Transcript Introductory Task

STARTER
Think about how education has been useful (or
not) to you.
 Now think about how education is useful to
society as a whole.
 2 minutes discussion with partner.

Understanding the ideologies that underlie educational
thinking
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF
EDUCATION?
EDUCATION



Formal education – takes place in school or colleges.
There is a curriculum and formal assessment of
learning
Informal education – takes place in clubs or nonassessed situations
Non-formal education – learning that takes place in
the home or a domestic situation.
Provide an example of each type of education
SOCIOLOGICAL TARGETS

To know some of the reasons why the school
system is important to the running of our
society.

To understand that there are a variety of
ideologies underlying the development of the
education system.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION?
Socialisation
of children
Education is
a route to
social
success
Control of
children and
young people
Education
Protection of
young people
from
exploitation
by employers
Training
children for
future
employment
Passing on
of key
knowledge
and culture
NB: Some of these
points can be seen
as negative for
children as well as
positive
SOCIALISATION OF CHILDREN
Socialisation is the process of learning the
rules and knowledge valued by a culture.
 One of the most important agencies of
secondary socialisation is the education
system.
 It is known as an agency of formal
socialisation, because schools and education
systems deliberately set out to influence
people's behaviour.

THINKING FOR YOURSELF

How do schools set out to control your
behaviour and pass on norms and values?
Think of two ways in which you are taught
your cultural values.

Further thinking: In what ways do the values
of the school clash with the personal values
of your home and family?
IMPORTANT RESEARCH STUDY
Hargreaves 1967
 Investigated the teaching of cultural norms and
values in schools
 Used qualitative classroom observation
 Concluded school did not succeed at teaching
social solidarity but rather encouraged the
development of ‘sub-cultures’
 How can we evaluate this study ?

CONTROL OF CHILDREN’S MINDS
Schools exist to control behaviour. Children are
taught to obey authority and respect rules.
 Jackson said that if they are to succeed, pupils do
not just require knowledge, but also conformity to
the socially acceptable behaviour of the school.
 Pat McNeil (1986) says that this includes
knowledge such as how to get on with teachers
and other pupils, how to cope with boredom and
how to conform.
 This hidden control is known as the Hidden
Curriculum.

IDENTIFY THE SEXISM IN THIS
Mummy has taken the children to a fire station. Topsy and Kerry are girls and Tim is a boy.
When they came down from the ladder Mummy bought them each a little fire-fighter's
helmet.
'I'm going to be a fire-fighter when I grow up' said Kerry.
'Can girls be fire-fighters?' asked Topsy.
'I don't think so' said Tim.
'Yes they can!' said the lady who was selling the toy helmets.
'I'm a fire-fighter, just like Kerry's Dad. Women can be fire-fighters, but they have to be as
strong and as brave as the men.'
To show how strong she was, she gave Tim a fireman's lift.
CHILDREN’S READING
Mummy has taken the children to a fire station. Topsy and Kerry are girls and Tim is a boy.
When they came down from the ladder Mummy bought them each a little fire-fighter's
helmet.
'I'm going to be a fire-fighter when I grow up' said Kerry.
'Can girls be fire-fighters?' asked Topsy.
'I don't think so' said Tim.
'Yes they can!' said the lady who was selling the toy helmets.
'I'm a fire-fighter, just like Kerry's Dad. Women can be fire-fighters, but they have to be as
strong and as brave as the men.'
To show how strong she was, she gave Tim a fireman's lift.
PROTECTING CHILDREN
The first government Act imposing compulsory
education in Britain was in 1880 and then
partly it was designed to end child labour in
factories and only affected children aged 5 10.
 It also served the purpose of providing a
trained workforce who could operate new
machines and technology.

Victorian coal miners
‘VOCATIONALISM’


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In the 1970s, James Callaghan, a Labour Prime Minister
made a famous speech in Ruskin College, Oxford, where
he said that Britain was falling behind its industrial
competitors because the education system failed to
produce skilled and motivated workers.
This has affected government policy and thinking for
over 30 years. It influenced many of the changes made
by the Conservative governments of 1979 -1997. It
formed the basis of National Curriculum.
There is still a strong vocational agenda in British
schools and colleges that involves examinations, key
skills and portfolio approaches to learning.
COMPENSATION
What problems are we trying to fix?
 PSHE
 Political education
 Drugs education
 Sex education

TRAINING CHILDREN FOR WORK




Pierre Bourdieu (1930 –
2002)
Marxist critic of education
system
Uses idea of cultural capital
Schools exist to advantage
the children of the middle
classes so they go on to
take the best and most
interesting jobs
SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
 Learning is when people seek knowledge.
 Education is when knowledge is provided for
people.
 Schools exist to





Protect children from exploition
Teach children cultural values
Train children for the work they will do in adult life
Socialise children to become acceptable adults
Control children
 Depending on your perspective, some of these
characteristics of the education system can be
seen as positive, and others as negative.
ASSESSMENT MIX AND MATCH
Vocationalism is
Of acquiring a skill or knowledge
Learning is the process
Skills from people around us as we live our lives
Formal education systems are where
Is the highly valued knowledge of our culture
Informal education is when we learn
Refers to the values that a school teaches without
necessarily intending to.
Socialisation is the process of learning
A route to high pay jobs and social mobility
If pupils are to succeed in school,
They need to learn to conform to the rules of the school
The hidden curriculum
Pass on gender roles through books and school
organisation
Feminists say that schools
People are taught specific skills and then tested in their
knowledge and understanding
Cultural capital
The preparation of students for the world of work
In Wales , education was seen as
The rules and knowledge valued by a culture
ASSESSMENT ANSWERS
Learning is the process
Of acquiring a skill or knowledge
Formal education systems are where
People are taught specific skills and then tested in
their knowledge and understanding
Informal education is when we learn
Skills from people around us as we live our lives
Socialisation is the process of learning
The rules and knowledge valued by a culture
If pupils are to succeed in school,
They need to learn to conform to the rules of the
school
The hidden curriculum
Refers to the values that a school teaches without
necessarily intending to.
Feminists say that schools
Pass on gender roles through books and school
organisation
Cultural capital
Is the highly valued knowledge of our culture
Vocationalism is
The preparation of students for the world of work
In Wales , education was seen as
A route to high pay jobs and social mobility
INDEPENDENT STUDY/EXTENSION
Discuss with as many people as you can the
answer to this question:
Is it the role of schools to correct the problems of
society?