Sociological Theories of the Role of Education

Functionalism and Education

Functionalists view society as a system of interconnected parts, all working together to maintain the stability and harmony of the whole system, much like how different organs in the body work together to keep a body healthy. Education plays a critical role in this system.
Education serves several functions in a functionalist perspective:
- Socialization: Education imparts the shared norms and values of society, shaping young minds to understand their social environment and pass it on to future generations.
- Preparation for Work: Schools provide a mini-version of a work environment, where pupils learn discipline, cooperation, and other essential skills needed for the future workplace.
- Role Allocation and Meritocracy: Schools help identify individuals’ talents and abilities and provide a path to match them to suitable future job roles. A meritocratic system rewards those who work the hardest.

Marxism sees society as structured by economic base and superstructure (including education) determined by the requirements of capitalism.
Education, according to Marxists, serves capitalist societies by:
- Reproducing Class Inequality: The children of the wealthy have more opportunities leading to better education and future prospects, thus perpetuating class inequalities.
- Legitimating Class Inequality: The idea of meritocracy in education serves to make inequality seem fair and inevitable.
- Producing a Workforce Suitable for Capitalism: Schools teach skills and attitudes that are necessary for the smooth operation of capitalist economies (e.g., compliance to authority, punctuality).

Like functionalism and Marxism, interactionism is a major sociological perspective. However, interactionists focus on smaller scale, often face-to-face interactions rather than the wider social structure.
According to interactionist theory:
- Labelling significantly impacts a pupil’s educational experience. Teachers’ labels, whether they are based on behaviour, ability, or appearance, can influence a pupil’s self-concept and aspirations.
- The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy plays a significant role in many pupils’ educational journeys - if a pupil is labelled in a certain way and they come to believe this label, they may act accordingly, thus making the prophecy come true.
- Teacher Expectations can hugely affect the educational achievement and behaviour of pupils. Interactionists argue that these expectations are not always based on the actual abilities of each pupil, but rather on certain characteristics and behaviours of the pupil.

The New Right perspective shares similar views with functionalism, but it places greater emphasis on market forces shaping the education system.
Within the New Right’s perspective, education should:
- Function as an Open Market Place where parents have the right to choose among competing schools. Schools compete with one another to attract ‘customers’.
- Foster Competition and Efficiency: Through competition, schools should constantly strive to improve. This, they believe, drives up standards of teaching and learning.
- Reinforce Traditional Values: School should teach the core values that they think can ensure the stability and unity of society.