Functionalism’s View of Education
I. Emile Durkheim
A. Modern society is dominated by two
unprecedentedly powerful institutions
1.
Economy
2. The Nation-State
B.
“Intermediate” Institutions are in jeopardy
1.
Family
2.
Church
3.
Work Organizations (Guilds, e.g.)
4.
The community more generally (urban, complexity, pluralism)
C. The individual is in danger of
standing in an unmediated “relationship” with the economy and the state
D. Anomie and
moral normlessness
II. Talcott Parsons
A. Schools are agents of
socialization and “allocation” (& these functions are interrelated)
1. Socialization: school develops commitments
& capacities
2. Allocation:
(differentiation/status attainment)
4. School is the first socializing
agency that differentiates status on non-biological basis
Or