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# Education - Full Topic Revision ## Sociological Perspectives on Education **Durkheim - Solidarity and Skills** * **Solidarity:** Is necessary in society to be part of a community that has shared norms and values, and that education provides it. * Education transmits shared beliefs and values f...

# Education - Full Topic Revision ## Sociological Perspectives on Education **Durkheim - Solidarity and Skills** * **Solidarity:** Is necessary in society to be part of a community that has shared norms and values, and that education provides it. * Education transmits shared beliefs and values from one generation to the next. For example, teaching history creates a sense of shared heritage. School is viewed as a microcosm of society, preparing students for later life. * Examples include teachers/students as colleagues or customers in workplaces, and rules like dress codes mirroring workplace practices. * Education provides knowledge and skills needed for work. Modern economies with complex divisions of labor require education to equip students with the skills to fulfill their roles. **Parsons - Meritocracy** * **Meritocracy:** Argues that school bridges the gap between family and wider society. Children must learn universalistic standards/judgements that apply to everyone in school and society, compared to family's particularistic standards. * School helps transition from family's particluaristic standards to wider society's universalistic standards. * Education provides achieved status (earned through effort and achievement) rather than ascribed status (based on fixed characteristics like gender or class). Meritocracy ensures everyone has equal opportunities and are rewarded based on effort and ability. **Davis & Moore - Role Allocation** * Argues that education allocates students to suitable future job roles. * Focuses on the relationship between education and inequality. Important societal roles require skilled and talented individuals, and education identifies and places those individuals. * Education sifts and sorts students by ability; those with highest qualifications get best positions. These are functionally important roles. **Functionalism** * **Evaluation of Functionalist Perspective:** Wolf (2011) observed that high-quality apprenticeships aren't common, leading to limited career advancement, although education does not adequately teach specialist skills. Equal opportunities are not always a reality; achievement is linked to factors like race, gender, and socioeconomic status. * **Tumin (1953):** David and Moore's argument is circular (the importance of a job is determined by its reward, and jobs are rewarded because they are important). * **Marxist Perspectives:** Marxists argue that education in a capitalist society only transmits the ideas of the ruling class, not society's shared beliefs. * **Interactionist Perspective (Wrong, 1961):** This perspective challenges functionalism by suggesting that people passively accept teachings and don't reject values.