Sociological Perspectives On Education

Sociological Perspectives On upbringingDuring the nineteenth century the origin fathers of Sociology such as Marx, Comte and Durkheim, wanted to accomplish their political objectives by victimization scientific methods. They wanted people to be convinced of the validity of their views and mat that the best way to contact this would be to go about this in the most effective way by means of natural cognition and research methods. Sociologists thus tried to explain how the affectionate form worked. integrity of the main atomic number 18as at heart a sociable corpse is didactics. All churlren amongst the jump ons of five and Sixteen be obliged to attend crop, and during term epoch schooltime children spend over half their waking hours in the buildroom. pedagogy in Britain is bounteous and is provided by the welfare state, it is as well as compulsory, parents who do non send their child to school are breaking the law. According to sociologists in order to have a fu lly functioning society the members would ideally have to be better to carry out their design within that society, or society may fall apart. This essay will implicate a brief think at the history of learning and how it has authentic into the system we now have today. This essay will also look at two sociological theories on nurture Functionalist and Marxist,. Within to from each one one of these theories this essay will also highlight three main perspectives genial class, gender and ethnicity.The 1944 Education Act was a significant piece of affable and welfare legislation, it required Local Education Authorities to provide state-funded pedagogics for pupils, up to the age of 15, that incorporated, to quote, instruction and training as may be desirable in view of their different ages, abilities and aptitudes. The act was devised by blimpish MP Rab Butler (1902-1982), from this came the groundwork of the tripartite system which comprised of Grammar schools for the mor e faculty member pupil, Secondary Modern schools for a more practical, non-academic style of education and technical schools for specialist practical education. Pupils had to take an mental test called the 11-Plus and the result of this indicated which lineament of school the child would be allocated to. Secondary education now became free for all and the school-leaving age rose to 15. The tripartite system could be seen as a way of dividing classes, as it was usually the children from more affluent families that passed the eleven-plus examination. (Bell, 2004 MOC Murray, 2009).In 1965 comprehensive schooling was recommended by the Labour Government in document called the Circular 10/65. The new comprehensive system suit children of all abilities in contrast to the tripartite system. The school leaving age was raised to 16 in 1973. The comprehensive system aimed to eradicate the class divide from the British education system. (Bell, 2004 MOC Murray, 2009).The 1988 Education Act saw the introduction to the National Curriculum. All education in state funded school was to be made the same and made sure that all school children have the same level of education. Compulsory subjects were introduced which included maths, English, science and religious education. The habitual Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) was introduced to replace O-levels and the Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE). This was another way of trying to make state education classless. (Bell, 2004 MOC Murray, 2009). everywhere the years theories of education have been in and out of fashion this was in the main due to which political party was in role at the cadence and the state of the economy as the two are very oftentimes linked. During the 1950s Functionalism was the dominant force within sociology. During the war the education system had been neglected and was seen as been in a pretty poor state. By the 1970s, structural tensions, inflation, economic stagnation and unemploy ment, meant that Marxism and other critical theories identical womens liberation movement and anti-authoritarian Liberals became far more influential. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths accept , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)The education system was undemocratic, unequal and unfair. Marxists like Raymond Boudon argued that positional theory determined educational success or failure, he is well-known for his studies into of the role of education on social mobility. It was your position in the class structure that gave you an advantage, or a evil, in the competitive homo of education. hitherto for Pierre Bourdieu, the working class lacked what he referred to as pagan capital without which they were doomed to failure. Cultural capital included the valuable cultural experiences of foreign travel, museums, theatre and the possession of a sophisticated register and pose class norms and determine. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths apply , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)The functionalist pers pective was the dominant theoretical approach in the sociology of education until the 1960s. When considering education functionalists usually ask questions such as What are the functions of education? What part does it play in maintaining society? What are the coincidenceships in the midst of education and other elements of our social system?A typical functionalist reply to such questions sees education as transmitting societys norms and values, for example a child that learns to lever the rules at school he will learn to respect societys rules as an prominent. Functionalists believe that various parts of society work in c formerlyrt for the mutual benefit of society as a whole so on that pointfore education and the economy go go in hand and school is preparation for the world of work. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope, 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)Emile Durkheim was one of the founding fathers of sociology and provided the basic material for functionalist view of educatio n. He believed that for society to operate efficiently individuals must demote a sense of belonging to approximatelything wider than their immediate situation. The education system plays an principal(prenominal) part of this process. In particular, the teaching of history enables children to see the link amongst themselves and the wider society. Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who further developed Durkheims ideas. He argued that in modern industrial societies education performs an important socialising function. Education helps to ensure the continuity of norms and values through transmitting the culture of society to new generations. Parsons saw the school as a bridge between the family and the wider society. Within the family the childs emplacement is icy at birth but in wider society new lieu is achieved through work, friendships and relationships. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)Parsons also saw that schools prepared children for their roles in adult society through the selection process. Students are assessed and sorted in call of their abilities and this helps to allocate them to appropriate occupations. Students are also allocated certain occupations in relation to what sex they are, typically girls would be seen as difference into more stereotypically maidenly roles such as secretaries, hairdressers, beauticians, nurses /care givers or homemakers whereas boys would be seen as going into more stereotypically masculine roles such as doctors, builders, mechanics, plumbers or firemen. Boys are also seen as creation more scientific than girls. However many of these roles are now being integrated by two sexes. Conversely the roles of being care-givers and homemakers are smooth seen as being innate in females. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)The Marxist perspective on education differs from that of the functionalist. In Marxs words the ruling class rule also as thin kers, as producers of ideas. These ideas justify their position, dissemble their true source of their power and disguise their exploitation of the subject class. A French Marxist philosopher called Louis Althusser argued that no class can hold power for long simply by the use of force. The use of ideas provide a much more useful means of control. He also argued that the education system in modern times has taken over the role of the church as the main agency for ideological control. In the foregone people accepted their status in life and saw it as being Gods will. Nowadays however people tend to accept their status and role within society from the way in which they have been educated. The amphetamine and middle classes are primed to become the ruling class and the owners of industry, the spurn classes are primed to become the workforce. They are taught to accept their future exploitation. Althusser argues that ideology in capitalist society is fundamental to social control. He s ees the educational process as essentially ideological. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)For Bowles and Gintis, the education system propagated a hidden curriculum where the working classes learnt to know their place, to obey rules and were also socialised to accept that inequality was natural and inevitable. They also claim that education legitimates social inequality by broadcasting the myth that it offers everyone an equal chance. It follows that people who achieve high qualifications deserve their success. So in other words education is seen as a reward system, those who work hard and gain a good education will have access to the top jobs. Bowles and Gintis say that Education reproduces inequality by justifying privilege and attributing poverty to personal failure. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)Both Marxists and functionalists have been criticised for seeing people as being zilch more than creatures of the so cial system, thus Bowles and Gintis see teachers as the agents of capital the students as its victims and their situations being shaped by factors which are out of their control. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)In modern day Britain there is a general consensus of opinion that education should be based on equal opportunities. Everyone should have an equal beneficial to develop their abilities to the full regardless of their age, class, ethnicity or gender. However there is light-colored turn out that in educational terms those who have certain social characteristics are more likely to achieve let out results than others, so this shows that there is a distinct relationship between social class and educational attainment. Throughout the twentieth century there is evidence to show that the high an individuals social class, the more likely they are to have a great number and higher level of educational qualifications. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)Gender has eternally been an issue in education. Should both sexes take the same subjects? Do both sexes have the same abilities and aptitude? The introduction of the 1944 Education Act was refer with enabling free and equal education for all. However there is unagitated a worry that discrimination against girls still takes place throughout the educational system. To feminists this is a reflection of the patriarchal nature of modern industrial society. The school curriculum has become increasingly similar for boys and girls. However, where choice is available, there is still a tendency for girls to choose roughly subjects and boys others. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)There is no concrete evidence within the education system to prove whether a students ethnicity has any effect on their examination results. Statistics on school leavers and their examination results are a snapshot at one point in time. Indiv iduals may want to catch up on their education once leaving school by attending local colleges. There is evidence to show that ethnic minorities are likely to do this. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)The Swann treat (1985), officially called Education for All, was a government score advocating a multicultural education system for all schools, regardless of institutions, location, age-range or ethnicity for staff/pupils. The report provided clear data on ethnicity and educational attainment, discovering that racism had a causative effect on the educational experiences of black children in the UK.(Griffiths and Hope, 2000).The statistics shown in the Swann taradiddle were drawn from local authorities with a high ethnic concentration. So therefore it could be said that they werent a true depiction of ethnic educational attainment throughout the whole of the country. However due to can immigration into this country in the last five years some child ren who come from different ethnic backgrounds are at a disadvantage due to cultural language barriers. (Browne, K, 2005 Griffiths Hope , 2000 Haralambus Holburn, 2008)This essay included a brief look at the history of education and how it has developed into the system we now have today. It also looked at two sociological theories on education Functionalist and Marxist. The feminist perspective was touched upon when relating education to gender. Within each of these theories essay highlighted three main perspectives social class, gender and ethnicity. To conclude there are still many barriers to gaining a good education for some of the children in this country due to their class, social stratification, gender or ethnicity. The deep are more likely to get better grades and job opportunities. However some children / young adults may cross the divide and become better educated and move to a high class as an educated adult.