Using Material from Item a and Elsewhere Assess the Contribution of Functionalism to Our Understanding of the Role of Education.

Pope and Johnson (1983) state that Durkheim proposed that society revitalizes individuals and gives them strength to persevere in the face of the vicissitudes of everyday life. Stones (2008), further states that Durkheim felt that we acquired all the best in ourselves and all the things that distinguish us from other animals from our social existence. Thought, language, world-views, rationality, morality and aspirations are derived from society. Thus, the unsocialised individual, the individual divorced form society, the beast within us, is a poor approximation of the highly socialised beings that constitute societies.

Emile Durkheim, a functionalist’s view of education is that it teaches us the norms and value of society. Education helps to unite all the individuals of society which creates a sense of belonging and commitment to that

The first perspective which I will be explaining will be Functionalism. Functionalism is the view that our society is based onagreed norms and values. A norm is social rules that define correct behaviour in society. An example of a norm can be an individual attending school until they are the age of 18. Values are what are important to an individual and this differs in class, culture, ethnicity and gender. An example

As organic solidarity is typical of complex, industrialised societies, Durkheim’s theory is very applicable to modern life and the first world in particular. Individuality is a major feature of people living in the western world today e.g. the USA, UK, and Ireland. This is evident in our political and social thinking. Much emphasis is placed on personal rights and the belief that nothing is more important than us. (Hughes et al, 1995) Meanwhile we are not self-sufficient; we rely heavily on the expertise of thousands globally to live our daily lives e.g. the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive etc. (Macionis and Plummer, 2005)

Bowles and Gintis also believe that schools are no longer about the teaching of a subject but the Social Principle or control of the pupils meaning that schools concentrate more on the hidden curriculum than the knowledge process. Equally, schools don’t reward independence and innovation, therefore meritocracy cannot exist within our capitalist society as capitalism is based on the principle of a ruling class (the bourgeosis) and a working class (the proletariat) and meritocracy would abolish the idea of the ruling class, society would be equal. According to Louis Althusser (1972), a French Marxist philosopher, the school serves to mould individuals into subjects that fit with the requirements of capitalism, they learn submission, deference and respect for the economy and their place in it. The school also works to ensure that the labour force is technically competent. Also, according to Althusser, the ruling class within any society exercises control over and through schooling and the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). The ideologies themselves express the material interests of the ruling class, so this control over and through the ISAs maintains what is called class hegemony, or domination. Althusser is also draws attention to the powerful effects of the ‘hidden curriculum’ of

Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions.

Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole.

Having attended public schools throughout my childhood and adolescence, I never was familiar with the term functionalism and its many elements. After observing and analyzing my field placement classroom I have come to understand the concept of functionalism to some extent. In general, functionalists “see schools as serving to socialize students to adapt to the economic, political, and social institutions of that society” (Feinberg, p.6, 2004). They also theorize that in order for societies to survive, they must carry out vital functions such as, attaining fundamental knowledge and acquiring essential skills and proficiency, acknowledging certain norms and values within their community, and recognizing authority figures. It is also

Functionalist one of the “theories” of sociology are mainly concerned with the function of education to society and to seek solution to the following questions, “what is the relevance of education to the social system and “what are the relationship between education and economic system”.

“Societies are born from one another, with no break in continuity, we may assured that in the whole course of social evolution there has not been a single time when individuals have really had to consult together to decide whether they would enter into collective life together, and into one sort of collective life rather than another.” (The Rule of Sociological Method. Durkheim. Pg. 216) Durkheim means that men have consider with one another if to still stand together for the community. Men wonder if to still follow the social fact to keep the society formed to keep the individuals together.

Functionalists believe mass formal education is an essential part of

The main point the functionalist perspective on education is that society comprised of parts which encourage the framework in general and that adjustment in one a player in the public As a result, Functionalist theory on education shows that it assumes an indispensable part of people 's lives and society. For examples, when the society has a lot of educated people it will became more prosperous. On the other hand the society that has less educated people it will became illiterate.

(Fox,2012) he stated that Emile Durkheim believed that society is made up of social facts which are aspects of social life that shape our actions and they regulate human social action and act as constraints over individual behavior and action. Social facts are objective entities and Durkheim emphasized, but they also contain a significant subjective element which, combining within the individual’s consciousness, forms representations of the social world. Society and social facts are invisible, intangible separate power over us; society is greater than any individual. Durkheim also believes that society has a reality of its own, it is a structure that is external to us and we are often not aware that social facts shape our actions. There is more to society than simply the action and interest of its individual members. He saw social solidarity and he further stated that our strong moral connection with each other stops society descending into chaos as threatened by social change.

The structural-functional theory also known as functionalism is sociological theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Functionalists view education as a contribution to the smooth inner working of society. Education is a lifelong process, we are constantly learning new things and deepening our knowledge of things we already know. The education system works to prepare individuals to become fully functioning members of society. It works to teach people certain skills that will help them to be successful in life. However, education not only teaches people the skills they will need to be successful in life, but it also teaches them how to be decent citizens and to work well with others. Many people view education are a service to the overall function of society.

Functionalism is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology which explains how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.