Marxist & Functionalist Differences
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The document compares functionalist and Marxist perspectives on the role of education. Functionalists see education as socializing children with shared societal norms and values through mechanisms like the division of labor and meritocracy. Marxists, however, argue that education serves to socialize children into accepting their class roles and perpetuating inequality, by passing on the dominant ideology of the ruling class through the hidden curriculum and restricting social mobility.
Marxist & Functionalist Differences
- 2. Functionalist – division of labour Education provides society with a ‘division of labour’ this means schools help identify who will be the binman and who will become the solicitor
- 3. Functionalist - socialisation Education socialises children with society’s shared norms and values. This process of socialisation moves children away from the particularistic values of their home life to towards the universalistic values of society and helps establish what functionalists term a value consensus
- 4. Functionalist – hidden curriculum The hidden curriculum helps to integrate future citizens into society’s by ‘teaching’ and reinforcing them with society’s norms and values in order to establish a value consensus
- 5. Functionalist – meritocracy Education helps provide the means for people to make themselves upwardly mobile. Therefore if you make the effort you will be rewarded – meritocracy. This process legitimizes social inequalities as functionalists believe everyone has the opportunity to get qualifications . Education/school is a level playing field, if you fail to achieve at school it is nobody's fault but your own! - meritocracy
- 6. Marxist perspective Having just read through the functionalist slides, compare them to the content in the following slides as there’s a massive difference!!
- 7. Marxist – social class Unlike functionalists positive division of labour. Marxists stress that education helps meet the needs of society by dividing it into distinct social-classes the ruling (bosses) and working class (workers)
- 8. Marxist – ‘socialisation’ Unlike functionalists, Marxists stress that education doesn’t socialise in an optimistic way like functionalists believe to create a value consensus, but the opposite is true. Education socialises children into becoming obedient workers as school simply passes on ruling class norms and values. In other words schools pass on the dominant ideology of the ruling class!
- 9. Marxist – hidden curriculum Unlike functionalists positive view of the hidden curriculum as helping establish a social consensus. Instead Marxists argue the hidden curriculum is tool or instrument of the ruling class. Bowles and Ginitis argue it teaches the children to accept their position in society. And to accept the society is unequal and exploitative.
- 10. Marxist – social restrictions Though functionalists see schools as a place of opportunity for social mobility through individual effort. Marxists point out that schools simply reproduces social inequalities as meritocracy is a myth. The ruling class benefit from an education system which meets their needs by limiting the opportunities of the working-classes and thereby legitimizes social-class inequalities. For example few working class kids go to grammar schools and then Oxbridge! By C Thompson christhomp@aol.com