3.1.1

The Functionalist Approach

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The Functionalist Approach to Education

Functionalists focus on the positive functions of education. Functionalists claim that schools serve to teach four functions: social cohesion, skills for employment, core values, and meritocracy.

Social cohesion

Social cohesion

  • Education teaches us how we should behave, the values and culture of the society.
  • This is taught to pupils via:
    • The official/formal/national curriculum (timetabled lessons).
    • The hidden curriculum (values, attitudes, and how to behave).
  • This brings people together by building social cohesion or social solidarity; people feel they are part of something bigger.
Durkheim (1925)

Durkheim (1925)

  • Emile Durkheim's expounds on his views of education in his work 'Moral Education (1925).
  • Durkheim believed that education transmits the norms and values of society.
  • He believed that it is necessary that individuals are united for society to function properly.
Durkheim (1925) cont.

Durkheim (1925) cont.

  • Durkheim argues that education provides the link between the individual and society so that pupils will have a sense of belonging (social cohesion).
  • He believed that the school is a ‘society in miniature’ where children learn to cooperate with those who are neither their kin (family) nor their friends and thus they learn self-discipline.
Skills for employment

Skills for employment

  • In society, different skills are needed for different jobs.
  • All people might start their education with the same subjects but then each one follows a different path.

The Functionalist Approach to Education

Functionalists focus on the positive functions of education. Functionalists claim that schools serve to teach four functions: social cohesion, skills for employment, core values, and meritocracy.

Core values

Core values

  • Schools are responsible for secondary socialisation of children by teaching them the norms and values of society.
  • Parsons (1961) is a functionalist.
  • He believed that the school acts as a bridge between the family and society.
Meritocracy

Meritocracy

  • Parsons argued that schools are meritocratic (the harder a student works, the more they will succeed).
  • Individuals are judged on universalistic standards (standards that are the same for everyone).
  • This is in contrast to particularistic standards that are applicable in the family.
Meritocracy (cont.)

Meritocracy (cont.)

  • The most able person is allocated to the most important job based on their qualifications and talents.
  • This is seen as meritocratic by functionalists as this shows that society provides equal chances for everyone to succeed depending on their merits.
  • This can result in social mobility (where someone can move up and down the hierarchy depending on their abilities).
Value consensus

Value consensus

  • Parsons argued that schools promote value consensus (values that are shared broadly by everyone).
  • He believed that schools were important in selecting the right individuals for the right place once they become adults.
Criticisms of Parsons

Criticisms of Parsons

  • The values of the education system may simply be those of the bourgeoisie.
  • Meritocracy is a myth in an unequal society where wealth and status are more important than individual merit.
Evaluation

Evaluation

  • Functionalists tend to ignore that education may not always have positive functions as individuals may differ so education might not fulfil its role.
Jump to other topics
1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on The Functionalist Approach

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  1. 1
    Education teaches us how we should behave, the values and culture of the society. This is taught to pupils via two methods:Fill in the list
  2. 2
    Durkheim argues that education provides the link between the individual and society so pupils will have a sense of belonging, which is otherwise known as what?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Functionalists believe that education serves to teach which four functions?Fill in the list
  4. 4
    Parsons argued that schools promote value consensus. What is 'value consensus'?Multiple choice
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End of Topic Test - Divorce

Evaluating Different Perspectives