Functionalism
Society is seen as an organism whose parts sustain the whole.
- Durkheim: education methodically socialises the young, producing shared values and the diversity needed for the division of labour.
- Parsons: schools socialise and select and allocate people by achievement.
- Dreeben: schools teach independence, achievement, universalism and specificity.
- Human capital and technical-functional theories belong here.
Conflict theory
- Bowles and Gintis: the correspondence principle links school hierarchies to capitalist work relations.
- Bourdieu: dominant groups' cultural capital and habitus are rewarded as merit, reproducing inequality.
- Collins: credentials serve status-group competition.
- Illich and Reimer: deschooling critiques schools' monopoly on learning.
Comparison and limits
Both are macro-structural and treat the classroom as a black box. Functionalism is accused of legitimising inequality; conflict theory of neglecting education's positive roles and agency. The new sociology of education examined curriculum and interaction.
References
- Durkheim, E. (1956). Education and Sociology. Free Press.
- Parsons, T. (1959). The school class as a social system. Harvard Educational Review, 29(4), 297-318.
- Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in Capitalist America. Basic Books.
- Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1977). Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. Sage.
- Illich, I. (1971). Deschooling Society. Harper & Row.