Education and Society
This section of the module requires you to be aware of the following issues:
5 Education and society
Candidates will investigate the contribution of education to social order, ideological control and economic reproduction, which links to the key concept of Power, control and resistance. Candidates will examine the relationship between education and social mobility, and discuss the extent to which educational achievement is determined by wider social forces. This will stimulate thinking about the key concepts of Inequality and opportunity and Structure and human agency.
5.1 Theories about the role of education
• Functionalist views about how education contributes to value consensus and social solidarity.
• Education and role allocation.
• Marxist views about how education contributes to the maintenance of the capitalist economic system.
• Education as an instrument of ideological control and cultural reproduction.
• New Right and social democratic views on the relationship between education and the economy.
5 Education and society
Candidates will investigate the contribution of education to social order, ideological control and economic reproduction, which links to the key concept of Power, control and resistance. Candidates will examine the relationship between education and social mobility, and discuss the extent to which educational achievement is determined by wider social forces. This will stimulate thinking about the key concepts of Inequality and opportunity and Structure and human agency.
5.1 Theories about the role of education
• Functionalist views about how education contributes to value consensus and social solidarity.
• Education and role allocation.
• Marxist views about how education contributes to the maintenance of the capitalist economic system.
• Education as an instrument of ideological control and cultural reproduction.
• New Right and social democratic views on the relationship between education and the economy.
Functionalists on Education
General outlines of Functionalist theory of education:
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/functionalism-and-education/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/sociologytwynham.com/2008/12/20/what-is-the-point-of-education/amp/
Manifest and Latent functions: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-functionalist-theory-on-education/
Socialization, Cultural Transfer and Intercultural Competence:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-functionalist-perspective-on-education/
Detailed and trusted pdf on Functional theory of education:
https://www.shortcutstv.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Stuff_DEA_functionalism.pdf
Video outlines
Durkheim: https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/durkheim-on-education
Parsons:
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/parsons-on-education
General outlines of Functionalist theory of education:
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/functionalism-and-education/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/sociologytwynham.com/2008/12/20/what-is-the-point-of-education/amp/
Manifest and Latent functions: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-functionalist-theory-on-education/
Socialization, Cultural Transfer and Intercultural Competence:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-functionalist-perspective-on-education/
Detailed and trusted pdf on Functional theory of education:
https://www.shortcutstv.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Stuff_DEA_functionalism.pdf
Video outlines
Durkheim: https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/durkheim-on-education
Parsons:
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/parsons-on-education
Marxists on Education
General outlines of Marxist Theory on education
https://revisesociology.com/2015/01/27/marxist-perspective-education/
https://sociologytwynham.com/2018/04/28/marxist-perspective-of-education/
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/classic-texts-bowles-gintis-schooling-in-capitalist-america-1976
https://revisesociology.com/2017/07/04/correspondence-principle-bowles-gintis/
Detailed and trusted pdfs:
https://www.shortcutstv.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Stuff_DEA_marxist.pdf
https://www.longroad.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sociology-Marxism.pdf
Evaluation:
https://revisesociology.com/2017/02/11/evaluating-marxist-perspective-education/
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/evaluating-neo-marxist-views-on-education
Video:
General Marxism on Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av-fErm7Bms (20 mins)
Bowles & Gintis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Oa8CvzCkw (5 mins)
General outlines of Marxist Theory on education
https://revisesociology.com/2015/01/27/marxist-perspective-education/
https://sociologytwynham.com/2018/04/28/marxist-perspective-of-education/
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/classic-texts-bowles-gintis-schooling-in-capitalist-america-1976
https://revisesociology.com/2017/07/04/correspondence-principle-bowles-gintis/
Detailed and trusted pdfs:
https://www.shortcutstv.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Stuff_DEA_marxist.pdf
https://www.longroad.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sociology-Marxism.pdf
Evaluation:
https://revisesociology.com/2017/02/11/evaluating-marxist-perspective-education/
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/evaluating-neo-marxist-views-on-education
Video:
General Marxism on Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av-fErm7Bms (20 mins)
Bowles & Gintis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Oa8CvzCkw (5 mins)
New Right on Education:
General
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/the-new-right-and-education/
https://revisesociology.com/2016/01/01/new-right-education/
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/new-right-views-on-education
Marketisation & Parentocracy
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/classic-texts-ball-bowe-gerwitz-market-forces-parental-choice-1994
https://sociologytwynham.com/2018/04/26/parentocracy-or-the-myth-of-parentocracy/
https://revisesociology.com/tag/marketisation/
Detailed and Trusted pdf:
https://www.sociologystuff.com/download/f14790b3-5480-11e9-84f4-190710aa2496/
Critique of Neo-liberal/new Right model (Giroux):
https://lab.cccb.org/en/henry-giroux-those-arguing-that-education-should-be-neutral-are-really-arguing-for-a-version-of-education-in-which-nobody-is-accountable/
Videos:
General: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTZLrG_2YAI (5 mins)
Katherine Balbirsingh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MYOH2Gs5TQ (20 mins)
Marketisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okwTMlDxn9w (6 mins)
Privatisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va7KE0SlzC0 (6 mins)
General
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/the-new-right-and-education/
https://revisesociology.com/2016/01/01/new-right-education/
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/new-right-views-on-education
Marketisation & Parentocracy
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/classic-texts-ball-bowe-gerwitz-market-forces-parental-choice-1994
https://sociologytwynham.com/2018/04/26/parentocracy-or-the-myth-of-parentocracy/
https://revisesociology.com/tag/marketisation/
Detailed and Trusted pdf:
https://www.sociologystuff.com/download/f14790b3-5480-11e9-84f4-190710aa2496/
Critique of Neo-liberal/new Right model (Giroux):
https://lab.cccb.org/en/henry-giroux-those-arguing-that-education-should-be-neutral-are-really-arguing-for-a-version-of-education-in-which-nobody-is-accountable/
Videos:
General: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTZLrG_2YAI (5 mins)
Katherine Balbirsingh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MYOH2Gs5TQ (20 mins)
Marketisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okwTMlDxn9w (6 mins)
Privatisation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va7KE0SlzC0 (6 mins)
Social Democratic Perspectives on Education
General Outlines
https://revisesociology.com/tag/social-democracy/ https://www.shortcutstv.com/blog/education-4-role-and-function-4-social-democracy/
https://www.tutor2u.net/politics/reference/social-democracy-socialism
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/social-democracy
https://revisesociology.com/2017/10/20/social-democratic-perspectives-on-education/#:~:text=Social%20democrats%20believe%20that%20governments,also%20contributes%20to%20economic%20growth
The Third Way: Outline and evaluation:
https://www.tutor2u.net/politics/reference/third-way-socialism
https://www.britannica.com/topic/third-way
Full essay: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/ThirdWay.pdf
A study of Sweden, Denmark and Norway: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290735308_A_Social_Democratic_Response_to_Market-Led_Education_Policies_Concession_or_Rejection
Symbolic Interactionism on Education (after the section on Functionalism):
https://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/16-2-sociological-perspectives-on-education/
General Outlines
https://revisesociology.com/tag/social-democracy/ https://www.shortcutstv.com/blog/education-4-role-and-function-4-social-democracy/
https://www.tutor2u.net/politics/reference/social-democracy-socialism
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/social-democracy
https://revisesociology.com/2017/10/20/social-democratic-perspectives-on-education/#:~:text=Social%20democrats%20believe%20that%20governments,also%20contributes%20to%20economic%20growth
The Third Way: Outline and evaluation:
https://www.tutor2u.net/politics/reference/third-way-socialism
https://www.britannica.com/topic/third-way
Full essay: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/ThirdWay.pdf
A study of Sweden, Denmark and Norway: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290735308_A_Social_Democratic_Response_to_Market-Led_Education_Policies_Concession_or_Rejection
Symbolic Interactionism on Education (after the section on Functionalism):
https://open.lib.umn.edu/sociology/chapter/16-2-sociological-perspectives-on-education/
5.2 Education and social mobility
• Equal opportunity and the idea of meritocracy.
• The extent to which education systems are meritocratic today.
• The importance of education in influencing life chances, and the consequences of educational underachievement for the individual and for society.
• Evidence and arguments about the links between education and social mobility.
Much of your knowledge for this section, will come from 5.1, but these references will extend your knowledge:
Introductory article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/is-meritocracy-making-everyone-miserable
Academic article, USA: https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/03/princeton-university-merit-social-mobility-column
Crozier and Clayton, A longitudinal study of Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy: https://edeq.stanford.edu/sections/meritocracy
John Goldthorpe article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/17/the-expert-in-social-mobility-who-says-education-cannot-make-it-happen
Jin Jin & S Ball essay: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335879042_Meritocracy_social_mobility_and_a_new_form_of_class_domination
Case study of Singapore: https://www.suss.edu.sg/blog/detail/meritocracy-to-social-mobility-boon-or-bane
Markovits, Yale University: https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-meritocracy-worsens-inequality-and-makes-even-the-rich-miserable
Reay, 2012 essay: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254227993_What_Would_A_Socially_Just_Education_System_Look_Like_Saving_the_Minnows_From_the_Pike
• Equal opportunity and the idea of meritocracy.
• The extent to which education systems are meritocratic today.
• The importance of education in influencing life chances, and the consequences of educational underachievement for the individual and for society.
• Evidence and arguments about the links between education and social mobility.
Much of your knowledge for this section, will come from 5.1, but these references will extend your knowledge:
Introductory article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/is-meritocracy-making-everyone-miserable
Academic article, USA: https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/03/princeton-university-merit-social-mobility-column
Crozier and Clayton, A longitudinal study of Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy: https://edeq.stanford.edu/sections/meritocracy
John Goldthorpe article: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/mar/17/the-expert-in-social-mobility-who-says-education-cannot-make-it-happen
Jin Jin & S Ball essay: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335879042_Meritocracy_social_mobility_and_a_new_form_of_class_domination
Case study of Singapore: https://www.suss.edu.sg/blog/detail/meritocracy-to-social-mobility-boon-or-bane
Markovits, Yale University: https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/how-meritocracy-worsens-inequality-and-makes-even-the-rich-miserable
Reay, 2012 essay: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254227993_What_Would_A_Socially_Just_Education_System_Look_Like_Saving_the_Minnows_From_the_Pike
5.3 Influences on the curriculum
• The social construction of knowledge.
• Factors influencing the content of the curriculum, including power, status, culture, economic demands, and gender.
• Education and cultural reproduction, including the ethnocentric curriculum, the gendered curriculum, and the hidden curriculum.
• The curriculum and the concept of cultural capital.
Sociology of Knowledge:
https://www.thoughtco.com/sociology-of-knowledge-3026294
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/the-nature-of-knowledge
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ideology-society/The-sociology-of-knowledge#ref292071
https://www.sociologygroup.com/sociology-of-knowledge-overview/
https://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-knowledge/
• The social construction of knowledge.
• Factors influencing the content of the curriculum, including power, status, culture, economic demands, and gender.
• Education and cultural reproduction, including the ethnocentric curriculum, the gendered curriculum, and the hidden curriculum.
• The curriculum and the concept of cultural capital.
Sociology of Knowledge:
https://www.thoughtco.com/sociology-of-knowledge-3026294
https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/the-nature-of-knowledge
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ideology-society/The-sociology-of-knowledge#ref292071
https://www.sociologygroup.com/sociology-of-knowledge-overview/
https://sociology.iresearchnet.com/sociology-of-knowledge/
Factors influencing the content of the curriculum:
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Social_and_Cultural_Foundations_of_American_Education/Curriculum_Development/Curriculum_Design
https://ivypanda.com/essays/factors-affecting-curriculum-development-coursework/
https://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6529581_factors-affect-curriculum-design-process.html
https://www.slideshare.net/UmairAshraf/factors-and-forces-influencing-on-curriculum-development
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Social_and_Cultural_Foundations_of_American_Education/Curriculum_Development/Curriculum_Design
https://ivypanda.com/essays/factors-affecting-curriculum-development-coursework/
https://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6529581_factors-affect-curriculum-design-process.html
https://www.slideshare.net/UmairAshraf/factors-and-forces-influencing-on-curriculum-development
Education, cultural reproduction and cultural capital
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/pierre-bourdieu/
https://revisesociology.com/2016/04/05/cultural-capital-and-educational-achievement/
https://thesociologyguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/8-ways-schools-shape-identity.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_reproduction
https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/what-is-cultural-capital/
An assessment of recent UK research on Cultural Capital:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/sep/03/ofsted-plan-inspect-cultural-capital-schools-attacked-as-elitist?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/mar/12/museum-visits-do-not-improve-gcse-results-study-reveals?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283919595_Bourdieu_and_Education_How_useful_is_Bourdieu's_theory_for_researchers
Bourdieu video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwJfinEp010 (6 mins)
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/pierre-bourdieu/
https://revisesociology.com/2016/04/05/cultural-capital-and-educational-achievement/
https://thesociologyguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/8-ways-schools-shape-identity.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_reproduction
https://culturallearningalliance.org.uk/what-is-cultural-capital/
An assessment of recent UK research on Cultural Capital:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/sep/03/ofsted-plan-inspect-cultural-capital-schools-attacked-as-elitist?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/mar/12/museum-visits-do-not-improve-gcse-results-study-reveals?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Bourdieu video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwJfinEp010 (6 mins)
Ethnocentric Curriculum
http://warwickglobalist.com/2018/07/11/what-impact-does-an-ethnocentric-curriculum-have-on-a-childs-identity/perspectives/
https://mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2021/01/04/learning-together-why-a-culturally-inclusive-and-diverse-curriculum-can-benefit-pupils-from-all-backgrounds/
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/26/schools-england-anti-racist-curriculum
Video: https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/education-relationships-and-processes-within-schools-the-ethnocentric-curriculum (7 mins)
http://warwickglobalist.com/2018/07/11/what-impact-does-an-ethnocentric-curriculum-have-on-a-childs-identity/perspectives/
https://mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2021/01/04/learning-together-why-a-culturally-inclusive-and-diverse-curriculum-can-benefit-pupils-from-all-backgrounds/
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/26/schools-england-anti-racist-curriculum
Video: https://www.tutor2u.net/sociology/reference/education-relationships-and-processes-within-schools-the-ethnocentric-curriculum (7 mins)
Gendered Curriculum
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/11/16/gender-in-the-hidden-curriculum/
http://www.genderandeducation.com/resources-2/pedagogies/curriculum/
https://blog.inasp.info/2021/02/untangling-the-impact-of-gender-in-the-hidden-curriculum/
https://tjbrown1982.wordpress.com/tag/hidden-curriculum/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/even-when-textbooks-preach-gender-equality-the-hidden-curriculum-at-schools-can-still-undermine-girls/
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/11/16/gender-in-the-hidden-curriculum/
http://www.genderandeducation.com/resources-2/pedagogies/curriculum/
https://blog.inasp.info/2021/02/untangling-the-impact-of-gender-in-the-hidden-curriculum/
https://tjbrown1982.wordpress.com/tag/hidden-curriculum/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/even-when-textbooks-preach-gender-equality-the-hidden-curriculum-at-schools-can-still-undermine-girls/