Essay on Functionalism in Education

Functionalism views society as the stability and assimilation of a range of forces that function within it. While society is a separate entity with a life of its own, there are individual elements contributing to that stability. Functionalism as a sociological theory emphasizes assimilation rather than the dissociation of society. Therefore, the society is seen as a whole that is compromised of parts which give one another their identity and their function. The part, whether that is education, such as a school, or sports, such as a football team, operates in relation to the other parts, and cannot be entirely understood in isolation from the other parts. All the parts are interrelated, and when there is a disturbance in any one of the

Theories have been composed and exposed by various philosophers to clarify their reasoning about the mind. Dualism, Behaviorism, and Identity Theory, are well-known theories supported by well-written explanations. A modern theory, Functionalism provides ample insight to the main problem philosophers deal with, the mind/body problem.

Structural functionalism is a macro analysis view defined as “The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole.” In education, it focuses on how it serves the needs of society. Functionalists view education as a way to pass on knowledge and skills. While functionalists believe that schools sort students based upon their academic knowledge, Conflict theorists believe that students are sorted based on their social/financial class. Conflict theory is “The way inequalities contribute to social differences and perpetual differences in power.” Conflict theorists believe that students of lower status won’t have the same opportunities in school as students of a higher class. A student of a family with a

Moreover, Societies are held together by both consensus with values and coercion. The functionalist view is that the balance of harmony among the society is held up by societal institutions. For example, schools, church and family are seen as the most significant foundation for an adequately functional society.

Functionalism is based on the view that society is a system of interdependent parts held together by a shared culture or value consensus (agreement) amongst individuals as to what values or norms are important in society. Therefore they take a positive view of the education system. As item A suggests they see it as a form of secondary socialism essential to maintaining society i.e. the values and norms transmitted by social institutions and groups which build upon those learnt in the family (primary socialism).

Functionalism is a macro system theory which sees society as a mega structure of linked social institutions such as school, family and the legal system. Each different institution is functional to ensure the whole of society is maintained. For example primary socialisation takes place within the home where children are taught basic life

Functionalism is a theory which allows an individual to understand their place in society, and understands the relationship between physical input and behavioural output. It also believes that society is a system of components that are internally connected and that all the components work together to maintain stability in the society.

From the perspective of a functionalist, “functionalists emphasize the contribution it makes to overall social stability.” (Schaefer, 2011, p. 17). Basically, in terms of education, a functionalist would regard it as almost religious institution to reinforce values of society to maintain stability. We’ll use college sororities as an example. With universities there are a lot of fraternities, in which are a unity of a group of students who help each other with education and at the same time become a sort of “brotherhood/sisterhood” to help each other out with anything needed. These fraternities are also well-known for their competitions amongst the universities other fraternities. Many of them would attend at spirit and dance events. I have a few local friends that are in “frats” and there are definitely many to choose from. So in

Functionalism looks at society in aspects of how it contributes to the steadiness/cohesion of the whole society (Anderson, Taylor, & Logio, P. 18). There are many institutions that are looked at that include the economic system, government, education, religion, health care, and family. All of which have different roles and perform different functions to ensure that society operates in a well-ordered manner. An example of this would be how family reproduces, takes care of children, exposes children to culture and heritage, supports other family members, and shares life experiences. Shared values and social stability are keys to this perspective. When this system breaks down it is because people’s needs are not being covered and shared values are deteriorating. When this occurs, it affects all parts of functionalism and the society must achieve

     Functionalists view the role of education as a means of socialising individuals and to integrate society, to keep society running smoothly and remain stable. Emile Durkheim, creator of the Organic Analogy, was a functionalist during the 1870’s. Durkheim believes that society can only survive if its members are committed to common

Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions.

Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance.

The structural-functional theory also known as functionalism is sociological theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Functionalists view education as a contribution to the smooth inner working of society. Education is a lifelong process, we are constantly learning new things and deepening our knowledge of things we already know. The education system works to prepare individuals to become fully functioning members of society. It works to teach people certain skills that will help them to be successful in life. However, education not only teaches people the skills they will need to be successful in life, but it also teaches them how to be decent citizens and to work well with others. Many people view education are a service to the overall function of society.

In the beginning, the student that was at the back table was the only one to notice. As the minutes passed, more and more of the students started to get up and walk to the back of the classroom. Mrs. Warne continued with her lesson. She quietly told the students to go back and sit down, but hardly anyone listened to her. She kept going on with the lesson and none of the students were listening to her. She occasionally would remind the students to be quiet or

The opening to chapter 13 begins with the experiences of various families that have different problems with education that led them to the conclusion of homeschooling. Education contributes to what is known as the credential society that we have today, as the degrees earned in education determine jobs that people are eligible for. The certification that education provides a person is used as evidence that the individual is capable of certain tasks and has certain skills. The more developed a nation, the more extensive an education that they provide their people, and this trend is seen across Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized Nations. Education is seen in many different perspectives, especially amongst sociologists. Functionalists focus on the major functions that education serves, such as teaching of knowledge and skills, cultural transmission of values, social integration, social placement, and mainstreaming. The conflict perspective, on the other hand, focuses on how education reproduces the social class structure through unequally funding and having schools exclusive to the elite. This is while the symbolic interactionist’s perspective focuses on the interaction of the classroom and how student performance typically conforms to the expectations that the teacher has over them. Like everything else in the world, education isn’t perfect by far, as there are many problems, such as mediocrity, grade inflation, social promotion, fake data, and