THEORETICA

L

PERSPECTIV

ES

CONFLICTTHEORY

Conflict theory sees the purpose of education as maintaining social inequality and preserving the power of those who dominate society.

Conflict theorists see the educational system as perpetuating the status quo by dulling the lower classes into being obedient workers.

Conflict theorists point to several key

factors in defending their

position.

Property taxes fund most schools; therefore, schools in affluent districts have more money. They can afford to pay higher salaries, attract better teachers, and purchase newer texts and more technology. Students who attend these schools gain substantial advantages in getting into the best colleges and being tracked into higher‐paying professions. Students in less affluent neighborhoods that do not enjoy these advantages are less likely to go to college and are more likely to be tracked into vocational or technical training.

Another key point for conflict theorists is school testing—particularly IQ testing, which schools can use to sort students. They argue that the tests, which claim to test intelligence, actually test cultural knowledge and therefore exhibit a cultural bias.

For example, a question may ask: “Which one of these items belongs in an orchestra? A. accordion B. guitar C. violin D. banjo.” This question assumes considerable cultural knowledge. The question itself assumes exposure to a particular kind of music favored by white upper classes.

Testing experts claim they have rid modern exams of such culturally biased questioning, but conflict theorists respond that cultural neutrality is impossible. All tests contain a knowledge base, and that knowledge base is always culturally sensitive.

Conflict theorists see education not as a social benefit or

opportunity, but as a powerful means of maintaining power

structures and creating a docile work force for

Critics of the conflict perspective point to its overly negative view of society. The theory ultimately attributes humanitarian efforts, altruism, democracy, civil rights, and other positive aspects of society to capitalistic designs to control the masses, not to inherent interests in preserving society and social order.

functionalism

FUNCTIONALISM focuses on the ways that universal education serves the needs of society.

Functionalists first see education in its manifest role: conveying basic knowledge and skills to the next generation. 

Durkheim, the founder of functionalist theory, identified the latent role of education as one of socializing people into society's mainstream. This “moral education,” as he called it, helped form a more‐cohesive social structure by bringing together people from diverse backgrounds, which echoes the historical concern of “Americanizing” immigrants.

ROLES OF EDUCATION:*transmission of core

values and social control

*sorting

*networking

(Individualism, Self-esteem, Social esteem, Competition)

Functionalists point to the ironic dual role of education in both preserving and changing culture.

A final and controversial function assumed by education in the latter half of the twentieth century is replacement of the family.

Functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus.

Mechanical SolidarityOrganic Solidarity

Mechanical solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when people in a society maintain similar values and beliefs and engage in similar types of work.

Organic solidarity is a form of social cohesion that arises when the people in a society are interdependent, but hold to varying values and beliefs and engage in varying types of work.

Functionalism has received criticism for neglecting the negative functions of an event such as divorce. Critics also claim that the perspective justifies the status quo and complacency on the part of society's members. Functionalism does not encourage people to take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable because the various parts of society will compensate naturally for any problems that may arise.

MARXISM is a worldview and a method of societal analysis that focuses on class relations and societal conflict, that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, and a dialectical view of social transformation.

MARXIST methodology uses economic and sociopolitical inquiry and applies that to the critique and analysis of the development of capitalism and the role of class struggle in systemic economic change.

MARXIST analyses and methodologies have influenced multiple political ideologies and social movements. MARXISM encompasses an economic theory, a sociological theory, a philosophical method, and a revolutionary view of social change.

Marxism has developed into different branches and schools of thought. Different schools place a greater emphasis on certain aspects of classical Marxism while rejecting other aspects of Marxism, sometimes combining Marxist analysis with non-Marxian concepts.

Marxists understanding of history and of society have been adopted by academics in the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology, media studies, political science, theatre, history, sociology, art history and art theory, cultural studies, education, economics, geography,  literary criticism, aesthetics, critical psychology and philosophy.

interactional Theory

INTERACTIONAL THEORY directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other.

Although this theory traces its origins to Max Weber's assertion that individuals act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world, the American philosopher GEORGE H. MEAD (1863–1931) introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s.

People attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols. Verbal conversations, in which spoken words serve as the predominant symbols, make this subjective interpretation especially evident.

Conversation is an interaction of symbols between individuals who constantly interpret the world around them.

Of course, anything can serve as a symbol as long as it refers to something beyond itself. Written music serves as an example.

Interactionists give serious thought to how people act, and then seek to determine what meanings individuals assign to their own actions and symbols, as well as to those of others.

Critics claim that INTERACTIONAL THEORY neglects the macro level of social interpretation—the “BIG PICTURE.” In other words, interactionists may miss the larger issues of society by focusing too closely on the “trees” (the size of the diamond in the wedding ring) rather than the “forest” (the quality of the marriage).

The perspective also receives criticism for slighting the influence of social forces and institutions on individual interactions.

INTERACTIONISTS limit their analysis of education to what they directly observe happening in the classroom. They focus on how teacher expectations influence student performance, perceptions, and attitudes.

INTERACTIONISTS differ from Marxists and Functionalists in crucial ways. They focus in on the day to day interactions that occur within school. Whereas, MARXISTS and FUNCTIONALISTS tend to focus on the structural sides to society, they examine the relationships between the education system and the individual.

INTERACTIONISTS place greater importance upon the interactions between individuals, seeing other structural approaches as deterministic, as they see human behaviour as directed and determined by forces beyond the control of the individual.

These theories state that individuals will react in a predictable way.

A + B = C

INTERACTIONISTS argue that all people are individuals, we are different in shape and size but also in the way that we think and interpret situations. We all have different beliefs and experiences, which in turn affect the meaning that we attach to external stimuli. Within education one of the most important sources of external stimuli is other people. The words and actions of teachers and other pupils are continually being interpreted and given meanings.INDIVIDUAL

DIFFERENCES

Theoretical Perspectives Major assumptions

Functionalism

Social stability is necessary to have a strong society, and adequate socialization and social integration are necessary to achieve social stability. Society’s social institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. Slow social change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social order.

Conflict theory

Society is characterized by pervasive inequality based on social class, gender, and other factors. Far-reaching social change is needed to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian society.

Interactional Theory

People construct their roles as they interact; they do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so doing, they rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their interaction.

EDUCATORS do not

just teach; we

build COMMUNI

TY.

Lianne Mariz L. Veluz

Presenter

Sources:•Jones, S. M., & Dindia, K. (2004)•Review of Educational Research, 74, 443–471.•Battey, D., Kafai, Y., Nixon, A. S., & Kao, L. L. (2007).•Chetty et al., 2011; Schanzenbach, 2006•Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Hilger, N., Saez, E., Schanzenbach, D. W., & Yagan, D. (2011). •Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126, 1593–1660; Schanzenbach, D. W. (2006).