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Education
What do functionalists say the role of
education is (these are positive reasons)?
Social control
Serving the needs of
the economy
Social cohesion
Functionalism
Social mobility
Secondary
socialisation
What do Marxists say the role of education is
(these are negative reasons)?
Marxists view education as having a beneficial role for the bourgeoisie
and brainwashing people to follow capitalist norms and values through
the hidden curriculum.
What is the hidden curriculum?
The hidden curriculum is a term Marxists and other critical sociologists
use to describe the way that children are taught the norms and values
of society through the culture of the school.
Examples include:
• Having to turn up on time
• Having to wear uniform
• Having to accept orders from teachers
How did the Grammar School system
introduced in 1944 work?
The system was unfair
1944 The Butler Education Act
Students had to take the 11+ exam
Grammar
school
11 +
Secondary
modern
school
because all middle class
and upper class students
had a much better
chance of passing the
11+ and getting into a
grammar school because
their parents had
material capital (could
afford to buy them
books, tutors etc)
How did the Comprehensive system
introduced in 1965 work?
Most schools were made to get rid of the 11+
Schools were made to accept all students from all backgrounds
What were the main changes introduced by
the 1988 Education Reform Act?
• Because schools were failing, it was decided that schools should be
made to compete against each other for students
• For every student that the school gets, the school will receive money
• This caused teachers to work harder because they were fearful of
losing their jobs
• The problem with this policy was that schools all fought to get the
best students to come to their schools, but the very good schools
turned away working class and ethnic minority students
What changes have New Labour made to the
Education system?
The Labour government wanted to give the working class more help in
education.
Labour introduced to key policies:
1) Education Action Zones
2) Educational Maintenance Allowance
What is the structure of the British education
system today?
Comprehensive
schools
Grammar schools
Specialist schools
Faith schools
Types of school
Special school
Independent
schools
City
technology
colleges
City academies
How does the hidden curriculum work?
Students may learn things such as punctuality, having to wear uniform,
obeying authority etc. The hidden curriculum is generally about
learning rules, routines and regulations. Students learn such things
without necessarily realising they are learning them. This is known as
informal learning.
What impact do streaming and setting have?
Setting is a way of dividing pupils into groups for particular subjects
based on their ability in those subjects
Students that are put in the bottom set are likely to form an anti-school
subculture. This means they group together with other students and
purposely break the rules of the school. Being put in the bottom set
becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What are labelling and the self fulfilling prophecy?
How do subcultures affect achievement?
There are two main types of pupil subculture that exist in school:
Pro-school subcultures: These are made up of high achieving students
in the top sets that always work hard and often go beyond what is
asked of them by teachers. Uniform is always correct, they are
punctual etc
Anti-school subcultures: These are made up of low achieving students
in the bottom sets that aim to disrupt the school system with bad
behaviour, truanting and lateness. Uniform is never worn properly.
What impact does home environment have
on achievement?
W.C have material
deprivation
M.C have material
capital
W.C have cultural
deprivation
M.C have cultural
deprivation
Can’t afford books,
trips etc
Can afford books,
trips etc
Restricted speech
code
Elaborated speech
code
Live in small houses Live in large houses Parents don’t know
with no study
with lots of study
about school
space
space
system, can’t help
with HW etc
Parents do know
about school
system, can help
with HW etc
Can’t afford a good
diet
Parents make sure
children are using
free time
productively e.g.
going to museums,
reading books etc
Can afford a good
diet (helps with
concentration)
Parents allow
children to spend
time as they wish
What is cultural capital?
Middle class parents have cultural capital.
This is when they have the knowledge, values and attitudes needed to
ensure that their children do well in education. E.g. they know to read
Ofsted reports to find out which schools are the best so they can send
their child there. They also know how to help their children with
homework etc.
How might teachers label working class
pupils?
Negatively e.g.
• As not caring
• Not having the potential to do well
• Intentionally breaking school rules
What impact could the rising cost of higher
education have on working class students?
Working class students are put off of
education because of a fear of debt.
University tuition fees have now been raised
to £9,000 per year.
Why have girls done better than boys in
education in the last 20 years?
Internal
External
Subjects now involve more modular
exams and coursework which girls are
suited to as they are organised and
good at completing work over a long
period of time. Boys are better when
subjects are tested by 100% exams at
the end of the course.
Teachers label girls more positively
than boys.
Legal changes like the sex
discrimination act mean that girls have
the same opportunities as boys when it
comes to jobs. This encourages girls to
work hard because its an opportunity
they never previously had.
Girls have now changed their
ambitions. Girls used to be more
concerned with love and marriage but
now care more about doing well in
education and getting a good job.
Why have boys done worse than girls in
education over the last 20 years?
Internal
External
Teachers are more likely to label
boys negatively
Boys spend less time reading from
a young age. Parents socialise
boys to play outside but encourage
girls to stay indoors and read
Boys are more likely to face peer
pressure and can be ridiculed if
they are seen as “trying too hard”
Boys find it difficult to motivate
themselves, particularly in their
free time so are less likely to do
homework etc
Why do boys and girls pick different subjects
in school?
Internal
External
Peer pressure e.g. boys will be bullied Canalisation- from a young age boys
if they choose a subject like childcare and girls are socialised to be a certain
way which can influence the subjects
they pick
Gender stereotyping in textbooks and
in classroom displays means that
certain genders get put off doing
certain subjects e.g. science
textbooks, posters etc mainly show
boys
Gendered career opportunities have a
big impact. E.g. a girl is unlikely to
pick a GCSE in woodwork if she does
not think that she will go on to have a
career in it.
Why do some ethnic groups do better in
education than others?
Indian and Chinese students are the best achievers in education. Black
African and Black Caribbean are the worst. This could be because of
internal factors or external factors.
Why might cultural differences explain these
different levels of achievement?
• Indian and Chinese culture encourages strict discipline and hard work
• Strong family structure for Indian families means there is lots of help
available for students e.g. brothers, sisters, mum, dad, aunt, uncle,
grandparents
• African and Black Caribbean families are likely to speak their native
language in the home so there English skills aren’t as good
What in school factors could lead to students
from ethnic minorities doing less well?
1) Racism from teachers can lead to ethnic minority students being labelled
negatively and then having a self-fulfilling prophecy
2) Ethnocentric curriculum- The school curriculum is seen as being structured in a
way that only reflects British culture and makes it hard for ethnic minorities to
learn and understand.
Why is education a political issue?
The education system has an impact on the economy e.g. if students
aren’t doing well in education then it means we won’t have people to
take on important job roles like doctors
The main agenda for political parties such as Labour is to create
equality in society and therefore they want to make sure that
education is meritocratic and gives everyone an equal chance
What criticisms have been made of recent
government education reforms?
Recently the government has been criticised for making
education more difficult for the working class, for example,
the Coalition government (2010) cut EMA and raised
university tuition fees to £9,000 per year (previously they
were £3,000)
What debates are there around faith schools,
testing special needs and alternative forms of
provision as a social issue?
Issue
Debate
Faith schools
Whether faith schools are overly strict in their
teachings? Do they take too much freedom away
from students? Do they brainwash students into
overly religious ways of thinking
Testing special needs
Some argue that those with special needs should
not be tested in the same way as those without
special needs.
Alternative forms of provision
Whether different forms of education are better
than mainstream education e.g.
• Is home schooling better than going to school?
• Are Steiner schools like Summerhill better at
developing students that mainstream schools?
Can you give 3 recent examples from the
news that relate to anything above?
You need to read/watch the news for this!