structural functional theory on education

Schools ideally perform many important functions in modern society. Our scientists cannot make important scientific discoveries and our artists and thinkers cannot come up with great works of art, poetry, and prose unless they have first been educated in the many subjects they need to know for their chosen path. Social and cultural innovation is a fourth function of education. Whether this process works as well as it should is an important issue, and we explore it further when we discuss school tracking later in this chapter.

In this way, they are presumably prepared for their later station in life. Depending on how they are identified, children are taught at the level that is thought to suit them best.

Beginning in grade school, students are identified by teachers and other school officials either as bright and motivated or as less bright and even educationally challenged. Thousands of immigrant children in the United States today are learning English, US history, and other subjects that help prepare them for the workforce and integrate them into American life.Ī third function of education is social placement. As we saw, the development of such common views was a goal of the system of free, compulsory education that developed in the nineteenth century.

For a society to work, functionalists say, people must subscribe to a common set of beliefs and values. In the United States, these norms and values include respect for authority, patriotism (remember the Pledge of Allegiance?), punctuality, and competition (for grades and sports victories).Ī second function of education is social integration. Schools teach the three Rs (reading, ’riting, ’rithmetic), as we all know, but they also teach many of the society’s norms and values. If children are to learn the norms, values, and skills they need to function in society, then education is a primary vehicle for such learning. Perhaps the most important function of education is socialization. Certain educational problems have their basis in social interaction and expectations.įunctional theory stresses the functions that education serves in fulfilling a society’s various needs. Specific research finds that social interaction in schools affects the development of gender roles and that teachers’ expectations of pupils’ intellectual abilities affect how much pupils learn. This perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues. Problems in the educational institution harm society because all these functions cannot be completely fulfilled.Įducation promotes social inequality through the use of tracking and standardized testing and the impact of its “hidden curriculum.” Schools differ widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social inequality. Latent functions include child care, the establishment of peer relationships, and lowering unemployment by keeping high school students out of the full-time labor force.

These include (a) socialization, (b) social integration, (c) social placement, and (d) social and cultural innovation. Table 11.1 Theory Snapshot Theoretical perspectiveĮducation serves several functions for society.

Structural functional theory on education