• Gender role socialization influences subject selection, encouraging stereotyped choices based on perceived gender norms.
• Cory suggests perceived feminine/masculine subjects impact subject selection, impacting choices.
• Gender identity influences subject choice, independent of biological sex, as noted by exploration in Scouting and Powell's research.

Ethnicity and Educational Achievement

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Equality Policies

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Private Education

• Private schools often perpetuate "old boy networks," favoring wealthy families' social connections and career opportunities.
• Private education intensifies social class achievement gaps, as working-class families may lack financial access.
• While some debate the quality of private school teaching, smaller class sizes and greater resources generally lead to higher student achievements.

This quiz explores various perspectives on the functions of education, including Durkheim, Parsons, Davis and Moore, and Marxist critiques. It also addresses the New Right's influence on educational practices and policies in the UK. Test your knowledge on these important sociological theories!