1 / 8

Chapter Six

Chapter Six. Education. Objectives. To introduce functionalist, Marxist and feminist theories of the relationship between schooling and society. To critically examine the role of intelligence in school achievement. To explain the role of the school in the reproduction of class inequalities.

lorin
Download Presentation

Chapter Six

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Chapter Six Education

  2. Objectives • To introduce functionalist, Marxist and feminist theories of the relationship between schooling and society. • To critically examine the role of intelligence in school achievement. • To explain the role of the school in the reproduction of class inequalities. • To discuss some of the ways in which education is being affected by the development of new information technologies.

  3. Schooling and society • Structural-functionalist perspective • Durkheim • Importance of education in the transmission of societal norms and values • Fostering value consensus and social solidarity • Parsons • School important in transition from family to work • Shift from ascribed to achieved status • Education as a means of overcoming inequality • School as a meritocratic system

  4. Schooling and society • Structuralist perspectives • Critical of education as a means of social mobility • Marxists • Correspondence principle (Bowles and Gintis) • Role of education to reproduce labour power for employers • Feminists • Hidden curriculum of gender differentiation • Uneven distribution of male/female teachers, different expectations and subject availability for boys and girls

  5. Intelligence and achievement • Achievement based on meritocracy • Ability (IQ) + Effort = Merit • Intelligence: • Established as mental ability that is inherited and can be accurately measured (IQ) • IQ tests focus on genetics differences only BUT • Studies have shown that social inequalities and disadvantage are important in the construction of intelligence

  6. Education and class inequalities • Studies demonstrate on-going reproduction of class inequalities relating to education and achievement • Cultural deprivation theories • Failure at school due to deficiencies in working-class culture • Cultural capital (Pierre Bourdieu) • Privileged forms of language, values, self-presentation and knowledge transmitted from the middle-class and recognised by the school • Working-class do not have access to this cultural capital

  7. Technology and education • Development of new information technologies • Computers, the Internet, satellite technology etc • Potential impact on education: • New technologies being used within schools • Possibility of education via electronic media replacing more traditional forms • Concerns: • Availability of information does not necessarily mean an increase in knowledge • Disadvantages those who suffer from information poverty • Problematic to rely too heavily on the role of technology

  8. Summary • Education is one of the most important social institutions • The schooling process contributes to the reproduction of inequalities • Gender, ethnicity, class • New information technologies lead to: • Possibilities for changing schooling • Increase global connections between people • Technological developments cannot be separated from larger social/political context

More Related