Education & Society - How fair are educational systems? - Are they meritocratic? - Does it matter what your social class background is?

Education & Society

- How fair are educational systems?- Are they “meritocratic”?

- Does it matter what your social class background is?

Why do working class children tend to perform worse than middle class children at school?

2002 – General Household Survey

Social class 1 (higher professionals)- 78% have university qualifications- 3% have no qualifications

Social class 6 (unskilled working class)- 1% have university qualifications- 74% have no qualifications

LECTURE OUTLINE

1. What is “education”?

2. History of education (in Britain)

3. Functionalist views of education

4. Critical theories of education

Education and social class

- Bowles & Gintis, Willis,

Bernstein, Bourdieu

5. Evaluation

WHAT IS “EDUCATION”?

1) Primary Socialisation- Childhood - family

2) Secondary Socialisation- Childhood - outside family

a) Informal: Peer groups, mass media

b) Formal: Education system

WHAT IS “EDUCATION”?Education – “the social

institution guiding the transmission of knowledge, job skills, cultural norms and values” (Macionis & Plummer)

Schooling – “formal instruction under the direction of specially trained teachers”

(Macionis & Plummer)

WHAT IS EDUCATION?Modern formal education is specific to

modern societies

Pre- and non-modern societiesInformalPractical skills / non-abstract

Modern formal educationAbstraction & StandardisationBureaucracyCredentialismMeritocracy

HISTORY OF EDUCATION(in Britain)

Prior to mid-19th century:

- Only elites receive a

formal education

- Gendered:

“Gentlemen”

“Ladies”

From mid-19th century onwards:

Development of the

Industrial Revolution

- need more skilled workers

mass education

1) basic literacy and numeracy

2) citizenship skills

Into the 20th centuryFREE and COMPULSORY primary

education for all (up to 11 years old )

THEN

FREE and COMPULSORY primary AND secondary education for all (up to 15 years old)

THEN

1972 – School leaving age raised to 16 years old

FUNCTIONALIST VIEWSEmile Durkheim; Talcott Parsons

1. Each part of a society (a social institution) contributes to the smooth-running operation of the whole society

2. Each of the parts must work together effectively with all the other parts

3. Education helps keep the whole society functioning

4. Education works together with the other social institutions (e.g. economy, political system)

a) Education teaches work skills

- Necessary for the economy

b) Education teaches citizenship

- Necessary for the political system

c) Education teaches shared ideas, values and morals

- Necessary for society as a whole

Modern societies are “meritocracies”

NATURAL INTELLIGENCE + EFFORT

= EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS

SUCCESS = good qualifications = high-level employment = wealth & high social status

Social background is irrelevant

CRITICAL THEORIES

1. Education reflects the nature of an unequal and unfair society

2. Education helps the socially highly privileged retain their wealth & power

3. Education works such that the less privileged continue to lack wealth & power

4. “Meritocracy” is more myth than reality

Education & Social Class

Karl Marx (mid 19th century)

a) Capitalist society is run in the

interests of powerful groups

- Ruling classes / working classes

b) Social institutions - both individually and together - work to:

- maintain the power of the powerful- keep the less powerful in their place

Education & the economy- Ensures workforce is passive and

compliant- Workforce accepts being

exploited

Education and the political system

- Ensures working classes accept the political system as legitimate (which is controlled by the ruling classes)

- Prevents revolutions and rebellions

Education and ideas, values

and morals

i) Reflect ruling class interests / thoroughly biased

ii) Education enforces ruling class ideas and values among the working classes

iii) Often done in a hidden way:

“Hidden agendas” within school curriculum

Education & Society 2- Are education systems

“meritocratic”?

- YES: functionalist views

- NO: critical theories

- Marx: - education is a tool of the

ruling classes- working classes socialised

BOWLES & GINTIS

“Hidden curriculum”

Education apparently teaches ideas and skills

Education actually socialises people into certain sorts of attitudes (about themselves and society)

Done subconsciously & unintentionally

Upper middle class (ruling class)(Often in private education)- Think for themselves- Leaders / holding authority

Working classes - ObedienceTeachers as authority figuresTime is managedAccepting orders

Lower middle class- Obey orders from those above- Give orders to those below

Paul Willis

“Learning to Labour” (1977)- How Working Class Kids Get

Working Class JobsAn English secondary school

Two main types of male pupil:a) The “Lads” - bad behaviour;

academic failuresb) The “Swots” – good behaviour;

academic successes

1) “Bad behaviour” is socially created- “lads” are lower working class

(unskilled)- see little point in formal education- see no hope of social advancement

2) “Bad behaviour” is useful for capitalist society

- capitalist economy - unskilled jobs- capitalist system REQUIRES some

people to fail

- happens mostly unintentionally

BASIL BERNSTEINWORKING CLASS SPEECH“RESTRICTED CODE”- Simple words- Not fully grammatical- Slang & regional dialect- Strong local accents

MIDDLE CLASS SPEECH“ELABORATE CODE”- More complicated words- Fully grammatical - Use of “standard English” - Weak local accents

Elaborate CodeUsed in school- Teachers use it- Courses taught- Essays & exams

Pupils rewardedAcademic success

Restricted codePupils punishedAcademic failure

PIERRE BOURDIEU2 QUESTIONS:

1) HOW DO MIDDLE CLASS PARENTS PASS ON THEIR ADVANTAGES IN LIFE TO THEIR CHILDREN?

(Wealth, good jobs, social status, etc.)

2) HOW DO WORKING CLASS PARENTS PASS ON THEIR DISADVANTAGES IN LIFE TO THEIR CHILDREN?

“SOCIAL REPRODUCTION”

SUCCESS OR FAILURE -- “CAPITAL”- WHAT TYPES? HOW MUCH OF EACH?

DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH “CAPITAL” PARENTS PASS ONTO CHILD

Types of “capital”:

1) Economic capital (money)

2) Social capital (social connections and networks)

3) Cultural capital ( a) knowledge of “high culture”; b) refined manners & language)

Upper middle class (e.g. high-level lawyers):- High levels of all 3 types of capital

Lower middle class (e.g. primary school teachers)- Middling levels of all 3 types of capital

Working class (e.g. bus drivers)- Low levels of all 3 types of capital

(Exceptions – e.g. working class people with quite high economic capital but low cultural capital – nouveau riche)

Education works in ways that:

a) Retain upper middle class wealth & privilege

b) Preserve working class lack of these

c) Keep lower middle class in the middle

EDUCATION IS BIASED TOWARDS FAVOURING UPPER MIDDLE CLASS CHILDREN:

1) Economic capitalCan buy educational success- Private school- “Good” state school- Property prices – school catchment area

2) Social capital- Parents use social connections to get children

into school of their choice- Children make useful social connections at school- “Old school tie”

3. Cultural capital

i) High cultural capital: - “well-spoken”- “sophisticated” language- “good manners”- seem “intelligent”- confidence generally and in class

ii) Teachers and exam systems reward pupils with high cultural capitalThey penalise those with low cultural capital

iii) Mostly unintentional and done subconsciously

Effects: “Self-fulfilling prophecies”

a) Children with high cultural capital positively evaluated by teachers

- High self-esteem – “talented”- Good class and exam performances

b) Children with low cultural capital negatively evaluated by teachers

- Low self-esteem – not talented- Poor class and exam performances

SOCIAL CLASS BACKGROUND TRANSFORMED INTO “PERSONAL TALENT”

BOURDIEU’S CONCLUSIONS

1. We do not live in a meritocracy2. Education system seriously biased

in favour of upper middle class3. This is mostly unintentional4. Amount and level of qualifications:

- natural intelligence is much less important than social background

5. Some working class children achieve educational success – but it’s a very small minority

EVALUATION OF CRITICAL THEORIES

1. Out-dated? Written in 1970s. Class structure now less static.

2. Over-emphasise power of upper middle class to retain educational privileges?

3. Under-emphasise education’s role in allowing social mobility

4. Enlargement of University sector - rising working-class participation in University education

5. Appearance of more teachers of working class origins

6. Can’t explain gender differences in educational achievement

- can’t explain why girls OF ALL SOCIAL CLASSES now doing better than boys

EVALUATION OF CRITICAL THEORIES

1) Gap between rich and poor widening

- Less social mobility than 30 years ago

2) Universities:- Most entrants to elite universities still from

elite schools and upper middle classes

- Lower class students tend towards less prestigious universities

- Trend towards postgraduate qualifications

TO WHAT DEGREE is education meritocratic?

LOOK AT THE STATISTICAL TABLES IN THE BOOKS

EVALUATE the theories in light of EVIDENCE

Education & Society 2

Functionalist views: modern education systems are “meritocratic” / class background

irrelevant to achievement

Critical theories: modern education systems are very biased in favour of the higher classes