Education - Theories of education and schooling - Education as socialization
3 important questions on Education - Theories of education and schooling - Education as socialization
Functionalist Emile Durkheim argued that apart from family and peergroup interactions, education and schooling also act as agents of socialization.
Can you explain which two socialization functions Durkheim embedded in schooling and education?
- Children can internalize social rules through schooling, which helps them to later function in society.
- In industrial societies, education can teach the skills needed for specialized occupations, which cannot al be taught within families anymore.
What is the main function of education, according to functionalist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)?
- The main function of education is to enable children to move from the particularistic standards of the family to the universal standards of modern societies.
- I.e., whereas a child's status within their family is fixed, a child's status in school is largely achieved, just like in the larger society of their adult life.
Functionalists see education systems as serving several functions for society as a whole.
Can you explain the point of criticism conflict theorists have on this notion?
- Conflict theorists do not agree that all social groups within the society share similar interests.
- In societies marked by major social inequalities, education systems within that society must then also reinforce those social inequalities.
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