Key Theories in Education: Marxist, Feminist, and Functionalist Perspectives
This page provides an overview of three major theoretical perspectives on education in sociology: Marxist, Feminist, and Functionalist views. It also touches on the impacts of gender, class, and ethnicity on educational outcomes.
Marxist View on Education
The Marxist perspective on education posits that education serves to maintain class divisions and primarily benefits the middle classes.
Highlight: Education, according to Marxists, prepares working-class pupils for low-paid jobs and to accept capitalism.
Example: Bowles and Gintis' 'correspondence principle' suggests that schools correspond to the workplace by teaching obedience, acceptance of boredom, and motivation through external rewards.
However, this view has been criticized for focusing solely on negatives and potentially being outdated, as modern education prepares pupils for a wider range of jobs.
Feminist View on Education
Feminist views on education argue that education perpetuates gender divides and transmits patriarchal values.
Highlight: Feminists argue that females learn to adopt stereotypical expressive or housewife roles in society through education.
Like the Marxist view, this perspective has been criticized for potentially being outdated. Modern educational practices increasingly encourage girls to take STEM subjects, and more females are becoming lead learners.
Functionalist View on Education
The functionalist perspective on education sees education as a positive force in society.
Definition: Functionalism views education as preparing individuals for work and creating a stable society.
Functionalists believe in the concept of meritocracy in education, where all pupils have an equal chance to succeed based on their abilities and efforts.
Gender and Education
The page highlights trends in gender and education:
- Girls are more likely to achieve A*-C grades than boys.
- Girls outperform boys at A-level in most subjects.
Factors contributing to these trends include:
- Gender socialization: Girls may be socialized to be more hard-working and obedient.
- Teacher expectations: Girls may be labeled as bright while boys may be labeled as lazy.
- Subcultures: Girls are more likely to join pro-school subcultures, while boys are more likely to join anti-school subcultures.
Class and Ethnicity in Education
The page also discusses the impact of class and ethnicity on educational outcomes:
Example: Chinese students are the highest-performing ethnic group, while Black Caribbean and Gypsy/Roma pupils are among the lowest-performing groups.
Factors influencing these trends include:
- Material deprivation: Some ethnic groups are more likely to live in low-income households, affecting access to educational resources.
- Cultural deprivation: Some cultures may not value education as highly as others.
- Ethnocentric curriculum: The curriculum may primarily focus on white British culture, potentially decreasing motivation for students from other backgrounds.
- Teacher labeling: Teachers may label some ethnicities negatively, leading to self-fulfilling prophecies.
Vocabulary: Hidden curriculum - Things that are indirectly learned in school, outside of formal lessons (e.g., conformity).
The page concludes by mentioning key sociological concepts such as Durkheim's view on education transmitting shared norms and values, Parsons' idea of education as a bridge between family and society, and the concept of marketization in education introduced by the 1988 Education Reform Act.
