3. functionalist Marxist
• Education system like a sieve – • Does not provide equal
it selects students by their
ability and places them in opportunities to all in
occupations best suited to their society
talents and skills
• Designed to benefit
• All individuals have equal
opportunities in their school powerful groups
career – the system is • Teachers and schools do
meritocratic – higher
qualifications are rewarded with not favour working class
jobs with higher pay. children so they under
• Social mobility – based on perform
merit students can achieve a
higher position in society from
where they started.
4. functionalist Marxist
• Teaches the skills needed • Reinforces the class
for work in a modern system
industrial society • Children from working
• Literacy, numeracy, ICT class families learn the
• Vocational courses train skills for lower status
pupils for the world of professions and children
work from more powerful
• Prepared pupils for their groups learn skills
future occupational roles required for higher status
occupations.
5. functionalist Marxist
• Agency of socialization • Socializes people into
where young people learn accepting the values of
a common culture, beliefs powerful groups.
and expectations. • Example – the value and
• Knits society together – importance of hard work is
people from different stressed to prepare a
backgrounds learn to future workforce to accept
become one whole hard work as normal when
society they enter the workplace.
6. functionalism Marxist
• For society to run • The social control in
smoothly there must be school reflects social
some means of regulating control in the wider
people’s behaviour. society.
• Schools act as an agency • The importance of
of social control by obeying the teacher is
teaching rules such as preparation for obeying
punctuality and obedience your boss in the
to authority. workplace.
7. functionalist Marxist
• Learn about the political • Only certain ideas and
system views tolerated in
• Learn about your roles education
and responsibilities as a • Radical ideas not
citizen tolerated, rejected or
• Using your vote in ridiculed
elections wisely • Political views of the
• Learn how to sit into your powerful come to be
society and what brings accepted by individuals
us together – Brutishness!
8. • Hierarchy
• Competition
• Social control
• Gender role allocation
• Lack of satisfaction
• HIDDEN CURRICULUM!!!
9. • Mitsos and Brown 1998
• In school factors are important in learning gender roles
• Gender stereotyping in text books or absence of female
role models in subjects such as maths or science.
• Remember the day at Leeds uni
10. • Harris – 1993 – working class boys
• Low self esteem and poor motivation
• Less willing to struggle and overcome difficulties in their
work
• Boys more easily distracted in course work and poor at
time management
• Girls more willing to-do homework
• Girls give more thought to their futures and see the
importance of qualifications
11. • Moir and Moir – 1998
• Schools have become too girl friendly and boys are
forced to work in ways that do not suit them
• Katz 2000
• Pressure and fear of ridicule contribute to boys not
wanting to be seen as being interested and engaged in
their learning.
13. • Nuclear family key institution in society
• Performs essential functions
• Individuals have basic needs that need to be met for
society to run smoothly
• Four main functions
• Reproduction – society needs new member to survive,
family reproduces the human race and future workforce
• Regulates sexual activity and promotes monogamy –
married couples are expected to have only one sexual
partner and extra-marital sex is viewed with disapproval
14. • Primary socialisation – new members of society need to
support the norms and values of that society from an
early age.
• Through primary socialisation we become familiar with
our culture and way of life in our society. We learn to
obey and accept the rules
• Emotional support and nurture – a place of safety where
we support each other and this aids our well-being
• Economic provision – provides food, shelter and looks
after the needy in society – the young, the elderly and the
sick
• Critics of this view say that domestic abuse shows the
negative side of family life and that it can also be a
source of stress and conflict.
15. • More recent version of the functionalist approach
• 1980s and 1990s
• Nuclear family is the ideal family
• Children more likely to develop into stable adults if
brought up by both parents
• Jewson 1994
• Normal family – adults and their natural children
• Woman caregiver man breadwinner
• Duty to look after each other and provide for the sick,
unemployed, homeless and elderly
• Oppose gay rights, sexual freedom and abortion
16. • Conflict view
• Critical of the family
• The nuclear family allows social inequalities to continue
from one generation to the next – rich able to pass on
huge wealth – the social class system is reproduced from
one generation to the next
• Other advantages are also passed down through families
such as education.
• Though the socialization in the family lower class groups
are taught to accept their position in society
17. • Conflict view
• Critical of the family
• Has a negative impact on the lives of women
• The differences between men and women are socially
constructed and the family contributes to this through
primary socialization – different language, clothes, toys
• Young children learn how they are expected to behave
and take on the roles they see their parents perform
• Patriarchal – male dominance over women
• Marriage benefits men more than women
